Category: History Channel

Kitchen Cemetery Revisited, Part II

The T Stones

The other significant family here is the Thatchers (or Trouts). Here are the stones that end in the letter T: A. T.; B. T.; I. T. W H A 24, 1775; L. T. D O R 23, 1778; M. T.; and M. A. T. On my recent visit I only found two stones with T. initials, and one of them is not on this list.

A T. might be Amos Thatcher (1704 Wales-1798). Amos Thatcher was executor of the estate of his friend Isaac Robins in 1741, and witnessed the will of James Kitchen in 1745. Amos Thatcher had a farm in Sergeantsville. He was 93 when he died, having outlived at least four of his 12 children.

One of his sons was named Bartholomew, who …

A Delaware Township Patriot

The following is Delaware Township Post is about Grace Bennett, an eighth grader at Delaware Township School, recently wrote an essay on the crossing of the Delaware in 1776. It earned her an award from the Township Committee, and publication in the most recent issue of The Bridge.

I want to congratulate Grace for the inspiring essay she wrote, particularly for the imaginative way she described the effort it took to make that whole endeavor a success. As Grace points out, we all think we know this story so well that we lose sight of the details and the drama. The incident was beautifully brought to life by David Hackett Fischer in his recent book Washington’s Crossing, which I highly recommend.

At the end of her essay, Grace included …

Historic Stone Bridge Repairs – Final Report

The Hunterdon County Road Department gives some local Delaware news about the realization of its innovative repair of the historic stone culvert on Sandbrook-Headquarters Road. The original stone arch, sagging and partially collapsed, was lifted back into position without dismantling it. Parts of the intrados (the inner barrel of the arch, not the stones you see on the side walls) were lifted up four or five inches, and it is now just the shape it was when new. This is the first time such a technique has been tried around here. The engineers and repair crew are pleased with the result, and enthusiastic about having the new capability. John Glynn, Director of Roads, Bridges, and Engineering, told me: “I was pleasantly surprised, from a structural standpoint” with the success of …

The Moore Family Cemetery

This cemetery has to be one of our oldest. It is located on land that once belonged to Jacob Moore, one of Amwell’s earliest settlers, who lived from about 1690 to about 1770. It is one of the prettiest locations in the township, overlooking rolling hills and farm fields. The cemetery is surrounded by a stone wall and at one time had a wrought iron gate.

According to Moore family tradition, Jacob Moore came to Amwell around 1705, one of the very first Europeans to come here, and established his plantation near Haines Road and Rosemont-Ringoes Road. He and his wife Amy are probably buried in the Moore cemetery, but their stones cannot be found.

Hiram Deats wrote that there are two other burying grounds on this farm near the …

Delaware’s Cemeteries, Part 1 in a Series

THE CEMETERIES OF DELAWARE TOWNSHIP

There are 25 known cemeteries in Delaware Township, many of them dating back to the 18th century. They contain the graves of our earliest settlers along with their descendants. Most are little known, but can lead us to the history of our town.

Over the years, many historians and genealogists have gone looking for the old cemeteries, and thankfully, they wrote down the names and described the cemeteries. Based on these writings and on cemeteries I’ve been able to visit, this seems to be a complete list of known township cemeteries.

Anderson-Hunt Family
Bosenbury Family
Barber’s Cemetery
Canal Workers’ Cemetery
Cherry-VanCampen Family
Holcombe-Riverview
Jones/Johnes Family
Kitchen-Thatcher Family
Locktown Baptist Church
Locktown Christian Church
Lower Amwell Old Yard  and New Yard
Moore Family
Opdycke Family
Pine

…