The North Burial Ground is a cemetery in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

dating to 1700, the first public cemetery in Providence. It is located north of downtown Providence, bounded by North Main Street, Branch Avenue, the

Moshassuck River The Moshassuck River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 from the town of Lincoln to the city of Provi ...

, and Cemetery Street. Its main entrance is at the junction of Branch and North Main. The burial ground is one of the larger municipal cemeteries in Southern New England, and it accepts 220 to 225 burials per year.

History

From the time of its founding by Roger Williams in 1636, Rhode Island had strict separation of religious and government institutions. Therefore, Providence had no state churches with adjacent public burial grounds, as most New England towns had. Instead, townspeople buried their dead in family plots on individual farms. In 1700, a town vote was held to establish a municipal cemetery. This cemetery was to be open to the deceased of all faiths, from millionaires to paupers, and even emancipated slaves. 45 acres were set aside; 10 acres were to be used for a cemetery, the remainder for a town common and militia training ground. However, the first official burial didn't take place until one Samuel Whipple was buried here in 1710/11. There were only about one or two burials per year until 1736, when 14 people were buried. By the mid-1800s, under the influence of the Rural Cemetery Movement, cemeteries generally became viewed as a place for the general public to enjoy refined outdoor recreation. In Providence, the North Burial Ground was further landscaped. More land was added, along with curving roads and trees, to make the grounds more attractive to the living.

Notable interments

See also: North Burial Ground has the burials of many notable Rhode Island residents, including governors, members of Congress, soldiers, millionaires, emancipated slaves, and literary figures: *

Daniel Abbott Daniel Abbott (25 April 1682 – 7 November 1760) was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was the son of Daniel and Margaret (White) Abbott of Providence in the Rhode Island colony and was called Daniel ...

, deputy governor of Rhode Island colony * Philip Allen, Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Senator *

Zachariah Allen Zachariah Allen (September 15, 1795 – March 17, 1882) was an American textile manufacturer, scientist, lawyer, writer, inventor and civil leader from Providence, Rhode Island. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Brown Universit ...

, prominent Providence mill owner and civic leader * William B. Avery, Medal of Honor recipient * Edward Mitchell Bannister, Canadian African-American painter * Chad Brown, early pastor of the First Baptist Church in America, progenitor of Brown family * John Brown, merchant, U.S. Representative, slave trader, co-founder of Brown University *

John Nicholas Brown II John Nicholas Brown II (February 21, 1900 – October 10, 1979) was the United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) from 1946 to 1949. He was a member of the Brown family that had been active in American life since before the American Re ...

, socialite and philanthropist * Nicholas Brown, Jr., philanthropist and namesake of Brown University *

Kady Brownell Kady Brownell (1842 – January 5, 1915) was an American '' vivandière'' who helped the Union Army during the American Civil War. She went with her husband when he joined a Rhode Island regiment. Brownell trained with the soldiers. She fought ...

, Civil War veteran * Tristam Burgess, U.S. representative * Esek Hopkins, The only chief of the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War *

Jonathan Chace Jonathan Chace (July 22, 1829June 30, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Rhode Island. Biography Born at Fall River, Massachusetts, the son of Harvey Chace and the grandson of Oliver Chace. In 1854, he married Jane C. Moo ...

, U.S. senator * John Hopkins Clark, U.S. senator *

Nicholas Cooke Nicholas Cooke (February 3, 1717September 14, 1782) was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the ...

, governor of colony and state of Rhode Island during

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

* Fred Corey, Major League Baseball player *

Charles Dow Charles Henry Dow (; November 6, 1851 – December 4, 1902) was an American journalist who co-founded Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Dow also co-founded ''The Wall Street Journal'', which has become one of th ...

, journalist, co-founder of Dow Jones & Company and founder of

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

* Samuel Eddy, U.S. representative and Chief Justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the Supreme court, court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by ...

. * Arthur Fenner, Governor of Rhode Island from 1790 to 1805. *

James Fenner James Fenner (January 22, 1771April 17, 1846) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator as well as the 7th, 11th and 17th Governor of Rhode Island (on three occasions). He was the son of Arthur Fenner, the fourth governor ...

, U.S. senator from 1805 to 1807, Rhode Island governor from 1807 to 1811, 1824 to 1831 and 1843 to 1845 * Sam Walter Foss, librarian, poet * John Brown Francis, governor and U.S. senator * William Goddard (U.S. patriot/publisher), American Revolutionary War printer * Stephen Hopkins, colonial governor, founding father, signatory of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

Rhode Island College
/ref> * Jeremiah Brown Howell, U.S. senator * Richard Jackson, U.S. representative *

Horace Mann Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts St ...

, educator, U.S. representative, and first president of

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

* James Manning, delegate to the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

Albert Martin (soldier) Albert Martin (January 6, 1808 March 6, 1836) was a Texian merchant and captain of the Gonzales Mounted Rangers who delivered William B. Travis' letter " To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World" and died while defending the Alamo g ...

(memorial), soldier, only Rhode Islander to have fought at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

. * Charles J. Martin, artist and arts instructor * James B. Mason, U.S. representative * Peter Mawney, colonel of Providence militia * Augustus S. Miller (1847–1905), Mayor of Providence 1903-1905. *

Annie Smith Peck Annie Smith Peck (October 19, 1850 – July 18, 1935) was an American mountaineer and adventurer. The northern peak of the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca mountain chain, Huascarán was named ''Cumbre Aña Peck'' in Peck's honor. She was an ardent s ...

, pioneering woman mountaineer * Saunders Pitman, silversmith. *

Darius Sessions Darius Sessions (17 August 1717 – 27 April 1809) was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the buildup to the American Revolutionary War. He was heavily involved in moderating the effects of t ...

, deputy governor of Rhode Island colony * James F. Simmons, U.S. senator * Henry J. Steere, philanthropist and manufacturer * Joseph L. Tillinghast, U.S. representative *

Sarah Helen Whitman Sarah Helen Power Whitman (January 19, 1803 – June 27, 1878) was an American poet, essayist, transcendentalist, spiritualist and a romantic interest of Edgar Allan Poe. Early life Whitman was born in Providence, Rhode Island on January 19, ...

, poet, essayist, and a romantic interest of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

Images

Image:North Burial Ground.JPG, Early 1900s postcard of North Burial Ground File:North Burial Ground.entry&view.20110721.jpg, Entry flag and marker to North Burial Ground File:Dexter.family.grave stone.No Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Dexter family monument with governor's flags for Gregory Dexter, colonial President File:Hopkins.Stephen.grave site.No Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Grave monument for Governor Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence File:Hopkins.Stephen.grave plaque.No Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Grave plaque for Governor Stephen Hopkins File:Hopkins.Sarah.DAR plaque.No Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, DAR grave plaque for Sarah Hopkins, wife of Governor Stephen Hopkins File:Cooke.Nicholas.grave stone.North Bur Gnd.20110721.jpg, Governor

grave monument File:Cooke.Nicholas.grave medallion.North Bur Gnd.20110721.jpg,

governor's medallion File:Fenner.James.mausoleum.No Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Governor

mausoleum File:Fenner.James.grave medallion.No Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg,

governor's medallion File:Whipple.John.Sr.gravestone.NoBurGnd.Prov.jpg, John Whipple, early Providence settler whose remains were moved here from a family plot File:North Burial Ground, Providence.jpg, Flags fly over the graves of veterans at the North Burial Ground File:Grave of Pardon Sheldon.jpg, Grave of Capt. Pardon Sheldon, patriot involved in the ''Gaspee'' Affair

References

External links

* {{coord, 41, 50, 34, N, 71, 24, 29, W, type:landmark_region:US-RI, display=title 1700 establishments in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island Cemeteries in Rhode Island Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island

History

Notable interments

Images

See also

Further reading

References

External links