Created by Ryley Harris and Savita Maharaj
Introduction
Built in 1659, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, once known as the North Burying Place, is the second-oldest cemetery in Boston. It is the final resting place for many people who contributed to the early history of Boston and the nation, including prominent Puritan ministers and people involved in the Revolutionary War1. From the 1600’s through the 1800’s, it was home to many merchants, shipbuilders, and craftsmen. The cemetery itself is encompassed by Snow Hill, Charter, and Hull Streets. Originally known as Mill Hill, its name was later changed to Copp’s Hill in memory of William Copp, who was the first person to live in this area. The Copp’s Hill Burying Ground was closed to burials in the 1850’s, and a century later, it was declared an official site on the Freedom Trail of Boston 2.
At the base of Mill Hill, many free and enslaved African Americans lived together in a community known as the ‘New Guinea’ colony 3. Although there are no formal records for the name “New Guinea” prior to 1790, the name is rooted within oral traditions associating the name “Guinea” with Africans.
“The Colored American Magazine 1900,” Colored American Magazine, vol 1, no.1, June 1900, Photograph.
African Americans in Copp's Hill
It is unknown how many African Americans are buried in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Up until the 1830’s, it was common practice for people who died in Boston to be buried in a local burying groundWhile there is no exact number of African American burials established in the late 1800s, recordsrefer to the presence of the ‘New Guinea’ colony and indicate that the southeasterly side of the Snow Hill Street section of the cemetery was used for the burials of enslavedand free African Americans 4. This location was most likely least desirable because it was located on the outside boundary of the cemetery by the original main entrance at Charter Street.he Report and Inventory prepared by the Historic Burying Grounds Initiative in 1986, states that it is likely that more than 1,000 African Americans are buried in Copp’s Hill, but an exact number is still unknown 5. Currently, is now speculated that between 1,000 and 1,100 African Americans are buried here.
Abdalian, Leon H. Copp’s Hill Burying Ground 1659. Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online,[June 1920]. Photograph.
Although most graves re unmarked, or the grave markers have been stolen or decayed over time,there are a few remaining headstones of African Americans who were buried here. For example, some African American servants were buried with their masters, including Mary Ball, who was a servant to Robert Ball. Another historical figure buried in Copp’s Hill is Prince Hall, the founder of the African Lodge of the Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of Boston, which was the world’s first lodge of black Freemasonry. Hall was an activist who advocated for Black rights, particularly education equality. Another African American historical figure buried in Copp’s Hill is Abel Barbadoes, a Black man who served in the Revolutionary War and later contributed to the construction of the African Meeting House. There is also speculation that Phillis Wheatley, a famous African American poet, may have been buried in Copp’s Hill.
Abdalian, Leon H, M.W. Prince Hall, Grand Lodge, Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, June 1920, Photograph.
Comparisons to the African Burial Ground National Monument
The story of unmarked graves in Copp’s Hill is similar to African American graves of discovered and later commemorated in the African Burial Ground National Monument in Manhattan, New York. In 1991, construction of a government office building unearthed the remains of what was noted on a 1755 map of New York as the “Negros Burial Ground”6. Originally, the government wanted to keep building at the same time that the remains were being exhumed and preserved, but after many protests, construction was suspended, allowing scholars more time to fully examine and analyze the site In total, 441 bodies were recovered, dating from the 1630’s up until 1795, making this site the oldest and largest excavated burial ground for African Americans in the United States. The project, monument, and visitor’s center that followed this discovery transformed New York City’s history by providing context to the lives of New York’s early black citizens, who played a big role in constructing the city 7.
Although the excavation of these bodies was unplanned, it raises questions of what would be found if a similar excavation were to occur in Copp’s Hill, which was open during the same time as the New York burial ground.” In New York, many of the bodies were covered in shrouds fastened with pins and covered with shells, coins, beads, rings, and other artifacts that showed a connection to their native land of Africa. Additionally, analysis of the skeletal remains showed that these people most likely did strenuous labor and often suffered from malnutrition8. Would the same types of information be found in Copp’s Hill? The African Burial Ground National Monument was an effort by New York to provide insight into the lives of these first African Americans. Boston should consider a similar project, perhaps using technological advances , to research and explore the African Americans buried in the Copp’s Hill Burying Group in an effort to enhance our understanding and recognition of African Americans living in early Boston.
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End, Boston Historic Burying grounds Initiative, Photograph
Endnotes
1 Donohue, Barbara. Copp’s Hill: Evolution of a Puritan Burying Place, 1659 - the Present. Grave Goods Publishing, 2017.
2 “Copp's Hill Burying Ground: The Freedom Trail.” The Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail Foundation. Accessed November 19, 2019. https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/copps-hill-burying-ground.
3 Annual Report of the Cemetery Department of the City of Boston for the Fiscal Year 1900-1901. Boston: Boston Municipal Printing Office, 1901.
4 Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet. Topographical and Historical Description of Boston. Boston: City Council, 1871.
5 Report and Inventory: Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Vol. II. Boston: Parks & Recreation Department, 1986.
6 Guidebook to African American History in the National Parks. Fort Washington, PA: Eastern National, 2011.
7 Rothstein, Edward. “African Burial Ground, and Its Dead, Are Given Life.”The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Feb. 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/arts/design/26burial.html.
8 Ibid
Bibliography
Abdalian, Leon H. Copp’s Hill Burying Ground 1659. [June 1920]. Photograph. Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:fj236m60c.
Abdalian, Leon H. M.W. Prince Hall, Grand Lodge. June 1920. Photograph. Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online, Boston.
Annual Report of the Cemetery Department of the City of Boston for the Fiscal Year 1900-1901. Boston: Boston Municipal Printing Office, 1901.
Bonner, John; Prince, William; Dewing, Francis. The town of Boston in New England. [1723–1733]. map. Leventhal Map Center.
Copp's Hill Burying Ground: The Freedom Trail.” The Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail Foundation. https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/copps-hill-burying-ground.
Donohue, Barbara. Copp’s Hill: Evolution of a Puritan Burying Place, 1659 - the Present. Grave Goods Publishing, 2017.
Guidebook to African American History in the National Parks. Fort Washington, PA: Eastern National, 2011.
Report and Inventory: Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Vol. II. Boston: Parks & Recreation Department, 1986.
Rothstein, Edward. “African Burial Ground, and Its Dead, Are Given Life.”The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Feb. 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/arts/design/26burial.html.
Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet. Topographical and Historical Description of Boston. Boston: City Council, 1871.