My primary research platform is FamilySearch.org. If you are wondering about the sources used and reasoning for specific edits, the answer will usually be found there. Find A Grave isn't structured to reference sources.

(Please note that the Find A Grave edit function does not permit live links to be posted in profile bios. The URLs given below may be accessed by highlighting the text and right clicking.)

Generally speaking, my primary source for Massachusetts edits will be the Vital Records to 1850 series, a/k/a the "tan books". There used to be a handy website with transcriptions of most of these books at:
https://ma-vitalrecords.org/
it appears to have since gone offline. The Malden volume of the series may be found at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924028815988&seq=1
most of the other volumes may also be found at the hathitrust.org site by searching: "Vital Records of (town name)"

Bell Rock Cemetery

Originally known as Sandy Bank and, after 1832, as the Old Burying Ground, the name "Bell Rock" for this cemetery does not come from the Bell Rock Memorial Park established in 1910, but rather from the railroad station on the Saugus Branch behind the cemetery. The station, at the foot of Converse Ave., was originally called Belmont, and was renamed Bell Rock circa 1880. The cemetery adopted the name by 1890. Both the station and the later park were named after the exposed rock bed in the middle of the park (not the cemetery) that was the site of the town's first meeting house.

Today the cemetery is a rectangular block bounded by a short granite stone wall along each side. This is not the historical limits of the cemetery. The streets were not laid out until 1848. At that time, a large triangular extension was added along Green St and a short part of Medford St. The main entrance to the cemetery, along with the Cox and Classon plots, are part of this addition. At the time the streets were laid out, a small part of the cemetery actually lay north of Medford St. A few graves remained there until 1899, when an act was passed permitting the city to reinter the graves within the modern bounds of the cemetery, provided they gave families an opportunity to reinter them elsewhere. Over a dozen graves are known to have been relocated to other cemeteries, most notably the Sprague and Wait families, now at Forest Dale. A number of other re-interments have been done over the years by family request.

Today, the cemetery contains about 800 known and confirmed interments. Some 200-300 additional burials are assumed to have been here, though in many cases early (pre-1700) and late (post-1850) burials are more likely to have been in nearby cemeteries.

The tombs were built between 1796 and 1832. Unfortunately, many of them did not survive the years very well. I understand several were in such poor condition that they were demolished at some point, perhaps in the 1920s-1930s. Most of those that remained had the original brick stuccoed over. Only one tomb, the Pratt Tomb, which has a granite front, remains in close to original condition.

Burials here began to taper off in the mid 19th century when the Baptist (Salem St.), Jewish (Hebrew Charitable), and Catholic (Saint Marys) cemeteries were established, along with the private Woodlawn Cemetery, established in 1850 in South Malden, now known as Everett. Burials dropped off sharply after 1885 when Forest Dale Cemetery was opened as a city cemetery. Early 20th century burials were either in the tombs or lots sold in the closing years of the 19th century. The last burial was in 1937 on a lot sold in 1896.

1855 - Synopsis of the Inscriptions in the Old Malden Burying Ground

The earliest attempt to document the cemetery was done by Thomas B. Wyman, Jr. (1817–1878) memorial 142134108. His article in the Oct. 1855 issue of the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGR) can be found at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000100342&seq=327
As the oldest survey of the cemetery, it does record a number of stones lost or re-interred before the later, more detailed, surveys were done. However, it is also known to contain several typos, and caution is advised.
Warning: There was a webpage that contained a transcription of this article that introduced several additional errors, notably concerning the Sprague and Skinner families. Only the original article should be used.

Deloraine Pendre Corey (1836-1910) memorial 86549978
- (Corey transcriptions and Malden Vital Records)

While perhaps better known for his history, Corey also prepared Malden's volume of the Vital Records series, which was published in 1903. It may be found at:
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009790222
In the Preface, he describes quite vividly the deplorable condition of the records he found, and the challenges he had in working with them.

His interest in the cemetery may well have been sparked by the Synopsis, which was published when he was 19. He had an update to the original article published in the Apr. 1864 issue of the NEHGR with a number of additions/corrections. This update can be found at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101072357872&seq=201

As part of his work in preparing the Malden Vital Records, Corey made his own transcriptions of the Bell Rock gravestones, perhaps in the 1890s. After his passing, a (nearly) verbatim copy of his transcriptions were later published in three issues of the Register of the Malden Historical Society under the heading: "Inscriptions from the Bell Rock Cemetery". It runs from the earliest remaining stone in 1670 to 1770. A total of 365 stones were published. Many stones have sunk since then, obscuring as many as four or even 5 lines of inscription. A few stones have fallen over and/or shattered. These transcriptions can usually supply lost portions of inscription. Even in Corey's day, a couple stones had already broken and his transcription provides what remained in his time. The Register may be found at:
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008699576
The series appeared in these issues:
No. 2, pg. 63-73 (1670-1703)
No. 3, pg. 51-74 (1704-1752)
No. 4, pg. 91-99 (1752-1770)

Malden Cemetery Department - Bell Rock Card File

A third survey was done, apparently circa the 1930s, which also includes transcriptions and introduces a crude plot numbering system. It appears the cards were typed by another person working off a manuscript, and a number of typographical errors appear from misreadings, however it remains useful, especially in the cemetery's second century (1770-1870) when Corey's transcriptions are not available. This is especially important for the marbles, which have weathered very poorly and are often illegible today. Cards may be accessed through the department's website at:
https://www.forestdalecemetery.org/
Despite the name, there are records for all three cemeteries managed by the department.

Plot numbers

The card file numbering system of Ranges and Rows have been posted as plot numbers. The system starts at the northern (Medford St.) edge at Range 1 Row 1, and proceeds southerly. Range 2 begins at Pratt's Tomb. Range 3 begins at the Cox Lot and ends at the Bangs stone. Range 4 is south of the Bangs stone to the Nichols Tomb and includes the Sweetser row directly opposite. Range 5 is the main grouping of stones behind the main tomb complex. Range 6 runs along the southern (Converse Ave.) edge and includes the main tomb complex, a handful of scattered stones behind the complex, and the three stones in front of it. The portion of the cemetery north of Medford St. that was discontinued in 1899 has been designated as Range 0.

The concept of a "row" needs to be taken with a grain of salt. They generally run from east to west, starting from the front (Green St.) and running towards the rear (Saugus Branch Railroad, now a bike path). They can be discontinuous and bend and weave. Sometimes they are well defined, with the footstones of one row about a foot away from the headstones of the next, or the headstones and footstones can be intermixed and the distinction between one row and the next can be murky at best. In a few places, there are graves laid out on a north/south alignment, at right angles to the rows. Assignment of a "row" number to these graves is arbitrary, at best. Occasionally, a headstone may appear at the footstone position, or the inscription may be on the opposite face of the stone.

Types of stones

The slate stones used from the 17th to early 19th centuries are very resistant to wear, but they do tend to break and shatter. The marbles used in the mid to late 19th century are soft and acid rain has blurred or entirely erased the inscriptions. They can often only be identified from transcriptions and contextual clues. There are also a handful of modern granites, which came into use in the late 19th century. They are substantially larger and out of scale with the older stones.

Until the mid 19th century, it was common practice to mark a grave with both a headstone and a footstone. They did exactly what it sounds like - they marked the head and the foot of the grave. The footstones were in the same style as the headstones but smaller and only had a name inscribed. Sometimes, where a headstone has been lost, a footstone may remain as the only means of locating a grave.

Work program

2022 season:
Background research and preliminary field work was done, an interim database was created, and a first attempt at producing a detailed grave map was begun. Initial efforts focused on confirming the location of existing stones, noting stones that have disappeared in the last century since the cemetery dept. survey, and identifying partial stones. Photos of stones were taken for memorials missing them. At this point, the stones of memorials still missing photos cannot be presently located. The card file does have known typos, and occasionally a stone has been found at a location different from that given on its card. Since the notion of a "row" can be rather fluid, some of these discrepancies will be resolved in later mapping efforts. Corrections for gross errors have been posted.

2023 season:
Illness over the winter prevented genealogical research from being started until late spring, and remains ongoing. This has delayed field work this season. A very wet summer has also made conditions less than desirable. The interim database is being reconciled against Find A Grave and discrepancies are being resolved. I hope to complete this soon and get at least a little field work in this season to complete a first draft map.

Future work:
A fourth, photographic, survey was done c.1996 and is in the collection of the Malden Historical Society. Located in the Malden Public Library, it is open only on a limited basis. It is sorted alphabetically and does not contain location information. It may be helpful in correcting the transcriptions of stones lost/damaged in the last 25 years. I plan on reviewing this survey in late fall / winter, when field work is not practical. I also hope to locate the unpublished portion of the Corey transcriptions in his manuscripts.

Photo requests:
All photo requests that do not appear in the Malden Cemetery Department Bell Rock card file have been flagged with problems. It's highly unlikely that gravestones that were missing nearly a century ago are still present now. Stones that do appear in the card file but have been confirmed to be no longer present have also been flagged. Of the 24 currently active requests, 14 are for better quality pics of existing stones, and 10 are for stones that appear in the card file but have not yet been located. I plan on resolving these remaining requests when I (finally) begin the field work.

Important cautions when working with 17th-18th century English records

Dates before 1752

For those who may be unaware, the modern calendar was adopted by England and English colonies only in 1752. The previous calendar had the year beginning on March 25th. (Lady Day, a/k/a the Feast of the Annunciation - 9 months before Christmas.) March was counted as the first month of the year, and the 'ber months matched their Latin names - September, Septem, the 7th month; October, Octo, the 8th month, November, Novem, the 9th month, and December, Decem, the 10th month. The day after Dec. 31, 1749 was Jan. 1, 1749, January being the 11th month of the year, and Feb. the 12th. March 24, 1749 was followed by March 25, 1750. The fact that part of March was in one year and part in another lead to the practice of "double dating", that is giving both the old and new years as March 24, 1749/50. Since our year begins on Jan. 1st and not March 25th, we would write this date as March 24, 1750, even though the stone may say March 24, 1749. Note that dates on and after March 25th are never double dated, as the year under both old and new calendars is the same.

Please note that the 1752 date applies specifically to England. Scotland adopted the Jan. 1st new year in 1600, while France did so in 1582. For Nova Scotia, note that it was under French control until 1710, and therefore under the new calendar. After it fell to English control, it went to the old calendar, and then back to the new with the rest of England in 1752. This, of course, applies only to English records in Nova Scotia. What French records remain from this time period likely continued French practice. Quebec remained under French control until 1763 and so was always under the new calendar.

The alphabet before the 19th century

While our current 26 letter alphabet has gained a few letters, it has also lost a few, as well. In the 17th & 18th centuries, the letter pairs I and J as well as U and V were considered as variant forms of the same letter. That is, I and J were interchangeable, as were U and V. So it's not unusual to see "Upham" written as "Vpham" or "John" written as "Iohn". Furthermore, the letter J was also interchangeable with the number 1, so you can see the year "1801" written as "J80J".

One of the "lost" letters was the "long s", which is perhaps more commonly described as "the s that looks like an f". Originally written as a long stretched-out s, it eventually lost the bottom curve and gained a half crossbar that makes it look much like a lowercase f. The difference is that in the long s, the crossbar does not cross beyond the long stem of the letter, while with the f, it does cross over to both sides of the stem. The letter was always read as an s and never confused with f.

The other "lost" letter often seen is the "thorn", which by the 17th and 18th centuries, looked like a lowercase y. It represented the "th" sound, and was most commonly seen in the word "ye", where the "e" is in the superscript position. "ye" with the "e" superscript was the word "the" and is not to be confused with "ye" where the "e" is NOT superscript. THAT word is a form of the word "you" as in "Oh, ye of little faith!" If the letters after the "y" are superscript, you're looking at a thorn, not the letter y. Although "ye" = "the" is the most common use of thorn, it rarely is also seen in "yt" = "that".

(I apologize for the wordiness of the last paragraph. Find A Grave does not enable use of the Sup tag, which is needed to render superscripts. That forced me to try to describe what I should have been able to mark-up, instead.)

My primary research platform is FamilySearch.org. If you are wondering about the sources used and reasoning for specific edits, the answer will usually be found there. Find A Grave isn't structured to reference sources.

(Please note that the Find A Grave edit function does not permit live links to be posted in profile bios. The URLs given below may be accessed by highlighting the text and right clicking.)

Generally speaking, my primary source for Massachusetts edits will be the Vital Records to 1850 series, a/k/a the "tan books". There used to be a handy website with transcriptions of most of these books at:
https://ma-vitalrecords.org/
it appears to have since gone offline. The Malden volume of the series may be found at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924028815988&seq=1
most of the other volumes may also be found at the hathitrust.org site by searching: "Vital Records of (town name)"

Bell Rock Cemetery

Originally known as Sandy Bank and, after 1832, as the Old Burying Ground, the name "Bell Rock" for this cemetery does not come from the Bell Rock Memorial Park established in 1910, but rather from the railroad station on the Saugus Branch behind the cemetery. The station, at the foot of Converse Ave., was originally called Belmont, and was renamed Bell Rock circa 1880. The cemetery adopted the name by 1890. Both the station and the later park were named after the exposed rock bed in the middle of the park (not the cemetery) that was the site of the town's first meeting house.

Today the cemetery is a rectangular block bounded by a short granite stone wall along each side. This is not the historical limits of the cemetery. The streets were not laid out until 1848. At that time, a large triangular extension was added along Green St and a short part of Medford St. The main entrance to the cemetery, along with the Cox and Classon plots, are part of this addition. At the time the streets were laid out, a small part of the cemetery actually lay north of Medford St. A few graves remained there until 1899, when an act was passed permitting the city to reinter the graves within the modern bounds of the cemetery, provided they gave families an opportunity to reinter them elsewhere. Over a dozen graves are known to have been relocated to other cemeteries, most notably the Sprague and Wait families, now at Forest Dale. A number of other re-interments have been done over the years by family request.

Today, the cemetery contains about 800 known and confirmed interments. Some 200-300 additional burials are assumed to have been here, though in many cases early (pre-1700) and late (post-1850) burials are more likely to have been in nearby cemeteries.

The tombs were built between 1796 and 1832. Unfortunately, many of them did not survive the years very well. I understand several were in such poor condition that they were demolished at some point, perhaps in the 1920s-1930s. Most of those that remained had the original brick stuccoed over. Only one tomb, the Pratt Tomb, which has a granite front, remains in close to original condition.

Burials here began to taper off in the mid 19th century when the Baptist (Salem St.), Jewish (Hebrew Charitable), and Catholic (Saint Marys) cemeteries were established, along with the private Woodlawn Cemetery, established in 1850 in South Malden, now known as Everett. Burials dropped off sharply after 1885 when Forest Dale Cemetery was opened as a city cemetery. Early 20th century burials were either in the tombs or lots sold in the closing years of the 19th century. The last burial was in 1937 on a lot sold in 1896.

1855 - Synopsis of the Inscriptions in the Old Malden Burying Ground

The earliest attempt to document the cemetery was done by Thomas B. Wyman, Jr. (1817–1878) memorial 142134108. His article in the Oct. 1855 issue of the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGR) can be found at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000100342&seq=327
As the oldest survey of the cemetery, it does record a number of stones lost or re-interred before the later, more detailed, surveys were done. However, it is also known to contain several typos, and caution is advised.
Warning: There was a webpage that contained a transcription of this article that introduced several additional errors, notably concerning the Sprague and Skinner families. Only the original article should be used.

Deloraine Pendre Corey (1836-1910) memorial 86549978
- (Corey transcriptions and Malden Vital Records)

While perhaps better known for his history, Corey also prepared Malden's volume of the Vital Records series, which was published in 1903. It may be found at:
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009790222
In the Preface, he describes quite vividly the deplorable condition of the records he found, and the challenges he had in working with them.

His interest in the cemetery may well have been sparked by the Synopsis, which was published when he was 19. He had an update to the original article published in the Apr. 1864 issue of the NEHGR with a number of additions/corrections. This update can be found at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101072357872&seq=201

As part of his work in preparing the Malden Vital Records, Corey made his own transcriptions of the Bell Rock gravestones, perhaps in the 1890s. After his passing, a (nearly) verbatim copy of his transcriptions were later published in three issues of the Register of the Malden Historical Society under the heading: "Inscriptions from the Bell Rock Cemetery". It runs from the earliest remaining stone in 1670 to 1770. A total of 365 stones were published. Many stones have sunk since then, obscuring as many as four or even 5 lines of inscription. A few stones have fallen over and/or shattered. These transcriptions can usually supply lost portions of inscription. Even in Corey's day, a couple stones had already broken and his transcription provides what remained in his time. The Register may be found at:
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008699576
The series appeared in these issues:
No. 2, pg. 63-73 (1670-1703)
No. 3, pg. 51-74 (1704-1752)
No. 4, pg. 91-99 (1752-1770)

Malden Cemetery Department - Bell Rock Card File

A third survey was done, apparently circa the 1930s, which also includes transcriptions and introduces a crude plot numbering system. It appears the cards were typed by another person working off a manuscript, and a number of typographical errors appear from misreadings, however it remains useful, especially in the cemetery's second century (1770-1870) when Corey's transcriptions are not available. This is especially important for the marbles, which have weathered very poorly and are often illegible today. Cards may be accessed through the department's website at:
https://www.forestdalecemetery.org/
Despite the name, there are records for all three cemeteries managed by the department.

Plot numbers

The card file numbering system of Ranges and Rows have been posted as plot numbers. The system starts at the northern (Medford St.) edge at Range 1 Row 1, and proceeds southerly. Range 2 begins at Pratt's Tomb. Range 3 begins at the Cox Lot and ends at the Bangs stone. Range 4 is south of the Bangs stone to the Nichols Tomb and includes the Sweetser row directly opposite. Range 5 is the main grouping of stones behind the main tomb complex. Range 6 runs along the southern (Converse Ave.) edge and includes the main tomb complex, a handful of scattered stones behind the complex, and the three stones in front of it. The portion of the cemetery north of Medford St. that was discontinued in 1899 has been designated as Range 0.

The concept of a "row" needs to be taken with a grain of salt. They generally run from east to west, starting from the front (Green St.) and running towards the rear (Saugus Branch Railroad, now a bike path). They can be discontinuous and bend and weave. Sometimes they are well defined, with the footstones of one row about a foot away from the headstones of the next, or the headstones and footstones can be intermixed and the distinction between one row and the next can be murky at best. In a few places, there are graves laid out on a north/south alignment, at right angles to the rows. Assignment of a "row" number to these graves is arbitrary, at best. Occasionally, a headstone may appear at the footstone position, or the inscription may be on the opposite face of the stone.

Types of stones

The slate stones used from the 17th to early 19th centuries are very resistant to wear, but they do tend to break and shatter. The marbles used in the mid to late 19th century are soft and acid rain has blurred or entirely erased the inscriptions. They can often only be identified from transcriptions and contextual clues. There are also a handful of modern granites, which came into use in the late 19th century. They are substantially larger and out of scale with the older stones.

Until the mid 19th century, it was common practice to mark a grave with both a headstone and a footstone. They did exactly what it sounds like - they marked the head and the foot of the grave. The footstones were in the same style as the headstones but smaller and only had a name inscribed. Sometimes, where a headstone has been lost, a footstone may remain as the only means of locating a grave.

Work program

2022 season:
Background research and preliminary field work was done, an interim database was created, and a first attempt at producing a detailed grave map was begun. Initial efforts focused on confirming the location of existing stones, noting stones that have disappeared in the last century since the cemetery dept. survey, and identifying partial stones. Photos of stones were taken for memorials missing them. At this point, the stones of memorials still missing photos cannot be presently located. The card file does have known typos, and occasionally a stone has been found at a location different from that given on its card. Since the notion of a "row" can be rather fluid, some of these discrepancies will be resolved in later mapping efforts. Corrections for gross errors have been posted.

2023 season:
Illness over the winter prevented genealogical research from being started until late spring, and remains ongoing. This has delayed field work this season. A very wet summer has also made conditions less than desirable. The interim database is being reconciled against Find A Grave and discrepancies are being resolved. I hope to complete this soon and get at least a little field work in this season to complete a first draft map.

Future work:
A fourth, photographic, survey was done c.1996 and is in the collection of the Malden Historical Society. Located in the Malden Public Library, it is open only on a limited basis. It is sorted alphabetically and does not contain location information. It may be helpful in correcting the transcriptions of stones lost/damaged in the last 25 years. I plan on reviewing this survey in late fall / winter, when field work is not practical. I also hope to locate the unpublished portion of the Corey transcriptions in his manuscripts.

Photo requests:
All photo requests that do not appear in the Malden Cemetery Department Bell Rock card file have been flagged with problems. It's highly unlikely that gravestones that were missing nearly a century ago are still present now. Stones that do appear in the card file but have been confirmed to be no longer present have also been flagged. Of the 24 currently active requests, 14 are for better quality pics of existing stones, and 10 are for stones that appear in the card file but have not yet been located. I plan on resolving these remaining requests when I (finally) begin the field work.

Important cautions when working with 17th-18th century English records

Dates before 1752

For those who may be unaware, the modern calendar was adopted by England and English colonies only in 1752. The previous calendar had the year beginning on March 25th. (Lady Day, a/k/a the Feast of the Annunciation - 9 months before Christmas.) March was counted as the first month of the year, and the 'ber months matched their Latin names - September, Septem, the 7th month; October, Octo, the 8th month, November, Novem, the 9th month, and December, Decem, the 10th month. The day after Dec. 31, 1749 was Jan. 1, 1749, January being the 11th month of the year, and Feb. the 12th. March 24, 1749 was followed by March 25, 1750. The fact that part of March was in one year and part in another lead to the practice of "double dating", that is giving both the old and new years as March 24, 1749/50. Since our year begins on Jan. 1st and not March 25th, we would write this date as March 24, 1750, even though the stone may say March 24, 1749. Note that dates on and after March 25th are never double dated, as the year under both old and new calendars is the same.

Please note that the 1752 date applies specifically to England. Scotland adopted the Jan. 1st new year in 1600, while France did so in 1582. For Nova Scotia, note that it was under French control until 1710, and therefore under the new calendar. After it fell to English control, it went to the old calendar, and then back to the new with the rest of England in 1752. This, of course, applies only to English records in Nova Scotia. What French records remain from this time period likely continued French practice. Quebec remained under French control until 1763 and so was always under the new calendar.

The alphabet before the 19th century

While our current 26 letter alphabet has gained a few letters, it has also lost a few, as well. In the 17th & 18th centuries, the letter pairs I and J as well as U and V were considered as variant forms of the same letter. That is, I and J were interchangeable, as were U and V. So it's not unusual to see "Upham" written as "Vpham" or "John" written as "Iohn". Furthermore, the letter J was also interchangeable with the number 1, so you can see the year "1801" written as "J80J".

One of the "lost" letters was the "long s", which is perhaps more commonly described as "the s that looks like an f". Originally written as a long stretched-out s, it eventually lost the bottom curve and gained a half crossbar that makes it look much like a lowercase f. The difference is that in the long s, the crossbar does not cross beyond the long stem of the letter, while with the f, it does cross over to both sides of the stem. The letter was always read as an s and never confused with f.

The other "lost" letter often seen is the "thorn", which by the 17th and 18th centuries, looked like a lowercase y. It represented the "th" sound, and was most commonly seen in the word "ye", where the "e" is in the superscript position. "ye" with the "e" superscript was the word "the" and is not to be confused with "ye" where the "e" is NOT superscript. THAT word is a form of the word "you" as in "Oh, ye of little faith!" If the letters after the "y" are superscript, you're looking at a thorn, not the letter y. Although "ye" = "the" is the most common use of thorn, it rarely is also seen in "yt" = "that".

(I apologize for the wordiness of the last paragraph. Find A Grave does not enable use of the Sup tag, which is needed to render superscripts. That forced me to try to describe what I should have been able to mark-up, instead.)