Little Neck Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Little Neck Cemetery is a historic cemetery
off Read Street in East Providence, Rhode Island
.
The cemetery was founded in 1655 and is one of the oldest colonial cemeteries in Rhode Island. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
ship and was one of the original settlers of the Plymouth Colony
. She died at the Swansea
farm of her daughter and son-in-law and was buried near there at Little Neck. Today her grave is marked by a finely carved slate marker put up in 1946 by the Howland Family Association. The most renowned person buried at Little Neck, however, is Captain Thomas Willett
(died 1674). Willett, son-in-law of John Brown of Wannamoisett, settled in what is currently East Providence in a house that was located on Willett Avenue (now the site of the Willett Arms Apartments). He is noted for serving as the first English mayor of New York. The Willett plot, surrounded by a stone-post and iron rail fence, is now marked by a large boulder put down by the City Club of New York and that also contains the original stones marking the graves of Willett and his wife, Mary, who died in 1669.
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
off Read Street in East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....
.
The cemetery was founded in 1655 and is one of the oldest colonial cemeteries in Rhode Island. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Famous and Historical Burials
Little Neck Cemetery is a historical and cultural resource of much importance. It contains the gravestones of people who have played an important part in the history of East Providence and other American societies. The oldest recorded burial is that of John Brown, Jr. (who died 1662), son of the man who purchased Wannamoisett from the Wampanoag Indians. The gravestone of Elizabeth Tilley Howland (died 1667) is also there. Howland was a passenger on the MayflowerMayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
ship and was one of the original settlers of the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. She died at the Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
farm of her daughter and son-in-law and was buried near there at Little Neck. Today her grave is marked by a finely carved slate marker put up in 1946 by the Howland Family Association. The most renowned person buried at Little Neck, however, is Captain Thomas Willett
Thomas Willett
Thomas Willett was a British-born American merchant, Plymouth Colony trader and sea-captain, Commissioner of New Netherland, magistrate of Plymouth Colony, Captain of the Plymouth Colony militia and was the first Mayor of New York City, prior to the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City...
(died 1674). Willett, son-in-law of John Brown of Wannamoisett, settled in what is currently East Providence in a house that was located on Willett Avenue (now the site of the Willett Arms Apartments). He is noted for serving as the first English mayor of New York. The Willett plot, surrounded by a stone-post and iron rail fence, is now marked by a large boulder put down by the City Club of New York and that also contains the original stones marking the graves of Willett and his wife, Mary, who died in 1669.