The oldest gravestone | CAI - WCAI
capeandislands.org
A seven-week-old boy buried in 1683 has a gravestone that may be the oldest in America — and two rival theories both trace the reason back to religion.
Religious Motivation TheoryMortuary PracticeSocial NormsHistorical Revisionism
Theory Briefing
- Thomas Clark died July 24, 1683, at just seven weeks old, making his grave a candidate for the oldest marked burial in America.
- Two competing theories both point to religious motivation as the reason his family chose to mark such a young infant's grave at all.
- The decision to memorialize a newborn in 1683 was far from standard, making the stone's existence itself the historical puzzle.