Rumney Marsh Burial Grounds

RUMNEY MARSH BURIAL GROUNDS

Tucked away in a quiet but beautiful section of Revere, between Butler, Bixby, Elm and Library Streets and unknown to the majority of Chelsea and Revere citizens, lies the Rumney Marsh Burial Grounds. A peaceful, rectangular shaped, plot of land surrounded by a neat, three foot high brick wall and an entrance gate of wrought iron with the date, 1693, formed into it. The Rumney Marsh Burial Grounds was the first and only cemetary in the Town of Chelsea, until the establishment of the Garden Cemetary in 1841.

The land comprising the burial grounds was originally part of the Cole Farm belonging to Samuel Cole. The land was sold in 1654 to William Hasey, who in 1740, sold the land to Joshua Cheever. It is believed that burials on the property began while William Hasey was owner. The first known recorded burial was that of Mary Smith, wife of Captain John Smith, a tenant farmer. Mary Smith was the daughter of James Bill, one of the first permanent residents of Pullin Point (Winthrop). Mary's husband, Captain John Smith, a military leader and inn keeper, died in 1706 at the age of 85 and was buried beside her.

On February 11, 1690, Boston passed an ordinance, which ordered that, "all persons dying in Chelsea were to be buried in a convenient place on that side of the water." This ordinance was passed due to the fear of smallpox. Violation of this ordinance carried a fine of five pounds. On March 7, 1743, Joshua Cheever made an agreement with the town, that the Town accept the land for a burial place. The site was permanently deeded to the Town on December 8, 1751. The last known recorded burial was of Lewis L. Bullard, who served in the Civil War, Company K 23rd Mass. Infantry Regiment. The burial took place April 1, 1929. Deane Winthrop the son of Governor Winthrop is buried in these grounds along with the Reverend Thomas Cheever, son of the first master of the Boston Latin School. Thomas Cheever was the first teacher in the Rumney Marsh area and later became the first preacher. It was Reverend Thomas Cheever's son who gave the town the land for a burying ground. The stones read like a Who's Who of early Chelsea residents. The stone engravings of the 1700's feature the "death's head," while the early 1800's features a "Grecian urn" or a "weeping willow." A number of slaves are interred in the Burial Grounds, especially along the north wall. Also buried here is Job Warren, a free Black who served in Captain Sprague's company during the Revolutionary War. Job died at the age of 100 years and is buried in an unmarked pauper's grave.

Time and elements of the weather have obliterated the carvings on many of the stones. The inscriptions that can be read carry messages that are ironic, poetic or grim. One small stone carries only a closed fist with a finger pointing upwards. The readings are many and varied. On Rebecca Pratt's stone is the verse: "Blessed is he that rear'd these stones, but cursed is he that moves my bones." Another verse found on the stone of Abigail Eustis who died at the age of 91 years, reads: Let serious tho'ts now follow me, That I was once in the world like thee; But now lie mouldering in the dust, In hopes to rise among the just.

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Tucked away in a quiet but beautiful section of Revere, between Butler, Bixby, Elm and Library Streets and unknown to the majority of Chelsea and Revere citizens, lies the Rumney Marsh Burial Grounds. A peaceful, rectangular shaped, plot of land surrounded by a neat, three foot high brick wall and an entrance gate of wrought iron with the date, 1693, formed into it. The Rumney Marsh Burial Grounds was the first and only cemetary in the Town of Chelsea, until the establishment of the Garden Cemetary in 1841. The land comprising the burial grounds was originally part of the Cole Farm belonging to Samuel Cole. The land was sold in 1654 to William Hasey, who in 1740, sold the land to Joshua Cheever. It is believed that burials on the property began while William Hasey was owner. The first known recorded burial was that of Mary Smith, wife of Captain John Smith, a tenant farmer. Mary Smith was the daughter of James Bill, one of the first permanent residents of Pullin Point (Winthrop). Mary's husband, Captain John Smith, a military leader and inn keeper, died in 1706 at the age of 85 and was buried beside her. On February 11, 1690, Boston passed an ordinance, which ordered that, "all persons dying in Chelsea were to be buried in a convenient place on that side of the water." This ordinance was passed due to the fear of smallpox. Violation of this ordinance carried a fine of five pounds. On March 7, 1743, Joshua Cheever made an agreement with the town, that the Town accept the land for a burial place. The site was permanently deeded to the Town on December 8, 1751. The last known recorded burial was of Lewis L. Bullard, who served in the Civil War, Company K 23rd Mass. Infantry Regiment. The burial took place April 1, 1929. Deane Winthrop the son of Governor Winthrop is buried in these grounds along with the Reverend Thomas Cheever, son of the first master of the Boston Latin School. Thomas Cheever was the first teacher in the Rumney Marsh area and later became the first preacher. It was Reverend Thomas Cheever's son who gave the town the land for a burying ground. The stones read like a Who's Who of early Chelsea residents. The stone engravings of the 1700's feature the "death's head," while the early 1800's features a "Grecian urn" or a "weeping willow." A number of slaves are interred in the Burial Grounds, especially along the north wall. Also buried here is Job Warren, a free Black who served in Captain Sprague's company during the Revolutionary War. Job died at the age of 100 years and is buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Time and elements of the weather have obliterated the carvings on many of the stones. The inscriptions that can be read carry messages that are ironic, poetic or grim. One small stone carries only a closed fist with a finger pointing upwards. The readings are many and varied. On Rebecca Pratt's stone is the verse: "Blessed is he that rear'd these stones, but cursed is he that moves my bones." Another verse found on the stone of Abigail Eustis who died at the age of 91 years, reads: Let serious tho'ts now follow me, That I was once in the world like thee; But now lie mouldering in the dust, In hopes to rise among the just.
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