NJ, USA

First Presbyterian Churchyard and Cemetery

Cemetery

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.

What Happened Here

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.