The Old Burial Hill Cemetery was established in 1648 in Marblehead, MA. It contains approximately 1000 grave markers of various types. Out of 640 headstones, 120 pre-date 1740. There are grave markers of 60 Revolutionary War veterans. The cemetery is situated in a picturesque setting on a hill overlooking Marblehead Harbor and Salem Sound.
Commissioners
The Old Burial Hill Committee was established in 2009 by the Select Board to oversee and ensure the restoration of Old Burial Hill. The Committee is comprised of five members, appointed annually by the Select Board.
The Committee’s work is guided by a detailed preservation master plan, which was developed for Old Burial Hill and funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Historic Commission and Town funds.
Old Burial Hill Headstones
The Old Burial Hill Cemetery Archive presents approximately 700 hundred images associated with 657 headstones and monuments. They are contained in downloadable PDF packages. Each package contains images of approximately 45 stones. Individual packages are presented in alphabetical order.
A separate index is also provided as a PDF file. The index has two formats, one by decedent’s name and the other by ID #. The base ID # sequence is the same as the 2010 cemetery survey up to ID # 1000. This survey was performed in preparation for preservation work. Additional headstones found, not included in the original survey, are identified with an x, y or z suffix added to the ID # of a nearby stone. For example, 107x is the ID # for a stone located near ID # 107. For stones with inscriptions on more than one side a suffix of a, b, c and d are assigned to each side.
In a number of cases part of the inscription is missing, illegible or questionable. To fill in missing or questionable information the Vital Records or a reference prepared in 1937 were consulted. The reference is a manuscript titled “OLD BURYING HILL, MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS; Record of Inscriptions; 1937” by the Daughters of the American Revolution; Commodore Samuel Tucker Chapter. The reconstructed inscription is presented alongside the image of the partially illegible stone.