Coddington Cemetery

Entrance to Coddington Cemetery off of Farewell Street

The Coddington Cemetery is an early colonial cemetery located in Newport, Rhode Island. It is sometimes called the Friends' Burial Ground, and has more colonial governors buried in it than any other cemetery in the state.

Description

Coddington Cemetery looking north with Farewell Street to right front

Memorial marker to William Coddington erected on 200th anniversary of founding of Newport

The Coddington Cemetery, located at 34 Farewell Street in Newport, Rhode Island, is a very old colonial cemetery with 93 known interments, and has the largest number of interred governors of any cemetery in the state.^[1] The six governors buried here are William Coddington, Nicholas Easton, William Coddington, Jr., Henry Bull, John Easton, and John Wanton, all Quakers.^[1] None of the six governor graves has a governor's medallion like those found at the gravesites of most other colonial governors. The first known interment in this cemetery was that of Mary Moseley Coddington, the wife of Governor William Coddington, who died in 1647, and the last interment was that of James Easton who died in 1796.^[1]

The cemetery has been designated as Rhode Island Historic Cemetery, Newport #9, and is located on Farewell Street between Baptist and Coddington Streets in Newport. Within the cemetery is a monument honoring Governor William Coddington, erected on the 200th anniversary of the founding of Newport.^[1] The monument reads:

THIS MONUMENT

Erected by the Town of Newport

on the 12th. day of May 1839 being

the second Centeniel [sic] Anniversary

of the settlement of this town:

To the memory of

WILLIAM CODDINGTON ESQ

That illustrious man, who

first purchased this Island

from the Narragansett Sachems

Canonicus and Miantunomo

for and on account of himself and

Seventeen others his associates

in the purchase and Settlement.

He presided many years

as chief Magistrate of the Island

and Colony of Rhode Island

and Died much respected and lamented

on the 1st day of November in [1678]

[last line illegible]

Image gallery

• 

  Gov. William Coddington grave marker

• 

  Grave marker for Gov. Nicholas Easton and his son Peter

• 

  Grave marker for Gov. William Coddington, Jr.

• 

  Grave monument for Gov. Henry Bull and his wives

• 

  Slab marking grave of Gov. John Easton

• 

  Worn inscription on Gov. John Easton slab

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Find-a-grave.

Bibliography

Find-a-grave. "Coddington Cemetery". http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GRid=12242798&CRid=406703&. Retrieved 2011-08-02.