Memorial Ring

Massachusetts, 1775
Gold, ivory
Gift of Edmund Quincy 

According to Eliza Susan Quincy, this ring was acquired by Josiah Quincy Jr. in London as a present for his father and given to his wife, Abigail, for safekeeping. Josiah’s tragic death prompted Abigail to engrave the ring in honor of her late husband, bearing the inscription: “Oh, save my country, were his last.” His father Colonel Josiah Quincy wore the ring throughout his life and passed it onto his grandson, “wishing the motto engraved upon it may never be forgotten or neglected by him.” 

Photo courtesy of Joel Benjamin.