Newark Union Burial Ground

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newark Union Burial Ground
Newark Union Church and Cemetery.jpg
Newark Union Church and Cemetery
Details
Established1687
Location
Brandywine Hundred, Delaware
CountryUnited States
Size4 acres
No. of graves950
Find a GraveNewark Union Burial Ground

Newark Union Burial Ground is a cemetery in Brandywine Hundred, Delaware established in 1687. The cemetery is four acres in size and contains approximately 950 graves, including seven men who fought in the American Revolution and members of some the earliest settlers of the Brandywine Hundred. The cemetery is located less than a mile from the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route through Delaware. The vacant Newark Union Church sits adjacent to the cemetery. It started as a Quaker meetinghouse but became a Methodist Episcopal church in 1845. Both the church and cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.[1]

History[]

Newark Union Church and Cemetery Historical Plaque

Quaker settlers in the Brandywine Hundred began to hold Friends meetings at the homes of various members and were formally recognized in 1684 by the Quarterly Meeting in Philadelphia.[2] In 1687, Valentine Hollingsworth donated land for a Quaker meetinghouse and burial ground.[3] The first building was made of poplar logs and lasted for sixty years.[4] Members of Hollingsworth's family hosted the Quaker Meeting in their home adjacent to the burial ground until the death of Valentine's daughter Catherine and her husband George Robinson.[2] When the Newark Meeting closed in 1754, the cemetery took the name "Newark Free Burial Ground".

Part of the wall surrounding the cemetery dates to 1787, when Charles Robinson, Valentine's great-grandson, carved his initials into one of the stones.

After the war, the property fell into neglect for more than half a century.[4] In 1845, neighbors raised money to build a stone wall around the cemetery and erect a non-denominational church, called Newark Union Church.[5] In 1888, the church was adopted into the Methodist Episcopal Conference, and took the name Newark Union M. E. Church; the building was subsequently remodeled in 1906.[6]

The cemetery and now-vacant church are maintained by a voluntary, self-perpetuating board of trustees which allows burial for Brandywine Hundred residents.[7]

Notable burials[]

Historical plaque listing the seven identified men buried at Newark Union Cemetery who fought in the American Revolution

The cemetery contains the burials of seven men who fought in the American Revolutionary War.[7]

  • Thomas Babb
  • Thomas Cartmell
  • Elijah Davis
  • Andrew Gibson
  • Eli Weldin
  • George Weldin
  • Jacob Weldin

The cemetery also contains the burials of several early settlers of the Brandywine Hundred including:

  • Edward, Henry and John Beeson
  • William Forwood
  • Richard G. Hanby
  • John F. Sharpley
  • William Talley
  • Jacob R. Weldin[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Nagengast, Larry. "Enlighten Me: Newark Union Cemetery". www.delawarepublic.org. Delaware Public Media. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Standing, Herbert (1982). "Quakers in Delaware in the Time of William Penn" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Newark Union". Delaware Public Archives. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30.
  4. ^ a b Scharf, Thomas J. (1888). History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards & Co. pp. 910–911. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ Rendle, Ellen (2010). New Castle County. Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7385-8557-4. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ Zebley, Frank R. "The Churches of Delaware" (PDF). www.archives.delaware.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b Mertz, Anne Morris (October 1980). "The Story of Newark Union". The Delaware Genealogical Society Journal. 1: 3.

External links[]

Coordinates: 39°47′11″N 75°30′49″W / 39.78641°N 75.51373°W / 39.78641; -75.51373

Retrieved from ""