OLDEST DATED TOMBSTONE IN AMERICA!

Come with me as we go in search of the oldest dated Tombstone in America! As a gravestone carver myself, the history of our oldest stones are a continual study for me. Please see my website for more info on how I can carve a stone for you!
pumpkintownpri...
Mirror Trick Video • Best trick EVER to rea...
Book Link pumpkintown-10...
Also come see our online store for castings of some of my stones as well as my book on 18thcentury gravestonesgrave-stones-by-david-gillespie/40?cs=true&cst=custom
pumpkintown-10...
Special Thanks to Robert Mouland for the great Colonial Era Music! wireharp.com/

[@dickdaley9059]

Folks generally consider graveyards to be uncomfortable and maudlin places to visit. This is unfortunate. Our deceased brothers and sisters hold many fascinating stories to be learned by the living. I suggest initially visiting a National Cemetery as you begin to discover the spiritual impact of this activity. 💞

[@michealferrell1677]

In Saint Paul’s Episcopal church Norfolk Va has the headstone of Dorothy “Drew” Farrell 1673 . She was my 8th time great grandmother and wife to Captain Hubert Farrell who served in Berkeleys army and was killed during bacons rebellion.

[@pumpkintown]

That is a treat to know that about your family! I wish I knew where stones were to my ancestors from the 1600s!

[@Joe___R]

The bunched lettering on the top line is a prime example of why you should always layout everything before your chisel ever touches the stone.

[@pumpkintown]

Indeed

[@Troy-Echo]

You can also see where he left the M and E separate towards the middle of the first row or letters and realized his spacing errors which caused the carver to use the combined M & E and the missing E at the end of TEACHR. I'm surprised they didn't decrease the space between Sometimes and Teacher, and make those letters slightly thinner to allow for the full TEACHER. Being the oldest dated tombstone, I'd guess the person doing this didn't have a great deal of experience carving previous stones, so I have to say they did a great job. Two lines down "Vitall Breath" has less space in the lettering, so they learned as they went further down. The 3/4 inch deeper engraving may have also been due to the lack of experience. How was that metal rod put into the stone? Was it stones pieced together, and if so, how was the stone sealed together to stand this test of time?

[@fiercenet]

Thanks for taking us on this trip with you!

[@pumpkintown]

Thank you for watching, and being interested!

[@harveyhaase2030]

Very interesting neat mirror trick.

[@pumpkintown]

Thanks Harvey! It has served us well!

[@juliehirsh1436]

Yea til they set the grass on fire😂😂😂.

[@kennethjohnson4280]

"Aziz, Light!" -Professor Pacoli The Fifth Element

[@pumpkintown]

Light makes all the difference doesn’t it?

[@smickster]

Interesting stuff! Thanks for taking time to talk through the carving style.

[@pumpkintown]

You are quite welcome! Thanks for watching

[@cherylsmith4826]

I was born 314 years after his death on the same day date. I love when i see that!

[@pumpkintown]

No way!

[@user-yw3mp4sz1b]

Love the videos and your carvings! Will you be doing a Stevens shop of Newport RI video?

[@pumpkintown]

Likely not but would love to! Thank you kindly

[@SpeakTruthBeKind]

Very interesting! Mirror trick is great! Do you need a large mirror or (if you don’t have a helper) can you have one half that size and build an adjustable stand for it? I guess a flashlight with a special built holder would be helpful as well. Thank you for sharing your trip.

[@pumpkintown]

You certainly could. The bigger the mirror the bigger the area on the stone it will light up though. Flashlights not so good unless after dark in which case you shouldn’t be in a cemetery after dark unless you are allowed to. Great question! Thx

[@ncbluegrassevents1984]

Look up abbotts creek primative Baptist church davidson county nc. You will like their tombstones.

[@pumpkintown]

I am familiar with it. My 6th G Grandfather Benjamin Merrill was a member of that very church! Great stones aren’t they! Thanks

[@craigroberts3982]

Fascinating. It'd be an honor to have you carve mine especially if I outlive you. :-)

[@pumpkintown]

It would be an honor to carve yours indeed. I hope I get to carve a model a on one someday

[@craigroberts3982]

Thank you. That would truly be an honor!

[@robertlassiter907]

I saw some from the late 1600’s in a church cemetery in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. This was around 1977 or so. What struck me was how many young women there were. I was told that many young women died during childbirth in those days. Thanks for the tour. There is a cemetery near me in NW Alabama that had a civil war skirmish amongst the graves. There are supposedly some headstones with bullet holes in them but I haven’t found them yet.

[@pumpkintown]

I had high hopes a stone would exist in Jamestown earlier but it doesn’t seem to be the case. I saw one there from the 1690s but I think there are some a little older there

[@kentprice9912]

I appreciate you taking us on this tour. I subscribed to your site for another reason but this is just a bonus. Thank you sir

[@pumpkintown]

Excellent! Thank you!

[@michaelwhisman]

Slate made the best stones. Slate was what is called "weathered stone"

[@pumpkintown]

It weathers very well which is why I love carving it!! Longevity is my goal!

[@silvereagle1960]

I'm related to Cotton Mather, would like to know where this is, he's my many greats grandfather,and I'll have to check out a local cemetery in a cornfield ,there's 16th century birthdates on some of them here in Southern Indiana!

[@pumpkintown]

If you are related to Cotton Mather you have an amazing heritage to be very thankful for. Have you read any of his books or sermons?

[@silvereagle1960]

@@pumpkintown Just stuff about the witch trials, and when Benjamin Franklin wrote about him in the Silence Dogood letters!

[@christianwyrostek9894]

Hi David, you requested that we let you know if there is a stone that's older. According to online sources, Grace Berry, who died in 1625, is burred in Plymouth, Mass with a slate stone.

[@pumpkintown]

I’m pretty sure that’s the one that has obviously been backdated. Its style is from 1670s to 80s I think if memory serves me correctly. Yes here is a link. Carved in 1670s or 80s based on its style. But it is a 1625 burial! That awesome isn’t it?! www.ancestoryarchives.com/2017/03/is-this-oldest-known-tombstone-in.html?m=1

[@bobbyd6680]

05:50 I think "The Church of Windsor" pretty much nails it as being English.

[@pumpkintown]

Indeed

[@jamy8575]

You NEED at least 100 years of infrastructure built up prior to the 1644 tombstone you display. I would venture 150 years+. Boy, howdy does it disturb the history we were "taught" about "USA/America" in "school". We were hear LONG before that what we were conditioned to believe.

[@pumpkintown]

I really enjoy reading the diary of the expedition of De Soto across the South here in the 1540s

[@Samantha-pn4zk]

Do you know anything about the funky-looking 5 and 7 on the grave dated 1657?

[@pumpkintown]

Yes! The 5 of the 17th and 18th centuries on stones largely took this form as a number that dropped below the base line or is called descender. This one has a nice folk appeal but over isn’t much different in skeletal form than the ones I carve frequently. I think they look better personally! The 7 is pretty standard, but could be more stylized for sure! Good question!

[@northeastcemeterytoursroad9653]

come see us near saratoga ny if you are still in area - we have a lot of revolutionary war guys

[@pumpkintown]

I wish we were still up there! Maybe next time Lords willing!

[@northeastcemeterytoursroad9653]

look us up next time we have a lot of Zerubbabel Collins and his sons James and Charles Collins, the Sears of the late 18th century @@pumpkintown

[@bme7491]

Interesting that our "U" was written as "V", but then the opposite is true as well.

[@pumpkintown]

Indeed!

[@bill90405]

You believe this to be the earliest marked grave in US, do you believe the monument is contemporary to the burial? I have ancestors buried in Providence RI in 1650’s and Oyster Bay LI in 1670’s but i have yet to see them. Some are in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Oyster Bay.

[@pumpkintown]

Yes sir I do. If it isn’t contemporary it can’t be more than a 10 year or so difference as there were several in there from the 1650s dated.

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

How about at Jamestown?

[@pumpkintown]

Good idea, but no sir. The oldest dated stone in Jamestown is like the 1680s or 90s. Not a lot of native stone worth carving. Across the River at Westover Plantation some date back to 1650s but haven’t weathered very well at all.

[@YourAashique]

7:01 I learn something new. Why 6 is high and 4 is in lower position? #Please explain me. 12th July 2024.

[@pumpkintown]

That was the style of the day! Still looks better in my opinion!

[@kathyclark9939]

A relative of mine from the revolutionary war still has a stone standing. It is leaning backwards very badly. How would I use the mirror trick when it's leaning backwards so much. Is it a matter of just moving the mirror around. Also how would we go about straightening the stone before it falls over and breaks? Thank you I find your videos fascinating.

[@pumpkintown]

Yes just position mirror backward and keep experimenting with angle until it works! Also yes you need to dig it up and reset it. Get Lynette Strangstads book “a Graveyard preservation primer” worth its weight in gold

[@kathyclark9939]

I found the book online and I ordered it. It should be here in a week. I shared this with my genealogy group from my hometown and I hope we can save what is left of this old cemetery. The host of the group is from South Carolina and she actually attended one of your presentations. PS I'd like you to carve my gravestone

[@pumpkintown]

@@kathyclark9939 This is all excellent news! On the cover of Lynettes Book is BJ Berry helping move a big gravestone. I ended up having the privilege to carve his stone later. Thank you!

[@Treasuremonk]

What was up with the 1657 one? The 5 looked strange ?

[@pumpkintown]

In 1657 the fives were sometimes carved a little differently than we think of today. The fives I carve are from the 1740s and still retain some of that flavor. And of course each carver had his own spin or style as well. Good question

[@Treasuremonk]

Great work you do! Beautiful! I love old cemeteries! Thanks

[@pumpkintown]

Thank you