Gravestone of the Day: William Burrough

William Burrough, 1772, Newburyport, MA

HERE IS INTERRD

WILLIAM THE

SON OF Mr GEORGE

& Mrs BRIDGET

BURROUGH

WHO DCSt. NOVr.

Ye 28th 1772

AGED 6 DAYS

Gravestone of the Day: Joel and Mary Lyman

Joel and Mary Lyman, 1778, Northampton, MA

Joel, Son of Mr. Joel & Mrs.

Mrs. Mary Lyman died

Sept. 5. 1778. aged 13

Years 1 Month.

And their Dautr Mary

died Sept. 11. 1778.

aged 10 Months.

Gravestone of the Day: Molley Ames

Molley Ames, 1775, Groton, MA

Mrs. Sarah

Ames

Here lies the Body

of Molley Ames the

Daughter of Mr. Robert

& Mrs. Sarah Ames, who died

Augt. 6th 1775. In the

3d Year of her age.

This child's epitaph is carved on her mother's footstone.

Gravestone of the Day: Juber Tillinghast

Juber Tillinghast, 1773, God's Little Acre, NCBG, Newport, RI

In Memory of

JUBER TILLING-

HAST who

died May 16th

1773 Aged

about 50 Years.

Juba Tillinghast was probably brought to Newport from Africa or the West Indies as a child or young man. If he had been born in New England, his age probably would have been known.

The rendering of Juba as "Juber" is an artifact of the New England accent. See: Marther, Annar, Prissilar, etc.

Gravestone of the Day: James Russell

James Russel, 1773, Concord, MA

Memento mori

Here lies Buried

the Body of Mr:

James Russel, who

departed this Life

May the 5th: AD.

1773 Aged 77

Years 3 months

and 29 days.

No house of pleasure here 'bove ground

Do I expect to have;

My bed of rest for sleeping sound

I've made the silent grave.

I love the birds and baskets in the border.

Gravestone of the Day: Asa Kingsbury

I apologize for the awful picture. It was a wet, overcast day, and this was the best I could do.

Asa Kingsbury, 1775, Franklin Plain Cemetery, Franklin, CT

In memory of Lieut. Asa 

Kingsbury, who died at 

Pomfret on the 5th of Sept 

1775 In the 47th Year of 

his Age; Who was on the 

March to Roxbury to Join

the American Army &

was brought here by his 

Friends & Inter'd with that 

respect which was due 

from the Public to such 

characters.

Gravestone of the Day: Hannah Dodge

Hannah Dodge, 1773, Ipswich, MA

HERE lies Buried the

Body of Mrs.. HANNAH

DODGE, second amiable

Consort of CAPT: THOMAS

DODGE & 2d: Daugtr.. of Mr:

DANIEL STANIFORD; She de–

parted this Life Janr: 29th..

1773: In the 27th.. year

of her age.

Unblam'd through life lamanted in her end

A pleasant daughter, sister, wife, & friend.

Gravestone of the Day: Mary Soule

Mary Soule, Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleboro, MA, 1777

In Memory of Mrs

Mary Soule

Widow of Mr.

Zachariah Soule

of plymton who

Decd May ye 14th

1777 in ye 74th year

of her Age

This stone looks like  it was carved by a member of the Soule family. I'm not sure how Zachariah and Mary were related to the carvers, but it doesn't seem presumptuous to assume that there was some connection.

Gravestone of the Day: Katherine and Shem Drowne

Katherine and Shem Drowne, 1774, Copp's Hill, Boston, MA

HERE LIES BURIED

THE BODY OF

Mrs. KATHERINE DROWNE

WIFE TO

DEACON SHEM DROWNE

DAUGHTER OF THE LATE

TIMOTHY CLARKE ESQr.

& SARAH HIS WIFE
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE

APRIL 21st, 1754.

AGED 67 YEARS & 4 DAYS

The REMAINS

of

Deacon SHEM DROWNE

who departed this Life

JANUARY 13th:

1774.

AGED 90 YEARS

1 month & 9 days.

For if we beleive [sic] that JESUS

died & Rose again even so

them also who Sleep in Jesus,

will GOD bring with him.

I don't know why the carver decided to go with all caps on the left and a mix of upper and lower cases on the right. Since 20 years elapsed between the deaths of Katherine and Shem, it seems possible that the two sections of this stone may have been carved at different times.

Shem Drowne was a coppersmith/tinsmith in 18th-century Boston. He is best known for making the grasshopper weathervane for Faneuil Hall (1742). He made other weathervanes, too: the Indian Archer for the Province House (1716), a rooster for the First Church of Cambridge (1721), and the swallowtail banner for Old North Church (1740).

Gravestone of the Day: Susanna Quailes

Susanna Quailes, Groton, MA, 1775

Memento mori

Here lies ye Body

of Mrs: Susanna

Quailes wife of

Mr: Charles Quailes

who departed this

life Augt: 28th: 1775.

Aged 25 years, 9

mons: & 25 days.

Sign:

SUSANNA QUAILS

ONE OF COMPANY OF WOMEN

WHO CAPTURED A TORY

CARRYING DISPATCHES TO

BRITISH ARMY AT BOSTON

According to the Samuel Abbott Green transcription of Groton gravestones, local legend claimed that Susanna Quailes was one of the women who arrested Capt. Leonard Whiting in 1775. J.L. Bell of Boston 1775 wrote a series of posts about this alleged incident in August.

For no particular reason,
the Quails house:

Gravestone of the Day: Philomela Lawrence

Philomela Lawrence, 1775, Groton, MA

Here lies the

Body of Philomela

Lawrence Daughter

of Capt: Asa Lawrence

and Mrs: Abigail his

wife she was a 

Desierable Young

babe who died

Augt: 10th 1775 Aged

[10 months]

Gravestone of the Day: Peggy Quailes

Peggy Quailes, Groton, MA, 1775

Here lies the

Body of Peggy

Quailes Daughter 

of Mr: Charles

Quailes and Mrs:

Susanna his wife

who died Augt:

17th: 1775. Aged 17

months & 28 days

Gravestone of the Day: Oratio Gaits Lawrence

Oratio Gaits Lawrence, 1778, Groton, MA

Here lies

the Body of

Oratio Gaits

Lawrence (Son of

Capt. Asa Lawrence

& Mrs. Abigail his

wife) who died

Octr. 27th 1778 Aged 4

months & 16 days.

Fresh in ye morn ye sumer rose

hangs Wither'd ere its noon

We scarce injoy ye Balmy gift

But mourn ye Pleasure gone

Why should we look at original gravestones rather than relying exclusively on transcriptions? In most cases, there is an easy answer to that question — the transcription does not preserve the iconography present on the original. Other important aspects of the stone are also lost in transcription — type and quality of stone, size, position, proximity to other stones, etc. A photograph fills in some — but not all — of those holes.

But even with this stone, which has very little embellishment, a transcription would miss some intriguing details. For example, the original omission of the year implies that this stone may have been carved in late 1778 or early 1779, when the carver (or epitaph writer) when the year in question was so obvious that it slipped the writer's mind. That may be overthinking things — perhaps it was just a matter of an eye skipping a line — but it seems much easier to forget to specify the year for a recent event than a distant one.

Young Oratio's name also makes me wonder about the production of this stone. He was obviously named for General Horatio Gates, whose victory at the Battle of Saratoga in October of 1777 made him an American hero. Yet, the carver misspelled both names. Why? If he was working from a written order, the mistake may have originated with the family member or friend who composed the epitaph. If he was working from an oral order, he may have done his best to spell it phonetically. In either case, two things seem to be true: 1) the first try, beginning with "Or-" was not satisfactory and had to be gouged out, resulting in a second spelling that was still wrong, and 2) whoever came up with this spelling knew about Horatio Gates through oral sources, but may never have seen his name spelled correctly. Taken together, these clues indicate that people in Groton were talking about Horatio Gates, but they weren't all reading about him. Perhaps they heard his name when a newspaper was read aloud or when a minister prayed for military success.

Gravestone of the Day: Allin Brown

Allin Brown, 1778, North Burying Ground, Providence, RI

To the Memory of

Capt. ALLIN BROWN,

who was captured by a

British Ship and carried in

to the Harbor of Newport,

where he was infected

with the Small Pocks of

which he died May 4th,

1778: in the 57th Year of

his Age; and his Remains

were interred on the Neck.

This monument is erected

--- affection ---

Allen Brown was born on August 25, 1721 and grew up to be sheriff of Providence County and a pilot in Providence harbor. I haven't found too many details about his capture, but it looks like he was put in charge of a captured British ship during the war. The vessel was recaptured and Brown was imprisoned as mentioned on the gravestone. A report printed in the records of the Rhode Island Historical Society blames his death from smallpox on "the inhuman practice of confining the sick and well prisoners indiscriminately."

Gravestone of the Day: Daniel Manwaring

Daniel Manwaring, 1773, Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston, MA

In Memory of

Mr. DANIEL MANWARING

SHIPWRIGHT,

who died April ye 6th, 1773,

Aged 64 Years.

Here is another stone that notes the deceased's occupation.

Gravestone of the Day: John Blood

John Blood, 1770, Pepperell, MA

Memento mori

Here lies Buried the

Body of Mr. John Blood

who departed this Life

march ye 26th AD 1776 In the

63d year of his Age

Leaveing a Very sorrowfull widdow

and Children who mourns the

Loss of a kind tender & affectionate

Husband & father But not with

out Hope as he manifested

his desire to be absent from

the Body & Present with Jesus

Christ he Buried ten

Children & Left six

Gravestone of the Day: Abijah Fisk

Abijah Fisk, 1774, Grove Hill Cemetery, Waltham, MA

Here lies Buried

the Body of

Mr. ABIJAH FISK

who departed this life

June ye 25th, AD 1774;

in ye 45th Year of

his Age.

Come listen all unto this call,

Which GOD doth make to day,

For You must die as well as I,

And pass from hence away.

The Race is not to the Swift,

Nor the Battle to the Strong.

It cracks me up to see such a beautiful, elaborate stone with a line gouged out so inexpertly. What did that line say? Who chipped it out? I find it hard to imagine that a carver who applies such a light hand to "AD" would have sent a stone out of his shop with a line half-erased so roughly. It doesn't look like it said "departed" — I wonder if it was a piece of information that the family decided that they did not want included after they saw the finished stone.

Gravestone of the Day: Rhoda Sargeant

Rhoda Sargeant, 1774, Haverhill, MA

Mrs RHODA SARGEANT

CONSORT OF NATHLL

PEASLEE SARGEANT

ESQr DIED OCTr 9h

1774 IN THE 40h

YEAR OF HER AGE

THIS MONUMENT IS

ERECTED TO HER MEMORY

HERE THE WEARY

ARE AT REST
AND THE WICKED CEASES

FROM TROUBLEING

Is this an original stone or a reproduction? Something about it seems a little off, but I may just be unfamiliar with the carver.

Gravestone of the Day: David Marsh

David Marsh, 1777, Haverhill, MA

In Memory of Deacn

David Marsh who

Departed this

Life novemr. the

2d. 1777 and in

the 80th. year

of his age

Gravestone of the Day: Benjamin Chamberlin

Benjamin Chamberlin, 1778, Pepperell, MA

THIS MONUMENT

Is Erected in Memory of

Mr. Benjamin Chamberlin

who departed this Life

in the Continental Army

at Valleyforge in the

year 1778; In ye 17th

year of his Age.

He was ye Son of Mr. Phineas Chamberlin

and Mrs. Lydia his wife.