Hawes Cemetery

I am Hawes Cemetery and I am located in the area of Hampton Falls where the Moulton and Melcher families resided as far back as the 1700’s. Samuel Melcher may have been the first of his family to be buried here in 1754. His son Samuel, his grandson Samuel and his great-grandson Joseph all lived upon their homestead with their wives and children until Joseph’s son Samuel died unmarried and the name of Melcher ended in Hampton Falls.

Near the Melcher’s lived the Moulton family which included Redman Moulton, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and Nathan Moulton, a captain in the militia whose house is right next to me. David Hawes married the granddaughter of Joseph Melcher the 1st and lived upon the original Melcher homestead. I got my name from David’s side of the family.

Now pause, park and climb over the old stone wall or pass through the antique gate.
I am proud to say that author Alice Brown is buried here! Alice Brown’s stories were well respected by the literary circle of her day. Her stories describe idyllic New England life and portray traditional simplicity and the goodness of country life.
After a visit to Alice, see if you can find a Moulton, a Melcher or a Hawes grave, the families that lived in my neighborhood and who rest in peace here.
There are gravestones here that were the work of the Seacoast carver, Jeremiah Lane. Find Sarah Moulton who died in 1772 and you will see one of the earliest works of Jeremiah Lane. He also carved the stone of Mehetabel Brown, in his style of a square head over a half circle design which represents a globe. He used the style of a square head during his later years of carving. Find Daniel Brown and you will see another Jeremiah Lane carving with beautiful lettering.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit here and to all the historic cemeteries of Hampton Falls. Please return again to appreciate the beauty and peaceful solitude.