Old North End Burial Ground

Records cited by first appointed Southampton Town Historian (1923-1932,) Lizbeth Halsey White, tell us that this, the Old North End Burial Ground, with its entrance on North Sea Road, had its beginnings in 1712 when a New York City gentleman sold his home and four-acre lot to the Trustees of the Town of Southampton to be used for burial purposes. The price was 20 pounds and the first burial—of Joseph Post—was in 1721. In this acreage, stretching to Windmill Lane, many generations lie buried, their story the story of Southampton Village until the day when the ground reached full capacity. Perhaps the most interesting gravestone here can be found at the southwest corner of the burial ground near Windmill Lane. It bears this beautiful inscription: “Though born a slave/he possessed virtues/without which kings/are but slaves.” It marks the grave of Pyrrhus Concer, who received his freedom from the Pelletreau family as a young man and went to sea on the whaling ship Manhattan, captained by Mercator Cooper of Southampton. On Pyrrhus’s return to Southampton, he became something of a local celebrity recounting stories of the vessel’s historic stop on Japan’s coast in 1848. The quote was chosen by 38th U.S Secretary of State and 1912 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elihu Root.