Newport, Rhode Island Colonial Burying Grounds - Hardcover

John E. Sterling

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0960414495 ISBN 13: 9780960414499

Publisher: Rhode Island Genealogical, 2009

Synopsis

Researchers who have used the Rhode Island Historic Cemetery Database over the last twenty years or any of the cemetery books inspired by it can rejoice over this new publication. Although Newport was the most important city in colonial Rhode Island, its early burial grounds have never previously been comprehensively transcribed in a single, beautifully illustrated book. For the first time all the gravestones in Newport's colonial burial grounds have been carefully photographed and compared with previous transcriptions, resulting in the correction of over 1,200 errors. These photographs also allowed the authors to determine how many gravestones have been damaged or lost and to reconnect headstones and footstones mysteriously separated over the centuries. Introductory material shows why the landscape of Newport burial grounds differs so markedly from the rest of the colony. The history of each burial ground precedes the gravestone data which is presented, as in previous books, in the Association for Gravestone Studies format. This data is supplemented with details from diaries and newspapers as available. Appendices present information on gravestones removed from the burial grounds, broken or damaged stones, cause of death, and heraldic carvings. There are indexes for gravestones and maiden names on gravestones. What sets this publication apart from anything else in the field is the opportunity to buy a companion set of two DVDs with 8,500 high-resolution, high quality photographs of the gravestones. Although the book can be enjoyed on its own, many readers will want to see for themselves what is being described, especially when the stone marks the grave of their own ancestor. Students of gravestone carving will revel in the opportunity to see such an overwhelming number of stones by some of the finest carvers in colonial America.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rhode Island Genealogical
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0960414495
• ISBN 13: 9780960414499
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 546