The Church built on a Deacon's grave.
Posted by: Telomere
N 42° 45.011 W 072° 00.574
18T E 744739 N 4737410
Deacon Lovejoy died, and his church promptly built it's new meeting house over his grave.
Waymark Code: WMT21E
Location: New Hampshire, United States
Date Posted: 09/11/2016
Views: 4
The second Rindge, NH meetinghouse was actually built over the grave of a citizen who advocated for it's construction. A 1794 vote to set the location for construction of this building specifically stated that the location was to be "as the graves in the burying-yard will admit without interrupting them", yet as built, it covered the grave of a Deacon Jonathan Lovejoy, (ironically an active advocate and member of the church) buried just six months earlier.
From "www.rindgechurch.org":
"Deacon John Lovejoy was born in Andover, Massachusetts in 1725, lived in Lunenburg for much of his life, and moved to Rindge in 1762. He was the proprietors’ clerk until the town became incorporated. In 1767, Deacon Lovejoy was chosen as one of the first two deacons of our church. He was prominent in the church and in the town. Deacon Lovejoy died in 1795 and was buried in the church’s cemetery, very close to the first Meeting House. Interestingly, in 1796, the second Meeting House was actually built on top of him, to the consternation of the town’s people who had voted to prevent this. I presume that the Deacon has been resting in peace."
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