Sometimes among the many tributes to loss in the Old Warren Cemetery, there is a mystery. In the north end of the cemetery there is a small stone, now sadly tilting, with this inscription:
In Memory of
NED
Who Died April 13th
1793 Æ 9 years
This stone is erected by his
Master J. Tallmadge
Pleasant & faithful in life And in Death lamented
Who was Ned? There is no surname for him. Was he an indentured servant? A slave? In the 1790 Census John Tallmadge should be listed among the inhabitants of Warren. Among his other business ventures he owned the General Store, but he’s not. There is a John Tallmadge in Claverack, New York and he owns two slaves. Could one of them have been Ned?