101 Ways, Part 114: Was Drouned in a Tan Pit

For a brief intro to the "101 Ways to Say 'Died'" series, click here.

John Bowers

d. 1776

Pepperell, MA

Young John Bowers of Pepperell met a horrible end when he fell into a tan pit in 1776. I don't know much about leatherworking, but it seems that a pit used for curing hides is full of lime or other astringents. All of the references I found in a quick Google search describe tan pits as just a slight cut above cesspools in terms of vileness.

John Bowers was not the only child in New England to drown in a tan pit: Thomas Newhall drowned in Boston in 1665 and Mary Hall Morrison (age 2) died in 1825.

Here lies the

Body of John Bowers

the first Born & only

son of Mr John Bower

and Mrs Lydia his wife

who was drouned in

a tan pit Augst 24th

1776 Aged 3 Years 3

months & 6 days.

Youth's foreward [s]lips [?]

Death soonest Nips.