Revolutionary War descendents honor the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury and the Brainerd Cemetery.
By: Jessica Beym
The importance of Cranbury’s history reaches far beyond the boundaries of the township.
This week, a group of 27 women from all over New Jersey whose roots date back to the Revolutionary War, came to Cranbury to honor the history of the First Presbyterian Church and the Brainerd Cemetery, both of which can trace their beginnings back to the 1700s.
Preservation of history is important to this group of women, known as the New Jersey chapter of the National Society of Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, which includes Cranbury resident Anne Taylor.
Each of the women has an unbroken paternal line to a Colonial founder and Revolutionary patriot and the efforts of the group focus on promoting patriotic and historical projects, according to chapter President Gaylord Schelleng.
Ms. Schelleng presented the Rev. Louis Mitchell of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury with a plaque on Tuesday in the church sanctuary to recognize the success of the congregation in maintaining the historical integrity of the church and cemetery.
While there are a number of other statewide projects supported by the organization, the church dedication was only the second time it has marked a historical site in New Jersey with one of their commemorating plaques. Last year, the society gave a plaque to a historical school and homestead in Wall Township.
To be honored, Ms. Schelleng said, there must be authenticated records, credentials and a printed history of the site, all of which the First Presbyterian Church and the Brainerd Cemetery have in their records.
Ms. Schelleng said the society decided on the Cranbury sites this year after Ms. Taylor a descendent of the Wikoff family who founded the historic town of Phillipsburg along the Delaware River made the suggestion. For 35 years, the Taylor family lived at 38 S. Main St., the house next to the church and cemetery.
Having grown up next to the cemetery and the church, Roi Taylor, Ms. Taylor’s son, said he knows a wealth of information about both and shared a few facts about the cemetery at the presentation.
Mr. Taylor said that the cemetery, which dates back to 1740 and has more than 1,000 gravestone markers made of both sandstone and marble, is the final resting place for 80 Revolutionary War veterans.
The cemetery was named after David Brainerd, who was known to be a missionary to the Indians in the Cranbury area in the mid-1700s. Mr. Taylor said that, centuries ago, the graves were marked with footstones as well as headstones and large box markers were reserved for important people. He said the first headstones were turned east to face the sunrise, which he said was a symbol of resurrection.
The Rev. Mitchell also had a bit of history about the First Presbyterian Church to share with the society. He said the earliest records of the church date back to 1734 and that the first church building was thought to be located at the top of the hill in the cemetery. Records also indicate that the missionary, Mr. Brainerd, preached to the Indians in the fields surrounding the old church.
A new house of worship was built in 1788 at the present site, the Rev. Mitchell said, but the building was rebuilt again in 1839 and has since undergone construction of new additions to accommodate the growth of the congregation.
More information about the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury and the Brainerd Cemetery can be found by contacting the Cranbury History Center at (609) kyua068-1889 or at www.cranbury.org.