Gravestones of Old New England 1653 - 1800

Gravestones of Old New England Almost all were for or by Puritans There were numerous carvers Some Well Documented Others Unknown Various Styles and Symbolism

Gravestones of Old New England Materials used : Slate (Some over 300 years old) Schist (Rough-textured and vein-laden stone) Sandstone (Often Flakes and Delaminates) Marble (Not Yet, Predominantly 19th Century)

Slate • Metamorphosed shale, hard and brittle • Usually black, gray or blue • Sometimes fades with time • Extremely smooth, fine-grained stone with even bedding planes usually running parallel with the stone’s face • Holds carving very well, inscriptions usually very clear • Uniform surface appearance • Gravestones tend to be thin and simple in shape, generally not more than six inches

Gravestones of Old New England Some Symbols Used: Coffins Urns Imps of Death Tree of life Geometric Rosettes Skulls and Crossed Bones Angels Winged Effigies (Skulls and Faces)

Early Stones 1672 Old Burying Ground Cambridge, Mass. Phipps St. Burial Ground Charlestown, Mass. 25 July 1671 1673

Typical Shape

Letters Used SARAH PRESCOTT HVR BLAS ED SOVL ASSANDED UP TO HEA VEN IULY 17 DAY 1709 The letters I-J and U-V. Translated (Sarah Prescott Her blessed soul ascended up to heaven, July 17 day, 1709.) Lancaster, Massachusetts

“Thistle Carver” William Young of Tatnuck, Mass. Old Center St. Burial Ground Auburn, Mass

“Thistle Carver” William Young of Tatnuck, Mass. South Burying Ground, Oxford, Mass Old Center St. Burial Ground, Auburn, Mass

Damaged Marker Showing Colored Layers in the Slate South Burying Ground, Billerica, Mass.

Various Skull and Winged Effigies Granary Burial Ground Boston, Mass.

Skull and Bones Mrs. Salley May d: 1787 Granary Burial Ground, Boston, Mass. Benjamin Parker d:1769

Skull and Winged Effigies 1690 1713 Granary Burial Ground Boston, Mass.

Skull and Winged Effigies Granary Burial Ground, Boston, Mass.

Skull and Winged Effigies Granary Burial Ground Boston, Mass.

Imps of Death Old Burying Ground Cambridge, Mass. Carved by Joseph Lamson of Charlestown, Mass.

Imps of Death Old Burying Ground, Watertown, Mass. Carved by Joseph Lamson of Charlestown, Mass.

Three Children – One Family “Here lies the children of Martha and John Cutler” Phipps Street Burial Ground, Charlestown, Mass. Marker Carved by “The Stone Cutter of Boston”

Schist/Sandstone Examples Old Burying Ground, Ipswich, Mass. Carved by “Ipswich Carver”

Geometric Designs Old Common Burial Ground, Marlboro, Mass. Carved by Jonathan Worcester of Harvard, Mass.

Trumpeting Angel Arise Ye Dead (Backwards) South Burying Ground, Billerica, Mass.

Portrait – Head Replaces Skull Old Burial Ground, Northboro, Mass. Carved by James Wilder of Lancaster, Mass.

Portrait: Head Replaces Skull Effigy Old Burying Ground, Watertown, Mass. Carved by Ebenezer Howard of Newton/Marlboro, Mass.

Portrait: Head Replaces Skull Effigy Old Burying Ground Ipswich, Mass.

Portrait: Head Replaces Skull Effigy Old Burying Ground Northboro, Mass.

Tree of Life & Urn

Lichens Georgetown, Mass

Searching for Gravesites www.Interment.net www.findagrave.com/ US GenWeb Tombstone Project http://africanamericancemeteries.com/ Search for specific cemeteries, people, projects

National Cemetery Administration US Veterans Gravesite Locator http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.

Last Words Cynthia Stevens 1742 – 1776 Hollis, New Hampshire: Cynthia Stevens 1742 – 1776 Here lies Cynthia, Stevens’ wife, She lived six years in calm and strife. Death came at last and set her free, I was glad and so was she.