Bernardston — Burial-Places
Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.
Of the two public burying-grounds in the town, one is in Bernardston village and the other about a mile north of the village. The former was laid out in ____, and is the only one in general use. It is a beautifully-shaded spot on an eminence between the Baptist and Unitarian Churches, and contains numerous handsome monuments. The latter is the "old burying-ground," and since the laying out of the new cemetery has been little used, principally because of its out-of-the-way location, although it was convenient enough previous to the removal of the First Church from the Huckle Hill region to Bernardston village. Among the names to be found on the oldest headstones in this burying-ground are the following:
Seth Wright, 1763; Reuben Slate, 1775; Thaddeus Parmenter, 1775; Nehemiah Wright, 1777; Samuel Wright, 1777; Sybil Parmenter, 1775; Salma Parmenter, 1775; Sarah Chapin, 1781; Samuel Hale, 1783; Joel Slate, 1781; Joanna Pinks, 1785; Miriam Wright, 1785; Sophia Allen, 1782; Huldah Parmenter,1785; Zebulon Alleh, 1786; Esther Webster, 1782; John N. Parmenter, 1785; Maj. John Burk, 1784; Joseph Allen, 1786; Sarah Fox, 1783; Mehitable Sheldon, 1787; Elizabeth Webster, 1787; Luther Edwards, 1792; Hannah Allen, 1790; Roger Fox, 1795; Reuben Keeny, 1797; Seta Allen, 1798; Polycarpus Cushman, 1797; Abigail Squires, 1798; Sophronia Parmenter, 1798; Sarah Couch, 1799; Charity Keeny, 1799; Capt. Moses Scott, 1799.
There are also three very old and well-worn headstones, inscribed respectively, as can best be deciphered, D., E. S., and J. E. S. In 1863, Hon. Henry W. Cushman bequeathed to the Bernardstown Cemetery Corporation $1000, the income of which is devoted to the repair and improvement of the cemetery in Bernardston village.
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17 Jul 2005
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