Earth Day Activity
By Jim Gerrish, representing the Historical Society of East
Orange, Inc. (04/22/08)
The Historical Society of East Orange, Inc. was invited to attend
an Earth Day Activity at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
(Earth Day) at the First Presbyterian Church, corner of Scotland
Road and Main Street in Orange. The Church is situated in the
midst of the oldest burying ground in the Oranges, which has been
in use since 1723, when we were all called the "Newark
Mountain Society."
This postcard photo from the 1900's shows how the cemetery
looked before the Church was built and before the statue of a
Revolutionary War Postal Dispatch Rider was erected on the
corner. Notice also the old electric streetcar wires and tracks.
Earth Day was an appropriate day to hold this activity. The
Burying Grounds are in serious need of preservation and
restoration, and it is the resting place of many of the founders
and settlers of Orange, East Orange, West Orange, South Orange,
Maplewood, Montclair and Bloomfield, all of whom were included in
the "Newark Society" at one time.
The Historical Society from East Orange met with parishioners
from the First Presbyterian Church and special invited guest,
John Zelinsky. Our local Church Historian, Mr. Robert Reed,
introduced John, and showed us his massive study (four volumes)
on tombstones and their carvers, many of which are represented in
our burying ground.
John Zelinsky, in turn, introduced his friend Greg Guderian,
a leader of the NJ Latin Inscriptions Project that seeks to
record use of Latin found anywhere in NJ. So far we have
uncovered only one Latin inscription on a tombstone in the Old
Burying Ground, but there may be others that will turn up as the
work continues. The Latin inscription is "Mementomori"
found on the tombstone
of the Ogden Children.
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Mr. Reed also introduced us to a delightful
children's book, "The 18 Penny Goose" by Sally
Walker, a former resident of East Orange. This book which
is out of print, but still available through Amazon.com, is a story about the Wright
family, whose tombstones
are located in the Old Burying Ground. The Wright
family lived on a farm on Springdale Avenue near the pond
called Springdale Lake. The original story adapted by Ms
Walker is as follows:
During one of the few Revolutionary
War battles against the British fought in this area in
1776, known as the Battle of Peck's Hill (at the
present day corner of Maple Avenue and Main Street), John
Wright was seriously injured and had to be taken by sled
to his home on Cranetown Road (Present day Springdale
Avenue)
A flock of geese owned by Wright
wandered off when his family fled from the redcoats. The
British soldiers seized the geese and killed all but the
gander. After feasting on their plunder, they tied a
pouch inscribed with the words “Georgius Rex”
(after the English king of the time) around the gander's
neck. 18 pennies were placed in the pouch, along with a
note which read:
“Dear Mr. Wright, we must bid
you good night. It is time for us to wander;
“We have paid for your geese, a penny apiece, and
left the change with the gander.”
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The culmination of the meeting was a walk through the burying
grounds to see first-hand the headstones which bear names
familiar to all who live in the Oranges: Harrison, Dodd, Munn,
Day, Williams, Baldwin... to name just a few. John Zelinsky was
able to help us see the different styles in the headstone
carvings and greatly added to our knowledge of what a historical
treasure lies in our own city.
Guest Speaker, John Zelinsky explains the meaning of the
decorations on the old tombstones.
Later in the afternoon, a group of students from the East
Orange Unified Marching Band (EOUMB) celebrated Earth Day by
cleaning up the branches and other debris in the Old Burying
Ground as their contribution to reclaim their historic ties with
this ancient site.
L-R: Mrs. Tomlinson, Morgan Gill, Adnett Tomlinson, Lloyd
Tomlinson.
The students worked hard and collected a massive pile of
branches that had fallen on the cemetery during the past winter.
Many of the students got absorbed in the history of the site and
in reading the inscriptions on the old tombstones while they
worked.
L-R: Adnett Tomlinson, Morgan Gill, and Eujessicua Stokes
Our thanks to Pastor Frank Muse and members and staff of the
First Presbyterian Church for inviting us to participate and
allowing us the use of their facilities for our Earth Day
Activity.
Members of the Society have been working since early March,
2008 to map and catalog the Burying Ground before time, weather,
and human activity erases all traces of this important common
historic heritage site. You can follow the work in progress on
our Web site: www.eohistory.info
or go directly to the Old Burying Ground Page: http://eohistory.info/EOTimeLine/OldBuryingGrnd/index.html
For more information or to volunteer your services in aiding
this important work, please contact: James Gerrish - 973-674-0067
or Mrs. Goldie T. Burbage - 973-672-1783
More Earth Day Photos
L-R: Khalil Welch, Dominique Depts, La Dante Avery
L-R: Greg Guderian , John Zelinsky, Frederick Goode (Band
Director of the EOUMB)
L-R: David Friday, Bria Douglas, Adnett Tomlinson, Eujessicua
Stokes
Kaison Mc Clain, Denzel Thompson, Lloyd Tomlinson,
L-R: Olivia Goode, Mrs. Tomlinson, Jim Gerrish
L-R: Morgan Gill, and Eujessicua Stokes
L-R: Lloyd Tomlinson, and David Friday
Foreground: Dominique Depts; Background L-R: Mrs. Tomlinson,
Adnett Tomlinson, La Dante Avery, Olivia Goode, Jim Gerrish
David Friday