USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground : with historical sketches, March 1, 1882 > Part 8
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1 Boston Pub. Lib., 7063.9.
' Boston Pub. Lib., 7063.5.
8 On Interments within the Populous Parts of the City of New York, 1806.
4 Documents and Facts showing the Fatal Effects of Interments in Populous Cities. Boston Publio Library Medical Pamphlets, 11.
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ment in Cities,"1 which to this day is an authority on the subject. An ordinance was passed prohibiting interments within the city of New York, but remained inoperative for a long time. The establishment of Greenwood Cemetery in 1842, and since then of other rural cemeteries, led to the gradual discontinuance of the old burying-grounds, and now interments within the limits of the city are prohibited by law.
The regulation of the interment of the dead in Boston was vested in the selectmen until 1809, when by vote of the town it was transferred to the Board of Health. In 1797 an act (C. 16, 1797) was passed, authorizing towns and dis- tricts to appoint a Health Committee, consisting of not less than five nor more than nine persons. This is probably the origin of Boards of Health in this Commonwealth. At a meeting of the town, December 5, 1798, the representatives were directed to apply to the General Court for a Board of Health. In 1799 an act was passed repealing so much of the Act of 1797 as related to the Town of Boston, and pro- viding for the election by the people of a Board of Health, consisting of one member from each ward of the town. This Board, however, had nothing to do with the burial of the dead, until, as before stated, it was transferred to them by vote of the town in 1809. At a meeting of the selectmen, January 17, 1810, a communication was received from the Board of Health, expressing their willingness to accept the care of the burying-grounds. The first printed regulations of the Board are dated May 7, 1810. They divided the burying-grounds and cemeteries into three districts, viz. : the North District, comprising the North Burying-ground and Christ Church Cemetery ; the Middle District, compris- ing the Granary and Chapel Burying-grounds and Chapel and Trinity Church Cemeteries ; South District, comprising the Central and South Burying-grounds. A superintendent was appointed over each district. The superintendents were required to cause tombs which were opened between the 1st of July and 30th of September to be closed and pointed with lime within twenty-four hours after the deposit of bodies therein ; to cause at least three bushels of lime to be slaked in each cemetery on the 1st and 15th days of July, August, and September. The top of any coffin was not al- lowed to be placed within three feet of the surface of the ground. The bottom of the first coffin placed in any grave must be at least eight feet from the surface of the ground: The regulations further declared that after the first of the fol- lowing July (1810) the old part of the North Burying-ground,
1 Boston Public Library Medical Pamphlets, 18.
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(except for the interment of people of color) and the whole of the Central Burying-ground, should be closed, and con- tinue closed for ten years. Minute regulations were pre- scribed for the conduct of funerals, etc.
These regulations were continued, with slight changes, until the abolition of the Board of Health, in 1824.
The city charter provided that power and authority vested by law in the Board of Health should be transferred to the City Council, "to be carried into execution by the appoint- ment of Health Commissioners, or in such other manner as the health, cleanliness, comfort, and order of the said city may in their judgment require." Soon after the inaugura- tion of the City Government a Board of Temporary Health Commissioners was appointed (May 3, 1822). A con- flict of authority soon arose between the Board of Health and the City Council, which continued until May 31, 1824, when an ordinance was passed abolishing the Board and vesting the duties in a Commissioner of Health and Superintendent of Burial-Ground and Cemeteries, acting under the direction of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. All matters relating to the interment of the dead were placed in charge of the said Superintendent. As no new regulations were adopted at that time, it is presumed that the old regulations continued in force until December 25, 1826, when an ordinance relat- ing to the subject of interring the dead was passed. The rules prescribed by this ordinance differed but little from those previously in force. The seventh section provided that the Central, Chapel, and Granary Burying-grounds should be so far closed that no new graves should be opened or dug therein, nor tombs built, until the further order of the Mayor and Aldermen ; and that the old part of the North Burying-ground should be so far closed that no new graves should be opened or dug therein. Permission might be obtained from the Mayor and Aldermen to build tombs in the new part of the North Burying-ground and in the South Burying-ground. No graves or tombs could be opened from the 1st day of June to the 1st day of October, except for the purpose of interring the dead, without permission of the Mayor and Aldermen.
The burying-grounds and cemeteries remained in charge of the Mayor and Aldermen until the organization of the Board of Health, in 1872. In 1849 the office of Super- intendent of Burial-grounds and Cemeteries was abolished and that of City Registrar created. An ordinance passed August 20, 1850, provided that no graves shall be opened or dug in any of the burying-grounds in the city, excepting at East Boston and South Boston, unless by permission of
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the Mayor and Aldermen, or the City Registrar. By ordi- nance of Oct. 14, 1869, the exception in favor of East and South Boston was removed. The present regulations in regard to the interment of the dead will be found on pages 413 to 417, inclusive, of the edition of laws and ordi- nances for 1876.
The first burial-place in Boston was what is now known as the King's Chapel Burying-ground, and the first interment therein was made in 1630. For thirty years it was the only burial-place in the town. In 1660 a lot of land on Charter and Snowhill streets was purchased and set apart for a burying-ground, and in the same year another burying- ground was established on the Common, which then extended as far north as Beacon street. The first lot referred to was the beginning of what is now called Copp's Hill Burying- ground, then known as the North Burying-ground. The lot on the Common was known as the South Burying-ground until about 1737, when it began to be called the Granary Burying-ground, because the old Granary building was removed that year from its former location to the present site of the Park-street Church, marking the southern termi- nation of the burying-ground. In 1660 the town ordered that the old burying-ground should be " wholly deserted for a season, and the new places appointed for burying only made use of." In 1708-9 and in 1711 additional land was purchased for the enlargement of the North Burying-ground. In 1810 the new North Burying-ground was established on land adjoining the old ground. In 1819 thirty-four tombs were built by Hon. Charles Wells, in a small yard adjoining the old ground, and called the Charter-street Burying-ground. The division fences between the two last-named lots and the old ground have been removed, and it is to all appearances one burying-ground. In 1832 a row of tombs was erected in what was called the Hull-street Cemetery, bordering on the north-west side of the old ground. This cemetery was discontinued in 1853, and the remains were removed to Mount Hope Cemetery in 1861.
The South Burying-ground was sometimes called the Com- mon Burying-ground, from its location, and sometimes the Middle Burying-ground, because it was situated in the mid- dle burial district, Copp's Hill forming the north, and the Boylston-street Burying-ground the south. It is, however, better known as the Granary Burying-ground. Originally the graves were only made at the westerly and northerly part of the yard. The oldest tombs were built near the back part of the yard, and, with the contiguous graves, occupy about one-quarter of the burial-ground.
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On the 15th of May, 1717, a vote was passed by the townsmen, " to enlarge the South Burying-ground by taking in part of the highway on the easterly side thereof, so as that thereby ye said highway be not thereby too much strait- ened."
On the 19th of April, 1719, it was " Ordered, That the South burying-place should be enlarged next the Common or training-field." Under this last vote fifteen tombs were built near the extreme south-west corner of the yard, and extended in a line on the south side.
In 1722 six tombs were built on the same line, extending easterly. The other tombs on the southerly side, fifteen in number, were built during the years 1723, 1724, and 1725 ; the first thirty on the easterly side, in the years 1726, 1727, and 1728, and the northerly thirteen in 1736. Of those on the northerly side, the first five were built in 1738, and the remaining twenty-six in 1810, and twenty-six were built on the westerly side during the same and next three years. There are sixty other tombs within the yard, which do not border upon either of its sides, one of which belongs to the city. In one respect the selection of the site for this ceme- tery was particularly unfortunate. The soil was springy and exceedingly damp, and, therefore, required drainage. It is said that when Judge Sullivan, at the close of the last century, repaired the Bellingham tomb, he found the coffin and remains of the old governor - who died on the 7th December, 1672 - floating around in the ancient vault.
The fourth burying-ground in point of antiquity was the Quaker burying-ground, situated on Congress street. It was established in 1709, and was discontinued in 1815. In 1826, by permission of the Board of Aldermen, the remains were exhumed and conveyed to Lynn, excepting the bodies of two persons, which were deposited in King's Chapel Ceme- tery.
In 1740 the selectmen received a petition from John Chambers and others, grave-diggers, representing " that the Old and South burying-places are so filled with dead bodies, they are obliged, ofttimes, to bury them four deep, praying it may be laid before the town for their consideration." This caused the town authorities to look for a new burial-place ; but it was not until 1754 that a location was decided upon. On the 11th of October of that year the town voted to pur- chase a pasture at the foot of the Common, and in 1756 the purchase was consummated. Here was established the South Burying-ground, afterwards known as the Common Burying- ground until 1810, when, in consequence of the establish- ment of the burial-place on Washington street, it was des-
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ignated as the Central Burying-ground. The first interments in this lot were made in graves. The first tomb was erected in 1793, as far as can be ascertained. From this time until 1800 a few were built each year. In 1801, 2, and 3, a large number were built. Boylston street then formed one boun- dary of the lot, but in 1839 two rows of tombs on that side were discontinued, and the Boylston-street mall laid out. Tombs were built on the westerly side, to compensate for those which were discontinued.
In 1795 a committee was appointed by the town to con- sider the subject of the burying-grounds at large, and to report on some suitable place of deposit for the dead, in order that the town may be enabled to discontinue the open- ing of graves in the Common and Chapel Burying-grounds, The committee reported on the 6th of November, 1795. that, " having consulted the physicians of the town, they find it to be, in their opinion, that the health of the inhabi- tants is in danger from the crowded state of these grounds, and the exhalations which must frequently arise from open- ing graves therein. In addition to which, they find it is almost impossible to open new graves without disturbing the relics of the dead already interred. From an equal regard to health, for a decent respect for the living and the dead, they recommend to the inhabitants to adopt the following measures :
"First. That no graves or new tombs shall be opened or built in either the Common or Chapel Burying-ground, after the first day of May next.
"Second. As the South Burying-ground is already suffi- ciently large for the present accommodation of the inhabitants, and will admit of such enlargement, that the Selectmen be empowered to allot to any inhabitant who may apply for the same, sufficient ground for erecting a tomb in the ground, and to enlarge the said South Burying-ground in a direction westerly whenever the public convenience shall in their judg- ment require it.
"Third. Inasmuch as in remarkably inclement weather it may be inconvenient for funerals to proceed to the South Burying-ground, that the selectmen cause to be erected under the vestry-room of the stone chapel, or in some other part of the Chapel Burying-ground, a vault or tomb suitable for temporary deposit, in which any of the inhabitants who may ineline thereto shall have the right to deposit the bodies of their deceased friends or relatives, for a term of time not exceeding twenty-four hours ( unless in particular cases), by permission of the selectmen, until it may be convenient for them to remove such bodies to the place of final interment."
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The report was accepted by the town.
The South Burying-ground, on Washington street, was opened for burials in 1810. It was formerly the location of the gallows, and culprits were generally buried in deep graves within the cemetery, near the place of their execution. A large portion of it was marshy, and consequently wet, and hardly fit for purposes of sepulture. Until 1827 inter- ments were made in graves. In that year tombs were first built at the sides of the yard, and from year to year others were erected, until the number amounted to one hundred and sixty-two. In 1837 a large quantity of proper soil was carted upon it, and the surface graded. In 1866 the tombs on the northerly side were discontinued, and a strip of land ceded to an abutter on that side for yard-room, and another portion for a hotel.
In addition to these burying-grounds there have been five cemeteries built beneath church edifices in the city proper. That under Christ Church, Salem street, contains thirty- three tombs. Interments were made here very soon after the erection of the church, in 1723. The first Trinity Church, a wooden building, consecrated in 1735, contained twenty-five tombs. The new church, consecrated in 1829., and destroyed by fire November 9, 1872, contained fifty-five tombs. After the fire the remains were removed by the friends and families of the deceased.
The original King's Chapel, erected about 1688, contained several tombs, but the exact number is not known. The present building, erected iu 1749-50, contained twenty tombs in the basement, and a large vault, called the stranger's tomb, under the tower.
St. Paul's Church contains sixty-four tombs. In December, 1822, the proprietors of St. Paul's petitioned for leave to use the cellar of the building for interring the dead, giving as a reason that, having erected the church at great expense, they had incurred a debt, from which they could not be re- lieved unless their prayer was granted. Formal permission was granted September 1, 1823, and the cemetery has been in use since that time. By chapter 28, Acts of the year 1879, further interment in these tombs was prohibited, and preparations are being made to remove the remains to another resting-place.1
In January, 1823, the proprietors of Park-street Church petitioned the City Council for leave to erect tombs under their church, and the petition was granted. Thirty tombs were built. In 1862 the cemetery was discontinued, and the
1 This historical sketch of the burying-grounds and cemeteries of Boston is compiled mainly from Shurtleff's Topographical Description of Boston. Boston, 1871. Boston Pub. Lib., 4451.20.
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remains removed to Mount Auburn and deposited in a lot purchased by the society for the purpose.
In June, 1823, the proprietors of Bromfield-street Church petitioned for a like privilege. This drew the attention of the City Council to the subject, and the petition was referred to a committee, of which the Mayor, Josiah Quincy, was chairman, to consider the expediency of granting such a right. This committee reported adversely to the petitioners, in a very able report, which may be found in Volume 1 of the City Records. In concluding their report the committee recommended the prohibition of the erection of new tombs within the ancient peninsula of Boston; the adoption of measures ultimately tending to exclude all burials hereafter within the peninsula, and devising methods for applying the only perfect and satisfactory remedy, by adopting some com- mon place of burial for all the inhabitants ; selected, if pos- sible, beyond the limits of the city, but certainly beyond the limits of the peninsula, of an extent sufficient to meet the future exigencies of the population. The resolutions embodying these recommendations were adopted by the City Council.
Interments, however, continued to be made in the several burying-grounds, although from time to time vigorous pro- tests against the practice appeared in the public prints. In 1831 Mount Auburn Cemetery was established, and this in some degree met the wants of the constantly increasing population of the city. The records of the city are silent upon the subject until 1847, when the following appears in the inaugural gddress of the Mayor (Josiah Quincy, Jr. ) : -
Another subject which demands your attention is the burial of the dead in the city. There are reasons connected both with health and the natural feelings of man that have caused almost all large cities to forbid interments within their limits, except under particular circumstances. In our own no burials are made in graves. There are in the city, in- cluding one at South Boston, not used, nine burial-places, containing nine hundred and thirty-three tombs. There are six churches with cemeteries below them, containing two hundred and seventy-nine tombs, making in all one thousand two hundred and twelve tombs. As it respects tombs owned by families I would suggest the propriety of preventing any bodies being deposited in them excepting members of the family, and of fixing a time after which no interments whatever should be made. As to the tombs belonging to undertakers and others, where bodies are deposited on the payment of a fee, and where it has been the practice after a few years to remove the remains to make way for others, and thus render them a source of constant income, I recommend that it be ordained that these and all tombs, when once filled, shall be closed forever. This is due to the health and feelings of the living, and to the respect due to the dead. This may in time render it necessary to pro- vide burial-places out of the city, which by charging a small fee for the rights of sepulchre, could be done without expense to the city, and
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would at least enable the poor man, when he died, to feel that his dust was to rest in a quiet grave.
In 1849 Mayor Bigelow, in his inaugural address, refer- ring to a threatened visitation of the cholera, says :-
In this connection, I would renew the suggestions of my honored predecessor in reference to burials within the limits of our dense popu- lation. Upon this point of economical regulation we are entirely behind the age. The average annual number of deaths for some years has exceeded three thousand five hundred. Making all allowances for interments in Mount Auburn, and other suburban cemeteries, there cannot be much less than two thousand human bodies annually con- signed to their rest within the boundaries of Boston, - all deposited in tombs. Such an amount of accumulating decomposition cannot but tend, in some degree, to impair the purity of the atmosphere; and the evil, as our population increases, will daily become more serious. It cannot be doubted that a desirable burial lot may be obtained at no great distance from Boston, and in the vicinity of some of our numerous rail- roads, which would furnish ample facilities for conveyance of funeral trains. The example of the enlightened city of Roxbury,1 in this respect, is worthy of our imitation. For a lot, similar to that recently consecrated there, the expense would be inconsiderable, and would soon be liquidated by charging a small fee for the right of sepulture.
The committee to whom this address was referred reported in April, 1849, recommending the passage of an ordinance, prohibiting burials in any part of South Boston north of Dorchester and east of Seventh streets, excepting in the tombs of Saint Matthew's Church. Appended to this report are the depositions of several persons in regard to the dan- gerous condition of one of the burying-grounds in South Boston.2
This committee afterwards obtained the passage of an act (chap. 150, 1849), authorizing the City of Boston to estab- lish a public cemetery in any town in the Commonwealth (the consent of the town to be first obtained), and to make and establish all suitable rules, orders, and regulations for the interment of the dead therein.
On the 27th of September, 1849, this committee reported that they had obtained this act, and recommended the passage of an order, authorizing them to purchase a suitable lot of land, without the limits of the city, at an expense not exceeding $25,000.
The committee again reported, on the 11th of October, 1849,3 giving their views of a plan for a cemetery, and urging the passage of the order which they had previously offered. The committee say : "The committee believe it to be con-
1 Alluding to the establishment by Roxbury of Forest Hill Cemetery.
2 City Document No. 28, 1849.
8 City Document No. 51, 1849.
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ceded by all, that no more interments should take place within the limits of the City of Boston, . the rea- sons for which must be obvious. The increasing growth of our population, the limited amount of soil pos- sessed by us, the evidences, furnished by all preceding gen- erations, of the poisonous nature of the decomposing matter of human bodies, all conspire to render this a fixed fact."
The committee quote an article which appeared in the London " Times " of December 29, 1848, on intramural inter- ments, which says : "This subject is incomparably painful and revolting, but it is, at the same time, of such importance to the health of the community, that it must be enforced upon the public attention again and again. Any measure for the health of the metropolis, which shall not include as one of its principal features an absolute veto upon intramural interments, will be incomplete and ineffective. Let no one deceive himself with the idea that, however fortunately he may be placed, he is preserved from the danger of infection from this source."
The committee express their firm conviction, that the voice of reason and Christianity both call aloud and demand of the City Government the immediate passage of a law which shall close, at once and forever, the burial-grounds, as well as all other places of interment, within the city limits.
During the following December the same committee made another report, giving the results of their endeavors to secure a suitable lot for a cemetery.1 A list of the lots which they examined is given, and they recommend the pur- chase of a lot in Malden. They again urge the passage of the order making the appropriation.
The subject was finally referred to the next City Govern- ment.
In his inaugural address for 1850, Mayor Bigelow again alluded to the subject, as follows : -
I would again call the attention of the City Council to the necessity of making early and adequate provision, beyond the boundaries of the city, for the burial of the dead. Every one of our cemeteries is already full, to an extent which, to a greater or less degree, is prejudicial to the public health. Indeed, during the prevalence of the epidemic it became necessary to disuse several of our burying-grounds, not really on account of offensive exhalations, but for want of actual space for addi- tional interments. This state of things is discreditable to Boston, and is inconsistent with a due regard to the safety of its citizens. It may easily be remedied without involving any very large expenditure.
This part of the address was referred to a special com- mittee, who were also requested to examine existing ordi-
1 City Document No. 59, 1849.
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nances, and see what amendments were necessary. The committee reported 11th of December, 1850.1 The report gives the number of burials in the city for 1849 (1,479) and ten months of 1850 (689). The burials in the city proper were mostly in family tombs, and the committee do not think that the public good requires, or that public opinion would sanction, the passage of an ordinance by which all in- terments in family tombs would be prohibited. The statistics of each year indicate that the number of interments in tombs is annually decreasing ; a few years will show a more marked decrease than during the past five years. It is a matter of congratulation that a subject of this nature can be safely left to the gradual, but sure and potent, influence of a correct public sentiment ; and that, by the silent operation of agen- cies which now engage public attention, many of the evils attending the use of tombs in our city will be corrected without the interference of stringent municipal regulations. The enormous abuses which have been brought to the public notice by the recent investigation of the subject of intramu- ral burials in England, can never, it is thought, exist in this country. The idea that the revolting and terrible scenes which have been officially authenticated before the proper authorities in England, in relation to the burial of the dead, can ever occur in New England, is an insult alike to the nat- ural feelings, and to the moral sense of our population. There is no similarity in the condition of the two communi- ties in relation to the subject of the burial of the dead, and the popular sentiment and legislative action which have recently taken place in England are not applicable to this country, particularly to a city like Boston.
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