Betsy Holmes Shaw, died 1795, Plymouth, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts

 

Epitaph:

To the memory of

Mrs. BETSY SHAW

wife of

Mr. ICHABOD SHAW Jun.r

who died Dec.r 26, 1795

aged 20 years.

Also her infant daughter

Betsy Holmes by her side

aged 7 months & 15 days.

 Betsy Holmes Shaw was born 10 May 1774 in Plymouth, the daughter of Captain Ichabod Holmes and Rebekah Ellis.  She married Ichabod Shaw on 29 March 1795 in Plymouth.  When Betsy died on 26 December 1795, Ichabod remarried to Esther Homes (1769 – 1846) , her sister.  Esther outlived Ichabod, who died on 26 July 1837 in Plymouth. All three are interred at Burial Hill.

The top of Betsy’s tombstone shows a cherub, and a brick tomb, next to a funeral urn.  All three are common images by gravestone carvers in the early Federal period.  It is possible that Betsey died from complications of childbirth? She was buried with her infant daughter.

 For the truly curious:

Graven Images – New England Stonecarving and Its Symbols, 1650 – 1815 by Allen Ludwig, 2000, (pages 202 and 205 discuss this tombstone).   

Also see Epitaphs from Burial Hill by Bradford Kingman, 1892. See #1448 for Betsy Holmes Shaw.

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 To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Betsy Holmes Shaw, died 1795, Plymouth, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 11, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/03/betsy-holmes-shaw-died-1795-plymouth.html: accessed [access date]).