BURYING GROUNDS AT THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LAWRENCEVILLE

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Silas Greene
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1 BURYING GROUNDS AT THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LAWRENCEVILLE Prepared by Janet A. Fearon for presentation at the 2005 Mershon Association annual meeting in Lawrenceville, PA THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE The Lawrenceville area was first settled in the 1690 s. The first settlers were recruited from earlier settlements at the end of Long Island. Among them were Scots, English, French and Dutch. They called their community Maidenhead, after a town in England close to Windsor Castle. They no doubt met for worship in each other s homes. Some time before March 1698, a group of 28 settlers petitioned the Proprietors of West Jersey (who had purchased the development rights to the area) for land to use for a meetinghouse, a burying ground and a schoolhouse. On March 18 th, 1698, a deed was signed that granted 100 acres to the settlers for these purposes. Those 100 acres, later known as the Town Lot, was located off Carter Road and included the old quarry. It was not used for its intended purposes; there were continuing disputes about it with the Anglicans (Episcopalians) who also claimed it later in the 18 th century, but it remained in the Church s hands until it was sold off in The Maidenhead settlers wanted a Presbyterian form of worship, and possibly a more convenient location than the town lot. In 1710, Ralph Hunt, who built the old brick house in the middle of the golf course, and Benjamin Hardin, who also had land along the Great Road (206) deeded most of the land on which the church now stands to a group of 34 men and 2 women. Some names among them continue in the area, including Hunt, Hart, Titus, Maple, Updike and Mershon. There may have been a meetinghouse on the property when it was transferred to the congregation in 1710, but certainly by 1714, when the Hunterdon County Court of Sessions met here. We don t know how big the structure was, but it probably offered the largest room in the area at that time. That first meetinghouse would not have looked like our church today. It probably was one quarter to one-third the size of today s structure, with its long side running parallel to the Great Road (206). Like other meetinghouses of its day (some of which still exist, with extensive restorations), it would have had high-sided pew boxes to conserve heat, as well as regular pews, and a high pulpit in the center of the long wall. THE BURYING GROUNDS Divided Cemeteries. The burying grounds that grew up around the first meetinghouse were later divided by the extension of the buildings. The first church was torn down and a new, larger structure was built on much the same site in That is now part of our present building - the part closest to Main Street. As the community grew, the building was extended in 1833 and again in 1853 to its present size. Now we have two cemeteries, one on the Princeton side, which is larger, with 138 graves marked and one on the Trenton side in the courtyard formed by the meeting house, Youth Center and Chapel building, which has 74 grave markers. There are 212 grave markers in the combined burying grounds.

2 2 Relocation of Grave Stones. Grave markers that were located behind the original building were relocated to the sides when the meetinghouse was extended in 1833 and When the Youth Center was built in 1954, a memorial marker was placed to note the removal of the gravestones, but they were not given new locations until many years later in the 1970 s. The row of grave markers under the cherry trees beside the walkway is all relocated stones. They include some of our most important memorials. Mershon Extensions. In 1801, Benjamin Mershon, descendant of an original settler and son of Henry Mershon III who purchased Ralph Hunt s farm in 1755, conveyed a parcel of land to extend the churchyard burying ground. This new land adjoined on three sides the old lot whereon the Presbyterian Meeting House now stands. Evidently, the new plot surrounded the church building. Extension of the Courtyard Burying Ground. In the mid-1830 s, Samuel Davis Mershon, the fourth Mershon to own what once had been Ralph Hunt s brick house in the middle of the present golf course, gave or sold additional land to the Presbyterian Church to extend the burying ground and to permit construction of a new building, the Session House, which was completed in The Session House had a meeting room upstairs and an apartment on the first floor for a sexton. It held meetings for children, youth and missionary societies, as well as the Church s session and trustees. THE GRAVES Position of the Grave Stones. The grave markers in both of the Church s cemeteries are in somewhat haphazard arrangements, not always in tidy rows. On the Princeton side, most of the graves face the meetinghouse building, but some, including many of the oldest, face the building on an angle. Perhaps this is due to the earliest meetinghouse having been a small building with a large open area behind it; many of the 18 th century graves appear to have been placed to circle behind the building. On the Trenton side, there are none of the early fieldstone markers and the earliest graves are from the early 19 th century. Most of these face the church, but a few are lined up to face Main Street. The later graves are in the expanded section added when the Session House was built; they face Trenton. Oldest Graves. The earliest grave markers that survive here are out in the middle of the cemetery on the northeast (Princeton) side of the meetinghouse. They are the graves of two sisters who died just four days apart in August 1736, Ales (Alice) and Mary Biles. Their grave markers are sandstone, crudely engraved, but still legible. The next-oldest grave marker is for Phillip Phillips, who died in 1740 at the age of 62. His marker is closer to the church near one of the walkways to the parking lot. It also is of fieldstone, probably sandstone, and crudely marked, but legible. Phillip Phillips was born on Long Island, was one of the original settlers, and was a signer of the original petition to the Proprietors for the land for a meetinghouse and also of the 1710 deed for the land on which the meetinghouse was built. Phillip Phillips farm was nearby, across the road from the big stone house on the corner of Main Street and Cold Soil Road, which belonged to his brother, Theophilus Phillips. Part of The Lawrenceville School s golf course is on what once was Phillip Phillips land. There are two other stones from 1740, fieldstone markers for Joseph Brearley, aged 16 and E. Moore, 27.

3 3 Where is everybody? If the church owned the land here from 1710, why are the earliest graves from the mid-1730 s? Perhaps most families buried their loved ones on their own properties. Or, some people may be buried here whose grave markers have disappeared, which is fairly likely, since there are a lot of empty spaces in the cemetery. Many of the oldest fieldstone markers have no visible inscription, so we don t know if they were for early-18 th century graves. When did these people live? Of the 212 grave markers, 78 have no legible birth date and 30 have no death date, so the evidence is imperfect. Most of the markers with no birth dates represent 18 th century graves. 159 stones mark graves from the 19 th century, which is 75% of all the graves. There are just three graves from the 20 th century, the last in How long did these people live? Some lived very long lives, into their 80 s and 90 s. However, we can be very grateful for modern medicine and antibiotics. There are many burials of infants and children, usually marked by small stones. Also, a lot of young people died in their teens and 20 s. In at least two instances, young mothers lie with or next to their new-born children. Like the Biles girls, who died just days apart, there are other instances of brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers dying just days or weeks apart, probably of the same illness. I ve always felt especially sad for Mary Brown, who lies in the courtyard interred with her 25-year old son, who died a year before she did; beside her grave are stones for her four daughters, none of whom lived to be 2 years old. At her death she was 48 and she had just one surviving child, a son who lived to be 38. Her husband, the Reverend Isaac Van Arsdale Brown, the first full-time pastor of the Church and founder of the Lawrenceville School, married again, had other children and is buried in Trenton. Familiar Names. Many names of the people buried here are familiar ones in the town s early history. There are 38 Phillips graves, 15 Brearleys, 12 Cooks, 9 Mershons, as well as many Browns, Reeders, Bakers, Harts, Smiths, and Biles. IMPORTANT PEOPLE Soldiers and Patriots. The Lawrenceville Church s cemeteries here contain the graves of seven Revolutionary War soldiers who played important roles in the conflict and also of four men who fought in the Civil War. (Nick Loveless, our former chief of police, who himself is a descendant of one of these men, has done research on these soldiers.) Three Phillips brothers, sons of Samuel Phillips (and probably grandsons of one of the first settler Phillips brothers Theophilus and Phillip): Elias Phillips Guide to Washington at the 2 nd Battle of Trenton & the Battle of Princeton John Phillips Guided General Mercer s brigade at those same two battles Elias & John spied on the British and captured three soldiers and a Wagonload of supplies Jonathan Phillips Commanded a company during the War, was part of an expedition to Canada in May 1776; participated in the battles

4 4 of Brandywine (lost), Germantown (lost); bivouacked with Washington at Valley Forge in the winter of ; fought at Crosswick Bridge and Monmouth, the largest battle of the Revolution (won). Also, fought against the British and Iroquois in New York State and Pennsylvania. Nick Loveless thinks that it was unusual for three brothers to serve, since someone had to remain at home to farm, but there were two more Phillips brothers and some cousins. Isaac Brearley - A soldier in the American Revolution and in the expedition to put down the Whiskey Rebellion. He was a direct descendent of the original settler John Brearley; he owned Spring Grove Farm on Lewisville Road close to Princeton Pike Other men who served in the Revolution buried here are Benjamin Hunt, John Lott, and Col. Joseph Phillips (grave unmarked) Capt. John Anderson Member of the Colonial Militia (Pre-Revolutionary). His son Ephraim was killed at the battle of Short Hills, the only resident of Maidenhead lost in the Revolution. Soldiers in the Civil War include Benjamin Davis, Sgt. Nathan Loveless, John Davis and Samuel Hart. THE GRAVE STONES THEMSELVES Stone Shapes. The grave markers have a progression of shapes. The earliest markers are fieldstones, roughly cut, usually with a squared off shape and a flat front. These are only in the cemetery on the Princeton side and the latest of them dates from the 1760 s. After 1750 came tall narrow stones, frequently of marble, with a fancy shaped top edge. The majority of the stones on the Princeton side have some version of the shaped top. That design yielded to a simple curved top by the mid-19 th century. Grave markers from the 1860 s on are twice or three times as thick as the earlier stones, with boldly rounded tops; they sit firmly on heavy bases. There are six large marble stones laid flat, five of which are raised up off the ground on bricks. Engraving. The earliest graves, the ones from the mid 18 th century made of fieldstone, were engraved by amateurs, possibly the deceased s family members. On some, the writing is crooked (the Biles sisters); others have lines drawn to keep the writing straight (P. Phillips). The fancy-topped marble stones have all been engraved; by the mid s, evidently, there were itinerant grave stone carvers in the area. All the 19 th century stones have been engraved. Art Work. None of the gravestones here has a scull and angel wings like many early ones in New England. But, several of the Lawrenceville gravestones have some design work in addition to their written message. There are two thick stones out by the far holly tree which have handsome weeping willow trees carved in bas relief at their tops and a similar stone in the courtyard near the Chapel has a carved hand pointing upward. The weeping willow was popular as a symbol for mourning in the early 19 th century; it is seen in many needlework designs of the period.

5 5 Sweet Inscriptions. We do have some wonderful inscriptions. I ve listed them on a handout. My favorite is the poem on the gravestone of Henry and Sarah Mershon, which lies flat on the ground under the cherry trees. With joy, like Christ shall every saint His empty tomb survey And rise with his ascending Lord In realms of endless day. It s possibly a verse of a hymn of the early 1800 s, when this couple died, but I like its testimony to resurrection joy. SOURCES Listings. One of the Church s young people, David Christofferson, made a map of the graveyards, numbered the graves and listed the names and dates as his Eagle Scout project in This is tremendously helpful, because before we previously had only alphabetical listings. David had trouble reading many of the inscriptions, which have been damaged, and obliterated in some instances, by the acid bath of exhaust fumes from the heavy traffic on Main Street. The marble stones have been most damaged, as there is a lot of carbonate in them. We are fortunate to have an earlier listing of the graves in this cemetery. Jim Campbell, who is our resident authority on cemeteries in general and the cemetery on the hill in particular, gave me an article from Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, January 1956 edition, which lists all the gravestones in the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Churchyard, with their inscriptions. This is the best listing, because it draws on a listing made in 1941 by two genealogists, which was further checked in 1954 and then in At that time, many of the inscriptions were still legible that now are lost. More recently, in 2002, William McCarroll of the Lawrenceville Church made a thorough study of the locations and inscription of the gravestones in the burying grounds, creating an excellent listing and map. THE OTHER CEMETERY UP THE HILL Why is there another cemetery up the hill a half a mile away? In the 1740 s there was a split in this church, and in the whole Presbyterian Church in this country, between the Old Side and the New Side. Think of the Old Side as being generally conservative in church matters and concerned that pastors be men of good education. The New Side wanted revivalist preachers, who were fiery, enthusiastic, spiritual, uplifting; they were less concerned about lengthy theological education at a time when there were so many new congregations forming and so few ordained clergy to serve them. At the Maidenhead Church in 1738 there was great dissent over the employment of a New Side pastor, a man licensed to preach by the newly formed Presbytery of New Brunswick, over the objections of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, to which the Maidenhead congregation had belonged. A dispute about suitable education and impassioned preaching became a jurisdictional conflict as well.

6 6 While in the neighboring town of Pennington (then called Hopewell), the majority of the church members were Old Side and the dissidents who left to build a new church were New Side, in Maidenhead, some members of the Old Side persuasion left to start their own church. They bought the property further north along the Great Road that is now the upper cemetery. Although no church was built at the new site, burials there began in 1738, with the grave of Henry Mershon, one of the original settlers. It is now by far the larger of the two cemeteries and the only one that is still being used for burials. While the upper cemetery does not belong to the church, it has always had church members on its board. Eventually, in 1758, the Old Side/New Side split was healed over, in Maidenhead, as well as in throughout the colonies. The new meetinghouse built at Maidenhead in 1764 was meant to be a new beginning for the reunited church. MERSHON GRAVES Interestingly, the oldest of the Mershon graves is located in the upper cemetery. Henry Mershon, aged 80, was the first person to be buried there, in I think this indicates that he was of the old Side group that split with the majority of the Maidenhead congregation in the late 1730 s. Buried with that first Henry Mershon are 26 others with that surname and at least one woman whose maiden name was Mershon. In the Meeting House burying grounds, there are nine Mershon graves. These Mershons died between 1809 and Their stones are not together in one plot or area, but are in three groups of two and one, of three. Seven are on the north or Princeton side of the Meeting House. Two are close to the Chapel building in the area sold to the Church by Samuel Davis Mershon in ************************ The above history was prepared by Janet A. Fearon

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