The tomb of jacob leavitt of hingham, ma

In the Hingham Centre Cemetery sits a brick monument, atop which lies a now undecipherable slab. Sharing this lot are the gravestones of Israel Leavitt (d. 1696, though stone says 1690 or '99), and his father John Leavitt (d. 1691). This is the tomb of Jacob Leavitt, the great-great-grandson of Deacon John, and the man who is said to have been responsible for having the remains of his ancestor(s) reinterred here.

As is evident today, the stone monument is easily covered by lichens, which makes any inscriptions impossible to read. However, we do have a record of what was written, or at least a partial transcription. In 1996, NALF officers hired a Weymouth, MA man to repair the brick work and to clean the slab of growth [NALF Cemetery Report, 1996; reprinted in Desc. of Israel Leavitt 1997 Update, pg 93]. When completed, only the following could be read:

JOHN LEAVITT DIED
1 - 9 -
JACOB LEAVITT DIED JANUARY
1826 AGED 85
----- WIFE DIED -----
----- AGED -----

Jacob Leavitt died on 7 Jan 1826, and his wife Leah (Fearing) died on 14 Oct 1838. With the grave markers of Israel and John Leavitt also in this lot, and John's name inscribed on the stone, one would hope their remains (had they survived over a century underground) were also removed from their original burying places near the Old Ship Church (see below) when the stones were brought over to the Plain. The question is, who else is buried in this tomb?

​​In his will [Plymouth County Probate, case #12506], dated the 6th of July 1824, he wrote that his "tomb should be kept for the use of the family to the latest generation".

​Jacob Leavitt had nine children, and most of them had offspring of their own, so there may have been two dozen people of the "latest generation" at the time of his will being written. Two of his sons were deceased by 1824: Benjamin and Elijah. While the former had moved to Portland, Maine and died there, the latter passed away in Hingham but there's no record of his burial place. With three of his children having stones in front of this lot (so either buried there or were placed in the vault), Elijah is very likely in the tomb with his parents. Most of Jacob's other children and their families have lots elsewhere in the Centre Cemetery, so did not take up the offer left to them by their father. Daughter Lydia (wife of Edward Battles) died in Charlestown, MA in 1860, her death rec says she was buried in Hingham, and may be with her parents.

The number of family members that forever rest inside the tomb of Jacob Leavitt is not known, and will likely never be, other than the names  ​found etched on the stone slab above the tomb. The date of its construction, and of its size, are also not known. Were the remains of John's two wives also moved to this new location or, perhaps having no grave markers, are instead part of the mass burial of the early settlers in the Hingham Cemetery?

In 1831, per a town vote, the hillside in front of the Derby Academy, where the first meeting house had once stood, and where the earliest burial place of the first settlers had been, was dug out, in order to widen Main Street. 

More about:
An excellent example of tombs, their monuments, and vaults can be found in the 2011 master plan of the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine, done by the Chicora Foundation. Some of the tombs in this yard have dimensions of 12 ft by 6 ft, or 14'x8'. and could hold 30+ people when coffins were stacked upon each other. See pages 59 and 94 in the following report:
Master Plan for Eastern Cemetery in the City Of Portland, Maine

Fifty years of burials had taken place there in the 1600's, though it seems most were without gravestones. A single burial plot was made for the majority of them in the Hingham Cemetery where, in 1839, the town erected a large monument in their honor. Those grave markers that did exist were placed around this new location. On the 1873 map below, [1] is Main St., where its shape bears the evidence of running alongside the southern part of the hillside [2] that once sat there. [3] is the reinterment place of those bodies removed during the road construction.

As late as 1877, bodies were still being dug up at this location [History of Hingham, Vol 1, Part 2, pg 356], found in front of the homes of Caleb B. Marsh and John Siders (as can be seen beside the Derby Academy on the above map). Their houses, built in the 1750-70's (according to the tax assessor database), shared the hill with the burial ground. From a 2017 street view, the Academy building (now the Historical Society, left), the Marsh home (right), and the Siders place (far right) all stand, and this viewing angle helps show how the hillside had been cut away. 

Main Street in Hingham, MA (from 2017 Google Street View) GPS: 42.241577, -70.888482

While it is said [Desc. of Israel Leavitt, pg 22] that Jacob Leavitt was the one responsible for the reinterment of Deacon John (and presumably Israel, as well) to the "Plain" (now the Centre or Center) Cemetery, this project was done prior to the town's 1831 vote for the removal of the original burial ground, as Jacob died in 1826. Perhaps, in the years prior, town meetings had proposed the excavation on Main Street, so Jacob Leavitt took the initiative and had his ancestors saved from a mass burial by having them brought over to his tomb prior to his death. 

See also:
​A Visit with Deacon John