Early New England Stonecutters–Soule Family

Kim Jacobson
Jonathan Preston, d. 1765, Standish Burial Ground Duxbury, Massachusetts

The Soule family of stonecutters left behind some of the most distinctive imagery in New England’s 18th and early 19th century graveyards. Their “Medusa stones,” carved with round faces with wild hair, are instantly recognizable on headstones across Massachusetts.

Ebenezer Soule (1711-1792) and sons were stonecutters primarily in Massachusetts. Ebenezer (1737-1823), Coomer Soule (1747-1777), Beza Soule (1750-1835), Asaph Soule (1737-1823), and Isaiah Soule continued the business as well as some of Ebenezer’s grandsons.

There are many Soule stones in the Myles Standish Burying Ground which is owned by the town of Duxbury and claims to be the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States of America. Hillcrest Cemetery in Plymouth, Massachusetts also includes many distinctive Soule stones.

Lydia Soule, 1763, Ebenezer Soule Stonecutter
Lydia Soule, d. 1763, Standish Burial Ground, Duxbury, MA
Benjamin Soule, d. 1751, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Benjamin Soule, d. 1751, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Mary Besse Corttis (Curtis), d. 1751, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Mary Besse Corttis (Curtis), d. 1751, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Hannah Cushman, d. 1756, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Hannah Cushman, d. 1756, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Martha Perkins, d. 1754, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Martha Perkins, d. 1754, Hillcrest Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Jonathan Preston, d. 1765, Standish Burial Ground Duxbury, Massachusetts
Jonathan Preston, d. 1765, Standish Burial Ground, Duxbury, Massachusetts

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