Jersey Shore Magazine

Scout and Eagle Scout projects. The name "Topanemus" is an example of surviving Native American culture and means "an elk drinking from a brook that flows from a spring." It is believed that the Native American village of Topanemus was located here, with a brook connected to the principal waterways in east Jersey; in other words, Topanemus Brook was an artery to the Atlantic Ocean. Many years later, in 1692, Scottish settlers established a Quaker Meeting House and cemetery at the site. While some stones were moved in the early 1970s to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Freehold to save them from vandals (only the stones were moved, not the bodies), there are still at least twenty stones that can be found deep in the burying grounds. Most are overgrown, and with undergrowth and many fallen trees along the long path, visitors should be wary if they trek onto the trail. However, those who make it through will not be disappointed. Similar to the Throckmorton's tombstone, almost all of the surviv- ing stones at Topanemus are made of reddish-brown sandstone with various words and motifs engraved by hand on top. In addition to the grin- ning, winged skeleton symbol, winged cherubs with happy faces, winged angels, skull and crossbones, and wil- low trees are some of the other types of icons seen on these gravestones. The oldest gravestone that can be found in the Topanemus Burying Ground is that of Margaret (Miller) Reid. She came to the United States with her husband, John, and three daughters in 1683 and died on May 1, 1728 at eighty-four years old. The second oldest stone belongs to Alexander Dove, who died on Oct- ober 7, 1736 at seventy-three years old. Born in 1663 in Shropshire, England, records show he married Jane Gordon Dove (1671-1754) in the United States. The remaining oldest headstones in Topanemus date between 1737 and 1738, and include Mary (Bowne) Carhart. Born in 1696, she married Thomas Carhart in 1725. She was the mother of five children and died on August 10, 1737. Adrian Hun was born in Albany in 1709. Historic documents show that he married a woman named Phebe at some point, and when he died in 1737, they had three children. His gravestone reads, Here From all Earthly joys I'm Head Into the mansions of the Dead Prepare thou Reader for yor must Like me be[come] into dust Finally, Joseph Holmes, son of Jonathan and Rebeckah Holmes, died at sixteen years old on March 23, 1738. The message on his gravestone is as follows: Both old and young, as well as me Must in Due time all Buried be Under this Body of Cold Clay Just in my prime I am call'd away Although I am gone before it's Noon Christ Jesus Though it not too soon Autumn is the perfect time to visit one of the many historic cemeteries in the Jersey Shore area. Listen to the tales told in the wind. Learn the legacies of those who tread before us. Give thanks for those who settled the Jersey Shore in search of religious freedom and economic opportunity. And respect the Jersey Shore's found- ing mothers and fathers. —Jill Ocone continued on page 12 Historic Jersey Shore Cemeteries Autumn is the perfect time to visit one of the many historic cemeteries in the Jersey Shore area. Those listed below are from earliest to latest. Throckmorton-Lippit-Taylor Burying Ground Penelope Lane, Middletown Circa 1684. Historic Presbyterian Cemetery Kings Highway and Kings Court, Middletown Circa 1684. Topanemus Burial Ground (Note: Several stones were moved to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 33 Throckmorton Street, Freehold in the 1970s.) Topanemus Road (near the intersection of Weathervane Way), Marlboro Circa 1697. Old First Church And Cemetery/ Baptist Burying Ground 69 Kings Highway, Middletown Circa early 1700s. Old Tennent Cemetery 454 Tennent Road, Tennent Circa 1708. Quaker Cemetery Route 9, Tuckerton Circa 1716. Old Manahawkin Cemetery Route 9 and Lakeshore Drive, Manahawkin Circa 1794. Daniel Henrickson Cemetery Kings Highway and Kings Court, Middletown Circa 1798. Cedar Grove Cemetery (formerly known as Applegate Cemetery) Cedar Grove Road and Bay Avenue, Toms River Circa 1800. White Lawn Cemetery Trenton and Borden Avenues, Point Pleasant Circa early 1800s. Gravelly Graveyard (formerly known as Old Wooley Cemetery) Fairview Avenue (off Princeton Avenue), Brick Circa 1815. Old Methodist Cemetery Washington Street and Hooper Avenue, Toms River Circa 1828. —Jill Ocone One of the oldest gravestones at The Topanemus Burying Ground in Marlboro is that of Adrian Hun, who died in 1737. Jill M. Ocone

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