John Clement – Old Newtown Friends Burial Ground – Oaklyn, NJ
N 39° 54.422 W 075° 05.407
18S E 492297 N 4417442
This locally culturally relevant quote is etched in bronze. It is a quote from one of the founders of this community.
Waymark Code: WMGBHD
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 02/10/2013
Views: 4
I learned of this place and quote quite by accident. The historical marker with the quote is located at the Old Newtown Friends Burial Ground. Here are interred the founding fathers of this Quaker community as well as many Revolutionary War graves. It was here 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. Our community, originally known wholly as West Jersey, was founded by Quakers, looking for religious freedom.
According to the very old bronze historical marker, with its equally old patina, this site was originally conceived as a burial ground for the founders of this community and their kin. The historical marker in the front center of this burial ground. The attributable quote may be found at the ned of the text. The 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 (sic) 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
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.