Capt. Edward Hutchinson

Oldest Grave in Marlborough
Capt. Edward Hutchinson

Last year, I posted a mini story about this gravestone because I thought it was so interesting. Here is that post. There is a larger version of the photo there too.

Evidently, Spring Hill Cemetery is "dated" by this gravestone to 1675 where this gravestone indicates his burial. "Shot by Treacherous Indians" is a pretty grim message to put on this slate gravestone so I went in search of more information about this man. This is the first link that I found last year, when I took this photo. 

As you can see by the above clip that was in Franklin P. Rice's 1908 inscriptions of Marlborough Cemeteries that this gravestone was once a "thick and short" one of that period. 

Probably fearing that it would be stolen, it looks like the town dug it up and embedded it in this rock. The part below the real carving was once underground and the DAR chapter, who probably paid for the embedding in the rock, put their name and the date that it was placed there.

Many graveyards have recorded burials like this but no marker can be found that matches the name, so this is a fairly rare find.

Stephen and John Rice

Brothers At Rest

With so many men with the same surname, I was not sure about which Benjamin Rice was the father of these two sons. I decided to take both gravestone photos and worry about it when I had researched the boys.

Stephen's gravestone is so beautiful and it is another Rice gravestone that is in the Farber gravestone collection. Because at 19, he died as an unmarried adult, his gravestone is larger than the little brother, John, who died two years prior. Poor Susanna.

She was Susanna WEEKS and she and her husband are buried in the Brigham Cemetery which I have not yet visited. I was surprised that they are not buried with their sons but she was 82 when she died and maybe no one remembered where her sons were buried. To be so close by and not buried with them seems cruel.

Elizabeth WARD

Elizabeth WARD, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

I love knowing that Elizabeth's gravestone is an original stone because Elizabeth died in 1700. Although it is aging and the mounting of it onto the granite monument is deteriorating, this is a great find for any gravestone lover especially when you can connect it to your family. (Elizabeth's maiden name is not known which is sad for all the descendants)

The Marlborough Cemetery inscription book states:

 
However this gravestone is not a field stone because it has shape to it.  Nice of them to tell me there's a footstone which gives further evidence to this being a headstone. It does say E. W. 1700.

 Many footstones in New England are NOT where they should be so sometimes you have to look around for them.

 

Original Headstone Plaque

Original Headstone Plaque, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Below the plaque on the front side of the Ward monument is this tiny matching plaque next to Deacon William Ward's wife.

It reads "original headstone". That is great news for any New England gravestone hunter.

Erected 1923

Erected 1923, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

On the reserve side of the granite monument for the plaque of Deacon William WARD is this matching plaque which reads:

Erected 1923 by Artemus WARD of the Seventh Generation.

I returned to the Marborough Cemetery Inscriptions book and looked for any mention of this plaque and the one on the reverse side. The book is copyrighted 1908. I found no mention of it so we can be reasonable sure that this plaque's date is correct.

It pays to photograph everything on all sides of a grave. You never know what you are going to have to use for evidence.

Zelotes WHITCOMB

Zelotes WHITCOMB, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Tombstone Tuesday

 This headstone sits all alone at the Spring Hill Cemetery
in Marlborough, MA.

Zelotes should be remembered for his service to our country.
 Mass Soldiers and Sailors tell us this! Could there be two men with this name?
 

William WARD

William WARD, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

 Deacon William WARD was one of hubs 8th great grandparents. According to the reference below (on page 58) he was buried here at Spring Hill Cemetery and when his wife (his second) died in 1700, she was buried here too. His great-grandson erected this stone for him as apparently he had no marker.

The William Ward Genealogy
Ancestry.com. The William Ward genealogy : the history of the descendants of William Ward of Sudbury, Mass., 1639-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.
Original data: Martyn, Charles,. The William Ward genealogy : the history of the descendants of William Ward of Sudbury, Mass., 1639-1925. New York: Artemas Ward, 1925.

Ward Monument

Ward Monument, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

This is the monument we went to this cemetery to see. It was more interesting than I expected.

George W. WALKER

 George WALKER and his first wife Abigail Harriet ARNOLD were the parents of Angeline Sophia Walker, second wife of Abraham HYDE. Although she is not directly related to my husband, Angeline raised Abraham's children after Elener/Eleanor PARMENTER died. She went on to have more children with him. I must applaud her!

Yesterday, I tried to find all of George W. Walker's wives. Apparently there were 4 of them! His second wife Elizabeth is buried here but I didn't take a photo of her stone. I can't find out who wife number 3 is. Wife #4's marriage record will be a post for another day.

Edward Hutchinson's Gravestone

Capt. Edward Hutchinson
 Killed During King Phillip's War
 

I certainly was surprised to find that the actual gravestone of 1675 did not look like the photo in the Marlborough Cemeteries book. 

It seems that the DAR Chapter listed on it must have "rescued" it around 1921. 

As you can see the original top part (which was above ground) seems intact and the part below the year, that used to be below ground must have been cleaned and the DAR chapter and date inscribed on it. 

Then, they embedded it in the rock and put it back in the cemetery. 

This Web page reports that Edward's mother was the Anne Hutchingon that was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay colony. The story of Captain Edward Hutchinson is widely known and there is a page about him authored by by John Buczek. (Wikipedia page)

Oldest Gravestone in Spring Hill Cemetery

Note the date on the photograph: November 6, 1906!

Compare this View

Looking North, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Compare this view of the Spring Hill Cemetery found in the Marlborough Inscriptions book to the photos I took of the overall cemetery. Do you see the Tablestone as it looked in 1908?

I don't often have the opportunity to see cemetery photos taken in the past but I just love it when I do!

Spring Hill Cemetery Overview

Spring Hill Cemetery Overview

I took several photos of the cemetery as an overview. The top one shows how hilly this ancient burying ground and how great the foliage looks at the perimeter. The bottom photo shows the oldest section (where many people of the RICE and WILLIAMS surname are located. Notice the table stone (it looks like a regular gravestone with legs).

Because I research any graveyard I visit BEFORE I get in the car, you will remember that I blogged about the Marlborough Cemetery transcriptions ebook a couple weeks back. This is the first page of the book as written by Franklin P. Rice in 1908. I quickly looked up Hudson's History of Marlborough as referenced here:

As you read, here, the gravestone of Captain Hutchinson is the oldest in the cemetery and is dated 1675. As this is quite early even for a New England gravestone, I decided to see if I could find it. Another valuable piece of information is the mention of early records being "missing".

Steep Hill at the Entrance

Steep Hill at the Entrance, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

 Spring Hill Cemetery in Marlborough, MA

This is the view from just inside the gate. 

Up ahead are the burial vaults. I was already out of breath from the steep hill.

The cemetery crew was cutting the grass but we stayed in the section they had finished. No one bothered us so I started taking photos. 

We walked right up to my husband's ancestors as I had already checked Find a Grave for what the monument looked like. 

Having the cemetery transcription in an out of copyright book is going to make this a fun research (and easy) adventure.

 

Spring Hill Cemetery 1675

Spring Hill Cemetery 1675, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Oldest cemetery in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts

This burying ground is a New England cemetery for the textbooks. Hard to drive to, no where to park, steep hill and oh, yes, uneven ground and sink holes.

I love it. I can't wait to go back.