Shawnee Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA

This past April, my best friend Shannon and I went to visit some old friends in Pennsylvania. Joanna and George wound up taking us on an all-day tour of the cemeteries in their area. In total, we visited seven of them.

Often, I'm hard-pressed to find much - if any - information on the cemeteries I visit. This was an exception to that rule.

The Shawnee Presbyterian Church Cemetery was decidedly one of the more unusual ones I've encountered in my travels. At first glance, this little red brick church doesn't seem to be anything particularly out of the ordinary. It has a rich history, spanning over 250 years, making it the oldest church in Monroe County, PA. The original stone structure was built in 1753; the brick building that now stands on the original foundation was erected 100 years later. The cornerstone was laid by Ann DePui Erb, great-granddaughter of founding member Nicholas DePui. An annex was added to the back of the church in 1893.

The new addition covered the resting places of several of those interred here, particularly the DePui(DePuy) family. Their headstones are now embedded in the brickwork in the back of the church, including that of Ann Erb. The woman who laid the cornerstone is now part of this very structure.

There is more information to be had - visit www.shawneechurch.net for more history about this church, including the neat little time capsule hidden away in the cornerstone.

Huntsville Cemetery, Huntsville, NJ.

Most people have never heard of Huntsville, New Jersey, a tiny farming community on the Pequest River. A number of homes date back as far as the 1700s, and traffic consists of getting stuck behind a tractor on the road. Fathers and sons treat the first day of fishing season as a high holiday. It's a town that seems to have been forgotten by time. The Huntsville Cemetery is no exception.

I first encountered this cemetery in February of 2010, and it has become one of my regular stops. It's nothing fancy - just a small plot of land surrounded by a crumbling stone fence. As spring draws to a close, this little cemetery has all but disappeared into a tangle of weeds. Obviously, there is no caretaker here. The smaller stones are being consumed by the tall grass, and many of the larger ones have fallen and are once again being swallowed into the earth. There are many deep holes where some graves have collapsed; others were created when bodies have been exhumed for burial elsewhere. At first glance, one might not even know it's there. It's sad to see.

Places like this are the reason for this blog - while I visit larger cemeteries as well, something about the smaller, forgotten ones stays with me. I try to find these places and capture them in time before they are gone. At some point in time, these were people that meant something to someone. The history of this country is relatively brief, and so many things are too soon forgotten by those who live here.

Love Begins

Thanks for stopping by. If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake.

To put it simply, this is a blog about my visits to various cemeteries. I started photographing them mainly for artistic purposes , but I've become fascinated by the history held within these places. I know there are many people who do it for genealogy research purposes - I've helped others seek their ancestors, but have yet to track down any of my own. Who knows? Perhaps I'll find some of them one of these days.

Anyway, dear readers, I hope you enjoy. If you have any suggestions on cemeteries to visit, pass them along.