North Cemetery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The Old North Cemetery (Also known as the North Burying Ground) can be found near the North Mill Pond on Maplewood Avenue in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We have driven by this place dozens of times, and finally decided to get out of the car and explore!  The first burial here was in 1751, and it borders Union Cemetery (which is often thought of as part of the same burial ground).  The gate is locked, and the stone wall is low enough to climb over, but there is an opening in the wall near the railroad tracks, next to an information board (see below).  

NORTH CEMETERY

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The town of Portsmouth purchased

this land in 1753 for 150 pounds

from Col. John Hart, Commander of

the N.H. Regiment at Louisburg.

General William Whipple, Signer of

the Declaration of Independence,

Gov. John Langdon, Signer of the

Constitution, Capt. Thomas Thompson,

of the Continental ship Raleigh, are

among the noted citizens buried here.

 For the truly curious:

Old North Cemetery at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_North_Cemetery_(Portsmouth,_New_Hampshire)   

"Historic Portsmouth Cemeteries", Seacoast Online: http://www.seacoastnh.com/Travel/Quick-Guides/Historic-Portsmouth-Cemeteries/   

North Cemetery at the Find A Grave website (listing of notable burials):   https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/103000/north-cemetery    

Portsmouth Public Library Cemetery Index (maps and plot plans)  The text and transcriptions for North Cemetery were made in 1907 and corrected in 1954, which is wonderful since time and pollution have obscured some epitaphs since then!

  https://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/local-history-genealogy/cemeterymaps   

"'A Special Treasure": North Cemetery, a gem of Portsmouth's history, needs repair", Portsmouth Herald, 1 September 2021:     https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/2021/09/01/north-cemetery-portsmouth-nh-has-constitution-declaration-signers/5584124001/   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "North Cemetery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 16, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/08/north-cemetery-portsmouth-new-hampshire.html: accessed [access date]).