Jeremiah Fowler (died 1724)
This marker is a crude piece of fieldstone (schist) probably chiseled by a family member or by the local blacksmith. The inscription on Jeremiah Fowler's tombstone--simply his initials and "D" for deceased--reflects the size of Eastchester, since "J F" would have been enough to identify him in a town of about 350 people. Fowler's economic life is representative of colonial Eastchester, which was largely agricultural, but included trades. As a farmer, Fowler would have cultivated such subsistence crops as hay, wheat, corn, rye, buckwheat and flax. Apples were grown in the orchards and bees produced honey. As a carpenter, Fowler would have built barns and houses, using a saw, smoothing plane, jackplane, chisel, brace, auger, ax and slick. He was probably paid through goods or services--hard money was rarely used in such transactions. |
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