Last week at the Ancient Burial Cemetery in Essex volunteers brought to life the village of “Chebacco Parish” (the name of Essex back more than 200 years ago when it was a parish within neighboring Ipswich). Tour participants got to experience the burial ground and see life in the 1700s to the middle 1800s through the eyes of some of its prominent citizens and even one who is more infamous.
The graveyard dates back to 1681. Among those buried there are two of the town's earliest ministers, many shipbuilders and veterans of the French and Indian Wars, Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and the Civil War. Town members instrumental in the incorporation of Essex will also be a part of the tour. It was a gorgeous day and a wonderful moment in the town's Bicentennial celebration, which has been going on all year.
