Mourning and Memorializing a Colonial Anglican Family Member

By Jennifer Roesch and Faye Charpentier

History Program Assistant and Program Director

For centuries, the sanctuary of King's Chapel (New England’s first Anglican church and later on the first Christian Unitarian congregation in America) has been a site of celebration as well as mourning. When visiting the chapel today, one can view memorials in the sanctuary and family-owned tombs in the crypt beneath, both relics of love that have transcended time. The people that mourned and memorialized the notable King’s Chapel member Charles Apthorp provide just a glimpse of the many stories and customs associated with love and death in colonial Boston.

Portrait of Charles Apthorp by Robert Feke (Cleveland Museum of Art)

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