Old Burying Ground Article No. 1

From the St John Daily Telegraph

21 Oct 1874

Author Unknown

Although there was an old burial ground in Germain St. (St. John) the Old Burying Ground seems to have been used very soon after the founding of the city in 1783.

The earliest recorded death we have been able to discover on any of the tombstones bears the date of 1784. The inscription is as follows:

In Memory of

Coonradt HENDRICKS

son of

Mr. John HENDRICKS

near Middletown Point, New Jersey

who departed this life

the 13th day of July, 1784,

aged 46 years

Memento homo quia pulvis est in pulverin

Reverturus

This stone, which is in a good state of preservation, is not far from the western gate of the burying ground on the south side of the centre pathway. Condradt Hendricks was a grantee of St. John in 1783, the father of James Hendricks, a wealthy merchant of St. John, whose store in King St., on the site of Mr. Smith's bookstore and who died in 1833, and the grandfather of Conrad J. Hendricks, Esq. of the parish of Hampton (Kings Co.) There are two other tombstones well preserved beside that of Coonradt Hendricks, one that of his daughter Sarah Hendricks who died July 29th, 1793, in the 20th year of her age, and the other one of his son, John, who died Aug. 14th, 1795, aged 13 years.

Not far from there is a small stone, deeply sunk in the ground and nearly illegible with scrip characters which after much trouble, we manage to decipher as follows:

Here lies the body of

William JANON

who departed this life

the 29th day of October, 1786

Aged 38 years

Not far from the same spot a number of the Partelow family are buried.

Here is the tombstone of

Allithea PARTELOW

wife of Matthew PARTELOW

who departed this life

Nov. 30th, 1795

aged 43 years.

Beside this is a stone:

In Memory of

Matthew

son of

Matthew and Allithea PARTELOW

who died April 11th, 1793

Aged 10 years 8 mos. and 20 days

and a third stone:

In Memory of

James PARTELOW

son of

Matthew and Allithea PARTELOW

who died August 30th, 1789

Aged 1 year 3 mos. and 19 days

A fourth stone, close to the other three, however, contains the most painfully interesting legend on the whole ground. It is as follows:

In memory of

Allithea STOBO

wife of John STOBO

who departed this life

November 5th, 1786

Aged 15 years, 2 months and 27 days

It is not likely that many brides so young have been buried in St. John since its first settlement. From the name, and from being buried among the Partelow family, it is probable that she was a daughter of Matthew and Allithea Partelow. John Stobo, her husband, died in St. John in 1799, aged 35. He would therefore be only 22 years old when his wife died. Close to the young bride's grave is another stone erected

In the memory of

Richard Partelow

who departed this life

March 12th, 1800

in the 98th year of his age

Thus youth and age sleep together. Matthew PARTELOW was a loyalist from Connecticut and one of the original grantees of St. John in 1783 and he died in this city in 1834, aged 87 years. He was a brother of Jehiel PARTELOW, a loyalist, the grandfather of late Hon. John R. PARTELOW, Richard PARTELOW was probably the father of Matthew and Jehiel.

On the south side of the Burying Ground is a very ancient looking stone, with the following inscription:

Here lyes the body

of Mary BUIRFES

who died

March 20th, 1787

aged 58 years

On the same high ridge is the ancient stone:

Erected in memory of

Mary Edward MAJORIBANKS

spouce of Thos. MAJORIBANKS

who departed this life

the 29th day of August, 1788

aged 50 years

and close beside it the tombstone of:

Thos. MAJORIBANKS

who departed this life on

13th day of June, 1793

aged 60 years

Next point in antiquity is the tombstone of Robert STUBBS who, as its legend informs us, belonged to the Royal Artillery and died on the 11th Aug. 1791, aged 33 years. The tombstone of John Philip GASFER is tolerably legible and states that he was the son of John GASFER and Mary Catherine GASFER who departed this life July th, 1791, age 22 years 3 months 1 day.

Close is the tombstone of:

John STEWART

who departed this life

July 9th, 1791

in the 88th year of his age

There was a loyalist of that name, but this was probably not the man.

In the same year and in the same month died Mrs. Sarah MILLER, age 22 years, whose tombstone is well preserved. The same stone also bears the name of her sister, Harriet THOMAS daughter of Charles THOMAS and Sarah THOMAS. Charles Thomas was a loyalist from Connecticut who during the struggle was engaged in maritime enterprises on the side of the Crown, and who settled in this city where he died in 1818, aged 75. His descendants are numerous in St. John. He was one of the staunchest Loyalists.

Another well preserved stone is that erected in memory of Abigail MILES wife of Samuel MILES who departed this life August 20th, 1795, aged 35 years 7 mos. and 22 days. Her husband was probably the Samuel MILES who was an Alderman of the city in 1805 and who died here in 1824, aged 82.

Not far from the above is a stone:

Erected to the memory of

David BLAIR

a native of Kincardine

who died in 1798

aged 65.

Next in point of age is the stone:

Erected in memory of

Thomas MULLINS, senr.

who departed this life

March 27th, 1799

aged 51 years

and likewise of:

His wife

Prudence MULLINS

who departed this life

Oct. 5th, 1791

aged 34 years

Thomas MULLINS was a loyalist, by trade a blacksmith, of Leominster, Mass. who was proscribed and banished in 1778. MULLINS is a Puritan name, the first of the family having come to America in 1620.

A very ancient looking stone recites that:

Here lies the body of

Mary U. LORD

of Glasgow, North Britain

who departed this life

May 19th, 1801

in the 67th year of her age

There is also a stone to:

Joseph BECK

a loyalist and grantee of the city

who died July 6th, 1803

aged 55 years

End

From:

Daniel F Johnson: Volume 36 Number 233

Date : October 21, 1874

County : Saint John

Place : Saint John

Newspaper : The Daily Telegraph

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