Paul Eager, 1773-1854
Elizabeth Eager, 1783-1860
Dr. Paul Eager and Mrs. Elizabeth Eager. Photos courtesy of the Granville Historical Society.
Bryant Number(s): 590 and 591
Type of Memorial: Marble headstones
Stonecarver: J. Woodard
Inscription (Paul):
Paul Eager, M.D.
Born in Templeton, Ms.
1773
Emigrated to Vt. 1798
Moved to Granville, O. 180[1]7
Died
July 17, 1854
Aged 81 Y’s
His memory shall live.
J. Woodard
Inscription (Elizabeth):
Elizabeth
Wife of
Paul Eager
Died Aug. 17, 1860
Aged 76 years
10 M. & 27 D.
Commentary: Dr. Paul Eager, born in Templeton, Massachusetts, was a physician who was educated at Dartmouth (Class of 1794) and moved to Granville in 1817 or 1818 (this date has been corrected on the headstone by the insertion of a tiny “1” into the year) but whether it was 1817 or 1818 is still uncertain. He had practiced medicine in several New England towns for about 20 years, but he did so for less than two years in Granville.
In retirement, Dr. Eager found other ways to serve his adopted town. For example, he served in 1824 and perhaps longer as clerk of Granville’s Congregational church; he participated on a committee of the Granville Education Society whose charge was finding and hiring a teacher for the Granville Academy; and in 1834 he documented the number of cases in Granville of the unidentified deadly diseases that swept the town in the wake of the disastrous flood that summer.
Memorial of Dr. Paul Eager. Photo by Lyn Boone.
Dr. Eager’s beautiful marble headstone was broken off near its base in 2019, and was repaired with the jagged bottom fragment preserved (see photo), because it shows the initial and surname of the stonecarver: “J. Woodard.” This artisan was likely Granville stonecarver Joseph Woodard, Jr. The marble headstone of Dr. Eager’s wife Elizabeth is immediately to the left (north) of Paul’s, and the three headstones just north of Elizabeth’s mark the graves of four of the Eagers’ children who died at the ages of 6 weeks (twins), 16 years, and 12 years.
Find a Grave link for Paul Eager: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19770642/paul-eager
Find a Grave link for Elizabeth Eager: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19770195/elizabeth-eager