WG Historical Cemeteries

West Greenwich Cemetery Notables: April 2026

The West Greenwich Preservation and Heritage Commission cleaned the WG-001 Waite-Tillinghast Lot.

This historic cemetery contains 23 burials connected to the Waite and Tillinghast families. Among those buried here is Daniel Tillinghast, son of Sylvester Tillinghast and Mary Johnson. Daniel was first married to Alma Waite, daughter of Silas Waite and Rhonda Bennett. He later married Cynthia Johnson.

Another notable burial is Henry C. Tillinghast, son of Daniel Tillinghast, a Civil War veteran. His first wife, Elizabeth James, was the daughter of John James and Lois Matteson, and she is buried in WG-101, the Silas James Lot. Henry’s second wife was Annie E. Lewis.

The Waite-Tillinghast Lot also includes the burials of four infants, along with many other members of these families whose lives helped shape the history of West Greenwich.

West Greenwich Cemetery Notables: April 2026

Today, Boy Scout Troop 158 and the West Greenwich Preservation and Heritage Commission trekked deep into the Big River Management Area to help maintain and preserve three of West Greenwich’s historic cemeteries: WG-028 Rufus Hopkins Lot, WG-052 Sweet Burial Ground, and WG-061 Briggs Lot.

WG-028, Rufus Hopkins Lot, contains more than three generations of the Hopkins family. Among those buried there are Rufus Hopkins (1773–1844) and his wife Amy Shippee (1776–1837), Major Lawton Hopkins (1793–1871) and his wife Elizabeth Whitford (1797–1854), and Burrill Hopkins (1819–1874) with his wife Dinna Brown (1812–1891). Also buried there is Wilson Hatten, whose story, as shared by Howard Barbour, tells of a baby found in a hat left on the Hopkins family’s doorstep. The family took him in and gave him the name Wilson Hatten. He later became part-owner of Horatio Blake’s Tavern on New London Turnpike in the 1820s, along with Ebenezer Church and Amos Sweet. In total, 20 known burials are recorded at WG-028.

WG-052, Sweet Burial Ground, tells the story of a family closely tied to West Greenwich’s early industry. The Sweet family operated a water-powered sawmill, for which both the pond and Sweet Sawmill Road were named. This burial ground contains several generations of the Sweet family, with burials dating from 1775 to 1843. Among those interred are William “Wickaboxet” Sweet (1715–1796), his two wives, Martha Case (1720–1760) and Sarah King (1741–1775), and Burton Sweet (1762–1826) with his wife Rachel Matteson (1762–1843). There are 16 known graves at this site.

WG-061, Briggs Lot, is currently listed as having only three burials. However, today’s work revealed that there are likely at least nine more graves within the lot. The cemetery is made up entirely of crude fieldstones, and it is clear that much more research remains to be done to fully understand and document this historic site.

Thank you to Boy Scout Troop 158 for taking on this meaningful trek and for helping preserve these hidden pieces of West Greenwich history.

If you have a group or organization interested in helping maintain our historic cemeteries in West Greenwich, please email us at wgphc1741@gmail.com with your preferred contact method and the best time to reach you, and we will gladly help organize a cleanup.