The
Burying Ground at Pemaquid
 Gravestones in this burial ground date back well into
the early 1700s and this is likely the site of burials for
settlers dating back to the original British arrival in the
1620s. Staff at the park have been cataloguing the stones
and the families interred here so that relatives and researchers
can look into the history of past inhabitants of Pemaquid.
Very
likely, villagers from the 17th century also buried their
dead in or near the present graveyard, although the oldest
graves were marked with field stones and wooden markers, long
since rotted away. Many field stones still indicate where
unknown settlers were buried. One gravestone mentioned in
John Cartland's Twenty Years at Pemaquid, but of
unknown location now, was believed to be that of Sergeant
Hugh March, a member of Fort William Henry's garrison, killed
on September 9, 1695. The earliest slate stone found in the
burial ground belonged to Mary Mors, who died in 1734. The
original cemetery is believed to have been much larger than
the present area, which was first fenced in by James Partridge
circa 1847.
Although
many families may have established small plots on their own
property, the graveyard probably remained the preferred burial
ground of village inhabitants throughout the 18th century.
One of the more notable graves is that of Alexander Nichols
Jr., son of one of Fort Frederick's last commanders. He and
his family were also the first documented occupants of the
Fort House. Descendants of the Partridge family continue to
be buried in the current cemetery.
The
Division of Parks and Public Lands does not own the cemetery. It is
owned by a private cemetery association. Visitors are encouraged
to appreciate and photograph the old stones with their interesting
designs of willows and death's heads and decorative borders.
However, the making of gravestone rubbings is prohibited because
of the damage it causes to the fragile stones.
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