Sunday, November 11, 2012

Old Settlers Burial Field, Lancaster, Massachusetts

Thanks to recent posts by Bill West, Pam Carter and Heather Rojo, I decided to explore more about an ancestral line of mine I had not delved into much to date: John Prescott & Mary Gawkroger of Lancaster, Massachusetts. John and Mary are my 10th Great Grandparents and I descend from them on my mother’s matrilineal line, which has several lines going back to colonial times.

With the help of Find-a-Grave I located that John and Mary were buried in the Old Settlers Burial Field in Lancaster, Massachusetts. So, Sunday morning at the crack of dawn I left home off on a genealogical road trip down to Lancaster to explore this cemetery.

The Old Settlers Burial Field is not an easy place to find unless you know what you’re looking for. It is located in the back of Middle Cemetery off Main St, itself being a beautiful old cemetery with a multitude of large, ornate markers.


Once you’re in Middle Cemetery, go to the upper left-hand corner of the cemetery and look for a path leading to the railroad tracks. From there walk left until you see graves across the tracks perched within a hilltop forested glade.

Once within the burial ground, I had such a sense of peace. Large trees are scattered amongst the graves and the stones themselves blend in with nature as if they have always been there.

Indeed, most of the graves are from the late 1600’s to the early 1800’s and have been here for a very long time. I easily located John & Mary’s grave near the back of the cemetery which had numerous old worn-down stones which were barely readable, but over which a large dark gray marker installed more recently loomed:

"HERE WITH HIS CHILDREN ABOUT HIM LIES JOHN PRESCOTT, FOUNDER OF LANCASTER AND FIRST SETTLER OF WORCESTER COUNTY. BORN AT STANDISH, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND, DIED AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS, DEC. 1681 .INSPIRED BY THE LOVE OF LIBERTY AND THE FEAR OF GOD,THIS STOUT-HEARTED PIONEER ,FORSAKING THE PLEASANT VALES OF ENGLAND,TOOK UP HIS ABODE IN THE UNBROKEN FOREST AND ENCOUNTERED WILD BEAST AND SAVAGE TO SECURE FREEDOM FOR HIMSELF AND HIS POSTERITY. HIS FAITH AND VIRTUES HAVE BEEN INHERITED BY MANY DESCENDANTS WHO IN EVERY GENERATION HAVE WELL SERVED THE STATE IN WAR, IN LITERATURE, AT THE BAR, IN THE PULPIT, IN PUBLIC LIFE AND IN CHRISTIAN HOMES."



Unfortunately many of the stones are now unreadable due simply to wear over the hundreds of years since the markers were installed. Some though are still readable and reflect different styles of gravestones depending upon the era in American history.





On my way back to my car, I perused Middle Cemetery and located the gravestones of my 6th great grandparents Captain Daniel Rugg and Elizabeth Divoll.



I hope to visit this cemetery again, not only for its history, but as this is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I've visited.

14 comments:

  1. Awesome cemetery! I'm working on some Lancaster research for a client. Will have to make a stop here next time I'm home

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    1. Thanks Claire - good to hear from you. Hope all is going well with the business! Yes, you would LOVE this place - I highly recommend a visit.

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  2. Thank you so much for the photos of this beautiful cemetery. I've been researching the Hudson family for a friend. Several Hudson family members were massacred by the Indians and buried in a common grave on Gibson Hill in Lancaster, so I am still hoping to find photos of that cemetery.

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    1. Thanks for your kind comments! Here's hoping you found photos of the cemetery on Gibson Hill!

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    2. ChaCha Lady, thank you for your comments regarding the Hudson family. I too am an ancestor of the Hudson family. Daniel Hudson and Joanna White Hudson are my 7x great grandparents. I was just curious if you were successful in finding any records regarding the common burial on Gibson Hill?

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  3. My wife and I had the privilege to visit the Old Settlers Burial Grounds this past September 2014 to visit my 9th Great Grandfathers grave, Thomas Sawyer. Thomas married a Prescott girl so we visited her parents graves as well. Your directions were great and had also received them from the monument company in Lancaster. Also found the plaque in town that represents where the Sawyer Garrison was. Thanks for your directions!

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    1. Thanks for the comment and I'm so glad you had a great experience!

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  4. Micheal by chance did you happen to come across Jonathan Whitcomb 1628/19691 or wife Hanna born 1649 ? Thanks Norm Whitcomb

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  5. Micheal by chance did you happen to come across Jonathan Whitcomb 1628/19691 or wife Hanna born 1649 ? Thanks Norm Whitcomb

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  6. I'm trying to trace my family back from the Prescott's in Southern Mississippi. A place called Terry's Creek. We have a Prescott cemetery there where my great great great grandfather is buried. Would any of you know anything about the Mississippi Prescott's? Any info would be greatly appreciated. My email is jprescott1@ymail.com

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  7. These are my 8th great grandparents. I'm going to make a visit there in June.

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  8. The Prescott family are my 10th great grandparents.

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