The Lyndes of Saybrook

Nathaniel and Susanna Lynde and most of their family, who are buried in Cypress under the large tulip tree on the rise overlooking South Cove, were the owners of the house that was originally owned by Colonel and Lady Fenwick. The property was handed down to Nathaniel from his father, Simon, who bought it from Colonel Fenwick's sister, Elizabeth Culick. It was that house that Nathaniel Lynde deeded to the Saybrook Collegiate School as long as the school remained on Saybrook Point. Nathaniel was also the first Treasurer of that school.

Nathaniel and Susanna had a number of sons and daughters, but one is especially significant in Cypress. Young Susanna, who died at four and a half months of age, is buried in the oldest marked grave in the ancient burial ground (right). As the statistics covering age of death for the old cemetery demonstrate, infant and young child mortality was common. It is also common for the markers for children to be much smaller than the markers for adult deaths, and Susanna's is no exception.