The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair of cemeteries was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a single listing in 1974.

History

The Common Burial Ground was established in 1640 on land given to city of Newport by John Clarke. It features what is probably the largest number of colonial era headstones in a single cemetery, including the largest number of colonial African American headstones in the United States. The predominantly African-American northern section of the cemetery is commonly referred to by local African-Americans as "God's Little Acre". The Island Cemetery was established by the city in 1836, and transferred to the private Island Cemetery Corporation in 1848. Many members of Newport's most prominent families have been buried there over the years. Notable people buried there include Medal of Honor recipient Hazard Stevens, Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

, Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...

and financier

August Belmont August Belmont Sr. (born August Schönberg; December 8, 1813November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, politician and party chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and also a horse-breeder and racehorse owner. He wa ...

Grave markers returned

In 2016, three gravestones were discovered which had been lost for years. One stone, found in Pennsylvania, was a 12 x 24 marker for a 1-year-old child. The others were 1835 stones for a Newport woman, which were found in a Newport yard during a renovation. The recovered stones were reset in the Common Burying Ground in 2016 by the Newport Historic Cemetery Advisory Commission. In 2017, two more burial stones found in Pennsylvania, those of Violet and Duchess Quamino, were returned and restored. Duchess Quamino, a free Black woman formerly enslaved to William Ellery Channing, had been an active member of Newport's African community.

Notable burials

Prominent people buried in the Common Burial Ground

* John Linscom Boss Jr. - United States Representative. * Christopher Champlin - First Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island. * Christopher G. Champlin - United States Representative 1797–1801, United States Senator 1809 - 1811. *

Michele Felice Cornè Michele Felice Cornè (1752–1845) was an artist born in Elba who settled in the United States. He lived in Salem and Boston, Massachusetts; and in Newport, Rhode Island. He painted marine scenes, portraits, and interior decorations such as fir ...

- Painter. * John Cranston - Colonial Governor of Rhode Island. * Samuel Cranston - Colonial Governor of Rhode Island. *

William Ellery William Ellery (December 22, 1727 – February 15, 1820) was a Founding Father of the United States, one of the 56 signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, and a signer of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Rho ...

- Signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

and colonial Deputy Governor. * James Franklin - Printer and brother of Benjamin Franklin. *

Ann Smith Franklin Ann Smith Franklin (October 2, 1696 – April 16, 1763) was an American colonial newspaper printer and publisher. She inherited the business from her husband, James Franklin, brother of Benjamin Franklin. She published the ''Mintunt'', printed a ...

- Printer & publisher, wife/widow of James Franklin (1st woman U.S. newspaper editor) * Ida Lewis (lighthouse keeper) - Heroine of the 19th Century. Recipient of the

Gold Lifesaving Medal The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by . These decorations are two of the oldest med ...

. *

Henry Marchant Henry Marchant (April 9, 1741 – August 30, 1796) was a Founding Father of the United States, an attorney general of Rhode Island, a delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Rhode Island, a signer of the Articles of Confederation, and the ...

- Delegate to the Continental Congress. *

Dutee J. Pearce Dutee Jerauld Pearce (April 3, 1789 – May 9, 1849) was an American politician and a United States Representative from Rhode Island. Early life Born on Prudence Island, Pearce graduated from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island in 1808, ...

- United States Representative. * Peter Quire - African-American leader and founder of St. John's Episcopal Church in Newport. * Duchess Quamino (1739 – 1804), a formerly enslaved woman, known as the "Pastry Queen of Rhode Island * Asher Robbins - United States Senator 1825–1839. * Gilbert Stuart - Portrait artist. (cenotaph) * William Greene Turner - Sculptor, perhaps best known for his statue of

in Newport. * Frances (Latham) Vaughan - "The Mother of Governors," widow to colonial President Jeremy Clarke, and mother of colonial governor Walter Clarke. * William Vernon - Colonial era merchant. * Richard Ward - Colonial governor of Rhode Island. * Samuel Ward - Delegate to Continental Congress and colonial Governor of Rhode Island.

Prominent people buried in the Island Cemetery

* Hugh D. Auchincloss - Naval officer, government official and stockbroker * Janet Lee Bouvier Auchincloss Morris - Mother of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis *

- Chairman of the Democratic National Committee 1860 to 1872 and founder of the Belmont Stakes * August Belmont Jr. - Developer of the IRT Subway in New York City and the Cape Cod Canal * Perry Belmont - United States Representative and Army officer * Sara Swan Whiting Belmont Rives - 1st wife of Oliver H.P. Belmont and 2nd wife George L. Rives * Yeoman (F) 3rd Class Gladys Carr Bolhouse - U.S. Navy veteran of World War I and local historian. * Gunner George F. Brady, USN - Medal of Honor recipient. *Captain Kidder Breese, USN - Commander of the Naval Landing Party at the

Second Battle of Fort Fisher The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a successful assault by the Union Army, Navy and Marine Corps against Fort Fisher, south of Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War in January 1865. Sometimes referred to as the "Gi ...

. *Brevet Brigadier General Henry Brewerton - Superintendent of

West Point Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. *

Melville Bull Melville Bull (September 29, 1854 – July 5, 1909) was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Bull attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, and graduated from Harvard University in 1877. He ...

- United States Representative, 1895 - 1903 * George Henry Calvert - Writer and Mayor of Newport *Rear Admiral

Augustus Case Augustus Ludlow Case (February 3, 1812 – February 16, 1893) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Newburgh, New York, Case was appointed midshipman in 1828. He participated ...

- Career Navy officer * William Cole Cozzens - Mayor of Newport and Governor of Rhode Island, 1863 * Henry Y. Cranston - United States Representative from Rhode Island and commander of the Artillery Company of Newport * Robert B. Cranston - United States Representative from Rhode Island * George T. Downing (1819–1903) - abolitionist, entrepreneur, restaurateur *Lieutenant Thomas Eadie, USN - Medal of Honor recipient (buried in Island Cemetery Annex). * William Channing Gibbs - Governor of Rhode Island, 1821 - 1824 * George Washington Greene - Historian * John N. A. Griswold - Merchant, industrialist and diplomat * Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895) - Noted architect of Gilded Age * Charles Bird King (1785–1862) - Painter * Clarence King (1842-1901) - Geologist * George Gordon King - Congressman * Lewis Cass Ledyard - Lawyer and Commodore of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

*Captain

Christopher Raymond Perry Christopher Raymond Perry (December 4, 1761 – June 1, 1818) was an officer in the United States Navy who was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Washington County, Rhode Island, in 1780 and served until 1791. He was th ...

- Privateer in the American Revolution and naval officer in the Quasi War *Commodore

(1794-1858) - Commander of Black Ships Expedition to Japan in 1853 *Commodore

(1785-1819) - Hero of the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

in War of 1812 *Lieutenant Colonel John Hare Powel - Army officer, Mayor of Newport and commander of the Artillery Company of Newport * George L. Rives - Assistant Secretary of State * William Paine Sheffield Sr. - Congressman and United States Senator 1884 - 1885 * William Paine Sheffield Jr. - Congressman *Major General Thomas W. Sherman - Civil War general * William Watts Sherman (1842-1912) - Socialite and treasurer of the Newport Casino *Brevet Brigadier General Hazard Stevens - Medal of Honor recipient and son of Isaac Stevens *Major General Isaac Ingalls Stevens - Civil War general who was killed in action at the

Battle of Chantilly The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill, the Confederate name) took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the concluding battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corp ...

* Frank K. Sturgis - President of the New York Stock Exchange *Brevet Brigadier General George W. Tew - Civil War officer. Lieutenant Colonel of 5th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery. Commander of the Artillery Company of Newport *Commodore

Benjamin J. Totten Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

- Career U.S. Navy officer * Charles C. Van Zandt - Governor of Rhode Island 1877 - 1880 *Major General

Gouverneur K. Warren Gouverneur Kemble Warren (January 8, 1830 – August 8, 1882) was an American civil engineer and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Top during the Battle ...

- Chief engineer of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg - Commander of V Corps (1863-1865) * George Peabody Wetmore - Governor of Rhode Island and United States Senator * Katherine Prescott Wormeley - Literary translator, founder of the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War *Norman G. Bestoso - Newport Police Lieutenant and Avid Cruise Ship Traveler

Images

Common Burial Ground

Cranston.John&Samuel.grave stone.Com Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Original grave slab for Governor John Cranston on left, and newer slab for both him and his son, Governor Samuel Cranston, on right Ward.Samuel&Richard.grave site.Com Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Table marker for Governor Samuel Ward on left; brick vault for his father, Governor Richard Ward, on right Ellery.Wm.grave plot.Com Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Enclosed plot for Deputy Governor

, signer of the

William Ellery grave at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg,

grave inscription Ellery.Wm.grave plaque.Com Bur Gnd.20110722.jpg, Grave plaque for

Ida Lewis grave at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, Ida Lewis monument

Island Cemetery

Newport Cemetery.JPG, Island Cemetery in 2009 Entrance building at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, Entrance building Chapel building at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, Overgrown cemetery chapel Chapel building front at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, Chapel Chapel roof hole at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, Hole in the Chapel roof Richard Morris Hunt grave at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, grave of Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt grave inscription at Common Burying ground Newport RI.jpg, grave of Richard Morris Hunt

References

External links

Island Cemetery websiteColonial Slave Cemetery informationHistory of Newport County, Rhode Island," ed. Richard M. Bayles, NY, 1888 (description of common cemetery)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Burying Ground And Island Cemetery 1640 establishments in Rhode Island Cemeteries in Rhode Island Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Slavery in the United States Buildings and structures in Newport, Rhode Island Jewish cemeteries in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Tourist attractions in Newport, Rhode Island