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: William Almy

William Almy, 1724, NCBG, Newport, RI

Here lieth the

body of William

Almy the Son of

Christopher and

Elizabeth Almy

who Died August

the 17th: 1724: in

the 10th: Month

of his Age.

Boobs.

Gravestone of the Day: Susanna S. Druce

Susanna S. Druce, 1803, Wrentham, MA

Sacred

to the memory of

Susanna S. Druce

Daughter of Mr

Samuel and Mrs

Hepzi Druce)

who Died Feb. 8th

1803.

AEtatis 9 Months

and 28 Days.

Horst von Oppenfeld

Horst von Oppenfeld

Pete's great-uncle Horst passed away recently at the age of 97. He led a strange and wonderful life, and his biography may be of some interest to history buffs.

Gravestone of the Day: Louisa Tucker

Louisa Tucker, 1821, Sheldonville, MA

In memory of

LOUISA, daughter

of Mr. Whipple Tucker

& Mrs. Susanna his wife;

died June 5, 1821. Aged

13 Years & 6 months.

Gravestone of the Day: Joseph Mixer

Joseph Mixer, 1723, Grove Hill Cemetery, Waltham, MA

Here Lyes Buried

ye Body of Deacon

JOSEPH MIXER;

Who Decd. Decembr.

ye 10th, 1723 in ye

50th Year of His Age.

Blessed are ye Dead, that Die in ye Lord.

Gravestone of the Day: Thomas Dorril Hasey

Thomas Dorril Hasey, 1741, NCBG, Newport, RI

In Memory of

Thos. Dorril Hasey

Son of Jacob &

Johannah Hasey,

died Septm: ye 9th:

1741: Aged 1 Year

& 9 Weeks.

I found this stone when I was going through my pictures to look for early examples of New Englanders with middle names. Johannah Hasey's middle name was Eggerton, but either she or Jacob may have been related to a Dorril family — I haven't found much evidence one way or another.

Gravestone of the Day: Fanny Whitney Ayer

Fanny Whitney Ayer, 1806, Haverhill, MA

Fanny Whitney Ayer,

adopted daughter of

George W. &

Priscilla Ayer,

died Dec. 17th 1806,

aged 21 months.

Here lies the fairest bud of hope

That e're to fondest wish was given

If thou would'st know its happier state

Repent & seek the flower in heaven.

Gravestone of the Day: Priscilla Tinkham

Priscilla Tinkham, 1739, Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleboro, MA

HERE LYES ye

BODY OF PRISCILLA

TINKHAM WIFE TO

SHUBEAL TINKHAM
WHO DIED JULY

ye 11th 1739

In ye 45th YEAR

OF HER AGE

Gravestone of the Day: William Coddington

William Coddington, 1688, North Baptist Burial Ground, Newport, RI

HERE LYETH BVRYED

Ye BODY OF WILLIAM

CODDINGTON IVN AGED

37 YEARS DEPARTED

THIS LIFE Ye 4 DAY

OF FEBRVARY

1688

Here is an early Boston-area stone in Newport.

Gravestone of the Day: Hepzibah Heaton

Hepzibah Heaton, 1797, Sheldonville, MA

In Memory

of Miss.

Hepzibah Heaton;

who died May

ye 21st, 1797.

in ye 38th year

[of her age.]

I love an alliterative name. Sadly, I don't think Pete would go for Hepzibah Hopkins.

Also, I was very taken with this soul effigy's scowling little face.

Gravestone of the Day: Jose Appleton

Jose Appleton, 1723?, Cambridge, MA

Here Lyes ye Body

of Jose Appleton,

Son of Revd Mr.

Nath[aniel Appleton]

I think that this is the gravestone of Jose Appleton, infant son of Nathaniel and Margaret Appleton, who died at the age of 3 months on June 6, 1723. Revd. Nathaniel Appleton was born in Ipswich in 1693 and came to Cambridge to preach. His wife, Margaret Gibbs, was the daughter of Watertown minister Henry Gibbs. The couple had at least 13 children.

There were several boys named Jose in the extended Appleton family in the 17th and 18th centuries. There is a Jose in the lineage of Jesus (see Luke 3:29, KJV) — many modern translation report the name as "Joshua." Other translations use Jose or Joses as a variant of Joseph. I imagine that the Appleton family probably pronounced this name JOES, not ho-SAY.

Just add Jose to the list of names you might not expect to see among English-speaking colonists in New England, along with Vashti and Jezebel.

Gravestone of the Day: Charlot Whitney

Charlot Whitney, 1802, Wrentham, MA

In memory of Charlot

Whitney Daughter of

Moses Whitney Esqr.

& Mrs Nancy his wife

who Died March 4th,

1802 in ye 5th month

of her Age.

Happy infant early blest

Rest in peaceful slumber rest,

Early rescu'd from the cares

Which increase with growing years.

Thanksgiving Dinner With the Marstons

As I reported yesterday, Charles Pratt Marston (Jan. 1775-Oct. 1775) was born into a family with sterling Whig credentials.

While conducting genealogical research on the Marston/Greenwood family, I came across an obscure family history that reproduces a letter written c. 1830 by Charles' eldest brother, John Marston, Jr. (b. 1756), to his cousin, Ann Harrod Adams, the wife of Thomas Boylston Adams. A longer version of the letter appears in a genealogy of the Treat family, but I have not yet been able to trace it back to an original document.

The letter recounts a Thanksgiving dinner at the Marston house that occurred c. 1766, when John was about 10 years old. There is an awful lot of specific detail for a child to have remembered 60 years later, but it seems plausible that John could have described the furnishings of his childhood home with reasonable accuracy. Similarly, he would have been familiar with his own relatives and his father's regular associates, so I think we can take this letter as evidence that the Marstons were socially connected with the people mentioned by John, even if I'm not 100% sure that they were all present at this particular event.

John wrote,

Gravestone of the Day: Joseph Peirce

Joseph Peirce, 1747, Grove Hill Cemetery, Waltham, MA

Here lyes ye Remains of Mr.

JOSEPH PEIRCE Who lived & served

his Generation by ye will of God Till ye

73d Year of his Age & then died Augst ye 29

1747 & was laid to his Fathers & saw corruption

& died in Hopes of a Glorious Resurrection

He Constantly did work He Earnest did Intreat

And then He Constantly did go & at Gods House did meet

To Here what God ye Lord would unto him Impart

& then He did Return again Rejoyceing in his heart

What an awkward epitaph.

The Littlest Martyr

Charles Pratt Marston, 1775, Burlington, MA

Like Lydia Dyar, Charles Pratt Marston died as an exile from Boston during the siege of 1775-6. Though he was only nine months old when he died, Marston was buried under an impressive monument that cast him as a casualty of British aggression. I have written about young Charles' gravestone before, but have only recently begun to flesh out his story.

Gravestone of the Day: Mary Martin

Mary Martin, 1705, North Baptist Burial Ground, Newport, RI

HERE LIETH THE

BODY OF MARY;

Ye WIFE OF IOSEPH

MARTIN; AGED 80

YEARS: WHO DIED

ON SEPTEM Ye

1705

 This stone is obviously in rough shape. I found it propped up against a stone wall at the back of the North Baptist Burial Ground in Newport, but I don't know whether it is still there.

First Day of School!

Today is the first day of school, both at Harvard and in my hometown school district. I am on maternity leave and am neither teaching nor taking any classes, but I still had an anxiety dream last night about forgetting my homework.