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Canton Historical Society
Gridley Graveyard ~ 1764
Persons Known To Be Buried
In The Gridley Graveyard
1. Here lies ye body of Mr. Wally Leonard, who died of small pox, June the 14th, 1764, in the 44th year of his age.
2. Here lies ye body of Mrs. Mary Leonard, and her new born babe, the wife and child of Ensign Nathaniel Leonard, who died of small pox, June ye 14th, 1764, In the 39th year of her age.
3. Here lies the body of Mary Billings, daughter of Mr. William and Mrs. Mary Billings, who died of small pox, June 8, 1764, in the 18th year of her age.
4. Scarborough Gridley, died December 16, 1787, son of General Richard and Hannah ( ) Gridley.
5. Hannah ( ) Gridley, died October 17, 1790, wife of General Richard Gridley.
6. General Richard Gridley, born in Boston on January 3, 1710, died June 21, 1796 of blood poisoning. He was buried here on June 23, 1796. The General was reinterred at Canton Corner on October 28, 1876. His wife and son still remain here.
The Gridley Graveyard is a sad little cemetery. It represents a sad but not uncommon period of our history, Small Pox Epidemics. There are no offical records of the cemetery, just folklore and "The History Of Canton." There are no head stones here, just weeds. The Town mows the grass once and a while, the neighbors encrouch on it, it is only marked by a wooden fence and no sign. It is rumored that years ago some area residents took the stones and made back steps out of them. When the Town started looking for them, the residents discarded the stones, never to be seen again. There are probably more people buried here, but we will never really know. (Curator)
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