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Coffin plate · primary-source record

Mrs. Matterson

abt July 1847 (interred 13 July 1847)

Died July 1847 · known from a newspaper account of a grave robbery

Editorially verified

At-a-glance facts

Record type

Coffin plate

Date of death

abt July 1847 (interred 13 July 1847)

Plate found in

Westerly, Rhode Island, United States

The coffin plate

Inscription transcription

Robbing a Grave in Westerly. —

The body of Mrs. Matterson, a young married woman, was interred in the family burial ground at Westerly, on the 13th of July.

On the 22d of the present month the coffin, with the plate torn off, containing the body, undisturbed, was found about forty rods from the place of burial.

It seems that the body was disinterred within a day or two after its burial, for the grass had grown over the grave which was made up in the same form as by the undertaker.

On farther examination, near the place where the coffin was found, a spot was discovered where the grass was decayed in the size and form of the coffin, and it is supposed it had been lying there since its first disinterment and had been removed thence to the spot where it was found, preparatory to its reburial or final removal, when the robbers were probably frightened and left it.

— Providence Jour.

Transcription of the newspaper article; the coffin plate itself is known only from this account.

About this record

Provenance

This coffin plate is known only from a newspaper account: a Providence Journal item reprinted in The Constitution on 8 September 1847, reporting that Mrs. Matterson's coffin was found with its plate torn off after a grave robbery at Westerly. She was interred on 13 July 1847 and the coffin was found on 22 July 1847.

Submitted by Thomas Roberts. Thanks Thomas.

Name

The article spells the name "Matterson," while the archive's index listed her as "Mrs Matteson." The archive also holds several Matteson family plates; no connection has been established.

Record submitted by

Thomas Roberts — to the Ancestors at Rest archive

Source & citation

Source type
Original photograph
Provenance
Submitted by Thomas Roberts to the Ancestors at Rest archive
Transcribed by
Submitted by Thomas Roberts to the Ancestors at Rest archive.
Last verified
2026-08-14
Permalink
/records/coffin-plates/matterson-mrs-1847/
Image vs transcription
Image is a newspaper clipping; the article is transcribed on this page.

Citation: "Robbing a Grave in Westerly" (Providence Journal item, reprinted in The Constitution, 8 Sep 1847), reporting the coffin plate of Mrs. Matterson; contributed to the Ancestors at Rest archive (https://ancestorsatrest.com/records/coffin-plates/matterson-mrs-1847/ : accessed [your access date]).

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