The North Yard
Nestled under the shade trees in the triangle at the junction of
Court Street and East Surry Road is the North Burying Ground. This
land was originally part of the farm of Israel Houghton, who willed
it to his son John in 1769 . John served in the French and Indian Wars
and later was a captain in the Revolutionary War.
In 1776 Captain John Houghton set aside land for a family burying
ground and shortly afterwards his friend, Ebenezer Day, was
buried there. In 1794 Captain Stephen Chase bought the farm and
built the present house, which now stands on the west side of Court
Street. Although the North Yard was designated as a "Town Yard"
in 1795, the deed to the land remained in the Chases' possession and
the family continued to keep records of the burials. It was not until
1900 that a de scendant, Joseph Chase, presented a quitclaim deed to
the city. In 1954 Mrs. H . Bramwell Shaw, gra ndda ughter of Joseph,
and resident of the Chase homestead, found the old buri al certificates
among the family paper s and presented them to the city clerk.
Still stan ding is the sto ne of E henezer Da y, the first to be buried
in the No rth Yard. He died January 12, 1776, at the age of 66. D ay
was an or iginal proprietor and served under Captain Willard in 1747
and 1748.
Th e gravestones in this yard ab ound with inscriptions and epitaphs.
Here is found the clas sic:
"Reader behold as you pass by
As you are now, so once wa s I.
As I am now, so you mu st be.
Prepare for death and follow me."
Many stones arc engraved with similar words, warning the pa sserby
of his impending doom, regardless of his position in life. The good
man : " He re lies a man whose heart was kind and free, who was ever
loved with God-like Charity." The worldly man : " A nd when ambition
fills yo ur breast, Think of my lonel y pla ce of rest." Some sto nes give
the cau se of death, such as that of Stephen Chase, age 7 years
"
. . . whose death was occasioned by the fall of a tree. How short
the spa n of the cradle to the grave."