ichard Bourne was one of the first settlers of Sandwich, known for his work among the Indians.

From The Old Cemetary of Sandwich Massachusetts by Mrs Jerome Holway, being a paper read before the Sandwich Historical Society, Oct 20, 1908.

The oldest stone is that of Thomas Clark, son of Thomas and Jane Clark, 1683, aged 7 weeks. Beside this is the grave of Thomas Burgess, 1685, and his wife Dorothy 1687. He was one of the settlers in the party that came in June 1637, after the settlement of the town in 1637. Another one of these is Ezra Perry, buried nearby, who died in 1689, and his wife Elizabeth Burgess, 1717. Here is the grave of Thomas Tupper, 1706, son of another first settler, and of Shearjashub Bourne, 1718: "He was a virtuous, righteous and merciful man, and a great friend to the Indians." He was a son of Richard Bourne, a man of great importance in the first years of this town, especially in his work among the Indians, whom he influenced always for good, and there is a legend among the descendants of the Mashpee tribe that he was finally killed by a party of drunken Indians, and that he is buried under the meeting house in that town. [DILLIN.GED]

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