“The cold dark grave - there is no care,
               No pain nor gloom,
               Within the tomb;
     The wicked cease from troubling there."

     "IT is wise for us to recur to the history of our ancestors. Those who do not look upon themselves as a link connecting the post with the future, in the transmission of life from their ancestors to their posterity - do not perform their duty to the world. To be faithful to ourselves, we must keep our ancestors and posterity within reach und grasp of our thoughts and affections - living in the memory and retrospection of the past, and hoping with affection and care for those who are to come after us. We are true to ourselves only when we act with becoming pride for the blood we inherit, and which we are to transmit to those who shall soon fill our places." So wrote Daniel Webster, and who will not subscribe to its truthfulness and wisdom? No apology is needed for the introduction of an extended notice of the burial-places of Lynn, for such consecrated grounds always possess a touching interest - to the old, because there lie the departed kindred and friends of earlier years; to the young, because there they see, fast gathering around, the loved ones from the broken household and the charmed circle of glad companionship. In those often-shunned retreats lie those who have made the history of the place; and who could be more worthy than they of grateful remembrance?

     One of the first objects in commencing a settlement was to select a suitable place for the burial of the dead, as all realize that such a place will surely be needed, whatever other seeming necessities may be dispensed with. True, the dead would rest just as quiclly by the stony wayside or in the weedy bog, as in a flowery bed or beneath a marble monument; but to the sorrowing kindred there is something repugnant in thinking of them as resting in a dreary, uncared-for spot. The Indians, even, had great regard for the remains of their departed ancestors; and woe betide the daring enemy who would desecrate the rude necropolis upon the sunny hillside.

     But yet with what different feelings do the living think of the last resting-place they are destined to occupy. Some would lie in a sequestered spot, where the soothing dirge of sighing trees is ever heard; some would lie on the ocean shore, where the spent waves murmur a ceaseless lament; some would lie in the art-adorned cemetery, whither the steps of pensive wanderers may tend at thoughtful hours; some would lie in the centre of the busy life they loved so well, but which no longer can disturb or charm; and some would have their mortal remains dissolved in the crucible of cremation. Says John Anster:

     "If I might choose where my tired limbs shall lie

     When my task here is done, the oak's green crest

     Shall rise above my grave - a little mound

     Raised in some cheerful village cemetery.

     And I could wish that with unceasing sound

     A lonely mountain rill was murmuring by

     In music through the long soft twilight hour.

     And let the hand of her whom I love best best

     Plant round the bright, green grave those fragrant flowers

     In whose deep bells the wild bee loves to rest.

     And should the robin from some neighboring tree

     Pour his enchanted song - Oh ! softly tread,

     For sure if aught of earth can soothe the dead,

     He still must love that pensive melody."

     And then our own Lewis pleadingly enjoins:

     "O, bury me not In the dark old woods,

        Where the sunbeams never shine;

     Where mingles the mist of the mountain floods

        With the dew of the dismal pine !

     But bury me deep by the bright blue sea,

        I have loved in life so well;

     Where the winds may come to my spirit free,

        And the sound of the ocean shell.

     "O, bury me not in the churchyard old.

        In the slime of the doleful tomb !

     Where my bones may be thrust, ere their life is cold,

        To the damp of a drearier gloom !

     But bury me deep by the bright blue sea.

        Where the friends whom I love have been;

     Where the sun may shine on the grass turf free,

        And the rains keep it ever green ! "

     And thus sings Beattie:

     "Let vanity adorn the marble tomb

     With trophies, rhymes, and scutcheons of renown:

     Mine be the breezy hill that skirts the down;

        Where a green grassy turf is all I crave

     With here and there a violet bestrown,

        Fast by a brook or fountain's murmuring wave;

        And many an evening sun shine sweetly on my grave."

     The early settlers, with most unaccountable irreverence, had little regard for the resting-places of their dead, often allowing rank weeds and brambles to flourish, and wandering animals to roam at will over the reserved acres. Whittier alludes to this in these touching lines:

     "Our vales are sweet with fern and rose,

        Our hills are maple-crowned;

     But not from them our fathers chose

        The village burylng-ground.

     "The dreariest spot in all the land

        To death they set apart;

     With scanty grace from Nature's hand,

        And none from that of art."

     But these later generations of their children have in a measure atoned for their strange remissncss by consecrating beautiful cemeteries, in which sometimes appear monuments so costly and decorative that the mind is liable to be led from meditation on the virtues of those they commemorate to admiration of them as works of art or disapprobation of them as monuments of ostentation und extravagance.

     THE OLD BURYING-GROUND of Lynn is in the westerly part of the city. It is not known with certainty when the first interments were made there. The stones are no certain index, for the oldest one bears the date 1698, and multitudes must have been buried there before that time. There rest the early fathers and mothers of the place, and many whose talents and virtuous deeds made them conspicuous in their own day and generation.

     The first burial in this ancient place, so far as is certainly known, was in 1637, when the remains of John Bancroft, ancestor of the distinguished historian and statesman, George Bancroft, were laid there. And it was on the 1st of April, 1687, that the remains of Thomas Newhall, the first white person born in Lynn, was buried there, He had died at the age of fifty-seven years. The oldest stone bears this inscription : "Here lyeth ye body of John Clifford. Died June ye 17, 1698, in ye 68 year of his age." The figure nine, by some sacrilegious intruder, was, eighty years ago, altered in a rough way, so as to resemble two, and that has led some to the erroneous belief that there was a burial here as early as 1628.
     For some two centuries no complete record of interments here seems to have been kept, but since the law required, the town and city clerks have been faithful in recording.

     Mr. John T. Moulton, a worthy native, a few years since had all the inscriptions copied and published in the Peabody Institute Collections, - a labor of love for which he is deserving of the highest commendation.

     A few of the epitaphs in this ancient gathering-place of the dead will be given; but it will be borne in mind that it very often happens that the name of one of the most worthy and useful is not so perpetuated, while that of another, whose memory elicits no sentiment of reverence, is blazoned on a pompous monument. It should be borne in mind, too, that many, inspired by ardent love for their native place, were overtaken by the fell destroyer when far away, never again to meet those of their generation till the sea gives up her dead.

     Churchyard lore is not usually very refined in diction, however tender in sentiment, and the simple, unlettered record is sometimes more touching than the studied and stately. But a countless multitude, of whose names even there is no record, are there at rest, among them, perhaps, " some mute, inglorious Milton," or some heroic Washington. Certainly a host of the godly men and women of the early days are sleeping there, to be aroused only at the last trumpet's sound; and theirs must be the brightest dreams, should dreams come in that night ot centuries.

          "Sure the last end
Of the good man is peace. How calm his exit !
Night dews fall not more gently on the ground
Nor weary, worn-out winds expire so soft."

     The few epitaphs for which space can be afforded in this connection will, for convenience, be arranged alphabetically.

     “In memory of Rev. Thomas F. Alexander, pastor of the Second Christian Church in Lynn, who died April 2, 1838, aged 23 years.

     “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. – Ps. 116, 15.

     "O Church ! to whom this youth was dear,

     The angel of thy mercy here,

        Behold the path he trod.

     A milky-way through midnight skies;

     Behold the grave in which he lies;

     Even from this day thy Pastor cries

        Prepare to meet thy God."

     Few ever had the capacity to so win the esteem of the young people of his generation as did this youthful clergyman. He possessed uncommon talents and an uncommonly felicitous way of expressing his views and convictions. He mingled freely with those of all denominations, was neither bigoted nor heterodox, and his early death was deeply felt as a serious loss to the community.

     "In memory of Mr. Zachariah Atwill, who died November 6, 1836. Aet. 81.

     "Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."

     Mr. Atwill was a Revolutionary soldier. At one time he lived in the ancient house that stood on the centre of the Common, a little west of the pond, but now stands on the easterly side of Whiting Street and which is the oldest building in Lynn of which the date of erection is positively known. It was built in 1682 for the residence of the parish sexton. Mr. Atwill kept the almshouse for many years before its removal, in 1819, from the corner of Essex and Chestnut Streets to Tower Hill. A son of his, Zachariah, Jr., was a sea captain, and, it is said, crossed the Atlantic some fifty times without the loss of a seaman.

     "Here lyes ye body of Mr. Thomas Baker, who died October ye 3d 1734, aged 81 years."

     Mr. Baker was drafted November 13, 1675, to serve in King Philip's War, and was in the Narragansett fight. In 1694 he was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, and is spoken of more at large in other pages of this sketch.

     "In memory of Amos Ballard (son of Mr. John Ballard, of Boston), who was deprived of his life by the accidental discharge of a musket in a canoe in Lynn River, on the 25th of August, 1798. AEtat 77.

     "The grave hath eloquence, its lectures teach

     In silence louder than divines can preach;

     Hear what It says, ye sons of folly, hear;

     It speaks to you; lend an attentive ear."

     “In memory of Mr. Josiah Breed, who died December 12, 1790, in the 59th year of his age.

     "Death is a debt to nature due;

     Which I have paid, and so must you."

"Here lyes buried ye body of Doct Henry Burchsted, a Silesian, who died Septbr xx, Anno Christi, MDCCXXI. AEtatis Suae LXIIII.

     "Silesia to New England sent this man.

     To do their all that any healer can,

     But he who conquered all diseases must 
     Find one who throws him down into the dust 
     A chymist near to an adeptist come, 
     Leaves here, thrown by his caput mortuum 
     Reader, physicians die as others do; 
     Prepare, for thou to this art hastening too."

"My wldow'd mother,
My only earthly friend,
Erected this monument
To tell each traveller.
Who looks this way,
That underneath this stone
Rests the ashes of her only son,
Josiah Burrage, who died Dec. 13^th, 1797,
Aged 21 years. 
     Oft do we see the tender bud of hope. 
     Opening its beauties to the morning light, 
     When lo! a frost cuts down the tender plant, 
     And levels all our prospects with the dust."

     "Here lyes buried the body of the Honorable John Burrill, Esq, who died Decembr 10^th Anno Christi, MDCCXXI. AEtatis LXIV.

"Alas ! our patron’s dead ! the country – court -
The church - in tears, all echo the report;
Grieved that no piety, no mastering sense,

No counsel, gravity, no eloquence,
No generous temper, gravitating to
Those honors, which they did upon him throw,
Could stay his fate, or their dear Burrill save
From a contagious sickness and the grave,
The adjacent towns this loss reluctant bear,
But widowed Lynn sustains the greatest share:
Yet joys in being guardian of his dust
Until the resurrection of the just."

     The residence of Mr. Burrill was on the western slope of Tower Hill, and there he died, leaving no children. The "contagious sickness" which proved fatal was small-pox. He was well known throughout the province, was much in public life, and sustained a high reputation as a legislator. He was ten years Speaker of the House, and greatly respected for his ability and urbanity in conducting public business. 
 

     "In memory of Mr. Thomas Cheever, a soldier of the Revolution, who died Jan. 28, 1823, AEt. 90.

“Receive, O earth, his faded form,
In thy cold bosom let it lie,
Safe let it rest from every storm,
Soon must it rise, no more to die."

     "The Rev. Joshua W. Downing, A. M. Died July 15, 1839, aged 26.”

     Mr. Downing was one of Lynn's most promising young men. He was a son of Elijah Downing, a cabinet-maker, who lived on North Common Street, corner of Park. He graduated at Brown University, and at first intended to pursue the profession of law, but becoming converted, he joined the Methodist Conference, and soon became one of the most acceptable preachers in the denomination, insomuch that at the time of his decease he was in charge of one of the oldest and most opulent churches of the order in New England, - the Bromfield Street Church, in Boston."

“This monument is inscribed to the memory of John Flagg, Esq., in whom remarkable temperance, uniform prudence, unaffected modesty, affectionate humanity and diffusive benevolence shone conspicuous among the virtues which graced his character, endeared him to his family and friends, and secured him the respect and love of all who had the happiness to know him.

     "As a physician, his skill was eminent, and his practice extensive and successful.

     “To Death, whose triumph he had so often delayed and repelled, but could not entirely prevent, he at last himself submitted on the 27th of My, 1793, in the 50th year of his age.

"Heav'n now repays his virtues and his deeds,

And endless life the stroke of death succeeds."

     Dr. Flagg graduated at Cambridge in 1761, and eight years after settled as a physician in Lynn, where he soon, by his integrity, affability and skill, won the esteem and confidence of all. He was active and patriotic during the trying Revolutionary period, was a member of the Committee of Safety in 1775, and commissioned as a colonel. Dr. James Gardner, for many years a public-spirited and highly-respected practitioner here, married his only daughter. Dr. Flagg lived at the eastern end of Marion Street, in the same house in which the famous merchant, William Gray, was born some twenty years before.

"George Gray, the Lynn Hermit, a native of Scotland, died at Lynn, Feb. 28, 1848, aged 78 years."

     This eccentric individual lived alone for many years in what was, at tbe time of his appearance, a retired and forlorn retreat, little better than a brambly bog, though near a public road. Further notice of him appears elsewhere.

“This monument is erected to the memory of Mr. Samuel Hart, son of Mr. Joseph & Eunlce Hart. Obt. July 18, 1802, AEt. 24.

     " Farewell to friends, to science & to time,

     God bids me leave you all, though in my prime,

     Parents, mourn not, though I'm the fourth young son

     That God hath called, he still doth leave you one,

     Grieve not for me, but for the living grieve,

     'Tis they who die, it is the dead who live."

     The writer of this sketch well remembers hearing in early childhood, a sister of the deceased often speak in the most affectionate terms of his lovely character, especially of his amiability. He seems to have been ambitious of leaving tbe toilsome occupation of farmer, and preparing for usefulness in some learned profession, and was a student - in Harvard College, it is believed - at the time of his death. The family greatly mourned his loss, and the whole neighborhood partook in the sorrow. The epitaph refers to three brothers who had gone before him, leaving him the last but one of all the sons of the stricken parents. The epitaphs of these three follow, and they are all uncommonly impressive in sentiment and tenderly expressed:

     "Sacred to the memory of Joseph & Burrill Hart, Obt. Nov. 15th & Dec. 8th, 1786, Aet. 18 & 11 years, Sons of Joseph and Eunice Hart.

     "These lovely youths resigned their breath,

     Prepared to live & ripe for death;

     You blooming youths who view this stone,

     Learn early death may be your own.

     The Lord who hath all sov'reign power.

     Cut short the lovely opening flower.

     The sister's joy, the parent's hope,

     Submit to death's relentless stroke."

“Sacred to the memory of Joseph Burrill Hart, son of Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Eunice Hart, who died Nov. 19, 1795, Aged 7 years.

"His opening mind a thousand charms reveal’d,
Proof of those thousands which were still conceal’d,
The loveliest flow'r in nature's garden plac'd,
Permitted just to bloom and pluck'd in haste,
Angels beheld him ripe for joys to come.
And call’d by God's command their brother home."

     Joseph Hart, the afflicted father of these promising youths, was a farmer, and lived in the ancient house that stood on Boston Street at the corner of North Federal. He owned all the land on the west side of the street up to Walnut, and raised corn, potatoes and the usual products for family consumption, together with large quantities of flax, which was wrought into a durable though not elegant kind of cloth. Mrs. Eunice Hart, mother of the deceased youths, was a granddaughter of Hon. Ebenerer Burrill, who occupied the extensive farm at Swampscott, a portion of which was lately owned by the Hon. E. R. Mudge, deceased. The ancient farm-house in which Mr. Burrill lived is still standing near the elegant stone villa of Mr. Mudge.

“To the memory of Deacon Ezra Hitchings, who wai born April 15, 1765, and died Nov. 26, 1829. This stone is erected by the members of the Second Congregational Church In Lynn, of which, from its formation, he was an able and efficient officer, as a testimonial of the profound respect and love for his integrity and benevolence, his piety as a Christian and his worth as a man.

     “The memory of the just is blessed."

     The Second Congregational Church of Lynn was the first Unitarian, and to the present day remains the only society of that denomination here. Major Hitchings, to use the military title by which he was popularly known, was a native of that part of Lynn which is now Saugus. His wife, who was a woman of much force of character, was a sister of Colonel James Robinson, a soldier of the Revolution, and first postmaster of Lynn. They had no children of their own, but adopted one or two, whom they reared with the watchful care of true parents. Mr. Hitchings kept a West India goods store on Boston Street, corner of North Federal, and did a fair village business, though it yielded nothing beyond a comfortable maintenance.

     "Sacred to the memory of Benjamin Massey, who was born Nov. 19, 1786, and died Dec. 10, 1831.

“Reader, a moment pause before this stone;
It tells a husband, father, Christian gone;
These sacred names he bore; but oh, how well
Must faithful memory, not the marble, tell;
Enough, if in this hard white stone you see
His strong, firm will - his spotless purity."

     The loss of Mr. Massey to the community was seriously felt. He was an active, useful citizen, his services being in constant demand wherever strict personal integrity and prudence were required. He took an important part in the management of public affairs, and filled several of the higher offices of public trust. At the organization, in 1828, of the Lynn Mutual Fire Insurance Company, that still remarkably successful institution, he was chosen secretary, and held the office till his death. He was an industrious blacksmith, his shop and dwelling being on Western Avenue, a few rods west of Federal Street.

     "Alonzo Lewis, died January 21, 1861, aged slxty-six years and five months.

     "Frances, his wife, died May 27, 1839.

            "All angels now, and little less while here."

     This is the resting-place of Mr. Lewis, the poet and historian. In the neat liltle burial inclosure are two or three chaste marble stones, unpretentious but strikingly appropriate. As Mr. Lewis is spoken of somewhat at large in another place, nothing further need be said here. The other inscriptions in the inclosure, however, should be given, -

"Frances Maria.

Aurelius.

Lynnworth.

Ina.

Alonso Lewis, Jr.

Died March 7,1852.

Irene Lewis.

Died March 26,1853.

Mary Lewis,

Died Jan. 28, 1878.

William Lewis,

Born 1596.

Died 1671.

Amey, his wife.

Isaac Lewis, Jr.,

Born 1683.

Died 1763.

Hannah, His wife.

Nathan Lewis,

Born 1721.

Died 1804.

Mary, his wife.

Zachariah Lewis,

Born 1765.

Died 1810.

Mary, His wife."

(Five Generations.)

     " Here lyes buried ye body of Ensign Joseph Newhall, aged 47 years. Departed this life January ye 29, 1705."

     This Mr. Newhall was a man of some note and much respected. In 1696 the town granted him liberty to "Sett up a pewe in ye east end of ye meetinghouse Between ye east dowre & the stares." He was, at the time of his death, a member of the General Court, and perished in a great snow-storm while on his way from Boston. It was a violent storm, continuing two days - the 29th and 30th of January. He was a son of Thomas Newhall, the first white person born in Lynn, and the father of eleven children, all of whom survived him. Many descendants of his are yet remaining in Lynn.

     "Here lies buried the body of Mr Zackeus Norwood, who departed this life Feb. the 8th, 1756, aged 40 years."

     "Here lyes buried the body of Doct Jonathan Norwood, who departed this life March 16th, 1782, in ye 31st year of his age."

     These two stones are in memory of father and son. Zacheus, the father, was keeper of the old Anchor Tavern, which, as "Norwood's Tavern," augmented in fame to the close of provincial days. He is spoken of elsewhere in these pages. Dr. Jonathan, the son, was a well-educated physician, and lived on the north side of the Common, between Mall and Park Streets. He graduated at Harvard in 1771. His death, March 16, 1782, was occasioned by injuries received by a fall from his horse.

“In memory of Mr. Isaac Orgin, who died May 29^th, 1831, AEt. 70.

“Afflictions sore long time I bore,

Physicians strove in vain,

Till God did please to give him ease,

And take away my pain.”

     Mr. Orgin was one of the youthful patriots who took the field in the Revolution, and is said to have been some time a drummer.

     “Here lies buried the body of Mr. William Perkins, a gentleman of liberal education. He was bred at Harvard College, and commenced Master of Arts in ye year 1761. He was justly admired for his uncommon abilities, matural and acquired; his literature, exemplary piety, modesty, meekness, and many other humane and Christian vlrtues which rendered him lovely in every relation of life. He died of a fever Octr ye 9, 1765, and in the 28^th year of his age."

“Mary Pitcher.
1738-1813."

     This simple inscription on a neat headstone perpetuates the name of one who attained a world-wide reputation as "Moll Pitcher, the fortune-teller of Lynn." A somewhat extended notice of her may be found elsewhere in these pages.

     "The First Church of Christ In Lynn erected this monument to the memory of their faithful and much esteemed brother, Deacon Nathaniel Sargent. He died September 23, 1798, aged 38 years.

     "I am the resurrection and the life saith the Redeemer."

     "The Tomb of Rev. Jeremiah Shepard. The memory of the just is blessed. Mrs. Mary Shepard died March 28, 1710, Aet. 53. A prudent wife is from the Lord. Prov. xxxi. 10 & 28: the Mother of 9 children: 5 died, Jeremiah, 1700, Aet. 23: Mehetabel, 1688: Margaret, 1683: Thomas, 1709, Aet. 29: Francis, 1692.

     “Rev. Jeremiah Shepard died June 2, 1720, Aet. 72."

“Elijah’s mantle drops, the prophet dies,
His earthly mansion quits, and moonts the skies.
             So Shepard's gone.
His precious dust, death's prey, indeed is here,
But nobler breath 'mong seraphs does appear;
He joins the adoring crowds about the throne,
He 's conquered all, and now he wears the crown."

     A notice of this venerable minister appears in another connection.

     "How uncertain are human enjoyments !"

     “From gratitude, respect and endearing recollection, this stone is erected in remembrance of Mrs. Jane & Sally Tufts, consort & daughter of Mr. David Tufts, who died Nov. 15th & 16th, 1795, aged 28 years, the infant 1 day.

     "Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Tufts, & daur, wife and daur'of Mr. David Tufts, who obt. Aug. 20th & 22d, 1801. She aged 32 years, the child Aet 5 hours.

“Why do we mourn departed friends
Or shake at death's alarms ?
‘Tis but the voice that Jesus sends
To call them to his arms."

     "In memory of Mr. David Tufts, a soldier of the Revolution, who died July 6, 1823, Aet. 60.

"When coldness wraps this suffering clay,
Ah, whither strays the immortal mind?
It cannot die, it cannot stay,
But leaves its darkened dust behind."

     This Mr. David Tufts, whose singularly severe and affecting visitations are here commemorated, lived in a comfortable two-story frame dwelling which stood on what is now Western Avenue, at the northeast corner of Federal Street, the site being now occupied by huge brick business buildings, and his land extended nearly to Centre Street. His barn was opposite the west wing of Lynn Hotel. As stated upon the stone, he was soldier of the Revolution, and must have been in service while a mere boy. He drew a pension during the latter part of his life, for though in the way of gaining a comfortable livelihood by farming and expressing, in a small way, he was yet obliged to exercise industry and economy. He kept his sword hanging above the head of his bed as a memento of his early heroism. His last wife was Eunice, a daughter of Joseph Hart, of Boston Street, and she survived him more than forty years. He left three sons, one of whom was Deacon Richard Tufts, so long conspicuous for his rigid principles as a temperance reformer, and so highly respected for his unswerving moral integrity. He was a deacon of the First Congregational Church for many years, and died an octogenarian. Col. Gardiner Tufts, whose efficient services in the interest of the Massachusetts soldiers, during the Civil War and subsequently, were highly appreciated, and who is yet doing efficient service under State appointment, was a son of the deacon.

"John E. Weston, Minister of the Gospel, died July 2d, 1831, Aet. 35.

"He was ordained Oct. 1827, Pastor of the 2d Baptist Church in Cambridge, and at the time of his death was pastor elect of the Baptist Church, Nashua, N. H. It was while on a journey to Nashua to preach on the ensuing Sabbath that he was drowned In Sandy Pond In Wilmington. This sudden and afflictive event occurred in consequence of a deep bank near the edge of the pond, from which, unperceived by him, he was precipitated with his carriage and sank in death.

“Thus died a most excellent husband and

Father, a devoted and humble Christian, an

able and energetic minister, beloved by all,

and bearing the noble features of that Saviour

whom he delighted to honor."

     In this venerable resting-place of the dead repose the remains of three early ministers of the First Church - Whiting, Shepard and Henchman - as well as the countless host of other worthies - fathers and mothers of past generations - some of whom have elsewhere come under notice.

"Life's labor done, securely laid

In this their last retreat.

Unheeded o'er their silent dust

The storms of life shall beat.

"The storm which wrecks the wintry sky

No more disturbs their deep repose

Than summer evening's gentlest sigh,

Which shuts the rose."

     The other burial-places of Lynn are as follows, arranged according to the dates of consecration:

     THE FRIENDS' BURIAL-PLACE. - This seems to have been set apart for its sacred purposes early in the last century, probably in or about the year 1723, as is found that Richard Estes conveyed to the Friends Society an eligible lot of land at the corner of the present Broad and Silsbee Streets, "in consideration of the love and good will " he bore " to ye people of God called Quakers, in Lyn," by a deed dated the "seventeenth day of the tenth month, called December, in ye ninth year of the reign of King George, in the year of our Lord, according to the English account, one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two." The land was given "unto ye people aforementioned to bury their dead in, and to erect a meeting-house for to worship God in: I say those in true fellowship of the gospell unity with the monthly meeting, and
those are to see to ye Christian burying as we have been in ye practice of." In 1826 the remains of a hundred and nine persons were removed from the old Friends' Burying-ground in Boston, and deposited in this at Lynn, the reason being that the society at Boston had become virtually extinct and their ground disused. Considerable feeling, however, was manifested by some, and Joseph Hussey refused to permit the removal of the remains of his two sisters to Lynn, preferring to have them deposited in King's Chapel ground. This burial-place is conveniently and pleasantly situated, near the house of worship, and has a number of neat memorial stones, without cosily or gairish display. And in it rest a goodly number of Lynn's most prudent and worthy sons and daughters. Adjoining this ground is another, opened in 1825, as free burial-place; the reason for the proceeding being that the society refused to permit the interment
of a child in their ground without a compliance with their regulations.
     THE EASTERN BURIAL-PLACE, on Union Street, was opened in 1812, is neatly kept, and contains the dust of many worthy ones.

     PINE GROVE CEMETERY was consecrated on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 24,1850. The weather was warm, but the sky was clear, and a great concourse attended. The exercises, conducted amid such picturesque and inspiring surroundings, were extremely impressive. The address was delivered by Rev. Charles C. Shackford, minister of the Unitarian Society. Several other clergymen took part in the exercises. An original ode, by G. W. Putnam, and original hymns, by Mr. Joseph W. Nye, Miss Anna H. Phillips and Miss Annie Johnson, were sung.
This beautiful burial-place is surpassed by very few in the country for its picturesque natural features, its stately trees, fine shrubbery and flower-studded inclosures, as well as for its graceful and noble monuments. The first burial took place on Sunday, October 13,1850; and the total number of interments up to January 1, 1886, was nine thousand six hundred, four hundred and sixty-five having taking place during 1885. As to the pecuniary receipts and disbursements, it may in brief be stated that for the year 1885 the City Council appropriated $8000; to that was added, from sale of lots, $5176.50; from interments, $1480.50 ; from care of lots, $2673.59; and from various other sources sufficient to make a total of $19,509.86. The expenditures for labor, grading and the numerous other needful purposes were $19,310.99.
     ST. MARY'S (ROMAN CATHOLIC) CEMETERY, which comprises eight acres, is situated on Lynnfield Street, near the suburban village of Wyoma. It was consecrated on Thursday, November 4, 1858, by Bishop Fitzpatrick, assisted by six other clergymen. A violent storm prevailed on the day of consecration, and the services, so far as they properly could be, were held in the church, where the rite of confirmation was administered to some two hundred persons.

     ST. JOSEPH'S (ROMAN CATHOLIC) CEMETERY, on Boston Street, in the northeastern outskirts, was consecrated by Archbishop Williams, in the afternoon of Thursday, October 16, 1879. number of clergymen from neighboring places were present. Eighteen burials had taken place there before the day of consecration. In the forenoon of the day of the ceremony the rite of confirmation was administered in the parish church, by the archbishop, to about a hundred and twenty-five children.

     ALMSHOUSE GROUND. - A small lot was set apart on the Almshouse grounds for the burial of deceased inmates. But no burials are now made there.

     At the present time the burials are chiefly made in the three cemeteries, the whole number in 1886 having been as follows: In Pine Grove Cemetery, 375; in St. Mary's, 207 ; in St. Joseph's, 46; in the Eastern ground, 58; in the Old, or Western ground, 3; in the Friends', 5 - making a total of 694. But the number of deaths during the year was 836, the remains of 142 being taken out of town for interment. In 1885 the number of deaths was 828, of which 148 were by consumption, 21 by diphtheria, 14 by typhoid fever, 70 by pneumonia, 34 by cholera infantum, 9 by scarlet fever. Of children under five years, 278.

     It may be added that the old burying-ground at Lynnfield was opened about the year 1720, and that at Saugus about 1732, both of those towns being then a part of Lynn.

     The interesting ceremony of strewing with flowers the graves of soldiers who fell in the Civil War has been devoutly observed in Lynn. Once a year - on the 30th of May, which has been established as a legal holiday and called Memorial Day - under the auspices of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, the surviving comrades proceed in procession, with appropriate music, to the various burial- places, and there, upon the graves of the departed companions-in-arms, reverentially deposit their floral offerings. The custom began here in 1868, in accordance with the manifesto of General Logan, commander-in-chief of the association, issued at Washington. The occasion calls out crowds of people, old and young. A patriotic address by a comrade, delivered in some convenient place, follows the ceremony.

     Did our limits allow, it would not be impertinent to say a few words touching what may be called modern extravagances at funerals. The expenditures for casket, floral decorations and carriages have become really burdensome to persons of limited means. Many seem to think it mean not to follow the fashion in these matters, and mean also to question any charge of those who furnish essentials or decorations. Can ostentatious display relieve a truly grieving heart? Can gairish pomp and glitter at the grave give joy to the departed? It would, indeed, be heathenish to avoid a proper manifestation of respect and affection for deceased friends; but is it not sometimes the case that respect and affection are marked by over-wrought display? In early New England times the dead were committed to their last resting-places with very little ceremony beyond the procession of mourning friends; the coffin was rude; and seldom was a prayer offered, an omission which it seems hard to account for, excepting on the ground of anxiety to avoid anything that approached the Romish custom of praying for the dead. Lechford, writing in 1641, says, " At burials nothing is read, nor any funeral sermon made, but all the neighborhood, or a good company of them, come together by tolling of the bell, and carry the dead solemnly to his grave and there stand by him while he is buried. The ministers are most commonly present." As to prayers at funerals, Drake, in his "History of Boston," in speaking of the funeral of the wife of Judge Byfield, who was a daughter of Governor Leverett, and died December 21, 1730, remarks: "At her funeral a prayer was made, which was the first introduction of the practice in the town." And a Boston paper, speaking of the same funeral, says : "Before carrying out the corpse, a funeral prayer was made by one of the pastors of
the old church, which, though a custom in country towns, is a singular instance in this place." So much for the religious exercises at burials. And now a word touching some peculiar extravagances at times indulged in.

     Before the beginning of the last century some strange customs began to appear, and expenditures were made for purposes much more reprehensible than any extravagance of the present day. Indeed, funerals were sometimes made seasons of absolute jollification. Spirituous liquors were provided in abundance, and scarfs, gloves and rings presented. The General Court, in 1724, prohibited the giving of scarfs on such occasions, "because a burdensome custom." At the funeral of Rev. Mr. Cobbet, who preached in Lynn nineteen years (1637-56), were expended one barrel of wine, £6 8s.; two barrels of cider, 11s.; 82 pounds of sugar, £2 1s.; half a cord of wood, 4s.; four dozen pairs of gloves, "for men and women," £5 4s.; with "some spice and ginger for the cider." It was not Lynn, however, that had the honor of providing thus liberally for the obsequies of Mr. Cobbet, for he had left here a number of years before, and settled in Ipswich. But in 1711 Lynn paid for half a barrel of cider for the Widow Dispaw's funeral. It was generous of the town to see that even a poor widow's remains should not be laid away without some inducement for neighbors to attend the last rites, if no feeling of bereavement existed. And there is a temptation to add the account of expenditures at the funeral of Rev. Mr. Brown, of Reading, in 1733, partly for the purpose of showing the cost of some things required in those days on such mournful occasions:

" To Thomas Eaton, for provisions   2    1    0

        Nathaniel Eaton for fetching up the wine   0   15   0

        Lt. Nathaniel Parker for 5 qts. Rhom, [rum]     0   8   0

        Samuel Pool for digging Mr. Brown's grave    0   8   0

        Landlord Wesson, for Rhom, [rum]     0   10    0

        Wm. Cowdry, for making the coffin     0   15    0

        Andrew Tyler, of Boston, 6 gold rings for funeral    10   18   0

        Benj. Fitch, of Boston, Gloves, etc.     17   0   0

        Mrs. Martha Brown, for wine furnished    5  0    0

        Eben Storer, of Boston, sundries      8    0     0

                          Total     45   15     6.

     "The old burying-grounds embody a history of the early settlements. The "cemeteries " of modern time exhibit the taste and wealth of later days. But it would be unkind to assume that either is not the bourn of true human sympathy and affection. The remains of high or low, rich or poor, wherever and whenever committed to the keeping of mother earth, occasion pangs of sorrow in some surviving breast; there are none so poor or miserable as to be void of this. To the indigent mourner there is substantial consolation in the thought that at the grave all earthly distinctions end; but far greater consolation in the conviction that for a virtuous life passed here a great reward awaits upon the other side of the dark vale. To the true duty-doer, as he draws near the bourn that cannot be repassed, the words of the great poet of our own Essex come as a refreshing breath from that other land, -

"O stream of life, whose swifter flow

Is of the end forewarning.

Methlnks thy sundown afterglow

Seems less of night than morning."

     There is surely no place better fitted for sombre reflection than that where lie the gathered dead of generations. But why sombre?

"All that tread

The globe are but a handful to the tribes

That slumber in its bosom."

     And among them, in peaceful rest, are the good and great, the beautiful and buoyant. What is there doleful in such company? Meditations of the most cheerful kind may well be entertained. And soothing would it be to many a tired spirit could it occasionally respond to the poet's sentiment and say:

"At musing hour of twilight gray,

When silence reigns around,

I love to walk the churchyard way –

To me ‘tis holy ground.

To me congenial is the place,

Where yew and cypress grow –

I love the moss-grown stone to trace,

That tells who lies below."

     Yes, indeed, to a mind so touched, many a rough passage of life would be made smooth, for step by step more fully would be perceived the utter hollowness of all mere earthly promises, and the emptiness of earth's bubbles, wealth, honor and fame. The pursuit of wealth especially, which is with us so marked a feature, would soon appear like senseless phantom chasing. Pausing at the merely rich man's grave, the racy lines of Swift might well obtrude:

“The sexton shall green sods on thee bestow;
Alas, the sexton is thy banker now !

A dismal banker must that banker be,

Who gives no bills but of mortality."

And again:

" He that could once have half a kingdom bought,

In half a minute is not worth a groat.

His coffers from the coffin could not save,

Nor all his interest keep him from the grave.

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