Early Grave Markers

Early Grave Markers. . , The gravestones on the Old Brick House property are those of Richard Kennon (1684-1688), oldest son of Richard and Elizabeth Kennon; Henry Isham Kennon (1718-1747); and Angelina Vaughan (1826-1848). None of these stones mark actual graves in their current locations., The younger Richard Kennon, who died just short of his fourth birthday in 1688, was likely the first burial associated with the Old Brick House. According to local tradition, his gravestone was originally placed where it could be seen from the house by his grieving mother, Elizabeth Worsham Kennon., One of the oldest known gravestones in what is now Chesterfield County, it bears an inscription, now illegible, that was transcribed in an 1888 article in The Critic (Richmond, Virginia) and a 1936 Works Progress Administration survey:

Here lyeth interred the , Body of Richard Kennon , eldest son of Richard and , Elizabeth Kennon. He was , Born the 5th of , December, 1684 and , departed this life , the 8th day of March, 1688.

In the early days of colonial settlement in Virginia, there were few skilled stonecutters available to carve gravestones. Settlers commonly marked burial sites with simple wooden markers, such as crosses, or fieldstones with crudely inscribed initials. Those who could afford it had tombstones that were a reflection of their family's wealth or status imported from England or, by the late 17th century, New England., These practices continued as the colonists moved away from their initial settlements and into the Virginia frontier. At these remote locations, burial in churchyards was often impractical because of the distance to the nearest churches, giving rise to the custom of plantation burials., As the number of stone artisans increased in this region, monuments adorned with long epitaphs, ornate engravings, and even heraldic emblems gained popularity among the more affluent colonists. These were crafted from sandstone, slate, limestone or schist, to name a few - whatever materials were locally available and soft enough to quarry, cut and carve. By the late 18th century, marble had also become a fashionable choice for the tombs of the well-to-do., Besides wooden and fieldstone markers, two common styles of funerary markers in colonial Virginia were tablet headstones and ledger (or slab) gravestones. A tablet headstone usually has an arched or tri-lobe top and is placed vertically at the head of the deceased. It is sometimes accompanied by a smaller vertical footstone, often inscribed with initials, at the opposite end of the burial mound. A ledger gravestone is a much larger, flat stone laid flush with the ground or set horizontally on a low brick platform over the grave, creating a "box tomb.", Prominent families also constructed table tombs and chest tombs for their deceased relatives. Table tombs are horizontal stone slabs elevated several feet above the ground with supporting plinths, while chest tombs are rectangular stone boxes that sit above ground, over the burial site. Still other types of early funerary markers in Virginia include tall, tapering obelisks and underground burial chambers called crypts., Christians were usually buried with their feet to the east in the belief that, on Judgment Day, the dead would be resurrected and arise to face the dawn. Early funerary markers were often set with their inscribed surfaces facing away from the graves, so that visitors need not step on the burial mounds to read them. This is why you will sometimes see headstones facing west with their footstones facing east., (captions) , Richard Kennon's gravestone as it appeared in autumn, 2015. Photo courtesy of Leonard David Kennon III., (right) The gravestone of Henry Isham Kennon, son of William and Anne Eppes Kennon. William inherited the Conjurer's Neck estate from his mother, Elizabeth Worsham Kennon, in 1711. Photo courtesy of Leonard David Kennon III., (far right) The gravestone of Angelina Vaughan (September 15, 1826 - March 1, 1848). Her relationship to the Old Brick House is unknown at this time. Photo courtesy of Rachel Lipowicz/Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia, The Critic, Volume 2, Number 9, 5 November 1888, (clockwise from top) A fieldstone marker from the Bermuda District; box tombs, obelisks and headstones at Eppington Plantation; chest tombs near Ettrick; and a table tomb in the Chester area. Photos courtesy of Rachel Lipowicz/Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia.