Haverhill

35. Pentucker Cemetery

Located at the intersection of Water and Mill Streets.

In this cemetery, beneath a white obelisk (Plate 23), is buried Major Nathaniel Saltonstall, a member of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. After resigning from the court in June 1692, Saltonstall became a prominent critic of the Salem proceedings and was himself accused of witchcraft. Following his graduation from Harvard College in 1659, Saltonstall had embarked on a military career. A contemporary described him as among the most "popular and principled military men" in the colony. In 1697, Saltonstall commanded the Haverhill defenses. When the town was destroyed in an Indian raid, he was censured by the colony for negligent behavior. He died in Haverhill on 21 May 1707 "after a half years Consumptive illness."