Home > United States of America > New Jersey > Mercer County > Hightstown > First Baptist Church Cemetery

First Baptist Church Cemetery

Memorials	:	0
Location	:	Hightstown, Mercer County, USA
Coordinate	:	40.2689900, -74.5234900
Description	:	AKA: The Old Baptist Graveyard; Hightstown Baptist Cemetery; Hightstown Baptist Graveyard; Hightstown Baptist Church Cemetery; Baptist Burying Ground; Baptist Church of Hightstown. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Hightstown Baptist Church is 100 years old. The inscription on the granite block reads as follows:--"Founded, A. D., 1783, rebuilt A. D., 1834." [The Monmouth Inquirer, Freehold, New Jersey, 6 Sep 1883] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ From “A Pastor’s 25th and a Church’s 150th Anniversary, The Hightstown Baptist Church,... Read More	AKA: The Old Baptist Graveyard; Hightstown Baptist Cemetery; Hightstown Baptist Graveyard; Hightstown Baptist Church Cemetery; Baptist Burying Ground; Baptist Church of Hightstown. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Hightstown Baptist Church is 100 years old. The inscription on the granite block reads as follows:--"Founded, A. D., 1783, rebuilt A. D., 1834." [The Monmouth Inquirer, Freehold, New Jersey, 6 Sep 1883] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ From “A Pastor’s 25th and a Church’s 150th Anniversary, The Hightstown Baptist Church, 1745–1895”, by Rev. Owen P. Eaches, D. D., Pastor, 1870–1895, publ. 1896, pg. 48: SECOND MEETING HOUSE. In the early part of Peter Wilson’s ministry the church decided to move to Hightstown. It is not known what led to the change of location. The residence of the pastor in this part of the field, with more rapidly growing membership in this section may have contributed to this result. In this vicinity was no place of worship, in Cranbury was a Presbyterian church. In the church book is the statement— “The first meeting held at Hightstown, November 11, 1785.” This was on Friday. Whether the house was finished at this time the records do not state. At that time the village consisted of the log cabin of John Hight, a blacksmith shop built by him, a tavern also built by him at a day when a spiritual life and the sale of spirituous liquors were not deemed inconsistent. The mill was built at the close of the revolutionary period. Perhaps two or three other houses were in or near the present village. Half an acre of ground was purchased from William Smith, the conveyance bearing date April 3, 1784. Upon this lot was built a frame house 40 x 30 feet, standing where the brick house now stands. Edwards says that it was well finished and accommodated with a stove. It was a remarkable thing in those days to have the meeting house warmed. For forty years, in the first meeting house, they had braved the winters with no heat save that which their warm hearts gave them. Some of the older members perhaps bring with them their warming pans filled with charcoal. This house had, as the older people relate, galleries and a sound board over the pulpit on which rested a dove. The house was freed from debt soon after its erection. The church voted April 12, 1788:--“Agreed to raise by subscription money to pay the deficiency for discharging expense of building the meeting house at Hightstown.” Back of the meeting house stood the grave yard, God’s acre, which was used for burial purposes until fifteen years ago at which time it was voted to permit no more interments. The oldest grave stone bears date July 4, 1790. This meeting house which was of frame, was used until 1834. At this time it was sold and removed from the premises. One of the old pews is still in existence. In this old pew, stiff and high backed, sat some of those who were intent, it may be hoped, on hearing that they might improve the life. In the upper sanctuary they now meet. The old meeting house was purchased by Dr. McChesney and was used for several years by the Universalists as a house of worship. Part of its framework was used in constructing the Universalist parsonage. A view of this old meeting house is still preserved in an old print. Soon after entered the new house, the church was incorporated as a body politic. March 16, 1786, an act passed the legislature to incorporate the church. November 30 it was organized under the act, adopting a seal and electing its first board of trustees, namely, Samuel Minor, William Tindall, William Cowenhoven, William Cubberly, Nehemiah Dey, John Walton, John Cox. William Tindall was chosen President of the Board. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ From the Hightstown-East Windsor Historical Society, May-June 1998, article by Richard S. Hutchinson: . . . "by 1925 pressure to modernize the church facilities at Hightstown resulted in proposals to replace the 1834 brick structure . . . and to remove the eyesore posed by the graveyard. Over the years the graveyard had badly deteriorated and become a maintenance problem, and since few of the current church members had any close connection with persons buried there, the proposal to level the burial ground met with little dissent . . . Soon afterward the 1834 building and the graveyard were destroyed. It wasn't until 1969, that the church's destroyed cemetery came back into the forefront of the history of death, went for naught. In August of that year, the church began construction to extend the rear of the church's Christian Education building which meant digging toward the location of the previous cemetery. . . During this construction, the contractor working on the project "encountered headstones piled on top of each other, and some human remains." The work on the project was halted by this discovery and everyone headed to court. The work did not continue until September 25th of that year after the Mercer County court issued an order to allow for the relocation of the human remains uncovered during the construction. Church officials judged the remains to be those of Ann Allen (died 1875), Nancy Chamberlin, Emerson Creque, Hettie K. Creque, Orpha Giberson, Addison Mount, Mary Elizabeth Mount (died 1843), Rebecca Mount (died 1841), Sarah Matilda Mount (died 1849), John Wyckoff Slack, Peter B. Slack and his wife Abigail Applegate, and Thomas Slack and his wife Rachel. The human remains unearthed were later buried together in the far rear of the church property under a bronze marker which read "Beneath this marker are buried the few unidentifiable remains of graves transferred from that portion of the old church burial grounds now occupied by the stair tower on the east side of Eaches Chapel. November 10, 1969." It was reported that among the stones uncovered in the pile of gravestones during the excavation for this building project were those of Rev. Peter Wilson, the second pastor of the church, who was born in Windsor Township on the 14th of May in 1753 and the lower half of the broken stone of Rev. John Seger, the third pastor of the church, who was born in New York on the 4th of February 1786." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ From the "Hightstown New Jersey 250th Anniversary, 1721 - 1971", booklet: The Baptist Burying Ground There was a burial ground in the rear of the Baptist Church property, Main Street, Hightstown, the earliest gravestone bearing the date July 4, 1790. Burial was discontinued some years ago and the gravestones were removed when the Eaches Memorial Chapel was built in 1926. A chart with the location of the graves and the inscription on the stones was made by Thomas Applegate, Sr. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Created by: Linda Applegate Brown, 19 Aug 2009

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First Baptist Church Cemetery is located at 125 South Main Street Hightstown, Mercer County ,New Jersey , 08520USA.
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Latitude: 40.2689900
Longitude: -74.5234900

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First Baptist Church Cemetery

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