BK0013

“Early graveyards abound with historical information this is often found nowhere else. The gravestones contain records of people and ideas that are unique as well as informative. Unfortunately, many gravestones are abused by weather and neglect. When the information they contain is no longer legible, it is lost forever. Several years ago, we found many of the gravestones in Newport’s oldest cemetery were becoming difficult to read. Some were missing from the 1995 documentation led by Andrew L. Andrews. When we decided to document the remaining stones in order to preserve their information, to our delight, we also embarked on an adventure with some of the most interesting individuals in early Newport history.

This book contains the history of the Pine Street West Cemetery, in use most actively from 1770 through the 1820’s. When used in conjunction with the formal documentation we conducted of each gravestone, housed at the Richards Free Library, it preserves and makes available a small part of Newport’s earliest history.

Also included in this book is information about funeral customs, the diseases that caused many early deaths and interesting facts about some of the people interred in the graveyard.

Another fascinating aspect of gravestone study is the story of the men who carved the stones and the symbols that adorn them. Included here is information about Pine Street West’s three identified stone carvers.

Variant spelling of names and archaic words have been recorded as they appear in the source information. For example, Stewart appears as Steward, Stueart and Stewart. To illustrate the information on gravestone images, we have chosen the clearest available images. Each image is identified with its position in the cemetery by quadrant number, the name of the interred, and the date of death: C1 Silvander Woodward 1813.

This book is lovingly created to preserve the memory of the people buried in Pine Street West. Sometimes their stories made us laugh, sometimes cry and sometimes just ponder a question. We hope you enjoy their stories too.

We thank the New Hampshire Old Gravestone Association for providing guidance on how to conduct the documentation in a consistent and orderly manner. Our thanks also go to Mary Dexter for teaching us about stone carver Jonas Stewart and his work. We especially thank our families, who for two years put up with the many hours we spent at the graveyard doing what we truly enjoy: remembering and preserving history.

Brenda J. Curtis and Mary Lou McGuire

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