New England's Death Bells

Death In New England was an all too often visitor.  Of the first 102 Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in 1620, half died during the first winter.

We know of the difficulties of early American life in part, due to records kept by individual colonists. Samuel Sewall was a New England merchant and magistrate whose detailed diary written from 1673 to 1729, gives us a very personal look at death in Colonial America. Seven of his 14 children died before the age of 2; only 3 out of the 14 children would make it to outlive their father.

Well known Puritan preacher Cotton Mather saw 8 of his 15 children die before the age of 2.

With disease, lack of medicine, harsh weather conditions and starvation constantly plaguing setters, many turned to superstition and the supernatural to explain the losing of loved ones or other calamities. 

The moon was thought to have mystical powers. If a pregnant woman looked at the moon for instance, she may have a child who suffered from sleep walking. The presence of witches was also used to explain all manner of misfortunes. Witches were also thought to be able to summon evil spirits in helping them cause harm.

Faith was one of the few things that early settlers could rely upon for protection against the unknown. Terrifying imagery and dark scary epitaphs were used on gravestones as the Puritan's idea of a "friendly reminder" for the mortal reader that only the most devote might have a chance at eternal reward. This being said, churches were an integral part of every settlement and many had bells to call worshipers to services on Sundays. 

There was another reason for tolling the bells and it had a darker purpose.

It was believed that the newly departed soul was extremely vulnerable to the malevolent spirits that constantly roamed the earth searching for souls to prey upon. Some believed they stood at the very foot of the death bed waiting. 

The only way to combat this most awful scenario, was a slow tolling of church bells. It was thought that the sound emitted by the bells would scare away any evil spirits and allow the soul a chance to safely ascend into Heaven. 

Those who could afford it, may donate a sum of money to the church in order to toll the bells for an extended period before death.

 In some communities one could tell the age of the person who had deceased by the pattern of the bell tolling. A simple chime for each year of life may be rung. Or if the person was say 62 years old, six strikes with a pronounced pause followed by another two may communicate the information to those listening.

Scottish and British immigrants were familiar with another kind of death bell.

A special bell known as a "mort-bell," and another called the "soul-bell" was tolled after a death had taken place. It was possible to tell by the sound of the "soul-bell" if it was rung for an adult, or for a child, for in the former case the tenor was sounded and in the latter, the treble. It was, moreover, customary to distinguish the sex, by tolling three times for a man and twice for a woman, followed, after a pause, by a stroke for each year corresponding to the age of the deceased.

Amongst other old customs, the practice is recorded of ringing the bell three times before the gravedigger disturbed the burial ground for a new grave, a custom known as "ringing home the dead."