Cemetery tour in Morristown Presbyterian Church
Carol Barkin makes no bones about it. She loves graveyards.
No, she has no sinister intent, nor is she particularly morbid. Barkin is outreach coordinator and docent with the Morris County Tourism Bureau; she is also a member of the Morristown Historical Preservation Commission.
For the past four years, she has led walking tours of the cemetery adjacent to the Presbyterian Church in Morristown. She will lead groups through that graveyard for two tours this Sunday, Oct. 25.
An afternoon in late October seems to be an appropriately creepy time to walk through a graveyard. But Barkin has more on her mind than sending chills down spines.
“It’s a chance to learn about early Morristown history,” says Barkin, who will be assisted by members of the Morristown chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in period garb.
The Presbyterian cemetery dates back to 1733, making it the second oldest graveyard in Morris County. It is predated only it is the Whippany Burying Yard, which boasts headstones from 1713.
The Morristown site includes the grave of Silas Condict, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Condict also helped write New Jersey’s first constitution and was later speaker of the General Assembly.
The cemetery also holds the remains of members of Jacob Ford’s family. The Ford Mansion in Morristown was utilized by General George Washington as his headquarters during the winter of 1779-1780.
The Ford family is also noteworthy for being related to former First Lady Barbara Bush, and through her to both the 41st and 43rd Presidents of the United States.
Barkin says that Temperance (“Tempe”) Wick, the Revolutionary War heroine, was at one time buried in the cemetery, but her remains were later removed.
The longest serving pastor in the history of the Presbyterian Church of Morristown, Rev. Timothy Johnes, is interred at the cemetery, along with his wife Theodosia Johnes.
Another notable stop on the tour is the mass grave where soldiers from the Continental Army and civilians were buried. These individuals died of smallpox, which the soldiers brought with them when they came to Morristown.
In addition to local history, the tour also touches on the subject of art. Barkin begins the tour inside the Presbyterian Church so she can point out the stained glass windows. (The current building – the third on that site - was constructed in 1894.)
Barkin says that visitors on the tour are often fascinated by the headstone art and the way it changed over the years.
“The early headstones had skulls with wings,” she says. “They were very Puritanical-looking. Later, the features were softened to become the faces of angels.”
Barkin says these tours were originally been conducted by was led by Scott Shepherd, an elder with The Presbyterian Church and an 11th generation resident of Morristown. She took over the tours after his death in 2011.
“We used to give these tours during the summer,” Barkin says. “Then we decided to make it a fall tour.” The tours are lighted by lanterns, as an atmospheric touch.
Attendees are encouraged to spend the rest of the evening in Morristown and to visit the annual Pumpkin Illumination. Lighted pumpkins line the reflecting pool at the Vail Mansion, adjacent to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in downtown Morristown.
Barkin notes that the Presbyterian Church and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church are the only two churches in Morristown that still have extant cemeteries.
“There’s something special about wandering through a church graveyard,” she says. “It’s interesting, and it’s fun.”
BONES AND STONES: WHO’S BURIED AT THE PRESBYTERIAN GRAVEYARD?
WHEN: 3 and 4:15 p.m. Sunday Pumpkin Illumination at 6:15 p.m.
WHERE: The Presbyterian Church, 57 E. Park Place, Morristown (tour begins inside the church sanctuary) Vail Mansion, 110 South St.,
Morristown
TICKETS: $15 for tour. Advance online registration recommended
INFO : 973-631-5151 or
www.morristourism.org/tours