SALEM - The body of Obadiah Eastman lies beneath a tree near the corner of Atkinson and Haverhill roads.
Until a few weeks ago, no living person knew that, although some may have been able to guess.
Eastman was a captain in Rogers' Rangers, the famous militia that fought in the French and Indian War under Robert Rogers. Eastman was born in 1721 and died in 1767, almost a decade before the American Revolution began.
Eastman's gravestone, along with about 20 others, was recently unearthed as part of a Salem Historical Society project that began about two months ago.
The project is spearheaded by Thomas Spitalere of Haverhill, Mass.
Spitalere, 30, began the project hoping to chart the identities of people buried in the North Salem Burial Ground on Atkinson Road. But the last two months have shown him two things.
One, the project will take much longer than anticipated.
"It'll take, probably, a couple of years," he said. "I've found so much more (than I expected)."
Two, he and his fellow volunteers might never discover the identities of some buried in the old cemetery.
"It's very saddening to find unmarked stones," he said yesterday, standing near Eastman's grave.
When the cemetery project began in April, volunteers immediately found the grave of Peter Currier, who died in September 1754. Currier isn't listed in the town's vital statistics.
The group - about six or seven people, although it varies each week - has found grave after grave since. Many stones were buried beneath sod, grass and moss.
In some cases, the stones were tangled in the undergrowth just outside the cemetery. In other cases, they sat, cracked and toppled, near a small brook in the woods nearby.
Most of the stones are unmarked - or the markings have been erased by weather and time.
But, in a few cases, Spitalere and others have been able to read names, and then research them.
Eastman, part of an influential Eastman clan in Salem's early history, has been their most impressive find so far. The local militia officer was re-elected as a selectman to 10 one-year terms, according to Spitalere's research.
The man had a violent early life, according to Spitalere. Eastman began as a scout in Rogers' Rangers at age 15.
The find of Eastman's grave has attracted the attention of people throughout the region, including Raymond Potvin, a local historian who is writing a book about Rogers' early life.
Until a few weeks ago, no living person knew that, although some may have been able to guess.
Eastman was a captain in Rogers' Rangers, the famous militia that fought in the French and Indian War under Robert Rogers. Eastman was born in 1721 and died in 1767, almost a decade before the American Revolution began.
Eastman's gravestone, along with about 20 others, was recently unearthed as part of a Salem Historical Society project that began about two months ago.
The project is spearheaded by Thomas Spitalere of Haverhill, Mass.
Spitalere, 30, began the project hoping to chart the identities of people buried in the North Salem Burial Ground on Atkinson Road. But the last two months have shown him two things.
One, the project will take much longer than anticipated.
"It'll take, probably, a couple of years," he said. "I've found so much more (than I expected)."
Two, he and his fellow volunteers might never discover the identities of some buried in the old cemetery.
"It's very saddening to find unmarked stones," he said yesterday, standing near Eastman's grave.
When the cemetery project began in April, volunteers immediately found the grave of Peter Currier, who died in September 1754. Currier isn't listed in the town's vital statistics.
The group - about six or seven people, although it varies each week - has found grave after grave since. Many stones were buried beneath sod, grass and moss.
In some cases, the stones were tangled in the undergrowth just outside the cemetery. In other cases, they sat, cracked and toppled, near a small brook in the woods nearby.
Most of the stones are unmarked - or the markings have been erased by weather and time.
But, in a few cases, Spitalere and others have been able to read names, and then research them.
Eastman, part of an influential Eastman clan in Salem's early history, has been their most impressive find so far. The local militia officer was re-elected as a selectman to 10 one-year terms, according to Spitalere's research.
The man had a violent early life, according to Spitalere. Eastman began as a scout in Rogers' Rangers at age 15.
The find of Eastman's grave has attracted the attention of people throughout the region, including Raymond Potvin, a local historian who is writing a book about Rogers' early life.
Yesterday, Potvin came to see the grave site, saying it isn't clear yet whether Eastman will feature prominently in Rogers' history.
In the meantime, Spitalere is going to keep looking for gravestones and the stories that go with them.
