Amputated Leg Gravestone in Washington NH

Samuel Jones was involved in an accident July 7, 1804, he was 26 years old at the time. Jones was part of a crew that was moving a building in Washington. His leg got pinched between the building they were moving and a fence. Because the injuries to his leg were so severe it had to be amputated. Keep in mind anesthesia was not common in the early 1800’s so chances are the surgery was done without it. Jones survived the surgery.

At that time it was believed that if you lost a limb and gave it a proper burial there would be less pain in the future. Samuel Jones did the burial and made his own gravestone for his leg in the Washington cemetery. The gravestone reads: “Capt. Samuel Jones’ leg which was amputated July 7 1804” and has what appears to be a star above the text engraved into the stone.

When Jones did pass away several years later as an old man, he was living and working in New York. So the rest of his body was buried in New York separated from his leg.