Tombstone Tuesday ~ Col. Joshua Burnham, Milford, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the North Yard Cemetery on River Road in Milford, New Hampshire

These tombstones are right in the middle of the cemetery,

and my 5th great grandfather's stone, Joshua Burnham, is right behind a granite post!

ERECTED

In memory of

Sally Burnham

Dautr of Capt. Joshua &

Mrs. Jemima Burnham

Who died Decr 27th

1789 in the 11th Year of her

age

Retire my friends, Dry up your tears

Here I must lie 'Til Christ appears

SAR flag holder

COL. JOSHUA BURNHAM

Died

Jan. 7, 1835

AEt. 83

Soldier of the Revolution, 

zealous in his country's cause

Faithful to the constitution 

and obedient to it's laws

How did I read this epitaph with the poor lighting, and the granite post unmoveable?  I cheated, and found it on FindAGrave.com, quoted from the History of Milford, by George Allen Ramsdell, 1901.   I often wonder if the stone was easier to read in 1901, before acid rain, or perhaps the post wasn't there 100 years ago?

Colonel Joshua Burnham is my 5th great grandfather.  He served in the American Revolution, at Bunker Hill, New York, Philadelphia, Canada, and as a Colonel he was an eyewitness when George Washington took command of the Continental Army.  He was granted a pension in 1819.  Col. Burnham is most famous for his house, just about one mile from the cemetery.  It was quite fancy and large, and he ran a tavern there.  In 1824 he sold the house and land to Jesse Hutchinson, the father of the famous 19th century singing group "The Hutchinson Family" sometimes known as "The Tribe of Jesse".   Joshua Hutchinson, one of the sixteen Hutchinson children, composed the epitaph for Joshua Burnham's gravestone.

The Hutchinson family is buried nearby in the same cemetery.  The oldest generations are buried right next to Colonel Burnham, and the subsequent generations' graves are scattered on the other side of the dirt lane down the middle of the cemetery.

Some other blog posts I have written about Joshua Burnham:
The Illiterate Colonel   http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/illiterate-colonel.html
The Hutchinson Family Singers of Milford, New Hampshire  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/hutchinson-family-singers-of-milford.html

A family sketch:

Gen. 1:  Thomas Burnham and Mary Lawrence
Gen. 2:  John Burnham and Elizabeth Wells
Gen. 3:  Thomas Burnham and Susannah Boardman
Gen. 4:  Stephen Burnham and Mary Andrews

Gen. 5:  Colonel Joshua Burnham, born 26 January 1754 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, died 7 June 1835 in Milford, New Hampshire; married on 21 January 1779 to Jemima Wyman, daughter of Increase Wyman and Catherine Unknown.  They had eleven children born in Milford:
1. Sally Burnham, born 1779, died 27 Dec. 1789 in Milford
2. Joshua Burnham, died young
3. Jemima Burnham, born 9 May 1783 married Romanus Emerson (my 4th great grandparents)
4. Thomas Burnham, born 9 May 1783, twin, married Rachel Conant
5. Mary Burnham, born 1785, married Jacob Flynn
6. Azel Burnham, born 15 May 1787, married Lydia H. Peabody
7. Asa Burnham, married Elizabeth Giddings, he died at sea in 1828
8. Lydia Burnham
9. Sarah Burnham, married William Leavitt
10. Ann Burnham, born 7 August 1795, married Nathaniel Chittenden
11. Sabrina Burnham, died 1845, unmarried?

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo