Targeted Grave Wasn't Witch Trials Victim, Other Prominent People Buried in Charter Street Cemetery

The grave that a Beverly man allegedly tried to dig up on Monday afternoon didn’t belong to one of the prominent people buried in the oldest cemetery in Salem - a cemetery that is said to be the second oldest cemetery in the country.

The Old Burying Point Cemetery is at the heart of downtown Salem and one of the attractions during the peak Halloween season. Also known as the Charter Street Cemetery, it sits between Derby Street and Charter Street.

It is ranked No. 7 out of the 41 Salem attractions listed by TripAdvisor, and in 2010 it was listed as one of the 1,000 great places to visit in Massachusetts.

Brian T. Bennett, 26, of 91 Hale St. Beverly was charged Monday afternoon with desecrating a place of burial and disorderly conduct after police said he allegedly “disturbed and cleared away” soil and grass from a grave “to reveal what appeared to be the top of a crypt.”

The grave belonged to Nathaniel Silfbee, who died on Jan. 2, 1769. No birthdate is listed on the grave for Silfbee, who is also listed along with Martha Silfbee. No birth date or death date is listed for Martha and it is not clear whether she is buried there.

Little is known about Silfbee. There is a founder of the Salem Athenaeum by the name of Nathaniel Silfbee, but that happened in 1809, 40 years after the death of the man buried in the grave that Bennett allegedly tried to dig up.

There are plenty of other notable people buried in the Old Burying Point Cemetery, including several people who were convicted of practicing Witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Also buried there is architect Samuel McIntire, former Gov. Simon Bradstreet and John Hathorne, a magistrate during the Salem Witch Trials.

Police said Shawn Shea, owner at Salem Wax Museum, help police identify the suspect. The Wax Museum is right next door to the cemetery and a worker there on Tuesday said several employees saw him trying to dig up the grave but none were immediately available for comment.

One witness, Nai Abelenda, said she saw Bennett, wearing a blue beanie, “quickly abandoning the place as soon as someone told (the) authorities.”

After the arrest, she saw the grave of Silfbee, where Bennett had allegedly “dug until he hit the first layer of stone.”

“Many people gathered around the dug up grave,” she said.

Image by Nai Abelenda