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Secondary sourceSculpture

Samuel Adams Memorial Plaque, Granary Burying Ground (2002 photograph)

A 2002 photograph of the bronze plaque at Samuel Adams's burial ground in Boston. It lists his role as a signer of the Declaration and governor, and his dates.

The plaque marks Adams's grave and names him as a signer of the Declaration and governor of Massachusetts.

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A green, weathered bronze plaque mounted on a rough stone wall. Raised lettering reads: HERE LIES BURIED SAMUEL ADAMS, SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, GOVERNOR OF THIS COMMONWEALTH, A LEADER OF MEN AND AN ARDENT PATRIOT, BORN 1722, DIED 1803. A bottom strip reads MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY SONS OF THE REVOLUTION with a round seal.
Memorial plaque for Samuel Adams, Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Massachusetts; photographed 2002 by Bill (Wikimedia Commons).

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph taken in 2002 of a green, weathered bronze plaque mounted on a rough stone wall at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston. Raised lettering reads 'HERE LIES BURIED SAMUEL ADAMS, SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, GOVERNOR OF THIS COMMONWEALTH, A LEADER OF MEN AND AN ARDENT PATRIOT, BORN 1722, DIED 1803'. A strip at the bottom reads 'Massachusetts Society Sons of the Revolution' with a round seal.

Why it matters

The plaque marks where Adams is buried and shows how he was remembered after his death. Its wording names him as a signer of the Declaration of Independence and as governor of Massachusetts. The Sons of the Revolution seal shows that a patriotic society, made up of descendants of Revolutionary-era patriots, helped commemorate him.

Look closer

  • Which words on the plaque would a historian want to check against other records of Adams's life?
  • Why would descendants of Revolutionary patriots want to mark a grave in this way?
  • What does a short plaque leave out about the arguments and disagreements of Adams's time?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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