The "Visits To Those That Lived Before Us" Story

Click to enlarge to read the story of some
of the famous people buried in St. James
Cemetery in downtown Lancaster, PA.

It was an ordinary day.  Searching a few of my past stories for photos of some of my favorite cemeteries that I have visited in the past.  May sound rather morbid, but reading the tombstones of historical and famous cemeteries can be both interesting and educational.  My first encounter with cemeteries was at the age of 8 or 9 when I was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church boy's choir and would play games before choir practice in the church cemetery.  The large tombstones and burial vaults made great places to hide during games of hide and seek.  But, I always was intrigued with the names and dates that I found on these monuments.  Famous people such as Edward Hand, Jasper Yeates and George Ross allegedly lay in the tombs where we would wander before choir practice.  

St. James Churchyard

And, I still find exploring and examining the final resting places for those no longer with us to be historically interesting.  St. James Churchyard is filled with heroes from some of the most interesting eras in history, but it isn't the only historical graveyard in Lancaster County.  The 1733 Tschantz graveyard, perhaps the oldest in the county can be found along Pequea Lane.  

Oldest cemetery in Lancaster County.

Many of the tombstones are unreadable after years of acid rain on the stones, but you can almost "feel" the history as you wander the couple of rows of tombstones in the cemetery.  Martin Meylin who developed the Pennsylvania long rifle is buried in this cemetery.  Lancaster city has the Shriner-Concord cemetery at the corner of Mulberry and Chestnut Streets where Lancastrian Thaddeus Stevens is buried.  Woodward Hill Cemetery to the south of Lancaster is the final resting place of President James Buchanan as well as well-known portraiture artist Jacob Eichholtz.  

Bangor Episcopal Church cemetery in Bangor, PA.

Other interesting cemeteries in Lancaster include the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery on Strawberry St., the Shaarai Shomayim Jewish Cemetery to the north of Lancaster City, the Greenwood Cemetery on South Duke St. where architect C. Emlem Urban rests, the Lititz Moravian Church Cemetery where John Augustus Sutter is buried, the Martin Boehm Chapel Cemetery in Willow Street, the Colemanville Cemetery where many are buried in a single grave after a gunpowder explosion reduced their remains, the Stoner Family Graveyard which is within walking distance from my home and Lancaster Cemetery on the south edge of Lancaster which is the burial ground for artist Charles Demuth, Civil War General John Reynolds and James Wickersham, founder of Millersville Normal School where I went to college.  

Tombstones in the graveyard at Martin Boehm Church.

But, as you drive the hills and valleys of Lancaster County you will find endless cemeteries that have not only famous, but every day people that have interesting stories.  During my travels to other parts of the country as well as vacation sites throughout the Caribbean, I have made visits to numerous cemeteries.  The Bangor Episcopal Church cemetery in Bangor, Pennsylvania is a beautiful cemetery that sits next to one of the oldest Episcopal churches in the United States.  

Confederate soldier buried in the
St. Mary Anne Cemetery in North-East, MD.

The St. Mary Anne's Church Cemetery in Northeast, Maryland has both Union and Confederate soldiers buried in it.  One of my favorite cemeteries is the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific which is a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii.  It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces and gave their lives in the line of duty.  But perhaps my favorite site is The Pearl Harbor Memorial which is located in Honolulu, Hawaii.  It marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the USS Arizona during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  A visit to this memorial and water cemetery is both moving as well as historical.  All of us will eventually make a permanent visit to a cemetery where we will rest in eternity.  Wouldn't you want someone to visit you from time to time.  I do!  So, to honor all those who have died before me, I will enjoy a visit with you to say a small prayer and be glad to leave you after my visit.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lancaster, PA

This tombstone carries the names of those that died
in a tragic dynamite explosion in Southern Lancaster County.

The memorial of Thaddeus Stevens at the Shreiner Concord Cemetery.

Entrance to the Greenwood Cemetery in Lancaster, PA

Memorial plaque at the Lancaster Cemetery remembering John Fulton Reynolds
Click on images to enlarge.

Above the Reynolds memorial plaque stands this large monument. 

The Pearl Harbor Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.

This monument is in St. James Episcopal Chruchyard .
It is the burial location of Peggy Arnold, wife of Benedict Arnold.

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific which is a national cemetery
located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii

This is the entrance to Riverside Cemetery in Lancaster, PA.

Many servicemen are buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Lancaster.