Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard, Burlington
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal parish
in Burlington
, New Jersey
, in the United States
. In 1695 settlers acquired land for a cemetery at West Broad and Wood streets. They built St. Mary's Church there in 1703. It is the oldest Episcopal church in New Jersey.
With a growing congregation, the parish decided to build a new church. They commissioned noted architect Richard Upjohn
. In 1846 he began the new church on adjoining land at 145 West Broad Street. It was consecrated in 1854. On May 31, 1972, the new church was added to the National Register of Historic Places
and on June 24, 1986, it was declared a National Historic Landmark
.
The first church was constructed in 1703, and is the oldest Episcopal church in New Jersey. Its silver communion service was a gift from Queen Anne
of England before her death in 1713. Its first rector, John Talbot, had been a ship's chaplain. He served as rector from 1705 to 1725. During the American Revolutionary War
, the Reverend Jonathan O'Dell supported the Loyalist cause. He went to Canada when the colonists won.
Over the years the church was expanded, and a Guild House was constructed in 1799 at the corner of West Broad Street and Talbot Street. The church was supplanted by construction of New Saint Mary's Church, but is maintained for special occasions and summer worship.
, who modeled it after St. John's Church in Shottesbrooke
, England. It helped firmly establish Upjohn as a practitioner of Gothic design. It is a massive brownstone church with a long nave. The crossing is topped by a tall stone spire that has eight bells cast in England by Thomas Mears in 1865. The church was designated a National Historic Landmark
.
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Burlington
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1695 settlers acquired land for a cemetery at West Broad and Wood streets. They built St. Mary's Church there in 1703. It is the oldest Episcopal church in New Jersey.
With a growing congregation, the parish decided to build a new church. They commissioned noted architect Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
. In 1846 he began the new church on adjoining land at 145 West Broad Street. It was consecrated in 1854. On May 31, 1972, the new church was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and on June 24, 1986, it was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
History of old church
The site of the old church was acquired in 1695 "for the Conveniency of a burying place for themselves and also for all other Christian people" in July 1695. Additional land was obtained in 1702, and the earliest known headstones date from 1706 and 1707.The first church was constructed in 1703, and is the oldest Episcopal church in New Jersey. Its silver communion service was a gift from Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
of England before her death in 1713. Its first rector, John Talbot, had been a ship's chaplain. He served as rector from 1705 to 1725. During the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the Reverend Jonathan O'Dell supported the Loyalist cause. He went to Canada when the colonists won.
Over the years the church was expanded, and a Guild House was constructed in 1799 at the corner of West Broad Street and Talbot Street. The church was supplanted by construction of New Saint Mary's Church, but is maintained for special occasions and summer worship.
History of new St. Mary's
New St. Mary's Church was constructed between 1846 and 1854. It is one of the earliest attempts in the United States to "follow a specific English medieval church model for which measured drawings existed." This Gothic Revival-style church was designed by Richard UpjohnRichard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
, who modeled it after St. John's Church in Shottesbrooke
Shottesbrooke
Shottesbrooke is a hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The parish has an area of and had a population of 154 at the 2001 census.-Geography:...
, England. It helped firmly establish Upjohn as a practitioner of Gothic design. It is a massive brownstone church with a long nave. The crossing is topped by a tall stone spire that has eight bells cast in England by Thomas Mears in 1865. The church was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Notable burials
- Joseph BloomfieldJoseph BloomfieldJoseph Bloomfield was a Governor of New Jersey. The township of Bloomfield, New Jersey is named for him.-Birth:Joseph Bloomfield was born in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey to Moses Bloomfield, a physician, and Sarah Ogden...
(1753–1823), Governor of New Jersey. - Elias BoudinotElias BoudinotElias Boudinot was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey...
(1740–1821), President of the Continental CongressPresident of the Continental CongressThe President of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates that emerged as the first national government of the United States during the American Revolution...
from 1782-1783. - William BradfordWilliam Bradford (1755-1795)William Bradford was a lawyer and judge from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the second United States Attorney General in 1794-1795.He was the son of the printer William Bradford and was born in Philadelphia...
(1755–1795), United States Attorney GeneralUnited States Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government... - Daniel CoxeDaniel CoxeDr. Daniel Coxe was a governor of West Jersey from 1687-1688 and 1689-1692.-Biography:The Coxe family traced their lineage to a Daniel Coxe who lived in Somersetshire, England in the 13th century and obtained a doctor of medicine degree from Salerno University. Daniel Coxe's father was also called...
, Governor of West JerseyWest JerseyWest Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702... - George Washington DoaneGeorge Washington DoaneGeorge Washington Doane was a United States churchman, educator, and bishop in the Episcopal Church for the Diocese of New Jersey.-Biography:Doane was born in Trenton, New Jersey...
(1799–1859), second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New JerseyEpiscopal Diocese of New JerseyThe Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey forms part of Province II of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is made up of the southern and central New Jersey counties of Union, Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Atlantic, Gloucester, Salem,...
. - Rowland EllisRowland EllisRowland Ellis was a Welsh Quaker leader.Ellis was the owner of the farm of Bryn Mawr near Dolgellau. He became a Quaker, along with a number of other inhabitants of Dolgellau, after a visit to the town by George Fox in 1657. As a result of religious persecution, he and others emigrated to...
- Edward Burd Grubb, Jr. (1841–1913), American Civil War Brevet Brigadier General.
- Franklin D'OlierFranklin D'OlierFranklin D'Olier was the first national commander of the American Legion and served in that capacity from 1919 to 1921. Like all of the original American Legion membership, D'Olier was a veteran of The Great War. D'Olier was also a prominent businessman and the great-grandfather of actor...
, Founder of the American LegionAmerican LegionThe American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress... - James KinseyJames KinseyJames Kinsey was an American lawyer from Burlington, New Jersey.Kinsey was born in Philadelphia on March 22, 1731. He attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1753 and practiced in the courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with residence in Burlington...
(1731–1803), Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme CourtNew Jersey Supreme CourtThe New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
from 1789 to 1803. - Henry Seymour Lansing, American Civil War Brevet Brigadier General
- Joseph McIlvaineJoseph McIlvaineJoseph McIlvaine was a United States Senator from New Jersey from 1823 until his death.-Early life and career:McIlvaine was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania to Col. Joseph Mcllvaine and Catherine Swan...
(1769–1826), represented New Jersey in the United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1823 to 1826. - William MilnorWilliam MilnorWilliam Milnor was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and Mayor of Philadelphia....
(1769–1848), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Mayor of Philadelphia. - William H. OdenheimerWilliam H. OdenheimerWilliam Henry Odenheimer was the third Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey and the first of Northern New Jersey.-Early life:...
, third Bishop of New Jersey - Isabel PatersonIsabel PatersonIsabel Paterson was a Canadian-American journalist, novelist, political philosopher, and a leading literary critic of her day. Along with Rose Wilder Lane and Ayn Rand, who both acknowledged an intellectual debt to Paterson, she is one of the three founding mothers of American libertarianism...
(1886–1961), libertarianLibertarianismLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
author. - John H. PughJohn H. PughJohn Howard Pugh , was a Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1877-1879....
(1827–1905), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional districtNew Jersey's 2nd congressional districtNew Jersey's Second Congressional District is currently represented by Republican Frank LoBiondo.-Counties and municipalities in the district:...
from 1877-1879. - Garret D. WallGarret D. WallGarret Dorset Wall was a military officer and politician from New Jersey.-Biography:Born in Middletown Township, he completed preparatory studies, studied law, was licensed as an attorney in 1804 and as a counselor in 1807, and commenced practice in Burlington, New Jersey. He served in the War of...
(1783–1850), United States Senator from 1835-1841. - James Walter WallJames Walter WallJames Walter Wall was a United States Senator from New Jersey during the American Civil War. He was the son of U.S. Senator Garret Dorset Wall.-Biography:...
(1820–1872), United States Senator and Mayor of Burlington, New JerseyBurlington, New JerseyBurlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
.
See also
- List of Registered Historic Places in New Jersey
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
- List of the oldest buildings in New Jersey
- St. Mary's Episcopal Church (disambiguation)
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Burlington County, New Jersey
External links
- St. Mary's Church web site
- St. Mary's Churchyard
- National Register Listings for Burlington County
- National Landmark listing
- St. Mary's Churchyard at The Political GraveyardThe Political GraveyardThe Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...
- Saint Marys Episcopal Churchyard at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...