PARK AND C EM ET ER 
263 
Cemeteries of Boston — Ancient and Modern 
Address before the Barte Convention of the A. A. C. S. 
by Leonard W. Ross, Supt. of Cemeteries, Boston, Mass. 
It has been thought that a brief historical 
and physical description of the several 
cemeteries and burial grounds now within 
our jurisdiction and constituting the prop- 
erties, interests and activities of the ceme- 
tery department of the city of Boston, may 
not prove uninteresting to you on this oc- 
casion. And it occurs to me that possibly 
some information of value may be gleaned 
from this talk, largely however, through 
the multitude of mistakes and errors unin- 
tentionally made in the past. I say “unin- 
tentionally made'’ because I am convinced 
that no cemetery superintendent or care- 
taker either of the past or present time 
intentionally does a wrong thing in the con- 
struction, maintenance or administration of 
the cemeteries under his care ; rather does 
the evidence prove that they have acted ac- 
cording to the best information available to 
them in their period of service. 
Boston of today consists of an accumula- 
tion of municipalities which have been 
added to the original from time to time 
through the process of annexation, and 
with each added municipality there comes 
one or more cemeteries to be added to the 
collection and always with no funds or 
provisions for their care, and in most cases 
with the land all sold, or rather, generally 
in the case of the older ones, given away 
to those who have need for it. So today 
we find ourselves the possessor of twenty 
separate cemeteries widely distributed over 
the entire area within our present territo- 
rial limits, varying in area from one-half 
an acre to one hundred and thirty acres. 
Three only of these are so-called “active’’ — 
that is, having land unsold, from the sale 
of which and from the other usual sources 
an income may be derived. All others are 
a burden with no income save small sums 
derived from the income of bequests by 
persons interested in some particular 
grounds, and the Perpetual Care endow- 
ment fund, which the present management 
have succeeded in inducing a part of the 
owners of lots in the older grounds to 
make. 
The origin of some of these old burial 
grounds can only be uncertainly traced in 
the dim traditions of early colonial days 
immediately following the landing of the 
Pilgrims when their feet touched the in- 
hospitable shores of the new western world 
in the centuries now behind us. They, like 
most of our modern cemeteries, were born 
of necessity. People then, as now, died, 
and the mortal part had to be disposed of. 
It is probable that deaths occurred between 
the time of the landing of the Pilgrims and 
the year when tradition says that King’s 
Chapel Burial Ground, our first known 
cemetery, had its beginning in 1630. Where 
they were buried we knew not. Shurtleff 
in his “Memorial History of Boston’’ writes 
concerning this ground, “The exact time 
when this cemetery was first set apart and 
devoted to its present use can never be ac- 
curately determined, although certain tra- 
dition connects its origin with the death pf 
Mr. Isaac Johnson, which occurred several 
weeks before the actual settlement of the 
town.'’ Mr. Samuel Sewell, the noted Chief 
Justice, * * * writes that “Mr. Johnson 
was buried in Boston in his lot, and that 
others at their request were on their death 
buried near him, and hence the spot be- 
came the site of the old burial ground.” 
This tradition is, however, disputed by the 
fact that there is no record of his pos- 
sessing any land in Boston. It is most 
probable that he was buried with his 
wife in Salem, Mass., although, strange 
as it may seem, no other record was 
made of his burial nor was there any 
recorded reference to it, notwithstand- 
ing he was one of the most important 
men of the colony. But, be this as it 
may, it is certain that the first known 
burial in Boston took place some months 
later as related by Governor Winthrop un- 
der date of the 18th of February, 1630, 
who then wrote “Captain Weldon a hope- 
ful young gent and an experienced souldier 
dyed at Charlestown of a consumption and 
was buried in Boston with a military fu- 
neral.” Governor Dudley later in a letter 
to the Countess of Lincoln wrote that he 
(Captain Welden) was buried as a souldier 
with three volleys of shott.” Here then 
we have the written word of two impor- 
tant men recording the death and burial of 
Captain Welden. For the first thirty years 
of the town of Boston this was the sole 
repository of the dead. It is worthy of 
note that the prudence of the fathers of 
the town prompted them to lease this burial 
ground to Captain Savage for a term of 
twenty years, he promising to preserve the 
fence. This lease, however, was termi- 
nated three years later in August, 1660, by 
vote of the town “that the old burial place 
should not be broken up without leave.” 
Possibly the ancient captain had been a lit- 
tle too intensive in his method of cultiva- 
tion. 
Soon after 1630 the town of Roxbury 
took steps to establish its first burial place, 
and on November 3rd, 1633, the town of 
Dorchester voted to establish a burial place 
and the following year “the land was laid 
out and enclosed by a fence.” These towns 
were many years later annexed to and are 
now a part of Boston. Then followed the 
establishment from time to time of other 
cemeteries in Boston proper and in ad- 
joining municipalities, many of them after- 
ward becoming parts of Boston. All of 
these older burial grounds were for many 
years previous to 1897 under the jurisdic- 
tion of the Board of Health. Mount Hope 
Cemetery, the largest and most important 
one of the department, was established by 
private interests and was sold to the city 
for the sum of $3o,0U0.0() by conveyance 
dated July 31, 1857. It was then placed 
under the direction of a board of five trus- 
tees, the city registrar serving as clerk of 
the board. This entire board of five trus- 
tees was appointed annually by the mayor, 
subject to confirmation by the Board of 
Aldermen. And, as until recent j'ears no 
mayor held office for more than two years, 
and several for only one year, all at that 
time being elected annually, and each new 
mayor finding the five places to fill l)y ap- 
pointment, it is not strange that the num- 
ber of men who have at one time or an- 
other filled one of these places is almost 
legion. 
In 1897 the dawn of a new era broke 
forth for the cemeteries of Boston. The 
state legislature, on petition, enacted a spe- 
cial law establishing a cemetery department 
for the city of Boston under the direction 
of a board of five trustees appointed by the 
mayor for terms of five years each, so des- 
ignated that the term of one trustee only 
expires each year, and placing all ceme- 
teries belonging to the city under their 
jurisdiction and control. Under the pres- 
ent city charter these appointments must be 
approved by the State Civil Service Com- 
mission, and the law under which this com- 
mission acts specifically provides that they 
may approve only those who by experience, 
education or training are regarded by them 
as qualified for the position. Since then 
changes in the personnel of the board have 
been rare indeed, usually occurring through 
the death of an incumbent. It is made up 
of active, successful, public-spirited busi- 
ness men, who have given generously and 
unselfishly of their valued time and 
thought. They receive no compensation 
save that which comes from a knowledge 
of having faithfully performed a public 
duty. Politics as it is generally understood 
finds no lodgment there. Were it other- 
wise under the existing conditions the pres- 
ent superintendent would not have re- 
mained in the service as he has for the 
past eight years, and have received an 
annual election by the unanimous vote of 
the trustees. The utmost harmony and 
good will prevails through all our endeav- 
ors. I have attended every meeting of the 
board for the past eight and a half years 
and have yet to learn of any but a unani- 
mous vote being recorded by our secretary 
on any question. Thus our organization at 
the present time consists of the mayor 
elected for a term of four years, the city 
council of nine members, three expiring 
