Letter: Cemetery mystery to be solved on July 21

Posted 7/3/18

To the editor:

When read through the lens of our current social norms, the words Negro and Slave are emotionally loaded at best and vulgar at worst. 

In Barrington 115 years ago …

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Letter: Cemetery mystery to be solved on July 21

Posted

To the editor:

When read through the lens of our current social norms, the words Negro and Slave are emotionally loaded at best and vulgar at worst. 

In Barrington 115 years ago however, those words were used to memorialize the “valuable… services” of Barrington’s former slave population. The actions of our town’s citizens more than a century ago rang like a bell across this nation. Articles appeared in local newspapers, people came from afar, and word even reached The New York Times. 

Part of the credit for this notoriety goes to Thomas W. Bicknell whose family was a large slaveholder in Barrington. Over 200 townspeople and dignitaries attended the dedication of Barrington’s monument. 

Hezekiah Butterworth born in Warren and removed to Boston – a frequent public speaker, read a poem entitled Silent Dispatch. Songs were sung by the local children’s choir, invocations were given by clergy from various churches, speeches happened, people were impressed, and the town clerk read the names of some slaves formally held by Barrington families. Spectators sang the Battle Cry of Freedom and the exercises ended with a benediction. 

One by one the crowd thinned, individuals and groups left for their cozy homes and perhaps a family dinner, or time on the water. Soon Prince’s Hill stood silent once again – cradling its newest addition, “a white quartz boulder buttressed at the corners by large black stones. . .”

What the newspapers failed to mention though was whether anyone is buried beneath or in proximity to the monument. Cemetery commissioners past and present have wondered aloud: “I wish we could just see beneath the surface. Understand what’s there . . . or what’s not.”

On Saturday, July 21, at 2 p.m. (or the 28th if it rains) at the Barrington Public Library we’ll have exactly that opportunity. Dr. Jon Marcoux, anthropologist, award-winning professor, and faculty Fellow at Salve Regina University will present a talk on the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques in cemeteries. GPR is an incredibly useful technology that allows us to look for unmarked graves without disturbing the ground. In this talk and demonstration, Marcoux will explain how GPR operates and discuss a few examples of his recent work. 

Following the talk he will conduct a survey of Prince’s Hill cemetery to demonstrate the technology live. Professor Marcoux will use GPR to scan the vicinity around the slave monument to search for signs of any burials or soil disturbances that may indicate a gravesite or sites. 

This event is free and open to the public. Don’t miss the opportunity to peer into the town’s past as we search for clues to the forgotten history of Prince’s Hill.

• When: Saturday, July 21
• Where: Barrington Public Library
• Time: 2 p.m.
• Rain date: July 28 – same time, same place

Timothy E. McMahon
Barrington

Mr. McMahon is cemetery commissioner in Barrington.

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