Civil War Veterans - Part 1 of Interesting Places in Hainesport

     I travel the Mt. Holly By-Pass several times per week.  I always look into the tiny cemetery that sits on the west side of the By-Pass, between Rt. 537 and Rt. 38.  When I was a kid, my mother told me this was potter's field, a place where poor people were buried.  Later on, I heard this was a graveyard for Civil War Veterans.  With Memorial Day coming up, I thought it might be time to learn more about this place.

The cemetery is in front of Americyle Recycling.

     The cemetery belongs to the Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church on 212 Washington Street in Mt. Holly. The church's main burial ground lies east of the By-Pass, next to the Brotherhood Cemetery, on Marne Highway (Rt. 537).  I wondered if the two cemeteries were once connected.  I called the Burlington County Engineer's Office, and they were able to tell me that Mt. Moriah owned the all the land before the By-Pass construction (1968 - 1973).  The county obtained the land from the church, land that had not yet been used for interments, so no graves had to be relocated.  
     Our wonderful county library contains several volumes of books which list the names of the deceased buried in many Burlington County cemeteries.  The By-Pass plot holds the remains of:

     Edward B. Chapman, Civil War Veteran
     Elizabeth, Wife of Charles A. Lewis, Died 1/10/1883
     Elizabeth Mitchell, Died 3/9/1873
     Anna E. Henry, Died 2/12/1879
     Jane Golden, Died 1/22/1876
     Lambert Giles, 5/15/1815 - 4/19/1875
     Wm. Smith, Died 1875
     Chas. Selsey, 5/30/184? - ?
     Rebecca Saunders
     Nancy Hill
     Mary Golden, Died 2/29/1878
     David B. Steven, Died May ?, 18??

There are three other graves.  One is marked only "M. C."  There are two illegible stones, one of which might be a veteran.

     I would have to conclude that this is a potter's field since it holds the remains of only one Civil War veteran, Edward Chapman.  His widow was so impoverished she applied to the federal government for a headstone for the poor.

      The rest of the Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Civil War Veterans are buried in the main cemetery.  Tomorrow I'll tell you what I learned about them.  On Friday, I'll focus on Edward Chapman.