Gravestone Portraits of Ministers

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Gravestone portraits in the 18th and early 19th centuries were not generally intended to be an exact likeness of the deceased. Their function was to demonstrate to the viewer the taste and status of the deceased. They were not at all common until the 1750s.

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 Ebenezer Bridge

Forefathers' Burial Ground

Chelmsford, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1790s

Reverend Grindal Rawson

Old Cemetery

Mendon, MA

Carved by William Codner

c. 1740s

Reverend John Chandler

Old South Burying Ground

Billerica, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1750s

Reverend Nathan Holt, AM

Old South Cemetery

Peabody, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1790s

Reverend Samuel Ruggles

Old South Burying Ground

Billerica, MA

Carved by the Parks

c.1750s

Reverend Thomas Jones

Second Parish Burial Ground

Burlington, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1770s

Reverend William Whitwell

Old Burial Hill

Marblehead, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1780s

Reverend Jonathan Pierpont

Old Burying Ground

Wakefield, MA

Carved by the Lamsons

c. 1710s

Reverend Silas Bigelow

Center Cemetery

Paxton, MA

Carved by William Young

c. 1770s

Reverend Daniel Johnson

Central Cemetery

Harvard, MA

Carved by the Parks

c. 1770s

Reverend Joseph Buckminster

Old Burial Ground

Rutland, MA

Carved by the Parks?

c. 1790s

Reverend David Macgregore

Forest Hill Cemetery

East Derry, NH

Carved by the Parks

c. 1770s