South Middlebush Graveyard

SOUTH MIDDLEBUSH GRAVEYARD

Note: The South Middlebush graveyard is located on South Middlebush Road in Franklin Township. The notes below were written by me in May of 2000. I’ve  included the original references to slaves buried outside of the graveyard.

On Saturday, May 6, 2000, I took the kids from the Station House Adjustment Program to the South Middlebush Graveyard to clean it up. I had visited the graveyard twice before the cleanup to explore it and to find out exactly what needed to be done. Hank Smith had provided me with a history of the cemetery which had been published in the Somerset County Historical Quarterly, Volume 5, starting on page 140 (see below), and I found the history of the cemetery fascinating. I was particularly interested in the locations of the two slaves who had been buried there, and am reasonably sure that I have located their gravesites.

I spent several hours walking the perimeter of the cemetery searching for evidence of the original boundaries, and once they were established, I then found evidence of the boundaries that were expanded in 1856. Several sections of old rail fencing were found with their posts still imbedded in the ground, completely covered by brush, and by following the lines of the fence I was lead to an old gate post with rusted hinges and chain still intact. I then hacked away the brush that covered the post, so that it could be easily found in the future.

The gate post, in my opinion, is a key piece of evidence as to the location of the buried slaves. In Jacob Wyckoff’s description of their location, he states “Before the yard was enlarged, the front fence stood along the edge of the hill close by the front line of stones as they still stand. Two slaves were buried outside the fence, at the foot of the sloping hillside near the gate. When the yard was enlarged this brought their graves within the boundaries of the yard inside the present driveway. These two graves still plainly show.”

The line of the old driveway is still clear, and the gate post establishes the location of the gate. Although the gravesites are not visible today, it would be reasonable to assume that they are located just inside the gate beneath the driveway. My plan is to have the site marked, and to see if we can have a ceremony to honor and bless the site.

The cemetery is also the final resting place of many soldiers of the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812 and the Civil War. We would like to have new flags placed at the graves and make sure that all of them have appropriate veterans markers.