All we have left of the memory of John and Rebecca Baxter is the stone inscription noted for posterity in books. The stone itself has succumbed to time and the elements. This inscription was recorded in The New Hampshire Genealogical Record Vol. 2 July 1904 – April 1905.
[Broken Stone]
(ME)MORY OF JOHN & REBECCA BAXTER
AGED 1 YEAR & 5 MONTHS
(DECE)ASED FEBRUARY Y e 15 th & 21 at 1697/8,
true with great travell breeds
that cruel Death destroys
e a tyrant tramples on
of our joyes
have mov’d
John and Rebecca Baxter were born to Dr. John and Rebecca Baxter in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. [Mother] Rebecca Baxter was the daughter of Walter Mayer of Saco, Maine. She was born July 12, 1664. She 1st married Peter Nossitor and gave birth to a daughter, Mary (1691-1744). Rebecca’s second marriage was to Dr. John Baxter in York, Maine after 1696.
Rebecca gave birth to twins, John and Rebecca, September 1696. They died one year, five months later. John on February 15, 1697/8 and his sister Rebecca just six days later. One can only surmise from the epitath of these children’s gravestone, the magitude they were loved and the extent of grief of their parents.
This is what I imagine this epitath would read if it was in current language and intact today.
Its true
with great travail
breeds love
that cruel Death destroys
and a tyrant tramples on.
the lives of our joys
have moved on