The "Sedgwick Pie" is a late 18th century cemetery plot in Massachusetts, USA. It is the family burial plot of the Sedgwick family in Stockbridge Cemetery, Stockbridge, and gets its nickname from its shape and layout.
The burial sites are arranged around the graves of Theodore Sedgwick (1746–1813), patriarch of the prominent Sedgwick family of New England and a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (among other positions), and his wife, Pamela Dwight Sedgwick (1753–1807). The graves of the others, who include in-laws, servants, and family pets, form concentric circles around the center, with the buried grouped by familial affiliation and laid to rest with their feet toward the center. This contrasts with the orientation of the other graves in the cemetery, which (in classic fashion) face east, toward the rising sun, Jerusalem (with all its significance), and the hoped-for Resurrection. It has been said that this arrangement of the graves sees to it that on Judgment Day, when the Sedgwicks rise to face their judge, they will only have to look at other Sedgwicks. [1]
"The Pie" has become something of an attraction for those interested in unusual cemetery plots, grave tours, and the like. [2]
Notable persons buried in the Pie include:
The Pie is the first topic of discussion in Edie: An American Biography, by Jean Stein and George Plimpton (Knopf, 1982). The book is a discussion of the life and career of Edie Sedgwick, who, although a member of the family, is not buried there but in the small Oak Hill Cemetery in Ballard, California. Her epitaph reads "Edith Sedgwick Post – Wife Of Michael Brett Post 1943–1971". Her mother, Alice, was buried next to her in 1988.[ citation needed ]
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is home to the Norman Rockwell Museum, Naumkeag, a public garden and historic house, the Austen Riggs Center, and Chesterwood, home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French.
Theodore Sedgwick was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served in elected state government and as a delegate to the Continental Congress, a U.S. representative, and a senator from Massachusetts. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate from June to December 1798. He also served as the fourth speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was appointed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1802 and served there for the rest of his life.
Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the crowded burial ground on the New Haven Green. The first private, nonprofit cemetery in the world, it was one of the earliest burial grounds to have a planned layout, with plots permanently owned by individual families, a structured arrangement of ornamental plantings, and paved and named streets and avenues. By introducing ideas like permanent memorials and the sanctity of the deceased body, the cemetery became "a real turning point... a whole redefinition of how people viewed death and dying", according to historian Peter Dobkin Hall. Many notable Yale and New Haven luminaries are buried in the Grove Street Cemetery, including 14 Yale presidents; nevertheless, it was not restricted to members of the upper class, and was open to all.
Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post was an American actress, model, and socialite, who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s. Her prominence led to her being dubbed an "It Girl", while Vogue magazine named her a "Youthquaker".
The Cimetière parisien de Pantin is one of the three Parisien cemeteries extra muros, located in the commune of Pantin which is in Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France.
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is a World War II cemetery and memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, that honors American troops who died in Europe during World War II. It is located on the site of the former temporary battlefield cemetery of Saint Laurent, covers 172.5 acres and contains 9,388 gravesites.
Catharine Maria Sedgwick was an American novelist of domestic fiction. From the 1820s to the 1850s, Sedgwick made a living writing short stories for a variety of periodicals. She became one of the most notable female novelists of her time. She wrote work in American settings, and combined patriotism with protests against historic Puritan oppressiveness. Her topics contributed to the creation of a national literature, enhanced by her detailed descriptions of nature. Sedgwick created spirited heroines who did not conform to the stereotypical conduct of women at the time. She promoted Republican motherhood.
Witton Cemetery, which opened in Witton in 1863 as Birmingham City Cemetery, is the largest cemetery in Birmingham, England. Covering an area of 103 acres (0.42 km2), it once had three chapels; however, two of these were demolished in 1980. The cemetery would perform up to 20 burials a day; however, it was declared "full to capacity" in December 2013, allowing burials only in existing family plots, or of babies or cremated remains. Extra capacity was therefore provided at the nearby New Hall Cemetery. The cemetery office was opened in 1999.
West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Continental Army soldiers during the American Revolutionary War, and for early West Point residents prior to its designation as a military cemetery in 1817.
Theodore Sedgwick III was an American attorney and writer on legal topics.
Henry Dwight Sedgwick III was an American lawyer and author. He was a member of the prominent Sedgwick family of New England and New York.
Robert Bowne Minturn Jr. was an American shipping magnate of the mid to late 19th century.
Bishopwearmouth Cemetery is a cemetery in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It lies between Hylton Road and Chester Road.
Jean Babette Stein was an American author and editor.
Montparnasse Cemetery is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 42 graves, and approximately 1,000 people are buried there each year.
Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick (1788–1867) was a 19th-century American writer specializing in children's novels. She also painted a watercolor-on-ivory portrait of an ex-slave who came to work for her family.
Sedgwick is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
William Ross Bond was a United States Army brigadier general who was killed by an enemy sniper in 1970 while commanding the 199th Infantry Brigade in South Vietnam. General Bond also served in World War II with the Army Rangers and was a prisoner of war.
The Sedgwick family is a predominantly American family originating in England. Members of the family and their descendants have been influential in politics, law, business, and the arts. The earliest known member of the Sedgwick family to have gone to the New World from England was Robert Sedgwick of Yorkshire, England, who arrived in 1636 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as part of the Great Migration. Sedgwick, Maine, was named in his honor. The Sedgwick Pie is the family's cemetery located in Stockbridge Cemetery, Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Theodore Sedgwick was an American attorney, writer, and Democratic Party politician. Active in New York and Massachusetts, he served several terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and was the party's nominee for the United States House of Representatives in 1834 and 1836, and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1839.