Now this is interesting. Was the graveyard established in 1720? What do the earlier stones look like? What kind of stone is this, do you think?

The Milton, MA yard was established in 1672. Most of the oldest stones I saw were winged skull slates. This here was the only homemade fieldstone I noted.

Think of someone carving this in 1720, either too poor or with a conviction that they should do it themselves. The place must have been lonely, probably rather far from town. Just moving the stone would have been a task. This is evidence of tremendous love and respect. And it has survived so well. Many stones in Texas were carved from limestone and after a mere 150 years are all but gone. Of course you are in granite country which means that stone was carved with carpentry tools. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.co.....6d0a8e3c01.jpg This is the notorious Jesus in Cowboy Boots at Evergreen Cemetery, Paris Texas. That someone had such a sense of humor at that time is amazing. Yet this looks like limestone, and will be gone in a couple of centuries. A while back I read about a church in England, over a thousand years old, and the main beam in the chapel, Oak, had cracked. The board was discussing how the hell they could get another beam, the cost, where could they find one? Then everyone turned and looked at the thousand year old oak tree planted out front, and realized why it had been planted there. I think eternity was a real thing before electrons carried info worldwide. Maybe that is why so many cathedrals take, took, centuries to build.
I do hope that church planted another oak.

What does the top line on the tombstone read?

I'd wondered the same. Given the weird spelling on the rest of the stone, I'm assuming it's supposed to be "Age 85".

ah, thank you, I'd thought it was a more obscure reference to some date, that makes sense that it's his age.