The gravestone of Rev. Thomas Jones Rev. Jones was born in Dorchester, MA on April 20, 1721, the son of Ebenezer and Waitstill (Davenport) Jones. He went to Harvard College and graduated in 1741. Rev. Jones was installed as the Minister of the Second Parish of Woburn in 1751. Very shortly after, a dozen people left his church to become members of the Church of England. It is said that while his sermons were not very exciting he was a practical and faithful minister to his pa

Reuben and Meriam were children of Lt. Reuben and Mrs. Rebeckah (Barrett) Hunt. Both were born in Concord, MA. Reuben and Rebeckah were married by the Reverend William Emerson in Concord on January 4, 1770. They had eleven children together over their 26-year marriage. Lt. Reuben served during the American Revolution as a volunteer militiaman in John Buttrick's Company. He was also a town Selectman from 1797-1801. Reuben the son was born on March 16, 1774, the third child

Captain John Virgin, mariner and trader of Plymouth, MA

Mary was born to Captain William and Mrs. Abigail (Kendall) Reed in Lexington, MA on April 8, 1695. Both of her parents were originally from Woburn, MA and among the earliest white settlers in the town, arriving around 1685. They made their home in the northern part of the town on the road to Bedford. The Reed family was very prominent and influential in town affairs. On April 8, 1714 she married John Stone. The Stone family came from Cambridge, and was another of Lexington'

Patience was born on January 2, 1733 to Benjamin and Elizabeth (Winslow) Marston in Salem, MA. Her mother was originally from Marshfield, MA, and was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Edward Winslow. Her father was a Harvard graduate, and a very prominent man in Salem. He served as High Sheriff of Essex County and later as a Justice and Judge. Patience was the third of her parents' seven children. In the She married merchant Elkanah Watson of Plymouth, MA on October 19, 1

Martha was born in around 1746 into a family with the surname of Clark. She married Dr. Peter Green in Hopkinton, MA on July 27, 1769. They had filed their intentions on May 28. Martha died during childbirth on June 8, 1770. Her husband remarried in 1773 and moved to Concord, NH. He named his eldest daughter Martha in his first wife's honor, and she lived to be 68. She rests with her stillborn babe at her side in Harvard Center Cemetery in Harvard, MA. Her gravestone was ca

Deacons in Colonial New England not ordained in the way ministers were, but were highly respected and influential in their communities. Deacons oversaw many of the civil and day-to-day tasks of the church in addition to being lay ministers. Many were from one of the town's founding families.

All hale and healthy men in New England between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to be in the local militia company. There was no standing army in the colonial era, and men were expected to be ready to defend their community from any threat. The leader of the militia was chosen by the men themselves, and he was usually part of a prominent family.

Wealthy and/or influential men might choose to memorialize a beloved child lost with a gravestone portrait.

Wealthy and/or influential men might choose to memorialize a beloved woman in his family with a gravestone portrait.

Wealthy and/or influential men or their family might choose to have them memorialized with a gravestone portrait.

Ministers in New England during the Colonial Era were highly educated and leaders in their community. They had the resources to purchased large grave markers to show off their status and taste.

Reverend Grindal Rawson 1658-1715 Mendon, MA

Reverend Ebenezer Bridge 1714-1792 Chelmsford, MA

Reverend Samuel Ruggles 1681-1749 Billerica, MA

Samuel Mason 1761-1776 Son of Col. David Mason Lexington, MA

Deacon Jonas Stone 1710-1790 Lexington, MA

Rebeckah Muzzy 1724-1771 Wife of Mr. John Muzzy Lexington, MA

Lieutenant Ebenezer Fisk 1692-1775 Lexington, MA

Deacon Simon Hunt 1704-1790 Concord, MA