| Shipwrecks, love stories,
Pilgrim murder and fascinating but
little known Plymouth history are all found in author Ted Burbank's book, "A
Guide to Plymouth's Historic Old Burial Hill:
Stories From Behind the Grave Stones." But the
book's most useful feature is an easy-to-use
index and map directing visitors to EACH and
EVERY grave stone within Old Burial Hill.
Burbank, who can trace his family tree back to
Pilgrims Miles Standish and John and Priscilla
Alden,
developed the map expanding on an 1895 book written by his ancestor A.S.
Burbank. His guide eliminates history
enthusiasts' frustration at visiting a cemetery
unable to find that one grave stone.
None of the Pilgrims themselves lie at Old Burial Hill, though
Burbank shares some of the Massachusetts communities where their graves can be found.
Burbank weaves the Pilgrims' stories with those of their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren buried at Old Burial Hill and other interesting facts, such as
the Bush family and other American presidential clans with Pilgrim ancestors.
The story of Pilgrim bigamist Richard More will raise eyebrows while those who
enjoy John and Priscilla Alden's love story - immortalized by poet Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow - will want to read about Priscilla Hobart. The Plymouth
woman made three attempts at love in the 1700s before fate and a chance meeting
reunited her with her first love. Hobart's tale involves another ancestor of
Burbank's, making the author the perfect storyteller.
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