The Staats Cemetery Neshanic, NJ

THE STAATS CEMETERY NESHANIC, NEW JERSEY

IT IS WITHIN 300 YARDS OF THE PETER W. YOUNG CEMETERY, WHICH CONTAINS THE GRAVES OF LANDOWNERS DATING BACK TO THE SETTLING OF THIS AREA.  IT IS BELIEVED THAT THIS SITE MAY CONTAIN GRAVES OF SLAVES, AND THE GENTLEMAN MAY CONTAIN GRAVES OF SLAVES, AND THE GENTLEMAN MAY CONTAIN GRAVES OF SLAVES, AND THE GENTLEMAN ADMITTED TO REMOVING A BROKEN MARBLE STONE HE HAD FOUND WITH THE ENGRAVING H.W. ON IT TO PRESERVE SOME RECORD OF THE CEMETERY’S EXISTENCE.

GAZING AROUND THE AREA IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF MARKERS (MOSTLY OF LOCAL RED SHALE SET ON END INTO THE EARTH) SCATTERED ABOUT THIS OVERGROWN AREA.  CLOSER INSPECTION OF ONE OF THESE MARKERS REVEALED A HAND-SCRIBED ENGRAVING: MARCH 1828 R+N WITH A DECORATIVE PATTERN BORDERING IT.

UNDER AN OVERGROWN MULTI-FLORA ROSE WAS ANOTHER HAND ENGRAVED STONE WITH THE INITIALS J.S. (THE S WAS WRITTEN BACKWARDS) AND THE DATE 1850.  FINDING THIS STONE INSPIRED AND INTENSIFIED THE SEARCH FOR OTHER MARKERS AMONGST THE SCRUB.  HALF-BURIED IN DRIED LEAVES, A STAINED MARBLE GRAVESTONE WITH A FULL INSCRIPTION LAY IN TWO PIECES UNDER A MATURE MAPLE TREE.  PUZZLING THE TWO PIECES TOGETHER AND BRUSHING OFF THE CAKED DIRT THE FULL ISCRIPTION BECAME READBLE:  DINAH ANN STAATS DIED JUNE 30, 1871 AGED 53 YEARS 2 MOS. AND 3 DAYS.

AT THE NESHANIC CHRCH HAS WRITTEN RECORDS DATING BACK TO IT SCEPTION IN 1759.  THERE WERE TWO WORN LEATHER BOUND VOLUMES OF PARISHIONERS, BAPTISMAL, MARRIAGE AND CONSTRUCTION RECORDS.  OPENING TO THE BAPTISMAL RECORDS, WHICH ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER SEARCHED FOR DINAH ANN STAATS.  WHILE THUMBING TO THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT SECTION, CAME UPON SOME PAGES ENTITLED BLACK CAPTISMAL RECORDS AND HALF WAS DOWN THE THIRD PAGE, THERE SHE WAS:

DINAH ANN STAATS BORN:  MAY 28, 1818  FATHER:  CHARLES, SERVANT TO RYNEAR STAATS

NAP:  JULY 12, 1818  MOTHER:  JANE, SERVANT TO JACOB YOUNG AND ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE WAS FOUND AN ENTRY WHICH ONLY HAD A FIRST NAME:  JANE  BORN:  JAN. 04, 1820 FATHER: CHARLES, SERVANT TO RYNEAR STAATS BAP: APR. 01, 1821 MOTHER:  JANE, SERVANT TO JACOB YOUNG A YOUNGER SISTER TO DINAH.  HOWEVER, THE DATE OF 1850 ON THE MARKER WOULD MORE LIKELY INDIACTE THIS WAS THE GRAVE OF DINAH AND JANE’S MOTER, JANE (YOUNG) STAATS.

LOOKING BACK AT THE 1850 MAP OF THE AREA, THE UNITING OF A SERVANT OF RYNEAR STAATS AND JACOB YOUNG MADE LOGICAL SEASE BECAUSE JACOB YOUNG OWNED THE BLACKSMITH SHOP THE CORNER OF WERTSVILLE AND MONTGOMERY ROAD.  PROOF OF RYNEAR STAATS LAND HOLDING COULD NOT BE CONFIRMED WITH A MAP.  BY RESEARCHING THE PETER W. YOUNG CEMETERY RECORDS AND VISITING THE CEMETERY ITSELF THAT A BRANCH OF THE STAATS FAMILY (OF WHICH THERE ARE MANY IN HILLSBOROUGH) DID RESIDE IN THIS AREA AND THAT RYNEAR HIMSELF WAS BURIED THERE IN 1821 AT THE AGE OF 71.

THE H.W. STONE BEING MADE OF MARBLE LIKE DINAH’S STONE MAY INDICATE A LATER DATE BUT WITHOUT A SPECIFIC DATE IT’S HARD TO MATCH.  ONE POSSIBLILITY IS HARRY WILLIAMSON.  AN ITALIANATE VILLA BUILT BY WILLIAM WILLIAMSON BETWEEN 1850 AND 1870 STAND ON THE CORNER ACROSS WERTSVILLE FROM THE BLACKSMITH SHOP.  THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A HARRY WILLIAMSON IN THE YOUNG CEMETERY.  IF THERE WAS A SLAVE ALSO NAMED HARRY OR ONE BEGINNING WITH (H) IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONFIRM.  THE R+S STONE MAY INDENTIFY THE GRAVE OF A MARRIED COUPLE, OR IT MAY NOT.  THE LETTERS MAY BE THE INITIAL OF SOME FIRST NAMES WHICH IS UNTRACEABLE, THEY MAY NOT BE.  IT WILL REMAIN AMYSTERY.  BUT THE STONE IS AN INTERESTING HISTORICAL ARTIFACT.

 SOURCE:  TIMOTHY K. JOHNSON, RENAISSANCE RENOVATION, 2002