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Cemetery

First Presbyterian Churchyard and Cemetery

About This Place

The burial ground associated with the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth contains graves dating to the colonial period, including those of Revolutionary War soldiers and prominent citizens of Elizabethtown. The cemetery provides a tangible connection to the individuals who lived through the town's Revolutionary era.

Revolutionary Significance

The churchyard was the primary burial ground for Elizabethtown's Presbyterian community from the seventeenth century through the nineteenth century. Among those buried here are soldiers who served in the Continental Army and the New Jersey militia, as well as civilians who endured the raids and deprivations of the war years. The slate and sandstone headstones, many worn by centuries of weather, bear the names of families that appear throughout Elizabethtown's Revolutionary history.

The burial of Reverend James Caldwell, the "Fighting Parson," was a particularly significant event for the congregation. His grave became a site of memory for the community, linking the physical space of the churchyard to the most dramatic episodes of the war in Elizabethtown.

Location

42 Broad St, Elizabeth, NJ 07201

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Events at This Location

  1. 1664

  2. 1765

  3. 1774

  4. 1775

    Elizabethtown Militia Mobilization

    James Caldwell, William Livingston

  5. 1776

    Formation of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  6. 1776

    British Forces Enter Elizabethtown

    William Livingston, Cornelius Hetfield Jr.

  7. 1777

  8. 1777

    Loyalist Raids from Staten Island

    Cornelius Hetfield Jr.

  9. 1779

    Establishment of the New Jersey Journal

    Shepard Kollock, James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  10. 1780

  11. 1780

    Burning of the First Presbyterian Church

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  12. 1780

    Murder of Hannah Caldwell

    Hannah Caldwell, James Caldwell, Shepard Kollock

  13. 1780

    Battle of Connecticut Farms

    Hannah Caldwell, James Caldwell

  14. 1780

    Battle of Springfield

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  15. 1781

    Killing of Reverend James Caldwell

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  16. 1789

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