Bits Of South Jersey - Genealogy-Cemetary Clues

For centuries man has made the final resting place of loved ones a place to be adorned and honored. From the pyramids of Egypt to the humble family burial ground, clues to the past are there for the taking. Whether you are interested in researching your family tree or a period of time or see a school project in the making, cemetery searches can be a wealth of information.

You can find information such as: age, birth place, parents, siblings, occupation, means of demise, religion, spouse, height, weight, the list goes on. Epitaphs can be short or very lengthy. Some headstones will carry a carving that symbolizes the person`s occupation such as an anchor for a sailor or gun, sword or cannon for a soldier Nicknames may be mentioned or even a favorite hobby.

Dates can give a clue as to the manner of death. If you see a number of headstones with approximate dates you may investigate if an epidemic had occurred during that time period. Some examples of epidemics in South jersey were: 1792-99 yellow fever, 1899 influenza, and 1907-16 polio.

If you are planning to visit a cemetery to search for lost ancestors be sure to take a note pad with you. You should draw a plot of the cemetery for future reference. Take a good camera with you and take pictures of the headstones, (be sure the sun is shining on the stone for clearer shots). You may also need a bottle of water and soft cloth and brush to clean stones that are covered in debris. If you find it hard to read some stones use a piece of tracing paper and rub it with a pencil.

Some of the oldest cemeteries in South Jersey can be found at: Friends Meeting House Burial Grounds in Burlington, Friends Meeting House and Burial Ground in Woodbury, Cold Spring Presbyterian Burial Ground in Cold Spring and Old Presbyterian Church Burial Ground in Greenwich. Most of these cemeteries have graves that date back to the late 1600s and early 1700s.

Just for fun, here are some funny and unique epitaphs:

Here lies an Atheist All dressed up And no place to go.

Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was.

I made a lot of good deals in my lifetime, but I sure went into the hole on this one.

He died at a public gathering. When the platform suddenly gave way.

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Author: Vickie Van Antwerp