Home > United States of America > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Punxsutawney > Saint Peters Reformed Cemetery

Saint Peters Reformed Cemetery

Memorials	:	1
Location	:	Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, USA
Coordinate	:	40.9515150, -78.9616910
Description	:	******************************** This cemetery no longer exists. Burials in this cemetery, were made from about as early as,1848 to 1852 up until about 1917. ****************************** St.Peters United Church of Christ, is located at the intersection of Graffius Avenue & Orchard Street,in the Elk Run section of the Boro of Punxsutawney,Jefferson county,Pennsylvania. ******************************** This church and the old cemetery have been seen and known by many different names: ~ The Graffius Church and Graveyard; ~ The German Reformed Church; ~ The Reformed Church of Punxsutawney; ~ Dutch Meeting House; ~ the Punxsutawney German Reformed Church & Cemetery; ~ The Graffius Reformed Church; ~ St. Peter's German Reformed; ~ St.Peter's Reformed & Presbyterian Church; ~ Elk Run... Read More	******************************** This cemetery no longer exists. Burials in this cemetery, were made from about as early as,1848 to 1852 up until about 1917. ****************************** St.Peters United Church of Christ, is located at the intersection of Graffius Avenue & Orchard Street,in the Elk Run section of the Boro of Punxsutawney,Jefferson county,Pennsylvania. ****************************** This church and the old cemetery have been seen and known by many different names: ~ The Graffius Church and Graveyard; ~ The German Reformed Church; ~ The Reformed Church of Punxsutawney; ~ Dutch Meeting House; ~ the Punxsutawney German Reformed Church & Cemetery; ~ The Graffius Reformed Church; ~ St. Peter's German Reformed; ~ St.Peter's Reformed & Presbyterian Church; ~ Elk Run Reformed Church; ~ and as the "Little Red Brick Church" ,back in the mid to late 1800s,to name just a few. In a brief history of the Congregation,written by W. J. McKnight in his 1917 publication titled, "Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : Her Pioneers and People, 1800-1915 (Volume 1)",McKnight wrote, "The St. Peter's Reformed Church of Punxsutawney,was founded in 1838 by Rev. John Althouse. The incoming emigrants from eastern counties, together with Reformed and Lutheran emigrants from Germany, gave rise to the organization of a congregation near the "village of Punxsutawney," which was effected by Rev. Mr. Althouse, the pioneer minister of the Reformed Church, who lived in the vicinity of Punxsutawney from 1826 to 1845. St. Peter's was incorporated in 1846 and a charter granted to the German Lutheran and Reformed Churches.The original congregation having been a union of the Reformed and Lutheran settlers. It was not until 1848 that a permanent building was erected, on the site of the present church, an acre of ground having been purchased from Dr. John W. Jenks for ten dollars. The members of the congregation performed the work of clearing the tract for the building and cemetery and of erecting the log church, considerably smaller than the present one, the building and furnishing of which was accomplished at a total cost of four hundred dollars." "Prominent among the early families were the Smiths, Haags, Hoehs, Webers, Wingerts,Spindlers and Sprows." "Prior to 1853,the old Lutheran and Reformed branches of the church worshiped together in harmony, agreeing to disagree on the doctrinal points which distinguished them. But in that year came Rev. Mr. Brandt, a strict disciplinarian, who insisted upon exact conformity with the Lutheran creed. This caused a disjunction, the Lutherans withdrawing and building a church of their own." "In 1872 the old log church was weatherboarded, and stood until 1888, when the present building [the Little Red Brick Church] was erected." NOTE: In a deed which is dated 17 April 1906 - Mary C. Graffius of Punxsutawney,deeded 6760 square feet of land to the Trustees of the St. Peters Reformed Church in Punxsutawney. Those Trustees were: Jacob C. Smith, John H. Weber and Jefferson G. Wingert. This area was bordered by Graffius Avenue and the lands owned by McKean Harl,Mary C. Graffius and an alley. "In 1907,a parsonage was built, which is well adapted for its purpose. A Sunday school was organized by Rev. Mr. Metzgar." "The church charter,which was originally founded in 1846 as the Punxsutawney German Lutheran & Presbyterian Church; A charter change was adopted on November 8,1909,to rename the church, St.Peters Reformed Church of Punxsutawney." ********************************** In the early years of this congregation,it was a part of what was known as the "Paradise Charge" and later the " Clearfield Charge" of the Pittsburg Synod. Like many of the other Jefferson county reformed churches of that time and in being located in rural areas,keeping a minister housed at each church was extremely daunting. During those times,a Supply Minister or Pastors from other churches,came in to assist the members of St. Peter's over the lean years,particularly in the early 1900's, of dwindling membership. This trend was apparent ,especially following the departure of Jacob Fahr Wiant; were Lewis Reiter and Uriah Hartman Oliver Kerschner,are seen as leading the congregations and the Rev.U.O.H. Kerchner is noted for reviving the church during his ministry there. *********************************** In 1921,the Trustees of the Church proposed the removal of the burials located at this cemetery,in order to construct a new building [which is seen in the photographs above.] The Jefferson County Courts approved the proposal on 9 February 1922. All the burials,except a few,who are unknown,were to be removed from this location and re-interred by family members and/or the church trustees,to other cemeteries. Records for the re-internments have not been found or they were never recorded by the church at the time of their removals to other cemeteries. *********************************** The initial burial information listed here was transcribed from copies of the Church Records,held by the Punxsutawney Historical & Genealogical Society;from historical personal records and accounts of the people who lived and raised their families ,here in Jefferson County. ************************************ Research is currently being conducted,to locate were the re-internments were made. An will be seen in the index,indicting those burials that were supposedly removed from the original cemetery & supposedly re-interred at other cemeteries. It is widely believed,that the majority of these burials were not removed at all and only the grave markers were removed or simply paved over. Currently,the oldest recorded burials are those for Jacob Kuntz ,who passed away in August of 1852 and Anna Brillhart Smith ,who also passed in 1852. *************************************** Computer scans of the photocopied and zerox copied original black & white photos of the grave stones taken during the 1920s are seen on the individual memorial pages,if photos were available. The name of the original photographer is not known or documented for mention here;their work is greatly appreciated. ************************************** Originally,this database contained only a list of those burials which are seen within the documents presented to the Jefferson County Courts in 1922; we have since discovered a few more burials,which were not listed in the 1922 Court documents. We will continue to update this database accordingly,as proof of other burials are found. To date-July 2018;85 burials have been found to have taken place within this cemetery. If anyone has proof of additional burials for this cemetery , any additional research on any of the burials listed here,or questions regarding this database, please contact me direct via my email address which is listed on my bio page. Thank you, Marianne Fisher mlfisher58(AT-ANTI SPAM)verizon.net **************************************

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Saint Peters Reformed Cemetery?
Saint Peters Reformed Cemetery is located at Punxsutawney, Jefferson County ,Pennsylvania ,USA.
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1 memorials
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Latitude: 40.9515150
Longitude: -78.9616910

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Nearby Cemetories:

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15. Pearce Cemetery
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19. Brooks Cemetery
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20. Pifer Cemetery
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22. Bowers Cemetery
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Coordinate: 40.9472008, -78.8716965

23. McClure Cemetery
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24. Rhoades Cemetery
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Saint Peters Reformed Cemetery

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