The original large slate headstone was stolen from Cove Burying Ground in the 1800's. Prior to 1905 the stolen headstone was found in a barn in Orleans. For safekeeping the stone was stored in the Snow Library in Orleans. The stone was not returned to Eastham. The Snow Library was destroyed by fire in 1952. The gravestone was shattered in the fire. It is not known what happened to the remnants of the gravestone.

The replacement headstone probably was erected in the late 1800's. Unfortunately the date it was erected is not carved on the stone. It is a marble gravestone typical of the late 1800's. The tympanum displays a bird with wings extended and with a leafy vine in the background. In August 2008 the headstone was excavated and raised to reveal another base which had sunk below ground. The top right photo shows the raised headstone with the lower base revealed. The bottom photo shows the footstone.

Samuel Treat was the son of Robert and Jane Treat. He married Elizabeth Mays in 1674 in Eastham. They had at least twelve children. After Elizabeth died in 1696, Samuel married Abigail Willard in 1700.

LOCATION - No. 20 on EHS 1976 Cove survey map
MATERIAL - marble replacement headstone, original slate footstone
HEADSTONE - 18" W, 25" H, 4" D, headstone base is 21" W, 5" H, 7" D
FOOTSTONE - 14" W, 12" H, 2" D
CONDITION - lichen growth
COMMENTS - Footstone cleaned and reset October 2000. Footstone cleaned October 2004. Headstone cleaned April 2005. Headstone raised August 2008. Headstone and footstone cleaned September 2008.