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Ushered Out
Shortly before you reach the large boulder marking the grave
of James Otis, look to your right where you will see a single tree
matched by a single headstone and you will be approximately at the
spot of our next item of interest.
Once again the Boston
Public Library provides an amazing group of photos (see slideshow
above) and at the same time
answers a question I am always asked: when was the last burial.
Since the closing of the burial ground in 1879, technically the
last burial here at the Granary was that of John Kettle (Tomb 76)
in 1961. His burial came with one caveat – his remains were
cremated. In a few minutes I’ll tell you about the mysterious case
of another (reputed) late arrival in the form of Madeline Conner.
The image above is the photographic evidence of the last full-body
burial here at the Granary when the mortal remains of Mrs.
Isabelle Perry were placed into Tomb 31 on March 4, 1931 (note the
crowd on Tremont Street.)
The Boston Globe gave some of
the specifics: Perry was the head usher for the Old Howard
Theater; her burial was the first in 20 years in the Granary and
only the second in 75; she lived on nearby Ridgeway Lane; the tomb
was prepared for her internment by the official gravedigger of the
Granary, Michael Norris (infrequent as the occasion may be.)
The Globe also fleetingly mentions the possible reason why
Mrs. Perry was allowed to be buried here at the Granary -
Revolutionary-era lineage. Since thousands of Bostonians had
similar ancestral resumes at the time, what is curiously missing
in the brief Globe article is the answer to how a humble woman
such as Mrs. Perry “won the lottery” in gaining an exception to
the rule (no new burials) while those with “better connections”
were excluded.
Trust me when I say that thousands of
Bostonians would demand burials with their ancestral brethren if
they could - not to mention the eternal bragging rights of
“residing” in the same grounds as Revolutionary luminaries such as
Paul Revere, James Otis, Sam Adams and John Hancock.
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