Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s the appropriately-named Thankfull Day (d.1768) at the Old Meadow Cemetery in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Her gravestone was carved by Aaron Bliss, and it features the epitaph “While Youth do chear, Death may be near.”

It’s supposed to be a winged face, but it kind of looks like the turkey craft project that my first grader brought home from school yesterday. It marks the grave of Hannah Kingsbury (d.1769) at North Cemetery in Hampton, Connecticut, and it was made by Joseph Marsh.

Gravestone of James Cary, 1681, at Phipps Street Burying Ground in the Charlestown neighborhood in Boston. Carved by the so-called Old Stonecutter, who may have been Elias Grice.

Gravestone of Martin Ely Jr., “who was kil’d by the fall of clock weights at Northampton Meetinghouse” in 1807 at the age of 16. His gravestone was carved by John Ely, and he is buried at Park Street Cemetery in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

A portrait on the gravestone of Ebenezer Fisk, 1775, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Carved by the Park family.

A spectacular marble gravestone for Major General Noah Phelps, 1809, at Simsbury Cemetery in Simsbury, Connecticut. The epitaph describes him as “A patriot of 76 to such we are indebted for our national independance.” Not sure who the carver was.

A simple gravestone for Sally Harrit Smith, 1796, in Washington, Massachusetts. I believe this was made by Lemuel Johnson.

Gravestone of Edward Griswold, 1688, at the Mechanic Street Burying Ground in Westfield, Massachusetts. Carved by his father, George Griswold.

Gravestone of Ruth Sage, “whose Life was suddenly terminated by a fall from a Carriage” in 1793 at the age of 28. Not sure who the carver was. Maybe William Crosby? Located at Bartlett Street Cemetery in Portland, Connecticut.

Gravestone of Esther Corwin and her infant child, who both died in 1797, probably in childbirth. Located at Plains Cemetery in Franklin, Connecticut, and carved by the Manning family.

Gravestone of Earl Cooley, who died “by a casual Blow in a well” in 1809. Carved by John Ely, and located in Springfield Cemetery in Springfield, Mass. And to clarify, “casual” in this context means “accidental,” and the “blow” was from a mallet that fell on his head while he was digging a well.

Gravestone of John Crafts, 1730, at Hill Cemetery in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Carved by Joseph Nash.

Gravestone of Solomon Mears, 1759, at Edwards Cemetery in South Windsor, Connecticut. Carved by Ebenezer Drake.

The gravestone (or more likely the cenotaph) of James Lyman, “who died on the banks of the Mississippi” in 1774 at the age of 21, near modern-day Natchez, Mississippi. The stone is located in his hometown of Durham, Connecticut, and it was carved by John Johnson.

Gravestone of Charles Haskell, “man of colour. A soldier of the Revolution.” He died in 1833, and he was buried in the predominantly black 18th/early 19th century section of the cemetery at North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island. His gravestone was carved and signed by Samuel Tingley Jr.

Gravestone of Elizabeth Work, 1743, in Eastford, Connecticut. Carved by an unidentified local carver who is known as the “Eastford Dot Carver.”

#31daysofgraves Day 31: Memento Mori. Gravestone of Johana Turell, 1680, at Granary Burying Ground in Boston. Carved by the “Old Stonecutter,” who may have been Elias Grice.

#31daysofgraves Day 31: Memento Mori. Henry Robe, 1807, at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in Boston. Carved by William Bartlett. I know it’s supposed to be an hourglass that he is holding, but I prefer to think of it as the reaper unwinding and enjoying a cold beer after a long day of harvesting souls.

#31daysofgraves Day 28: Column. An architecturally-inspired gravestone for Samuel Dwight, 1763, in Enfield, Connecticut. Carved by Ezra Stebbins.

#31daysofgraves Day 28: Column. Gravestone of Benjamin Clough (1744) at King’s Chapel Burying Ground in Boston. Its design includes a column, an anchor, a winged angelic figure, and a seated woman, who possibly represents his grieving widow. At. Carved by Henry Emmes and/or William Codner.

#31daysofgraves Day 27: Tree. This gravestone for Jonathan Chaffe, 1818, shows a tree that has been cut down, representing the end of life. It is located in Hampden, Massachusetts. Carved by an unidentified carver, possibly from Longmeadow.

#31daysofgraves Day 26: Figure. The gravestone of 23-year-old Julia Ann Burley, 1838, at Adams Cemetery in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. It features a striking angelic figure at the top of the stone, which is carved in deep relief. The stone is signed at the base by Frederick Bradley of Springfield MA.

#31daysofgraves Day 24: Unique Animal. A pair of griffins (I think?) on the tablestone for Leonard Chester, 1648, in Wethersfield, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest dated gravestones in New England, and it was carved by my distant grandfather(s), Matthew and/or George Griswold.

#31daysofgraves Day 23: Cross. Crosses were almost unheard of on colonial New England gravestones, but carver William Holland would occasionally include a small cross pattée atop the crowns on his gravestones. Carved for Thomas Hale, 1750, at Longmeadow Cemetery in Longmeadow Mass.

#31daysofgraves Day 22: Landscape. The Green Mountains rise in the background here at Shaftsbury Center Cemetery in Shaftsbury, Vermont. In the foreground is the Galusha family plot, including Governor Jonas Galusha and his wives Mary, Patty, Abigail, and Nabby.

#31daysofgraves Day 19: Social Groups. Levi Newcomb, 1810, who was a senior at Dartmouth College. His gravestone was commissioned by “the Society of Social Friends” and carved by the Risley family. Dartmouth Cemetery, Hanover NH

#31daysofgraves Day 18: Mistake. I had to do a double take when I saw this one, because at first I thought it said he was 712 years old. Turns out he was 71, but the carver, Calvin Barber, had initially carved 72. It was made for Elisha Cornish, who died in 1794. Located in Simsbury, Connecticut.

#31daysofgraves Day 18: Mistake. On this stone, the carver Thomas Johnson II apparently got the month wrong, because he carved October but then crossed it out and added “Nover” above it. Carved for John Day, 1752, and located in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

#31daysofgraves Day 17: Relocated. Robert Field, 1815, at Quabbin Park Cemetery in Ware, Mass. This stone was originally in Enfield, Mass. However, the town was disincorporated and flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir, and all of the gravestones and burials in the town’s cemeteries were removed.

#31daysofgraves Day 16: Obelisks. An image of an obelisk on the spectacular gravestone for Jonathan Dexter, 1819, at the Austin-Thayer-Gorton Lot in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Not sure who the carver was, but possibly Samuel Tingley.

#31daysofgraves Day 15: Broken. The broken gravestone of Thomas Dewey Jr., 1690, at the Old Burying Ground in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was carved by my 9th great grandfather George Griswold.

#31daysofgraves Day 14: Inside. The gravestone of Sarah Trowbridge, 1687, in the crypt at Center Church in New Haven, Connecticut. This started as a normal graveyard, but in 1812 a new meetinghouse was built directly atop a portion of the graveyard. The stones were left in place here in the basement

#31daysofgraves Day 13: Skeleton. A reclining skeleton on the gravestone of William Sinclear, 1753, in Spencer, Massachusetts. Carved by William Codner and/or Henry Emmes.

#31daysofgraves Day 12: Notable Women. Elizabeth Freeman (c.1744-1829), an enslaved woman who successfully sued for her freedom in 1781. It was one of several cases that led Massachusetts to become the first state state to abolish slavery. Stockbridge Cemetery, Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

“In Peace Amidst the Rage of Noise and War” Gravestone of Jacob Tilton, 1776, at North Cemetery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Not sure who the carver was, but probably someone from Boston.

Gravestone of Joseph and Preserved Ely, 1803 & 1775, at Elmwood Cemetery in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Carved by John Ely.

Gravestone of Benjamin Throop, 1750, at Trumbull Cemetery in Lebanon, Connecticut. Carved by Benjamin Collins.

This is a rather puzzling gravestone. It has the generic opening phrase “Here Lyeth the Body of,” but there is nothing else carved into the stone. It appears to have been made by William Stanclift, probably around the 1710s or 1720s, and it is located at Edwards Cemetery in South Windsor, CT.

A detailed portrait on the gravestone of the Rev. William Whitwell, 1781, at Old Hill Burying Ground in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Carved by the Park family, possibly Thomas Park.

Gravestone of Mary Morton, 1744, at Hill Cemetery in Hatfield, Massachusetts. It was carved by Thomas Johnson II, and it is one of the northernmost examples of the Johnson family’s work here in the Connecticut River Valley.

Gravestone of Boston Trowtrow, “Govener of ye Affrican Trib,” who died in 1772. he was buried at the Old Norwichtown Cemetery in Norwich, Connecticut, and his gravestone was carved by the Manning family. (More context in the comments)

Gravestone of Hannah Devotion, 1719, at Old Center Cemetery in Suffield, Connecticut. This is an important early work by the so-called “Simsbury Bat Carver” (possibly Martin Winchel), and was probably carved in the early 1730s.

Gravestone of Charles Debell, 1787, at Church on the Hill Cemetery in Lenox, Massachusetts. Carved by Elijah Phelps.

An unusual flower design on the gravestone of Joseph Dresser, 1791, at West Thompson Cemetery in Thompson, Connecticut. Carved by Elijah Sikes.

Gravestone of Phebe Pomeroy, 1776, at Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton, Massachusetts. Not sure who the carver was, but I think that Nathaniel Phelps did the lettering.

Gravestone of Mary Spaulding, 1749, at Old South Killingly Cemetery in Killingly, Connecticut. Carved by the unidentified so-called “Killingly Egg Carver.”

Gravestone of Constant Dewey, 1702, at Old Burying Ground in Westfield, Massachusetts. She was the wife of Thomas Dewey, which is written somewhat enigmatically as “COR [i.e., consort] T / HO DEWEY” at the base of the stone. Carved by Joseph Nash.

Gravestone of John and Thomas Tawley, 1736 and 1737, at Old Hill Burying Ground in Marblehead, Massachusetts. This has an unusual design, featuring a winged skull on top, a full skeleton in the left border, and Father Time in the right border.

Gravestone of Jane Webster, 1797, at Bennington Center Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont. Carved by James Collins, the son and grandson of prominent gravestone carvers Zerubbabel Collins and Benjamin Collins.