The "Oldest Cemetery In Lancaster County" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading south through the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to take a few photos of one of the oldest cemeteries in Lancaster County.  

Martin Meylin rifle shop in Willow Street, PA

As I drove south I passed close to the rifle shop of Martin Meylin as well as the the Hans Herr House; all stories I have written in the past.  It was in 1710 that the first extensive settlement in what would later be known as Lancaster County was established.  It was between the Conestoga River and Pequea Creek and included what today is known as Pequea, West Lampeter and Strasburg Townships.  

The Hans Herr House near Willow Street, PA

At the time the area was known as Conestoga, since the old roads were traveled by locally made Conestoga wagons.  The settlement was begun by Mennonite immigrants who settled on Native American ground that was granted to them by William Penn.  These Swiss-German Mennonites came to Pennsylvania in search of religious freedom as well as economic opportunities.  

The 1733 Tschantz Cemetery (Graveyard)

They came as peacemakers and learned from their Native American neighbors the ways of this rich land we known today as the "Garden Spot of America."  Before long I pulled to the side of the road known as Pequea Lane which was where one of the oldest European cemeteries in Lancaster County, if not one of the oldest in our new nation, is located.

A member of the Mylin family.
Click to enlarge image.

Known as the Tschantz Cemetery which is a rather small cemetery with a few dozen headstones that are almost impossible to read.  Three of Lancaster County's most famous pioneers are said to be buried here.  Martin Meylin is perhaps the most famous being credited with the creation of the Pennsylvania Long Rifle, later misnamed the Kentucky Long Rifle.  It was in 1719 that Martin or his son built the gun shop that I passed on my way to the cemetery.  Meylin's rifle creation was more than likely influenced by his acquaintance with the Jaeger Swiss Riffel from his earlier days in Europe.  Martin is said to be buried at the Tschantz Cemetery along with his wife and son.  Also buried here is Jacob Miller whose tombstone lists his death as April 20, 1739.  

A more modern tombstone in the foreground
is for the Wendell Bowman family.  Other stones
of the Bowman family are shown here, but
I wasn't able to find all names listed on above stone.

Many of the tombstones were inscribed with German lettering, but I found Mr. Miller's in English which read: Here lies buried the old Jacob Miller.  Born in Germany.  He died April 20, 1739.  When he died, his age was 76 years, 1 month and 3 weeks.  Mr. Miller passed on some of his land to his sons with Samuel receiving the land directly next to the cemetery.  His wife later remarried Hans Tschantz who set aside the land for the cemetery in which I now stand.   The final pioneer was Wendell Bowman who lived nearby and died in 1735.  Wendell built a two-story log cabin in 1712 that was in the center of his 530-acre tract of land.  Under the east end of the cabin was a stonewalled arch cellar.  

Joseph Bowman's tombstone.  Joseph
was son of Wendell Bowman.

If the cabin existed today it would be the oldest-known structure in Lancaster County.  As I walked around the small cemetery I found no readable tombstones that dated back to when the cemetery was first opened.  The earliest legible grave belonged to Elizabeth King who died February 21, 1732 at the age of 23.  Several of the stones in the cemetery seemed to be rather recent and made of black slate which preserves the engravings better than sandstone or limestone.  I have included a few of the stones, but was unable to decipher much of what was placed on the tombstones.  The cemetery has been meticulously maintained for many years.  I was impressed with how well the cemetery looked.  The kind of place I would want to be buried in if I wasn't going to be buried in my church cemetery of St. James Episcopal in downtown Lancaster.  That cemetery also dates back to the mid-1700s.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Name was unreadable, but date of death can be seen.
Click on images to enlarge them.

I could read part of the inscription, but not all.

The graveyard was in very good condition.

German?

I believe this is the tombstone of Jacob Miller, but very hard to read.

Tombstone of Veronica Bowman who was the wife of  Joseph Bowman.

A slate tombstone for John Witmer.