Historic Boston Grave of Free Black Man Sebastian Unearthed

A group of conservators has uncovered and restored the gravestone of Sebastian, an enslaved individual who passed away as a free person in 1729.

“Michelle Wu, Boston’s mayor, noted in a July 4 address that the find is probably among the earliest burial markers of a free Black individual in the United States. \”It has been there all along; we simply needed to look and tell its story,\” she said.

The marker bears Sebastian’s chosen name, Boston, and displays an icon typical of 17th‑ and early 18th‑century New England gravestones—a death’s head. The motif depicts a stylized skull framed by wings, likely representing spiritual resurrection.

On the tombstone, a simple, five-line inscription reads:

Modern English

HERE LIES THE
BODY OF BOSTON
AGED 70 YEARS
DECEASED FEBRUARY THE 28
1728

In 18th‑century American inscriptions, the word “the” was commonly abbreviated with a thorn‑shaped character denoting the “th” sound. Gravestones also frequently shortened “deceased” and the month. Notably, the American colonies employed the Julian calendar until 1752, a system shared with Britain, in which the year commenced on March 25. Consequently, the tombstone records Boston’s death as 1728, whereas the modern Gregorian calendar places it in 1729.

Kelly Thomas, director of the Historic Burying Grounds Initiative within the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, explained to WBZ News Radio that the gravestone was located during a restoration effort at the Granary Burying Ground, Boston’s third‑oldest cemetery. Founded in 1660, the site holds more than 5,000 interments, among them Declaration of Independence signers Samuel Adams and John Hancock, Revolutionary War officer Paul Revere, and Crispus Attucks—a mixed‑race sailor credited as the first victim of the Boston Massacre.

“While examining photographs of the headstones, I noticed that the marker bore only a single name,” Thomas remarked to WBZ News Radio, underscoring the uncertainty of Boston’s status at death. Archival research revealed that Boston’s enslaved name was Sebastian, though he was also known as Bastian.

A wealth of records exists regarding Boston and his wife, Jane Lake. In 1701 they baptized a daughter, also named Jane, at Boston’s First Church, where the couple regularly worshipped. Despite being married and parenting together, both remained enslaved and resided in separate households, as noted by historian Gloria Whiting in a 2016 study.

Boston probably obtained his freedom in the early 18th century, shortly after the 1702 death of John Waite, his former enslaver. By 1708 his name appeared on a list of free Black residents, and he earned a reputation as a diligent handyman, per Whiting’s research. Having been free for approximately three decades at the time of his 1729 death, Boston was notable enough to merit an obituary in the New‑England Weekly Journal—a rarity for people of African descent in colonial America.

Wu added that recent archaeological work in Boston uncovered musket balls and gun flints linked to the renowned Battle of Bunker Hill, fought on June 17, 1775. The engagement marked the inaugural phase of the American Revolutionary War, pitting British Crown forces against New England militia.

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