Somerville Cemetery, Somerville
Somerville Cemetery is in Somerville, New Jersey . It is a general name commonly applied to two separately owned and administered cemeteries in Somerville, the "Old Cemetery" and the "New Cemetery".
"Old Cemetery", also sometimes referred to has "Old Raritan Cemetery" has the earliest burials, dating to just after the Revolutionary War. It began as the burying ground of the Dutch Reformed Church and later as the cemetery shared by several of the local church congregations. While a handful of burials are more recent, the majority are from the 18 and 1900s.
New Cemetery is a nonsectarian cemetery owned and operated by the Somerville Cemetery Association a private entity. It was organized just after the Civil War as a nonsectarian burial ground, designed in the garden cemetery style. It is still and active cemetery. The first burials date from the Civil War era, although a few earlier can be found, representing re-interments in newer, larger family plots.
Both cemeteries contain burials of persons of local,state, and national note, including many political figures, veterans from every war since the American Revolution. New Cemetery in particular has a large African American section, and many burials of US Colored Troop veterans of the Civil War era. Arabella W. Griffith Barolow, nurse of the US Sanitary Commission and wife of Civil War General Barlow is buried in Old Cemetery.
Other Notable burials
New Cemetery
- Clifford P. Case (1904-1982), American lawyer political figure, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1945–1953) and United States Senate (1955–1979) as a Republican from the State of New Jersey.
- Alvah A. Clark (1840-1912), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1877 to 1881.[1]
- William G. Steele, (1820-1892), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1861 to 1865.[2]
Old Cemetery
- John Frelinghuysen (1727-1754), reverend.
- George Houston Brown (1810-1865), (also known as George H. Brown) Member of New Jersey state senate from Somerset County, 1845; U.S. Representative from New Jersey 4th District, 1851-53; associate justice of New Jersey state supreme court, 1861-65.
- Isaac Southard (1783-1850), State court judge in New Jersey; U.S. Representative from New Jersey at-large, 1831-33.
References
Template:Somerville Cemetery Association