This grave sits alone and away form the other interments. Surely to the left & right of this grave are other burials, but their headstones are long gone. All of the 18th century veteran graves are marked with the Revolutionary War medallion and American flag. Some of the graves have the original headstone, as is the case here. The original 1782 headstone is remarkably preserved and was quite easy to read. That headstone reads:
.
Revolutionary Soldier
1780 ...Joseph Branson ...1782
B .......D
1. Class Militia Newtown Twp.
For the graves with damaged or destroyed headstones new markers were installed (according to a historical marker) in 1931. The headstones which still remained received the new headstones anyway due to their badly deteriorated inscriptions or fractured nature. The replacement stone is set flush to the ground, has an incised cross at the top, is about two feet by one foot and reads as follows:
Joseph Branson
PVT Gloucester CO Militia
Revolutionary War
According to the very old bronze historical marker, with an equally old patina, this site was originally conceived as a burial ground for the founders of this community and their kin.
There is an unusual and old burial ground for nothing more than its anonymity. Surely its existence is known to the neighbors across the street, yet beyond proximity, it is as this site does not exist. The flush headstones set into this thin strip of manicured landscape tell a different story. Someone came here and remarked the graves, placed the flags and otherwise have kept up perpetual care, yet, with the exception of some casual acknowledgment, no mention of its history appears on the internet. An historical marker indicates the graves were set right in 1931. Local historical societies make no mention of it as well. I have heard of this place before but its location was generalized as being along Newtown Lake without any other identifying marker to find its location. I only chanced hallowed ground through tupperware hidden.
The burial ground is rectangular and does not go back very deeply as railroad tracks are its back border. The street is its front border. It is located at Elm and Lynne Avenues. It runs rather wide from an old railroad station (left end) to the end of the street and Newton Lake, about 755 feet. The names on the stones are a who's who of street signs, parks, and community names, a fact significant for local cultural heritage and a repository of wealth for amateur historians.. Many soldiers from the Gloucester Country Militia are buried side by side here. In one case, a father son tandem who fought together were laid to rest side by side as well. This are was once called Newtown, the name recorded on several stones here as well. I counted and documented twenty-two Revolutionary War graves. All totaled, I counted about sixty-five graves but I am certain there is much more lost to time. The Find a Grave site lists the total as 106 graves.
The names of those who served in the American Revolutionary War found here are:
Albertson Jacob, Jr.
Albertson Jacob, Sr.
Albertson Joseph
Albertson Josiah
Albertson Ephraim
Albertson Isaac
Branson Joseph
Budd George
Collings Edward
Collings Joseph
Coulter James
Dill John
Evaul Jacob
Githens Joseph
Henry David
Henry Robert
Heritage John
Knight William
Sloane James
Thackera John
Wolohorn Joseph
Wright William
Off to the right end of the burial ground is a special area consisting of a rectangular pen whose concrete walls are made up of grave stones recovered in 1931. The stones are placed with the inscriptions facing out to the viewer. The graves they once marked are forever a mystery. The patina-stained marker on the front reads: When this burial ground was place in order in 1931, these grave stones were found within its borders and placed here for preservation.
There is also a main historical marker in the front center of this burial ground. That marker reads:
Old Newtown Friends Burial Ground
Near this site in 1681, Mark Newby, William Bates, Thomas Thackara, George Goldsmith, Thomas Sharp, Robert Zane and others, immigrants from Ireland, who came here in quest of religious liberty founded their first friends meeting of Old Gloucester County, held in the home of Mark Newby. Soon after, William Cooper of Pyne Poynt associated himself with this group of worshippers. The log meetinghouse which the built in 1684 probably stood on the adjoining premises to the north of this tablet.
In this ancient burial ground rest the remains of these early spiritual pioneers, one of whom write that the settlement of this colony was not so much for their own tranquility "but rather for the posterity yt should be after, and that the wilderness being planted with a good seen might grown and increase to the satisfaction of the good husbandman"
Ex Libro - John Clement. First Emigrant Settlers in Newtown Township." 1877
Visit Instructions:PLEASE NOTE: This category is for American Revolutionary War Veterans only. Veterans of other revolutions are not part of this category.
I have allowed one entry for a grave of British solders, but it was an exception. Please only list graves for Colonial soldiers.
Simply visit the locations. Please provide as much information as possible. Pictures would be a great addition.