In a message dated 6/9/2006 9:57:48 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, uriramfan@cox.net writes: Hi Laurie and others, I seem to remember the day that you (Laurie) and I and some others went to the old Quaker meeting house in Portmouth and that Sheila Barker's uncle had told us that the meeting house was kept plain and the graves were not marked in the very early years because even in RI they still feared persecution. Later on the graves were marked and there were a lot of stones there but I know there were rows of unmarked graves there as well. Donna Hi Donna- I recall the visit (was that back in 1998??? Yikes the years have flown!) I don't recall the mention of persecution fear! The plainness I always believed was based on their religious tradition of simplicity . Simplicity and plainness (no stained glass, no ornamentation, no music was based on their belief that these things "detracted one from silently waiting upon God". I have a great book.."The Quakers" by Barbour and Frost..a fantastic book for people who want to learn more about Quaker traditions, history, etc.) Unfortunetly there is no mention about gravestones that I can find. My great grandmother taught school in the Middletown Quaker school in the latter 1800s and Prov. Friends and her father was a teacher at Providence's Friends School (now Moses Brown) 1860s onward.. since the discussion yesterday about head stones I've pulled out my boxes of journals/letters they wrote (seems every page mentioned a funeral of someone!) to see if there is mention of stones (they themselves both have them). So far no mention. ~ Laurie

My "new to me cousin" is a meeting historian at her meeting house. She is the one who told me about the headstones and showed me some documentation about it. She lives in Bristol County, MA. She also told me the reason was based on their belief that vanity was a sin. My 6th GGF, Wilson Wing, was a hatter and a Quaker. I have copies of the business ads he put in the local newspaper about his hats being guaranteed not to cause a sanction for vanity. I would surely love to see a picture from back then but I guess that would have fallen under vanity also. Sigh, Stefanie