Monday, June 14, 2010

Gravestone of the Day: Nathan Hale

No, not that Nathan Hale. A different one.
Nathan Hale, 1767, Newburyport, MA
Here lie ye Remains of NATHAN HALE Esq
Who died May 9th. 1767. Aged 76 Years
He was a Physician of much Experience & Considerable
Eminence, & highly esteemed in his Profession, which he
carefully attended, distributing his Services without
Distinction to Rich & Poor. He was for many years
a Justice of the Peace; which office he faithfully executed
with Integrity & without Partiality. He was a Gentleman
of agreable Manners & a thorough Friend, But above all
he was a Christian of exemplary Piety; he was devout
without Ostentation, & religiously carefull to confirm
his Principles by a Life becoming the Doctrines he
professed; Indeed ye Physician, ye Magistrate, ye Gentleman
and the Christian were united in his Charecter in
such a Manner as made his Life desirable and
greatly usefull & his Death justly lamented.

During the 1760s and 1770s, the Lamson shop went through a phase where they carved whole obituaries on gravestones. This is a good example.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's an experiment to see if we can display the long-s reliably:

Phyſician

(It may depend on the fonts available in one's browser.)

The code is this, with the spaces removed:

& # 3 8 3 ;

—RJO

Caitlin GD Hopkins said...

Thanks — I'll try that out!

Baby Bedding said...

Thank you for collecting the sight.

Texas Residential Movers said...

Gravestone is important for the same family,for whome the stone is. To remember the person, this is the form.