Joseph Meriam was the eldest of seven children born to Deacon Joseph Meriam (1709-1797) and his first wife Ruth Hunt (1713-1749). On December 8, 1763 he married Sarah Wadsworth (1743-1828) of Grafton. The couple had seven children: Hannah Paul (b. 1765), Sarah (b. 1767), Joseph Merriam (b. 1771), John (ca. 1774-1777), John Hunt (b. aft. 1777), Elizabeth (b. 1782), and Lucy (b. 1785).
It is somewhat surprising that Meriam's accidental death by falling from a wagon is prominently recounted on his crisply engraved tombstone. The unfortunate manner of the elderly deacon's demise prompted a poetic warning:
From accidents no age is free,
The old as well as young
Are always subject to a call,
From God's eternal Son.
My Friends, I do admonish all,
Be wise--prepare for death.
Be ready at that solemn call,
To yield your mortal breath.
It is somewhat surprising that Meriam's accidental death by falling from a wagon is prominently recounted on his crisply engraved tombstone. The unfortunate manner of the elderly deacon's demise prompted a poetic warning:
From accidents no age is free,
The old as well as young
Are always subject to a call,
From God's eternal Son.
My Friends, I do admonish all,
Be wise--prepare for death.
Be ready at that solemn call,
To yield your mortal breath.
Joseph Meriam was the eldest of seven children born to Deacon Joseph Meriam (1709-1797) and his first wife Ruth Hunt (1713-1749). On December 8, 1763 he married Sarah Wadsworth (1743-1828) of Grafton. The couple had seven children: Hannah Paul (b. 1765), Sarah (b. 1767), Joseph Merriam (b. 1771), John (ca. 1774-1777), John Hunt (b. aft. 1777), Elizabeth (b. 1782), and Lucy (b. 1785).
It is somewhat surprising that Meriam's accidental death by falling from a wagon is prominently recounted on his crisply engraved tombstone. The unfortunate manner of the elderly deacon's demise prompted a poetic warning:
From accidents no age is free,
The old as well as young
Are always subject to a call,
From God's eternal Son.
My Friends, I do admonish all,
Be wise--prepare for death.
Be ready at that solemn call,
To yield your mortal breath.
It is somewhat surprising that Meriam's accidental death by falling from a wagon is prominently recounted on his crisply engraved tombstone. The unfortunate manner of the elderly deacon's demise prompted a poetic warning:
From accidents no age is free,
The old as well as young
Are always subject to a call,
From God's eternal Son.
My Friends, I do admonish all,
Be wise--prepare for death.
Be ready at that solemn call,
To yield your mortal breath.
Inscription
ERECTED / In Memory of / Deacon Joseph Meriam / who died July 2, 1814, / in the 80th year of his / age, and in the 25th year / of his office. His death was / occasioned by falling from a / waggon [sic] when descending a hill, and / he expired in about half an hour.
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