USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > Newport > Newport cemeteries > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
"Comely as Rachel. fruitful as Leah, Prudent as Abigail with Martha's care, Wise like Mary she chose that better part, True faith in Christ & had a Lydia's heart."
18
Another evidently passed through much suffering but was faithful unto the end for we read :
"Sharp were her pains, her trials long, Her faith was great, her patience strong. No murmuring thought disturbed her breast, What Jesus ordered she thought best."
The most elaborate epitaph placed by husband upon a wife's tomb is seen on a large flat slate stone, having the family coat of arms at the . top, and is as follows :
" Here lieth entombed The body of Abigail The wife of Mr. George Wanton Merchant of this Town. He being the eldest son of Col. Wm. Wanton She having been ye second daughter of Benj. Ellery Esq. Both of Newport. She changed this world for a better On the 12th Day of May 1726 In the 28th year of her age Having left five pledges of her love. Terras Astraea reliquit.
If tears alas ! could speak a Husband's woe
My verse would straight in plaintiff numbers flow ;
Or if so great a loss deplor'd in vain Could solace so my throbbing Heart from Pain Then Would I oh ! sad consolation chuse
To sooth my careless grief a Private Muse,
But since thy well known Piety demands A Public monument at thy George's Hands,
O Abigail I dedicate this Tomb to The Thou Dearest Half of Poor Forsaken me."
A simple marble stone in memory of Caroline, daughter of Asher Robbins, one of the prominent lawyers of earlier days, recalls her ser- vices in the cause of humanity in these words :
Gently, O Earth, receive this precious trust Until the resurrection of the Just. For lo ! there lies within this honored grave One of the first who rose to free the slave."
A low flat slab marks the grave of the " truly virtuous and beloved consort of Mr. Stephen Ayrault of Newpt Mercht " who died in 1754, aged 30 years.
"Having nigh reach'd the Term of her Blessed Saviour's Life and study'd to imitate His spotless Example Her extraordinary Goodness towards all
19
Her singular Dutifulness to her Parents Made Her belov'd of All. She was of an easy Conversation, Courteous to all yet strictly sincere, Humble without meanness, Beneficent without Ostentation, Devout without Superstition. Her soul thus adorn'd with Heavenly Graces She early resign'd to Heaven And her Body to this Tomb Where it now rests in Expectation of a glorious Resurrection To another and a better State."
The widow of Rev. James Searing, a pastor of the Congregational Church on Clarke street, lies buried beside her husband. She died, as the inscription records,
" having discharged with a conscience Void of Offence the christian social & relative duties of Life, her surviving Friends contemplate with Satisfaction her now enjoying the Recompence of Reward promised to the Righteous in a better World."
Another epitaph commemorating womanly virtues is found on the tombstone of " Martha wife of Robert Jenkins in Newport and daughter of Jahleel and Frances Brenton."
" Who in a loose and dissolute Age Through an uncommon Education and happy Turn of Mind was at First what Others seldom are at last A perfect mirrour of Domestic Life. But by God's All-wise Appointment Soon as she Open'd the Scene of a bright Example She clos'd it And from giving life to Another Gave up her own. She died 11th May 1757 aged 31 years."
Nearly a hundred years later in date, but of equal interest, is the following :
" IF A commendable deportment through a space of Eighty Two Years deserve the attempt of human Art to Perpetuate
20
this Monument will aid the design MRS. ELIZABETH MURPHEY on the 7th June 1853 fulfilled the mission of NATURE."
Side by side we find two similar stones, in memory of the two wives of Mr. Edward Stanhope The first inscription reads :
" RUAMY wife of Mr. Ed. Stanhope Cut down in Life in blooming youth so fair
The Parents joy, the Husband's consort dear Belov'd She liv'd and much lamented fell
She's gone to rest where Saints in Glory dwell."
While over the grave of Susan, the second wife, is written :
" Adieu blest shade. alas, too early fled Who knew thee living but laments thee dead, A soul so calm, so free from ev'ry stain, So try'd by fortune and unmov d by pain Without a groan, with agonies she strove Heav'n wondring snatch'd her to the joys above."
One of the oldest stones erected in memory of a woman is found just a few feet east of the Ward plat, to which reference has already been made. It is a low stone, with the simple inscription :
In the Ward Cranston Plat, Showing the Trebey Stone in the Distance.
" BETHIAH TREBEY THE WIFE OF PETER TREBEY AGED YEARS. DIED THE 1 DAY OF MAY 1675."
Another stone located just outside of the Ward plat, is erected to the memory of Heart, wife of Mr. Daniel Cass, who died Sept. 9, 1776. Although it has no historic connection, it is remarkable for its well preserved condition.
: Stone of Heart, wife of Daniel Cass-More Than 125 Years Old.
One epitaph praises the excellence of the departed in these words :
" How sweet the fragrance by a good name shed Around the relics of the virtuous dead It cheers the mourner when she stops to weep O'er the still grave in which those relics sleep."
Another shows a calm resignation to the will of God. " No word or tongue can e'er express The feeling of a troubled breast And if it could t'would not be best As GOD has called this child to rest."
22
In the old cemetery, quite near the junction of Walnut and Fare_ well streets, is a small marble shaft on a freestone base, " in memory of eighteen persons who perished by the wreck of Brig Sutledje from Pictou and were here interred, June 28, 1846 " Many of those now living remember the funeral procession as it wound its way through the streets to the burial place.
Monument to Victims of Wreck of Brig Sutledge.
Another monument arousing great interest is the marble stone " in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth T. Allen, the amiable and much lamented consort of Mr. Andrew V. Allen and all their beloved and promising children All of whom in their dwelling house were swept in the flood and drowned during the dreadful hurricane and high tide on the mem- orable 23d September 1815." The inscription continues : "The truly lamented wife and beloved mother was forewarned and previously pre- pared for death. The surviving husband and father has ordered this monument to perpetuate the memory of those that were most dear to him "
Let your tears flow o'er this silent urn But still with hope and moderation mourn."
There are several other monuments that cannot be passed over, because of their individual or historical interest, but as it has been somewhat difficult to classify them they will be given with little attempt at an orderly arrangement.
Two of the epitaphs are noticeable for their almost epigrammatic brevity :
" He lived the Friend of Man and Died in Friendship with his God."
" Stop reader stop and drop a tear Behold the noblest work of God Lies buried here."
Another is peculiar in its phrasing :
" She united an improved mind To great native sensibility And possessing a feeble constitution Lived under Divine Providence On the affection of her family."
A fourth calls for attention because of its age and the quaintness of spelling :
Here lyeth intered ye Body Of Noah Loyd Cittison & Drapr of London aged 74 years He departed this life Sept. ye 20th 1703
On one stone is a paraphase in verse of the familiar " Though lost to sight, to memory dear : "
"The face with pleasure view'd we view no more The voice with rapture heard no more we hear. Yet the lov'd features memory's eyes explore. Yet the lov'd accents fall on memory's ear."
A double slate stone marks the resting place of " Samuel Burroughs & Mary his wife, who both died in the faith. He on Oct. 21st 1801 aged 89 years. She Nov. 10, aged 79.
They were one in affection One in profession One in practice. One in joys and sorrows and in Death & the grave are not divided. Full sixty years they traveled hand in hand At length they found ye sought for happy land."
Few inscriptions in Latin are found on the monuments. On that that of Mr. Asher Robbins, formerly mentioned, is a long and elaborate Latin epitaph.
One other found reads as follows :
" Hic jacet Sarah charissima Uxor Nathanielis Newdigate Armigeri. Et filia Simonis Lynde nuper Boston Mercator. Obit 18 die Julii Anno Domini 1727. Anno Aetatis 55.
24
Stones of the Barker Family-Inserted as Pannels Between Wooden Posts ; Now Fallen to the Ground.
A most interesting Latin epitaph is one of the year 1751, on the flat slab "in memory of Mr. Jacob Dehane."
" Mors mortis morti mortem nisi morte dedisset Eternae Vitae janua clausa foret."
Below it are the following verses in English :
" Inexorable death has given the blow, And dead the Body lyes- entomb'd below
Come then grim Tyrant thou hast done thy worst
O'er lifeless clay triumphant thou mayst boast. But still tho mouldring here the Atom shant be lost. Destin'd hereto the Dust recluse must lye Ev'n till the glorious Resurrection day. How will it then exulting rise again And joyn the Soul with Jesus e'er to reign. No more to part with Choirs above they'll sing Eternall Anthems to the Heavenly King."
These verses, it will be noticed, form another example of the acros- tic epitaph.
25
The inscription in Latin on the tombstone of William Ellery, who died in 1764, which recounts at length his public services and private virtues, is also of interest :
I. S. Giulielmi Ellery Armigeri qui Collegii Harvardini! Nov. Ang. Optimarum artium studia olim excoluit Deinde per multos annos Variis mercaturae negotiis Opes non magis sibi honeste quaesivit quam Patriae inserviit et civium suffragiis Ad praeciperos hujusce celoniae honores erectus Judicis officio Senatoris et demum VICE-GUBERNATORIS functus est semper veri reetiq. tinax Christianus Fide et charitate vere Apostolica Libertatis, religiosae et civilis
Decus et Praesidium floruit. Hospitii muneribus gaudens
probos et honestos licet infortunatos Liberalitate et Benevolentia prosecutus est donec Vita utili et honesta jucunde peracta Ad sedes Aminorum eternas transivit Idibus Martiis Anno Salutis MDCCLXIV . Aetatis suae LXIII.
Over the grave of William Sanford, M. A., who "dyed April the 24 1721 aged nere 31 years," are these lines :
" Here lyeth Dust, that as we Trust United is to Christ Who will it Raise, the Lord to praise join'd to a Soul, now Blest With Holy Ones, plac'd on Bright Thrones Crown'd with eternal joyes In Heav'n to Sing, to God our King There Thankful Songs Alwayes."
Other quaint verses mark the burial place of Ann, the young daughter of James Franklin and Ann his wife, who died 1730 at the age of 2 years and 8 mo. On her stone we read :
" Death in Ten Thousand Shap's appears Regards no age nor promised wit reveres.
Nor present Beauty, yet could bribe his Hand
He strikes both when and where the Almighty gives command.
On the tombstone of George Whitehead, a native of Boston, Eng- land, are found these lines :
ยท " My trowel and hammer lies decline So does my rule and my line. My building is up my course is run My scaffold struck my work is done."
The following inscription is also of interest :
" Here lieth ye body of Thomas Seares Son of Lieut. Sylas Seares of Yarmouth P. C. and grandson of Richard the Pilgrim Born in 1664 and died Aug. 16, 1707 Aged 43 years.
Beneath this stone the empty casket lies The polished jewel brightens in the skies."
An Old-Time Stone (Seares).
27
Mention should also be made of the tomb of Dr. Isaac Senter, a physician of great prominence, who died in 1799. The inscription re- cords that "he was honored by the Medical society of the City of Lon- don and of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia with an admittance as a member of those very respectable Bodies and was repeatedly elected President of the Society of the Cincinnati."
The Rogers family enclosure is one of the interesting portions of the Old cemetery. Almost all of the stones in the plat are of the early half of the seventeenth century. That of Mr. John Rogers, who " died Aug Je 15 1 27 aged 59 years wanting 15 days " has upon it these lines :
" In his Redeemer's Arms he fell asleep Having resigned all for him to keep
Untill ye Resurrection morn be come When all ye Saints shall fully be brought home
To Christs Eternal Glory there to be With Saints and Angels to Eternitie."
Another of the stones in this enclosure has the following inscription:
" This Stone was erected by the Members of the Fellowship Club in Memory of their Brother Cap't JAMES ROGERS who departed this Life Augst ve 22 1776 in ye 63d Year of his Age."
The members of the Fellowship Club also erected, in another part of the cemetery, a stone "in memory of their Brother Capt John Cul- berson who died March 24 A. D. 1758 in ye 34 year of his age."
Mention may also be made of the following epitaph, noticeable for its marked individuality :
" In Memory of Mr Samuel Tennant Who on the night of the 26 Sept 1822 in the 21 year of his age fell an innocent Victim to the Vile Assassin Edmond Briggs."
The upper or northeast section of the Old cemetery was set apart as the burial ground for the slaves, and there are found many smaller stones in memory of the faithful servants of well known Newport fami- lies. Newport Redwood, Primus Gibbs, Neptune Sisson, Portsmouth
28
Cheeseborough and Cambridge Bull are some of the names seen on the stones. Most of the epitaphs are simple and give merely the names of servant and master and the date of death, as this one :
" In memory of Margaret Cranston Ser vant to Governor Cranston of Newport who departed th's Life May 15th 1779 aged 82 years."
On other stones there are tributes to the worth of these faithful servants from the attached families they served-" In memory of Phillis a beloved Pious & Trusty Servant of Oliver R. Warner "-for example.
One inscription is of sufficient interest to be given in full :
" Peter son of Peter Cranston & Phyllis his wife was Drowned Septr 7th 1775 to ye loss of his Parents & his Mr An Lopez."
Near this section of the ground is the simple stone marking the resting place of "the Duchess," as she was generally known, having on it the following inscription written by William E. Channing :
In Memory of Duchess Quamino a free Black of distinguished excellence : Intelligent, industrious Affectionate, honest and of Exemplary Piety Who deceased June 29, 1804, aged 65 years " Blest thy slumbers in this house of clay And bright thy rising to eternal day."
Whether, as was said, she was the daughter of an African king, is not certainly known. She was universally known and beloved in the town and remembered by many of the former generation as " the most celebrated cake baker in Rhode Island."
29
PART II.
Besides the Old or Common burying ground, there are in the very heart of the city several smaller cemeteries which were used by pri- vate families and the different religious denominations. All of these have monuments of great interest and furnish excellent evidence for reconstructing the political, social and religious life of early Newport.
JEWISH CEMETERY
The most widely known of these smaller burial places is the Jewish Cemetery on Touro street. Touched by the fire of a poet's tongue, it has become known to every schoolboy through the familiar lines :
" How strange it seems! These Hebrews in their graves, Close by the street of this fair seaport town,
Silent beside the never silent waves, At rest in all this moving up and down."
Down the Main Path
30
This ground was acquired in 1677 for the use of the Hebrews then resident in Newport. When the congregation was broken up by the removal of its members to other cities, the burial ground was allowed to fall into decay and neglect. In later years it was restored and in 1842 it was put in thorough order through the generosity of Judah Touro, who gave the present massive gateway and granite base and pillars supporting the iron railing.
There are now in the cemetery over 30 monuments, with inscrip- tions usually in Hebrew and English.
" The very names recorded here are strange, Of foreign accent and of different climes, Alvares and Rivera interchange
With Abraham and Jacob of old times."
It was explained by Rev. A. P. Mendes, in an address on the Jewish cemetery delivered before the Newport Historical Society in 1885, that every epitaph began or ended with the words " May his soul be bound in the bands of life," also that the Hebrew did not use the word "died" in an inscription, but chose some happier phrase, such as "liberated for Paradise," " departed to his eternal home," " removed to Paradise," or the like. The Hebrew inscriptions are re- stricted to the simplest, most concise statements of the death and age of the departed, but the English epitaphs often contain lengthy tributes to their private worth and social qualities. Even in the English epi- taphs dates are frequently given in the Hebrew chronology, and then translated into the corresponding years of the Christian era. (The writer is indebted to the address of Rev. Dr. Mendes for the transla- tion of the Hebrew inscriptions.)
The oldest stone found is that of Rachel Rodriquez Rivera, of the date 1761. It has an inscription in Spanish, followed by a translation in English. One of the most elaborate epitaphs is that on the monu- ment of "the aged and honored Mr. Abraham Rodrigues Rivera." Above the inscription is the Hebrew verse Genesis XXV : 8 (" And Abraham expired and died in a good old age") and beneath are eight lines of Hebrew verse.
On the stone of " Mr. Moses Lopez, merchant, who suddenly quitted this transitory life" in 1767, is the Scripture text, " Now the man Moses was exceeding meek," while on that of Mr. Aaron Lopez may be read " Hear, Lord, the voice of Aaron."
All is simple and dignified. Occasionally a phrase seems slightly ludicrous, as in the English epitaph on the "goodly young man " Abraham Minis : "This estimable young gentleman fell a victim in the bloom of life to the accidental fracture of a leg."
31
The monuments of the central group are those of the Touro family. One of these, a stone obelisk on a square pedestal, marks the resting place of Judah Touro's mother. On one side is an inscription in English, recording her age and the year of her death, while another side contains a tribute to Judah Touro's father, Isaac Touro, who was buried in Kingston, Jamaica. The most conspicuous monument is that of Judah Touro. Two of the four sides of the granite pedestal are inscribed in Hebrew and the other two in English. The tribute in English reads :
" The last of his name He inscribed it in the book of Philanthropy."
The Hebrew epitaph is as follows :
By righteousness and integrity he collected his wealth, In charity and for salvation he dispensed it.
Dr. Mendes says that ordinarily in Jewish cemeteries the date of death is expressed in a chronogram formed from some appropriate verse of Scripture, but that there is only one instance of this usage in the cemetery at Newport. On the tomb of Abraham Touro the date is expressed in the verse : " A good name is better than precious oint- ment and the day of death than the day of one's birth." Certain let- ters in the Hebrew verse are marked, and taken in their numerical value from the year of death.
TRINITY CHURCHYARD
Situated as it is, on one of the most public streets and close by the main entrance to the church, the graveyard of " old Trinity " is a familiar sight to residents and strangers. Although the monuments it contains are comparatively few in number, the names upon them are of more than ordinary interest and are associated with the leading events in Newport's early history.
On the left hand, just inside the gate, is the high slate slab in- scribed to " Nathaniel Kay, Esq, Collector of the King's Customs in Newport, whose spirit returned to God on the 14th day of April, A. D. 1734, after it had tabernacled here 59 years. He after an exem- plary life of Faith & Charity did by his last will at hisdeath found and largely endow two Charity schools in Newport & Bristol within his Collection." This stone was restored by the vestry of the church in 1865. On one side of the broad slab of slate are these words : " Join- ing to the south of this tomb lies Lucia Berkeley, daughter of Dean Berkeley, obit 5th Sept. 1731."
On the opposite side of the walk are stones in memory of Rev. James Honyman and his wife and only daughter. Rev. Mr. Honyman
32
was rector of the parish from 1704 to 1750, the year of his death.
A large block of granite marks the place where the Chevalier de Ternay was buried in 1780. Upon it is cut the following inscription :
Northeast Corner, Showing Grave of De Ternay.
Hoc sub lapide
anno MDCCCLXXIII Posito Jacet Carolus Ludovicus D'Arsac De Ternay anno MDCCLXXX Decessus Sub proximi templi porticum antiquum monumentum Restauratum et Protectum Translatum Est.
The monument in the vestibule of the church has an elaborate Latin inscription. It was erected in 1783 by "his most Christian majesty, the judge of virtue, in order that the memory of a distin- guished man should be consecrated to posterity." A French writer in speaking of the Chevalier de Ternay's death says : " He was buried in Newport in the cemetery of the Anabaptists, where Louis Philippe
33
at a later period caused a monument to be erected with an inscription which recalls all the services he rendered to France."
One of the oldest stones is in memory of Thomas Mallett, who died in 1704. The epitaph gives very briefly the date of death and age of the deceased and ends with the couplet :
" This motto all in one Idde express He was a Father to ye Fatherless."
Especially worthy of notice is the following : " Here Lyeth the Body of Doctor Frankland Morton Who departed this Life On the 25th day of July 1720 In the 34th year of his age. Mortuus en moneo.
Let all who read consider well in me
The trail condition of Mortality
Tho' young yet quell'd tho' vigorous outdone
Tho' in full Bloom yet Death the conquest non Not all my skill cou'd stay my parting Breath Ev'n Ratcliff's self submitted once to Death My flitting soul now covets mansions new Mortal I'm fled this World and so must you."
The Crowded Northwest Corner.
Two more stones of interest are those of " Mr. Robert Gardner, Esq., who was one of the first promoters of the church in this place. He served all his brethren and had the happiness to see this church com- pletely finished," and of Dr. William Hunter. Dr. Hunter in 1754 gave the first course of anatomical lectures delivered in America, and held a prominent position as a physician and surgeon.
CODDINGTON GROUND
The Coddington burial ground on Farewell and North Baptist streets contains the graves of several early governors of the Colony- Nicholas Easton, the two Coddingtons, Henry Bull and John Easton.
Governor Coddington's
The tall slate stone of William Coddington, Senior, bears the fol- lowing inscription :
" This monument
erected by the Town of Newport on the 12th day of May 1839 being the second Centeniel Anniversary of the settlement of this Town, to the memory of William Coddington, Esq. that illustrious man, who first purchased this
35
Island from the Narragansett Sachems, Canonicus and Miantunomo, for and on account of himself and Seventeen others his
associates in the purchase and settlement. He presided many years as chief magistrate of the Island and Colony of Rhode Island
and Died much respected and lamented on the Ist day of November 1678
aged 78 years and was here interred."
Close by this larger stone is a smaller dark slate stone, originally placed over Governor Coddington's grave, bearing the name and date of death. This simple inscription is contained within lines incised in the shape of a heart.
The low granite pillar in memory of Governor Bull has upon one side : " He was one of the eighteen original purchasers of this island who settled the town of Pocasset or Portsmouth in !638 and one of eight who settled the town of Newport in 1639."
CLARKE GROUND
On West Broadway, a little above Oak street, is a burial ground with the graves of several of the early pastors of the First Baptist
John Clarke's (second from the left).
.36
Church. The most important of these is the grave of John Clarke. the first pastor. Unico the ploin marble stone is the inscription :
Tothe memory of Drct John Clarke
one of the mrumal purchasers und proprietors of this island anil sie of the finders of the First Baptist Church in Newport its first Pastnesna Maninvent benefactor Howis in tive of Bedfordshire Eng and practitioner of Physic m Lun !n. He won bis associates rame to this Is ne from M . in March 1638 O. S. and on the 24 of the same month obtained a deed thereof from the Indians. He shortly after gatlere | the church affrestil and hecame its Pastor. In 1651 he with Roger Williams was sent t Enghard by the peuple if Rhode Island Colony to negotiate the business of the Colony with the British Ministry. Mr. C'arke w-s instrumetal in obtaining the Ch rter of 1663 from Charles II which secured to the people of the State free and full enjoyment of judgment and conscience in matters of religion. He remained in England to watch over the interests of the Colony until 1664 and then returned to Newport and resumed the pastoral care of his church Mr. Clarke and Mr. Williams two Fathers of the Colony strenuously and fearlessly maintained that none but Jesus Christ had authority over the affairs of conscience. He died April 20, 1676, in the 66 year of his age and is here interred This monument was erected by his Trustees March 1840."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.