Gravestone of the Day: Phebe Seabury

Phebe Seabury, 1715, Little Compton, RI

Here lyeth ye body

of Phebe the wife

of Ioseph Seabury

who deceast in ye 

36t year of her

aGe April ye 21t 1715

Gravestone of the Day: Thomas Bancroft

Thomas Bancroft, 1718, Wakefield, MA

Here Lyes the Body

of Deacon THOMAS

BANCROFT Who Sarved

The Curch of Reding

in the Office of a Dec

Aged 69 Years Who

Deceased June ye 12th, 1718

One Earth He Purchised a good Degre

Grte Boldness in ye faith & liberty

And Now Poseseth Imortality

The Memory of the Just is Blssed.

This epitaph is kind of a mess. It's squished into the available space, the lines are all different sizes, the spelling is funky, and the composition is inelegant. That's somewhat unusual for the Lamson shop — their epitaphs are usually planned out pretty well. Compare to this stone, which has similar iconography, carved by the Lamson shop in 1717.

Gravestone of the Day: John & Abigail Hastings

John & Abigail Hastings, 1718, Grove Hill, Waltham, MA

Here Lyes ye 

Body of Mr

John Hastings,

Aged 65 Years

Who Deced

March ye 28th

1717/18

Here also Lyes ye

Body of Mrs.

Abigail Hastings;

Wife to Mr John

Hastings; Aged

63 Years Decd

April ye 7th 1717/18

Gravestone of the Day: Elizabeth Fenno

Elizabeth Fenno, 1713, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA

HERE LYES BURIED

THE BODY OF

ELIZABETH FENNO

WIFE TO EPHRAIM FENNO

AGED 29 YEARS 10 MO & 11 DS

DECED NOVR 22D 1713

Gravestone of the Day: Abraham Fits

Abraham Fits, 1714, Ipswich, MA

HERE LIES Ye BODY

OF Mr ABRAHAM

FITS WHO DIED

AUGUST

Ye 18

1714 AGED

59 YEARS

Gravestone of the Day: John and Mary Pitman

John and Mary Pitman, 1711, NCBG, Newport, RI

Here lyeth

the Body of

John Pitman,

WHo dyed

Novemr: ye 21st:

1711: Aged 48 Years.

Here lyeth

the Body of

Mary ye Wife

of John Pitman

Dyed Decembr:

the 1st: 1711

Aged 45 Years

This is a lovely stone in wonderful condition. I wonder why John Stevens decided to use "ye" in "Novemr: ye 21st," but use "the" in "Decembr: the 1st."

Gravestone of the Day: Ebenezer and Elizabeth Tinckham

Ebenezer and Elizabeth Tinckham, Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleboro, MA, 1718

HERE LYE[S] [Ye]

BODY OF DEACON

EBENEZER TINCKHAM

AGED 67 YEARS

DIED APRIL Y 8

1718

HERE LYES Y

BODY OF

ELIZABETH

TINCKHAM

AGED [64?] YEARS

DIED APRIL

1718

Gravestone of the Day: Preserved Smith

Preserved Smith, 1718, Hadley, MA

PRESER

VED

SMITH 1718

See also Preserved Fish.

Gravestone of the Day: Darkes Shapcutt

Darkes Shapcutt, 1710, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA

DARKES WIFE

TO SAMSON

SHAPCVTT

AGED 24 YEARS

DIED AUGUST

---- 1710

I read this names as "Dorcas." This is one of my favorite colonial-era names, but Pete insists that it would be completely unacceptable for a 21st-century child.

My favorite Dorcas is Darkes Mesenger of Windsor, CT.

Gravestone of the Day: Rev. Joshua Gardner

Rev. Joshua Gardner, 1716, Haverhill, MA

HERE LYES BURIED IN Ye LAND OF
FORGITFULNESS Wt WAS MORTAL OF
REVd Mr JOSHa GARDNER A MAN
GOOD BETIMES & FULL OF Ye HOLY GHOST
& OF FAITH OF AN EXCELLENT TEM
PER OF GREAT INTEGRITY PRUDENCE
& COURAGE , PASTr OF Ye Chh IN HAV
ERHILL 5 YEARS WHO HAVING FAITH
FULLY IMPROVED HIS TALENT FELL
ASLEEP IN JESUS & WENT TRIUM
PHANTLY TO RECEVE HIS REWARD
IN HEAVEN MARCH Ye 21 ANNO DOMINI
1715/16 [?] ÆTATIS 27 [heb?] 12.9

1 CO[R] 15.19

What a great phrase — "ye land of forgitfulness." It comes from Psalm 88, which is one of the most mournful of all the Psalms.

I'm having some trouble reading those last two lines. It looks like there are two biblical citations, but I can't really make them out.

The first looks like it could be Hebrews 12:9, but I'm not entirely convinced that it is. Those lettrs could be "heb, "  but why would they be lower case when the whole epitaph is upper case?
Hebrews 12:9 — Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

The second could be 1 Corinthians 15:19 or Colossians 1: 15-19. Both verses have something to say about "the dead" and I think Corinthians is probably the most appropriate, but I can't convince myself that that is an "R."

1 Cor 15:19 —
 ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
 ²⁰But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 

Col 1:15-19 —
 ¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
 ¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
 ¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
 ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
 ¹⁹For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Guesses?

Gravestone of the Day: Abigail Mitchel

Abigail Mitchel, 1714, Haverhill, MA

HERE LYES ye BODY OF

Mrs ABIGAIL ye WIFE OF

Mr ANDREW MITCHEL

WHO DIED DESEMBER ye

12 1714 AGED [2?]4

YEARS

This stone showcases the "ornimorphic" forms noted by Allan Ludwig. These bird-like shapes are characteristic of carvings from Ipswich, MA executed during the early years of the 18th century.

Gravestone of the Day

Eleazer Ingalls, 1718, Marblehead, MA

HERE LYES ye BODY

OF ELEAZER INGALLS

WHO DIED FEBUARY

ye 27 1717/18

AGED 56

YEARS

Gravestone of the Day: Joanna V----

Joanna V----, 1718, Middleboro, MA

HERE LYESYe

BODY OF JOANNA V----

AGED 61 YEARS

DIED APRIL Ye 11 1718

Gravestone of the Day: Ephraim Thinkham

Ephraim Tinkham, 1714, Middleboro, MA

 HERE LIES THE

BODY OF EPHRA-

-IM TINKHAM ~

WHO DECASED

OCTOBER THE

13th THE YEAR

1714 IN THE

66th YEAR OF

[HIS AGE]

Gravestone of the Day: Abraham Preble

Abraham Preble, 1714, York, ME

THIS STONE IS FIXED AT Ye

HEAD OF ABRAHAM PREBLE

ESQR. DEACON OF THE CHURCH

CAPT. OF THE TOWN & ONE
OF THE JUDGES IN Ye COUNTY

OF YORK WAS UNIVERSALLY

FAITHFULL TO Ye DEATH

WHO DECD. OCTOBER Ye

4th 1714 AETATIS 72

Gravestone of the Day: Joseph Lincolne

Joseph Lincolne, 1716, Hingham, MA

HERE LYES ye BODY OF
JOSEPH LINCOLNE

AGED 75 YEARS

DIED MARCH ye

18th 1716

Gravestone of the Day: Abraham Geal

Abraham Geal, 1718, Waltham, MA

Here Lyes ye Body

of AbraHam geaL

WHO died Septembr

the 5th 1718

in ye 76th year of

His Age

Gravestone of the Day: Stephen Larrabee

Stephen Larrabee, 1718, Portland, ME

 HERE LYES ye

BODY OF STEPHEN

LARRABEE AGED

66 YEARS

DIED MARCH

ye 1st 17178

This stone may offer a clue about the interval between burial and the erection of a monument. Whoever bought this stone for Stephen Larrabee of Portland, Maine had to send away to Boston for the stone, which contains an error in the date. It could just be that the carver slipped and carved 1717 instead of 1718, but that error is much easier to make if you are carving in 1720 than in 1718.

Then again, this stone looks very much like others with dates in the 1710s, so who knows (also, Farber says that these stones were carved by John Foster before 1719). I am compiling a dossier of evidence on this question and this is just one minor bit of data.

Edward Sprague, 1715, Malden, MA

Gravestone of the Day

Enock Green, 1717, Malden, MA

Enock son of

John & izbeL

Green

Aged. A. Eleven

Months died

[Jan. 10, 1716/7]

Gravestone of the Day

Joseph Rice, 1711, Stowe, MA

HERE LYES ye

BODY OF JOSEPH

RICE AGED About

76 YEARS DECD.

DECR. ye 23D 1711