This is the grave of Agur and Abigail Shelton. It can be found near the downtown area of the town that shares their family name. This is, I believe, the oldest burial ground in the community and the bones of Lieutenant Daniel Shelton are laid to rest nearby. Agur is a generation or two removed from Daniel as his death date testifies: June 24, 1845. The style of Agur and Abigail's tomb, marble rather than slate with a weeping willow and urn instead of the winged death's head, show not only a change in date but a change in culture. Gone is the stark Puritan reminder that death comes for us all and a more euphemistic Neo-Classicism has taken its place. Along with added wealth and sophistication comes a few little flourishes that mark tomb stones from the early and mid-nineteenth century. Abigail's inscription is enriched by the note that she was "the daughter of the late Rev. Mr. Newton" and that she "died as a Christian should die". As she preceded her husband in death by sixteen years, this may very well be his verdict on the manner of her passing. Beneath the scroll-work embellished inscription is a final epitaph for the pair that reads "the sweet remembrance of the just, shall flourish when they sleep in dust". Years of winter snow and summer weed-wackers have taken their toll on this final note and it is beginning to fade. I wonder how long memory of Agur and Abigail's lives "flourished" after they were laid to "sleep in dust."
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