Polly Wilbore 1796-1796 History
"In memory of Polly daughter of Mr. Joseph Wilbore Jr.
and Mrs. Hannah his wife who
died Sep. ye 4 1796
Aged 5 weeks and 3 days
This lovely child is now no more
In glory may it rest
Before the thrown may it adore and be with Jesus blest"
In January 1976 $10 million was approved of the construction of Route 495 extension that would take the highway from Mansfield through Norton, Raynham, Taunton, Middleborough, Rochester and connecting to Route 25 in Wareham. The area was heavily forested and required clearing for the new highway.
During the clearing phase in the area of North Taunton, near Prospect Hill Street a single gravestone was discovered. The gravestone was of a child, Polly Wilbore. An archaeological team from Brown University was called in to evaluate the site. As the archaeologists worked in the forest, other researchers viewed records held at the Bristol County Probate Court, while others studied genealogical information on the Wilbore family. The investigation took almost three years to complete.
Polly Wilbore
Polly was born in July 1796 and died five (5) weeks and three (3) days later. Polly was the daughter of Joseph and Hannah Wilbore, the fourth of six (6) children born to the couple, and the only one to die in childhood. When she died she was buried on the family farm. During the early 1800's Joseph Wilbore sold his farm and moved his family to South Newbury, Ohio. Of Polly’s five siblings, four lived well into adulthood.
On February 28, 1979, a local funeral home, along with Medical Examiner's Office removed Polly’s grave from the forest. Her remains were moved to the Plain Street Cemetery in Taunton, where they were interred and the gravestone again placed at her head.
"In memory of Polly daughter of Mr. Joseph Wilbore Jr.
and Mrs. Hannah his wife who
died Sep. ye 4 1796
Aged 5 weeks and 3 days
This lovely child is now no more
In glory may it rest
Before the thrown may it adore and be with Jesus blest"
In January 1976 $10 million was approved of the construction of Route 495 extension that would take the highway from Mansfield through Norton, Raynham, Taunton, Middleborough, Rochester and connecting to Route 25 in Wareham. The area was heavily forested and required clearing for the new highway.
During the clearing phase in the area of North Taunton, near Prospect Hill Street a single gravestone was discovered. The gravestone was of a child, Polly Wilbore. An archaeological team from Brown University was called in to evaluate the site. As the archaeologists worked in the forest, other researchers viewed records held at the Bristol County Probate Court, while others studied genealogical information on the Wilbore family. The investigation took almost three years to complete.
Polly Wilbore
Polly was born in July 1796 and died five (5) weeks and three (3) days later. Polly was the daughter of Joseph and Hannah Wilbore, the fourth of six (6) children born to the couple, and the only one to die in childhood. When she died she was buried on the family farm. During the early 1800's Joseph Wilbore sold his farm and moved his family to South Newbury, Ohio. Of Polly’s five siblings, four lived well into adulthood.
On February 28, 1979, a local funeral home, along with Medical Examiner's Office removed Polly’s grave from the forest. Her remains were moved to the Plain Street Cemetery in Taunton, where they were interred and the gravestone again placed at her head.
Mayflower Cemetery History
"Potter's Field"
The Potter's Field, located at the far end of Mayflower Hill Cemetery, was used from 1862 to 1962 and contains 1015 markers, but the actual number of those buried there is much higher.
The grave markers are for those who were indigent, transient, and patients from Taunton State Hospital. Many of these people battled debilitating illnesses, both mental and physical, and parents mourned babies and young children. Several buried here committed suicide, drowned, found dead, and even an 18-year old who was "shot during a riot in Boston in 1863".
Many of the plots hold multiple bodies, often several young children. In many some cases babies were buried with unrelated adults to conserve space. On a few occasions bodies were "removed" to other cemeteries and those graves were re-used.
John Dixon Grave #64
John Dixon arrived in Taunton at the age of 24 in 1784. He led a life of crime for several months until he was arrested for burglarizing the Rehoboth home of Captain James Daggett. He was confined in the Taunton jail until trial. Dixon was convicted and was sentenced to be hanged. The execution was set for November 11, 1784. Although the death penalty was rarely used throughout Taunton's history, Dixon was an exception. On the day of his hanging, Dixon rode in the bed of a wagon as it was pulled from the jail up to the “hanging ground,” which was just north of the Plain Cemetery, between Broadway and Washington Street.
Pastor Perez Fobes, from Raynham, delivered a 30-minute sermon and then Dixon spoke cautioning those young people in the crowd to avoid the kind of life of crime that would send them to the gallows. He also publicly thanked the sheriff and those who had shown him kindness during his incarceration. Dixon assisted the sheriff put the noose around his neck, then Dixon became history.
Dixon was interred in an unmarked grave near the spot of the hanging, at first. In 1869 construction workers building a barn on the site interrupted Dixon’s grave site. Again, Dixon, although this time his remains, was transported to the Potters Field. His remains are buried in plot #64
Jane Toppan Grave # Unknown
In our serial killer section we profiled Jane Toppan who confessed to killing as many as 31 people. Briefly, at trial Toppan was found "not guilty by reason of insanity". She was committed to life in Taunton State Hospital where she died in 1938.
"Potter's Field"
The Potter's Field, located at the far end of Mayflower Hill Cemetery, was used from 1862 to 1962 and contains 1015 markers, but the actual number of those buried there is much higher.
The grave markers are for those who were indigent, transient, and patients from Taunton State Hospital. Many of these people battled debilitating illnesses, both mental and physical, and parents mourned babies and young children. Several buried here committed suicide, drowned, found dead, and even an 18-year old who was "shot during a riot in Boston in 1863".
Many of the plots hold multiple bodies, often several young children. In many some cases babies were buried with unrelated adults to conserve space. On a few occasions bodies were "removed" to other cemeteries and those graves were re-used.
John Dixon Grave #64
John Dixon arrived in Taunton at the age of 24 in 1784. He led a life of crime for several months until he was arrested for burglarizing the Rehoboth home of Captain James Daggett. He was confined in the Taunton jail until trial. Dixon was convicted and was sentenced to be hanged. The execution was set for November 11, 1784. Although the death penalty was rarely used throughout Taunton's history, Dixon was an exception. On the day of his hanging, Dixon rode in the bed of a wagon as it was pulled from the jail up to the “hanging ground,” which was just north of the Plain Cemetery, between Broadway and Washington Street.
Pastor Perez Fobes, from Raynham, delivered a 30-minute sermon and then Dixon spoke cautioning those young people in the crowd to avoid the kind of life of crime that would send them to the gallows. He also publicly thanked the sheriff and those who had shown him kindness during his incarceration. Dixon assisted the sheriff put the noose around his neck, then Dixon became history.
Dixon was interred in an unmarked grave near the spot of the hanging, at first. In 1869 construction workers building a barn on the site interrupted Dixon’s grave site. Again, Dixon, although this time his remains, was transported to the Potters Field. His remains are buried in plot #64
Jane Toppan Grave # Unknown
In our serial killer section we profiled Jane Toppan who confessed to killing as many as 31 people. Briefly, at trial Toppan was found "not guilty by reason of insanity". She was committed to life in Taunton State Hospital where she died in 1938.
Plain Cemetery History
The Plain Cemetery, sometimes called the "North Burying Ground", is 10-acres in size.
Once a part of the community’s common land, Plain Cemetery got its name because of the mostly flat land that makes up its grounds. Plain Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in Taunton.
The parcel of land for the Plain Cemetery was given as a gift by the Rev. Samuel Danforth when he died in 1727. He was ordained in 1688 as the fourth minister of Taunton’s First Parish Congregational Church. The burial ground was formalized in 1748. Rev. Danforth is one of the original people to be buried in the cemetery.
The oldest recorded death date is Hannah Leonard, from 1725. Hannah Leonard and fourteen (14) others were buried in Plain Cemetery from other cemeteries. Originally, there was no charge for a cemetery lot, so no formal record exists of many of the burials until 1908, when the city’s parks department undertook plotting and recording gravestones.
The Plain Cemetery, sometimes called the "North Burying Ground", is 10-acres in size.
Once a part of the community’s common land, Plain Cemetery got its name because of the mostly flat land that makes up its grounds. Plain Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in Taunton.
The parcel of land for the Plain Cemetery was given as a gift by the Rev. Samuel Danforth when he died in 1727. He was ordained in 1688 as the fourth minister of Taunton’s First Parish Congregational Church. The burial ground was formalized in 1748. Rev. Danforth is one of the original people to be buried in the cemetery.
The oldest recorded death date is Hannah Leonard, from 1725. Hannah Leonard and fourteen (14) others were buried in Plain Cemetery from other cemeteries. Originally, there was no charge for a cemetery lot, so no formal record exists of many of the burials until 1908, when the city’s parks department undertook plotting and recording gravestones.