King's Chapel Burying Ground

Welcome back, scholars, to the hallowed and complex terrain of King's Chapel Burying Ground. In our previous exploration of this space, we focused heavily on the macro-narratives: the grand tension between Puritan founders and…

We direct our attention first to the memorial of a man whose historical legacy was entirely eclipsed by a more famous peer. Before you is the marker for William Dawes Junior, born April sixth, seventeen forty-five, and departed…

Let us venture slightly off the main pathway to examine a marker adorned with a distinct bronze placard. This is the resting place of Captain Robert Keayne, who died on the twenty-third of March, sixteen fifty-five. …

We now approach a stone that sits squarely at the intersection of historical documentation and American literary mythology. Behind a protective chain-link fence lies the headstone of Elizabeth Pain, inscribed: 'Here lies the body…

As we continue our analytical survey, let us examine a prime example of changing funerary aesthetics: the double headstone of M. Abraham Howell, who died on February twelfth, seventeen forty. …

We move now to examine two distinct stones that beautifully illustrate the poetic and didactic nature of colonial epitaphs. First, observe the marker for James Foster, bearing the date December twenty-second, seventeen…

For our final section in this detailed analysis, we must address the physical vulnerability of the burying ground itself. As you survey the site, you will notice stones that are completely sheared off at the base, propped up…

As we conclude this microscopic, text-based exploration of King's Chapel Burying Ground, I ask you to take one last look at the sea of slate. We have moved beyond the broad strokes of colonial history to examine the specific…