Trip to Newton Cemetary

When Mom and Dad came through on their way back from Virginia, we visited the old burial ground in Newton, MA. I had previously found a listing of those buried there and cross-referenced it with a strand of our family tree (Snow line) who had lived in Newton. I found about 12 ancestors buried in the cemetary. So we spent Thursday morning finding as many of the headstones as we could. In the end we found all of the ancestors listed but one. I took photos of all the headstones/markers we found. I've included a few here, but if anyone wants more for their records or whatever, just let me know.

This is the First Settlers' Monument. Listed are appr. 20 of the founding men of Newton. Included are three of our ancestors: Richard Park, James Trowbridge, and John Ward.


This is the stone of Ensign (note the interesting Olde New England style "s" on the tombstone) Richard Park. The "Ensign" is presumably in the British infantry. His father was a Lieutenant, presumably also in the British infantry. I'm not sure what action the infantry would have seen during this time period, as the French and Indian War didn't spark until 1754. The headstone itself is fairly indicative of all the stones, the edging and text being pretty similar among all of the gravestones. Also noticable is the Puritan "death's head," which was the most common headstone adornment of the era. The cross was eschewed as being too "papist" and so the early Puritan settlers used the death's head to symbolize the shortness of life, the fearfulness of the tomb, and the constant possibility of eternal damnation.

Anyway, it was a nice morning. Calvin accompanied me and Mom and Dad, while Bryn, Ivy and Cami went swimming. We told Calvin we were going for a walk in the park. When we'd finished he turned to me and said, "Dad, now can we go for a walk somewhere fun?" So we took him to the playground on the way home, which he seemed to enjoy much, much more.