The "Sedgwick Pie" is a cemetery plot in the United States. It is the family burial plot of the Sedgwick family in Stockbridge Cemetery,

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is ...

, and gets its nickname from its shape and layout.

Description

The burial sites are arranged around the graves of

Theodore Sedgwick Theodore Sedgwick (May 9, 1746January 24, 1813) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served in elected state government and as a delegate to the Continental Congress, a U.S. representative, and a senator from Massachusetts. H ...

(1746–1813), patriarch of the prominent Sedgwick family of New England and a justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

(among other positions), and his wife, Pamela Dwight Sedgwick (1753–1807). The graves of the others, who include in-laws, servants, and family pets, form concentric circles around the center, with the buried grouped by familial affiliation, and laid to rest with their feet toward the center. This contrasts with the orientation of the other graves in the cemetery, which (in classic fashion) face east, toward the rising sun,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(with all its significance), and the hoped-for

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

. It has been said that this arrangement of the graves sees to it that on

Judgment Day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

, when the Sedgwicks rise to face their judge, they will only have to look at other Sedgwicks. "The Pie" has become something of an attraction for those interested in unusual cemetery plots, grave tours, and the like.

Occupants

Notable persons buried in the Pie include: *

(1746–1813) *

Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett) Elizabeth Freeman ( 1744 December 28, 1829), also known as Bet, Mum Bett, or MumBet, was the first enslaved African American to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling, in Freeman's favor, ...

(c.1742–1829) * Catharine Sedgwick (1789–1867) *

Francis James Child Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of r ...

(1825–1896) * Henry Dwight Sedgwick (1861–1957) *

Ellery Sedgwick Ellery Sedgwick (February 27, 1872 – April 21, 1960) was an American editor, brother of Henry Dwight Sedgwick. Early life He was born in New York City to Henry Dwight Sedgwick II and Henrietta Ellery (Sedgwick), grand daughter of William E ...

(1872–1960) * Brigadier General William R. Bond (1918–1970)

Cultural references

The Pie is the first topic of discussion in '' Edie: An American Biography'', by Jean Stein and

George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...

(Knopf, 1982). The book is a discussion of the life and career of

Edie Sedgwick Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress and fashion model, known for being one of Andy Warhol's superstars.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties" Pantheon Books, pp. 210& ...

who, although a member of the family, is not buried there, but in the small Oak Hill Cemetery in

Ballard, California Ballard is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California. The town of Ballard is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley. The nearest city is Solvang. The population was 467 at the 2010 census. Ballard is the s ...

. Her epitaph reads "Edith Sedgwick Post – Wife Of Michael Brett Post 1943–1971". Her mother Alice was buried next to her in 1988.

Notes

Bibliography

* Eric Goldscheider,
Stockbridge Stoutly Savors Being Small
, ''The Boston Globe'', November 6, 2005. * John Sedgwick, ''In My Blood: Six Generations of Madness and Desire in an American Family'' (HarperCollins, 2007). * Jean Stein and George Plimpton, ''Edie: An American Biography'' (Knopf, 1982). * Linda Wertheimer,
The Sedgwicks: A History of 'Madness'
Weekend Edition Saturday, January 6, 2007.

External links

at sedgwick.org {{coord, 42.285354, -73.318018, display=title, type:landmark_region:US Stockbridge, Massachusetts Sedgwick family Burials in Massachusetts