Born c.1723, Elizabeth Pierson, nee Riggs, was the wife of American Revolutionary War veteran Bethuel Pierson. She died "in her "52nd year" on the day after Christmas 1776, the second year of the war. At that time the odds were overwhelmingly against the American colonies winning independence, and there were divided loyalties even in the Oranges. Although Mrs. Pierson didn't live to see the triumph of the American cause her husband fought for, he did. He survived her by 37 years, dying in his 92nd year.
Mrs. Pierson's gravestone is typical of those of the late Colonial Period in this region: cut from brown sandstone, it features a winged soul effigy of the portrait type in its tympanum. The inscription, now only partially legible, expresses the sense of loss felt by the bereaved Bethuel and their children:
"Ye generous souls, who feel
A Husband's tender Sighs
And Children's piercing Grief
When virtuous Woman Dies
Pardon the shiny tear..."
(Next line probably ends with "eyes")
Mrs. Pierson's gravestone is typical of those of the late Colonial Period in this region: cut from brown sandstone, it features a winged soul effigy of the portrait type in its tympanum. The inscription, now only partially legible, expresses the sense of loss felt by the bereaved Bethuel and their children:
"Ye generous souls, who feel
A Husband's tender Sighs
And Children's piercing Grief
When virtuous Woman Dies
Pardon the shiny tear..."
(Next line probably ends with "eyes")
Born c.1723, Elizabeth Pierson, nee Riggs, was the wife of American Revolutionary War veteran Bethuel Pierson. She died "in her "52nd year" on the day after Christmas 1776, the second year of the war. At that time the odds were overwhelmingly against the American colonies winning independence, and there were divided loyalties even in the Oranges. Although Mrs. Pierson didn't live to see the triumph of the American cause her husband fought for, he did. He survived her by 37 years, dying in his 92nd year.
Mrs. Pierson's gravestone is typical of those of the late Colonial Period in this region: cut from brown sandstone, it features a winged soul effigy of the portrait type in its tympanum. The inscription, now only partially legible, expresses the sense of loss felt by the bereaved Bethuel and their children:
"Ye generous souls, who feel
A Husband's tender Sighs
And Children's piercing Grief
When virtuous Woman Dies
Pardon the shiny tear..."
(Next line probably ends with "eyes")
Mrs. Pierson's gravestone is typical of those of the late Colonial Period in this region: cut from brown sandstone, it features a winged soul effigy of the portrait type in its tympanum. The inscription, now only partially legible, expresses the sense of loss felt by the bereaved Bethuel and their children:
"Ye generous souls, who feel
A Husband's tender Sighs
And Children's piercing Grief
When virtuous Woman Dies
Pardon the shiny tear..."
(Next line probably ends with "eyes")
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