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History of Friends Burying GroundFRIENDS’ BURYING GROUND, 1771-present
Location: Route 28A, around and behind Quaker Meeting House, south of Blacksmith Shop Road, and across Route 28A from the West Falmouth Falmouth Library. In 1720 Falmouth Friends built their new meeting house on the bay side of present Route 28A, near Blacksmith Shop Road. In 1771, they erected a new, larger meeting house on the same site, and in 1841, as their community continued to grow, they constructed a still larger building. In 1894 they further enlarged that structure. This is the present Meeting Hours and still in use. The present Friends’ Burying Ground has been in continual use since the early 1770’s, when they built the second meeting house. The first burial, located in the northwest corner of the original burial area, may have been that of Benjamin Swift. Even in the new Friends’ Burying Ground, many of the graves were not marked, according to Quaker custom, although burials were included in the Quaker record book. No information on dates of birth and death was included in the book.
In 1889, with his gift of $300, D. Wheeler Swift initiated subscriptions to a perpetual care fund that provided money for reconditioning and grading the ground, rebuilding fences, and replacing boulders, traditionally used as markers, with conventional markers.
How to Read the Individual Record Friends Burying Ground Information added in this color denotes the information was obtained from The Town of Falmouth, Vital Records to 1850, (out of print) and/or The Town of Falmouth, Vital Records to 1872 (unpublished) by Col. Oliver Brown.
Information from the cemetery records and Quimby 1992
are in this color. Harriet B. Quimby compiled a listing of persons buried in the West Falmouth Friends Meeting Burial Ground in 1992. This is an unpublished work. Information added in this color denotes the information was obtained from The Town of Falmouth Annual Reports from 1870 through 1930.
Grave ID #: This number indicates the section SS= South Section, followed by the two digit row number , - then the grave number within that specific row. Name of the Deceased: The name of the
person buried, or memorialized, in that gravesite. Photo of the Gravestone: This is a thumbnail. If you click on the thumbnail the photo will enlarge. If you want to keep a copy of the gravestone photo, Right Click the photo and select Copy. Inscription: A slash (/) denotes the next line on the gravestone. A (?) means the letters or words can not be read. A series of dots (.....) also indicates not readable. Below the inscription is additional information about this person, if you see more.. click and you will be taken to additional information about this person. There are two ways to enter the
cemetery and find the Individual Record.
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© 2008 Falmouth Genealogical Society
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Donna E. Walcovy
This site was last updated 11/21/08
