Friends Cemetery - Portsmouth, RI
HISTORICAL CEMETERY #: PO010 PORTSMOUTH FRIENDS' CHURCHYARD PORTSMOUTH RI
HEDLY ST., CORNER OF WEST MAIN RD. of tele. pole # 2 at TEL pole # 2 NOTE: In 1692 Robert Dennis sold a plot of land four rods square to Matthew Berdin, William Wodell, and Gideon Freeborn, for a burial lot for the Portsmouth Society of Friends. It was a deed of gift "For the love I have to the truth and the people of God which are in scorne called Quakers" (Edwin West, "Portsmouth Before 1800"). The church and cemetery were described at length by Robert M. Bayles (RMB) in his "History of Newport County," 1888, II:679-681; "Beyond the meeting house, that is on the western side, in an enclsure of half an acre, surrounded by a neat and plain stone wall, sleep the forefathers of the Friends. A rigid plainness marks the spot. The older graves are marked only by unhewn slabs of native stone, devoid of any semblance of ornamentation, polish or inscription. It is only the later generation that have ventured to place smooth stones with inscriptions up them at the graves of their dead, and these, though neat and substantial, are mostly of the plainest sort." Bayles included a selection of transcriptions, mostly 19th century, all in the Quaker style, e.g., "9th mo., 17 d." rather than Sept. 17. Unfortunately only two stones were copied in "Rhode Island Tombstone Inscriptions, " circa 1900 at RIHS (ANON). The stones were again transcribed by Patricia Bodine for CETA 10 Apr. 1976 at which time the cemetery was active; the transcript was entered by John Sterling. Described but not recorded by Ian Kohl 1989. Church office phone: 401/683-0818; parsonage: 2232 East Main Road, phone 401/683-1109. This cemetery has been recorded but not checked.
Portsmouth, as noted, was the site of settlement of Richard and Joan Borden in 1638. As the Friends movement (Quakers) grew in popularity most of the early Bordens adopted the faith. Portsmouth was a Quaker community and this meeting house was established in 1700. Many early Bordens are buried here though early Quakers did not mark graves. The Quakers were particular about maintaining records of births, deaths and marriages and community proceedings. It is because of their records that we know as much as we do about the early Bordens. Weld acknowledges this in her genealogy. The Quaker elders also travelled amongst the various parishes up and down the coast to keep everyone "current" with news of other communities and to update records.
