Barnstable and Falmouth Area Photos

Thomas Hatch of Barnstable is first found in Dorchester in 1634, but soon moved to Yarmouth on Cape Cod, and then to Barnstable shortly after. Deeds tracing land ownership in the area were lost in a fire in 1827, but other records indicate a probable location for Thomas' property which his son, Jonathan subsequently owned. (I have a map showing the location, check back later!) I was able to take a couple of pictures of the area believed to be his property.

Sacrament Rock, just west of probable location of Thomas' land

Not far from this location, across the road, is the Rev. Lothrop Cemetery. Lothrop was likely to have been Thomas' minister, and the dedication stone in front of the cemetery indicates that there were a lot of unmarked graves, a common practise back then. It is possible Thomas is buried here, or in the "Calves Pasture" nearby.

Thomas' only son, Jonathan, moved south, as one of the first settlers of Falmouth. The town of Falmouth honored its early settlers in 1930 with a plaque commemorating their arrival to the area:

Jonathan is buried in the Old Burying Grounds in Falmouth, just off Mill Road. There is a wall on either side of the entrance to the cemetery (which is a ways back off the road). On the right hand wall you will see this plaque:

Jonathan's grave was never marked when he was buried, but tradition indicated he was buried under some flagstones in the old burying ground. Robert Hatch of Michigan came to Falmouth and discovered the lack of a stone, and set out to finally get a marker for Jonathan. He got the support of the Falmouth Historical Society to erect a marker at the site in 1991 (Robert is shown below during the dedication of the stone).

Today, the stone looks like this:

Click here for the text of a newspaper article published concerning the marker.

At this angle, Jonathan's son, Moses, is directly between Jonathan, the white stone in back, and another of Jonathan's sons, Joseph, in front.