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Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington

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Memorials	:	0
Location	:	Kensington, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate	:	39.9768066, -75.1318741
Description	:	In April 1832, Jacob Coleman, dry goods merchant, and James McCormack, shoemaker, of the Northern Liberties, Philadelphia County, PA, bought the property that would become Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington from the Warder estate. (The Warders inherited the land from ancestors who bought it in the 1730s from Anthony Palmer, the founder of Kensington). The property was subject to a mortgage debt, but McCormack and Coleman were given power to subdivide the property, lay out lots and streets. They brought in a couple of other men, and any income derived was to be divided among Coleman, McCormack, Christopher Dillman, of... Read More	In April 1832, Jacob Coleman, dry goods merchant, and James McCormack, shoemaker, of the Northern Liberties, Philadelphia County, PA, bought the property that would become Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington from the Warder estate. (The Warders inherited the land from ancestors who bought it in the 1730s from Anthony Palmer, the founder of Kensington). The property was subject to a mortgage debt, but McCormack and Coleman were given power to subdivide the property, lay out lots and streets. They brought in a couple of other men, and any income derived was to be divided among Coleman, McCormack, Christopher Dillman, of Northern Liberties, dentist, Nicholas Helverson, of Northern Liberties, cabinet maker,and George W. Coleman, of Northern Liberties, dry goods merchant. Nicholas Helverson became the superintendent of the cemetery. Besides being a cabinet maker, Helverson was also a well-known undertaker from the Northern Liberties, whose sons followed him into the business. He also held interest in a couple of other Kensington burial grounds. The Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington was a beneficial society type cemetery. This non-religious type of cemeteries first began to appear in the 1820s. The residents of Mutual Burial of Kensington tended to be mostly German working class families, with a good many of the burials children. The cemetery operated from 1832 to about 1868, or at least, these are the earliest and latest burial records that were found for the cemetery. William T. McNeely eventually bought out the interests in the property from the original founders in the early 1850s. The cemetery plot and some of the surrounding lands remained in the McNeely family’s hands until the beginning decades of the 20th Century, when it was sold off and developed. Records are inconclusive as to what happened to the possible 10,000 bodies that were buried at the cemetery. A record for 200 removals "more or less" in 1914 (Philadelphia Board of Health Meeting Minutes) is the only record found for removals, thus it is likely that the rest were simply left there or removed without recording. The Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington today appears to lie sealed under the buildings at 1834-1846 Frankford Avenue as well as under part of the 1800 block of Blair Street and parts of the City of Philadelphia’s Kensington Recreation Center (a.k.a. Shissler Recreation Center) addressed at 1800-1856 Blair Street. Little is known about how the Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington may have been laid out or landscaped, as no individual maps of the cemetery, illustrations, or photographs have yet been located. However, the burial ground has consistently been surveyed and included in almost every 19th Century and early 20th Century atlas for the city of Philadelphia between the years 1849 to 1922. By 1922 the western portion of the cemetery lay beneath the Kensington Recreation Center; as well, the eastern half had the 1800 block of Blair Street built over it. Soon after this, sometime between 1923 and 1929, the structures at 1834-1846 Frankford Avenue were also built over the eastern part of the cemetery.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington?
Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington is located at 1834-1846 Frankford Avenue Kensington, Philadelphia County ,Pennsylvania , 19125USA.
Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington cemetery's updated grave count on graveviews.com?
0 memorials
Where are the coordinates of the Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington?
Latitude: 39.9768066
Longitude: -75.1318741

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Kensington Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9743996, -75.1299973

2. Kensington Union Cemetery (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9749650, -75.1278410

3. German Reformed Cemetery
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9708220, -75.1372070

4. First Presbyterian Church Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9697030, -75.1269250

5. Cumberland Methodist Episcopal Church Vault
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9846220, -75.1272590

6. Cohocksink Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9786130, -75.1428270

7. Cohocksink Presbyterian Church Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9798120, -75.1437780

8. Bible Christian Church Burial Ground (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9703900, -75.1418400

9. Saint Peter the Apostle Church Cemetery
Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9696693, -75.1449509

10. Franklin Cemetery
Kensington, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9933052, -75.1165390

11. Monument Cemetery (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9824940, -75.1600190

12. Fair Hill Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9967003, -75.1464005

13. First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church Burial Ground (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9557532, -75.1473557

14. First Moravian Church Burial Ground (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9569810, -75.1514270

15. First German Reformed Burial Ground (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9558490, -75.1502550

16. Bush Hill Cemetery (Defunct)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9673430, -75.1627700

17. George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9858380, -75.1632160

18. German Lutheran Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9557940, -75.1520260

19. First African Baptist Church Cemetery
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9558820, -75.1531880

20. Betsy Ross House Grounds
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9520493, -75.1447754

21. First Baptist Church Burial Ground
Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9517050, -75.1437390

22. Friends Arch Street Meeting House Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9521561, -75.1460419

23. Christ Episcopal Church and Churchyard
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9506836, -75.1438446

24. Christ Church Burial Ground
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, USA
Coordinate: 39.9521065, -75.1482086

Mutual Burial Ground of Kensington

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