James Foster gravestone,
Dorchester Illustration 2677
The Dorchester Old North Burying Ground has a type of marker called portrait stones.
The City of Boston website, https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/iconography-gravestones-burying-grounds, has the following entry:
“Another type of decorative carving, often called “portrait stones,” was more selectively employed on Boston gravestones. The images are not actual portraits of the deceased person, yet they do realistically resemble people. Hair, distinct facial features, and clothing are prominent characteristics of these “portrait” carvings. Because many carvers repeatedly used certain motifs and styles or carving, study has shown the faces of many of the “portraits” are nearly identical.”
There were three generations of Dorchester stone carvers named James Foster. James II, 1698-1763 whose stone is today’s illustration, is noted to have a style of carving that cannot be differentiated from the style of his father, James, the elder. Unless James II carved his own stone before his death, it is likely that James III, 1732-1771, was the carver of the stone in the illustration.