Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1866-12-07
Roger William


Ninety years after The d:aih Of ROGER
Williams. IN i7sl. steps we're taken 10 e.
ret some suitable monument, bit the storm,
Of the Revolution came on. and the uo,k
was forgotten. Bot recently the question
has been agisafed anew. and Williams nav
Vet a. least have some outward sign 20 marx
his greatness and pcrpetsaie has name.
Daring period Of IsJ years. not even
rough stone has been SCI up 20 marx tbe
grave Of tie founder OF Rhode Island. tiu
the precise locality Of has grave had been
almost forgotten and c0aid only De- ascer-
tanned after The most carcfal investigation.
Suffice Il 90 say. however. that th- 30,
va found. and the exhumafion made a
short Vme ago-ti.ough there was Esile 20
exhome. On scraping OF the turf from the
surface of the ground. the din outline, Of
seven graves contained within les than one
sqaarc rod. revealed the burial ground Of
Roger Williams. In coloniai times each
family had ns own burial ground. which
was Usually near the famiiy residence.
Three Of these seven graves were those Of
chiidrvn the remaining four we're adults.
4 b. easteriy grave ~as ieeutifed a. that Of
Mr. Williams.
Digging down into the charnel house. Il
"a found that everything hsd passed into
oblivion. The shapes o. the coffin. could
only be traced by black line Of carbona-
cco1s matter the thickness Of the ed.-es Of
the sides % the cofiias. nth their ends dis
tinotiy defined. The rusted remains o. ihe
hinges ard nails. with a few fragment. Of
wood and a single round knot wrru al that
coald BE- gathered from his grave. In tie
grave of his wife there vas not a trace Of
anything save a single lock Of braided hair
which had survived the lapse Of more than
one hundred years. Near the grave stood
a venerable apple-'rce. when and By whom
planted Is not knovn. The t-cc has sent
two Of its main roots into ibc graves of ST..
ard Mrs. Williams. The larger root had
pushed its way through the earth till il
reached fhe prvcise sPot oocupied b. fhe
skull Of Roger Wiliia,ns Tlsere making
turn. a. % gong rossd the sksli. a. foilow-
ed the direction of.tb back bone 10 the
bips. Here it divided into branches. seu-I.
ing one along each leg 70 the heel. where
tbey both turn upward 70 the toes. One
of these roots formed q slight crook az the
knee. shich make. the whole bear a vcrv
close resemblancc % q huuan fotm. Thfs
singular root D. preserved 9TH great carr.
not only ~ an illustration of q great princi-
pie in vegetation. Bot a. great hisoric as-
sociaficn. There we're tbc graves. emptied
Of every particle of human dust Not
trace oi anything was leh Ia b. knovn 10
chemistry that Ell aesh. ard the r-latinous
matter giving eonsisteney 90 tbc bones. sre
resolved into csrbonic acid gas. vaicr and
,ir. While che solid lime dsst usually re-
mains. BOT IN tbs instsnce even TIE phos.
phate Of hme of ihe bones Of both graves
sas al gone, There stool the " guiiiy ap-
pie-iree. a. vas sad a. tbc time. eaueh,
.n che very aci Of robbing ~ grave.
To explain the phsnon~non 10 not the
iesign oi this article. Ssch an oxpianafion
-ouh be- gwen. ani many other similar
-ases addacel Bot this fact must b. 3D.
.niftcd the Organic matter of Roger VII
ianas bal been transmitted iuto tbe appic-
Tree g had rasscd into ne woody Sore. .
ind sas capable Of propeiEng a steam en-
gins and q had bloome.i IN tbe apple bios
sons and had become pleasant 70 The eye
nd more. = had gone into fruit from year
10 year. % that ~ q1estioa might be ash
sd. uho are Roger Wilhsmss