Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Hitchcock Family”

English

Informant Data

Hiram Hitchcock was born on August 27th, 1832 in Claremont, New Hampshire, and died in New York City on December 30th, 1900. His first wife, Mary Maynard, was born in Drewsville, New Hampshire on February 7th, 1845, and died on March 25th, 1887, in New York City. Hitchcock’s second wife, Emily Howe, was born on August 24th, 1852, and died January 16th, 1912.

Contextual Data

Hitchcock’s epitaph is taken from Psalm 127:2, as written in the King James Bible. Hitchcock was a trustee of Dartmouth College, the president of the Maritime Canal Company, and ran the 5th Avenue Hotel in New York City, among many other things. However, none of this indicates why this epitaph may have been chosen for his grave.

Maynard’s epitaph is taken from Matthew 11:28, and could be from almost any of the common versions of the Bible. However, given that most other bible-related epitaphs in the Tuck Drive graveyard are taken from the King James Bible, it is likely that this epitaph was also.

Howe’s epitaph is taken from John 11:25, as written in the King James Bible. This epitaph is much longer than most others; the reason for this is unclear.

Text

Hitchcock: “He giveth his beloved sleep.”

Maynard: “And I will give you rest.”

Howe: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”