Follow
The Ancient Burial Place of Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts:
In 1638, Joseph Kingsbury provided a portion of his land at the south end of his lot to enlarge the accommodation for the dead. The boundaries of the burial place continued the same for about 175 years, an area of about one acre. For a period of one hundred years, this was the only place of burial in the town of Dedham, and some parts were dug over several times to furnish graves for successive generations. Where a stone was not setup, the place of interment was soon forgotten, and so received another occupant. From the nature of things several thousand have here found their last resting place. One after another, for nearly two hundred years as the ashes were gathered, with no monument to distinquish one from another, it is truly fitting that the most beautiful trees of the forest should weave a canopy over their common resting place. [Excerpted from "Epitaphs in the Old Burial Place," Dedham, Mass., by Rev. Carlos Slafter, Dedham Historical Society (1888).]