Reuben and Meriam Hunt

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 and second son born to his parents. He died on February 18, 1777. His parents reused the name when the next boy was born to them in 1783.

Meriam was born on September 9, 1781 and died a week and a half later on either Seotember 19 (as the gravestone states) or September 20 (as the vital records state). She was the seventh child in her family.

Reuben Hunt

Meriam Hunt

The gravestones of Reuben and Meriam were carved by the Park family of nearby Groton, MA probably in the mid-1780s. Most of the Park-carved gravestones for children in this time period look alike. Infant and child mortality was quite high, so gravestones for children were always in demand, and carvers made use of templates to make production of these hand-carved memorials faster to create. Clothing for girls generally has closed outer clothing with a collar while clothing for boys has an open cloak or jacket that revealed buttons and buttonholes on the waistcoat underneath. There are numerous exceptions, so this is more of a guideline than an actual gender identification rule. Just like today, parents buy the things that they prefer and can afford rather than completely stick to convention.

Both of these gravestones, and that of their parents and many of their siblings, can be found in Old Hill Burying Ground in Concord, MA.