{"id":16379,"date":"2016-08-31T13:13:47","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T17:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=16379"},"modified":"2023-03-31T12:47:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T16:47:36","slug":"a-genealogists-delight-epitaphs-from-the-18th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/a-genealogists-delight-epitaphs-from-the-18th-century.html","title":{"rendered":"A Genealogist\u2019s Delight: Epitaphs from the 18th Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find memorable epitaphs from the 18th<\/sup> century. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve followed the GenealogyBank blog, you\u2019ve undoubtedly noticed the popularity of epitaphs. Applied to tombstones, epitaphs serve as simple reminders of what transpired in someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written before about Benjamin Franklin\u2019s epitaph (see Curious & Funny Epitaphs of Famous People & the Not-So-Famous<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Painting:<\/a>
Painting: \u201cPortrait of Benjamin Franklin,\u201d by Joseph Duplessis, c. 1785. Credit: National Portrait Gallery; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He took away from his survivors the daunting task of putting thought to pen by writing his own epitaph \u2013 when he was only 22 years old! Startling, but very memorable, Franklin described himself in his epitaph as food for worms.<\/p>\n

\"Benjamin<\/a>
Massachusetts Spy (Worcester, Massachusetts), 13 May 1790, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The body of
\nBENJAMIN FRANKLIN, printer,
\nLike the cover of an old book,
\nIts contents torn out, and
\nStripped of its lettering and gilding,
\nLies here, food for worms<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now that\u2019s a memorable epitaph!<\/p>\n

Interest in Epitaphs from before the 18th Century<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turns out interest in commemorative phrases is timeless. People of the past often put great thought, and sometimes tongue in cheek, into eternal remembrances. According to this reference from a 1736 newspaper article, a book on epitaphs was published more than a hundred years earlier, from which the editors selected an appropriate epitaph for a \u201cMiser\u201d who had died.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Evening-Post (Boston, Massachusetts), 29 November 1736, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The editors certainly had no great love for this miser, as this epitaph\u2019s two last lines make clear:<\/p>\n

He liv\u2019d a Hog, dy\u2019d like a Dog,
\nAnd\u2019s gone with many a Curse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Westminster Abbey Epitaphs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the most widely published epitaphs were used for burials in prestigious places, such as London\u2019s Westminster Abbey. If you\u2019re lucky enough to visit, try looking for these examples. The first one dates to 1721 and was written by the Duke of Buckingham \u201cto be placed upon his Tomb in Westminster-Abbey.\u201d According to WorldCat Identities, this was poet and politician John Sheffield (1647-1721).<\/p>\n

\"Painting:<\/a>
Painting: John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, c. 1685. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His epitaph appeared in this 1721 newspaper article.<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
Boston Gazette (Boston, Massachusetts), 19 June 1721, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His epitaph speaks of his devotion to king, country and God:<\/p>\n

I have Lived, often for my King, always for my Country,
\nNot without Danger, nor yet without Honour.
\nI Dye, uncertain of my Future State, but serene & undisturb\u2019d.
\nI adore my Saviour Christ and acknowledge His Divinity.
\nI put my Trust in the Eternal and Omnipotent God alone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Westminster Abbey is the final resting place of many other poets, such as Mathew Prior (1664-1721).<\/p>\n

\"Painting:<\/a>
Painting: Matthew Prior, by Thomas Hudson. Credit: National Portrait Gallery; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prior left money for a monument to be erected in his memory at Westminster Abbey, along with some lines for his epitaph.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/a>
American Weekly Mercury (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 21 January 1724, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here lies the Bones of Matthew Prior,
\nA Son of Adam and of Eve,
\nLet Bourbon or Nassau go higher.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After Prior\u2019s epitaph was published, a newspaper reader decided to expand on the poet\u2019s original lines.<\/p>\n

\"Lines<\/a>
American Weekly Mercury (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 7 May 1724, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hold Mathew Prior, by your leave;
\nYour Epitaph is something odd,
\nBourbon and You are Sons of Eve,
\nBut Nassau is a Son of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Odd or Silly Epitaphs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apparently epitaph writing was quite the art in the 18th<\/sup> century, and could be a form of humorous entertainment. Our ancestors often took pen in hand and coined silly epitaphs, such as this one for \u201cFanny\u201d who had one brown garment, coarse and plain, and who was a virgin to her dying day.<\/p>\n

Make sure you read this epitaph to the very end, so that you learn who Fanny was. Don\u2019t you love the oddity and strangeness of this early humor?<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
American Weekly Mercury (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 29 December 1737, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is an odd epitaph with a taunt for the reader about getting rich.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Salem Gazette (Salem, Massachusetts), 19 July 1796, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have you discovered any memorable epitaphs while doing your family history research? If so, please share with us in the comments section below.<\/p>\n

Related Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n