Original nineteenth-century handwritten bill and receipted payment documenting Napoleon Underwood’s one-fifth share of the expense of repairing a family tomb.
Written at Waltham, Massachusetts, and signed “William Simonds” beneath the payment acknowledgment. The document carries an 1857 heading; the payment date reads January 27, with the final year digit somewhat ambiguous, possibly 1859. The charge appears to be $14.00, with ink smearing affecting the numerals.
The central wording reads, in part, “one fifth part of the expense of Repairing the Toom,” using the writer’s spelling. The family surname appears to read Rice, but that reading is uncertain. The reverse bears a handwritten filing notation referring to Underwood and the tomb.
PROBABLE HISTORICAL CONNECTION:
The customer is likely Napoleon Underwood (1806–1883) of Lexington and Arlington, Massachusetts. Published genealogy identifies him as a grandson of Joseph Underwood, a member of Captain John Parker’s militia at Lexington in 1775. This is a probable family attribution, not a military-service document or an autograph of Joseph Underwood.
A later Waltham directory lists William Simonds as a stone mason, consistent with the work recorded here. The precise cemetery and identity of the tomb have not been established.
An appealing piece of early cemetery, funerary, local-history and family-history ephemera, recording the shared expense of maintaining a family burial structure.
Condition: Age toning, intersecting storage folds, edge wear and small edge splits/nicks, scattered discoloration, a noticeable brown spot, and ink smearing near the amount. Handwritten docketing and pencil notations on the reverse. Please examine all photographs for condition and handwriting details.
One original paper, photographed front and back. Ruler and any display materials are not included.
Type: Handwritten bill / payment receipt
Subject: Family tomb repair; cemetery and funerary history
Date: 1857 heading; January 27 payment date, final year digit uncertain
Place: Waltham, Massachusetts
Country: United States
Person Named: Napoleon Underwood, spelling variant in manuscript
Signed By: William Simonds
Material: Paper
Language: English
Features: Handwritten; signed payment acknowledgment; reverse docketing
Quantity: 1 original document
Historical Association: Probable connection to a grandson of Lexington militiaman Joseph Underwood
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