Henry MM Belcombe: Coming to America

The Reverend Henry M. M. Belcombe, Percy’s second eldest brother, was baptized on December 14th, 1819 at Newcastle Under Lyme in St. Giles church. (P.s. The same place as Percy, the family moved to York in 1822.)

As luck would have it for me, he traveled to the US in 1845 but unfortunately died in Boston. But with him being in Boston, I was able to take the quick trip in hopes of taking a selfie with his gravestone without it being as crazy as the time I flew to the UK for 2 days to take a selfie with Percy's...

On May 21, 1845, the Rev. Henry Belcombe landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on board the Bark Fair Mount. In an affidavit from 1853 listing the deaths of her immediate family members, Percy states that Henry left England in 1844. This vessel came from St. Thomas, so I hope he went there for a nice beach vacation. Or maybe he was doing mission work? I need to find out what type of Reverend he was; CoE, Methodist, or something else? 

He eventually ended up staying at the Tremont House in Boston, Massachusetts. The Tremont House was a famous hotel built in 1829, “the pioneer, first-class hotel in America.” I’ve always said those Belcombes had class.

Unfortunately, Henry died while staying at the Tremont House, with the cause of death listed as Apoplexy, the term used for a stroke at the time. And sadly enough, he was listed as a “stranger” at Tremont House.

So he arrives in the US in Philadelphia at the end of May and then dies by July 16th in Boston. Was the term stranger used to mean something specific? You would think it would say “guest at Tremont House”? I’ll have to look into that further. Maybe he had just arrived and hadn’t had a chance to get to know anyone and really was a ‘stranger.’ 

Henry's obituary in the York Herald says he died after a short illness, so either he had communicated with his family that he was sick, or someone in Boston notified them. You would assume if someone else notified them, then he wasn’t necessarily a stranger. So many questions, as always!

There is no gravestone for poor Henry. Due to its popularity then, the Tremont House bought a plot (#324) in Mount Auburn cemetery to bury people who died while staying there. This was before embalming became widespread, and the cost of transporting dead people was beyond the means of most families. Tremont House erected a 6-foot-tall octagonal tomb for its guests. It held 36 spots, and allegedly there were plaques for the people buried within. 

Eventually, due to its low occupancy rate, the tomb was taken down, and the people were buried in the ground. Why in the world would you do that? Why wouldn't you just put more people in the existing tomb? If you don't like its lack of inhabitants, fill the bastard up. I'm very disappointed in whoever made that decision. Because now Henry and I are selfie-less. But in the tomb's place, they planted a Beech tree which you can see in the photos from my visit. It really is a beautiful cemetery.

If you'd like more history on The Stranger's Tomb, check out Mount Auburn's video below!

At the time of this adventure, my Belcombe physical gravestone collection was at 2 (non-existent) -13 (found) - 2 (not yet visited). Not a bad record, I'd say.