This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burial Ground in Brewster, Massachusetts
In Memory of PHYLANDER
Son of Mr. BENJAMIN
& Mrs. MARY BANGS
who departed this Life Decr. 4th
1797. Aged 6 Months.
Also Mr. JOSHUA BANGS
who was lost at Sea Oct. 21st
1798 Aged 23 Years
&& 9 Months
Philander Bangs is the son of Benjamin Bangs and Mary Hatch. Joshua Bangs, lost at sea, is the cousin of Philander, and son of Joshua Bangs, also the brother of Benjamin Bangs. Benjamin and Joshua Bangs were sons of Benjamin Bangs and Desire Dillingham, and the great great grandsons of John Bangs (1644 - 1728) and Mary Mayo (my 8x great grandparents).
I can only guess that perhaps these two young cousins, one infant and one a young unmarried man, were memorialized together on the same stone because they died within a year of each other? Just a guess.
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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
The question is - was Joshua actually buried there? If he was lost at sea doesn't it suggest this is a cenotaph for him? Mariners provide some of the greatest challenges for me when it comes to cemetery research. It can be so hard to know if we are talking an actual burial or just a memorial.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely correct. It does say "lost" versus "died at sea". I have another ancestor who went to sea whaling with his son, and when the son died they brought his body home in the rum barrel. Strange but true.
DeleteWhat a beautiful, well carved stone and such wonderful information. Joshua could be remembered on the stone simply because stones were expensive and there was space to squeeze him on.
ReplyDeleteBeneath Thy Feet
Makes me wonder what they did on British Prison ships. My gg-grandfather died 27 April 1813 on board ship of Dartmoor Prison
ReplyDeleteaccording to Prisoners Memoirs: or Dartmoor Prison /Charles Andrews 1852 NY. Were they buried at sea?