Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia)

Mount Moriah Cemetery

Mount Moriah Cemetery Gate (1855), Stephen Decatur Button, architect.
Details
Established	1855
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Country	United States
Coordinates	39°55′47″N 75°14′08″W / 39.9297°N 75.2356°WCoordinates: 39°55′47″N 75°14′08″W / 39.9297°N 75.2356°W
Size	380 acres (150 ha)
Number of graves	85,000
Website	Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery
Find a Grave	Mount Moriah Cemetery

Mount Moriah Cemetery is a historic cemetery in southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along Cobbs Creek. It was incorporated on March 27, 1855^[1] and established by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature. The cemetery, which originally occupied 54 acres (22 ha), was among a number of cemeteries established along the "rural ideal" popular at that time. An ornate Romanesque entrance and gatehouse were built of brownstone on Islington Lane, today known as Kingsessing Avenue.

Mount Moriah Cemetery held a notable place among Philadelphia's grand rural cemeteries like Laurel Hill Cemetery and the Woodlands Cemetery. It was easily accessible by streetcar. Over time, Mount Moriah grew to 380 acres (150 ha), spanning Cobbs Creek into the Borough of Yeadon in adjacent Delaware County, making it the largest cemetery in Pennsylvania.

Management

For several years the cemetery has suffered from neglect and the ownership and management responsibilities of the cemetery have been in a state of confusion.^[2][3] Two military plots dating back to the Civil War are well cared for by the Department of Veterans Affairs.^[3]

View of Center City skyscrapers from near the Gatehouse

Horatio Jones, who was the last known member of the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association, died in 2004 and the cemetery closed its gates in 2011. Having no known owner, the cemetery may be in a unique legal situation in the United States.^[2] Several volunteer cleanup days have been organized by a private group, Friends of Mt. Moriah Cemetery, and progress has been made to returning the cemetery to normal condition, but, as of January 2013, the legal situation is unresolved. Expected annual maintenance costs are about $500,000.^[4][5]

External video

3D Laser Scan: Mount Moriah Cemetery Gatehouse (1:05), DJS Associates[6]

In 2014, Philadelphia Orphan's Court appointed Mount Moriah Cemetery Preservation Corporation as receiver for the long neglected cemetery. In February 2015, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission announced that the Cemetery was eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, subject to review by the NRHP, and Friends of Mt. Moriah Cemetery began a campaign to raise funds to stabilize the gatehouse.^[7][8]

External video

In Memoriam, Courtney Coombs[9] 16:12, December 2013

Mount Moriah Cemetery, Antiquity Echos[10] 4:29, June 2010

.

Notable burials

Grave of John Q.A. and Mary Ziegler

The Civil War section

Among those buried in the cemetery are:

• Edwin Adams (1834–1877), stage actor^[11]
• Charles Baker (1809–1891), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Albert Beyer (1859–1929), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Augustus C. Buell (1847–1904), fraudulent author
• George Connell (1871–1955), mayor of Philadelphia
• George Deary (1845–1901), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Pat Deasley (1857–1943), baseball player^[11]
• George B. Dovey (d. 1909), president and owner of the Boston Doves National League Baseball Club^[12]
• Israel Wilson Durham (1855–1909), state senator, owner of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team
• Jesse Elliott (1782–1845), naval commander in the War of 1812^[11]
• George Ewell (1850–1910), American professional baseball player.
• George N. Galloway (1841–1904), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• John Galloway (d. 1904), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Bill Greenwood (1857–1902), baseball player
• Robert Heller (born William Henry Palmer, 1826–1878), magician
• Robert Jordan (1826–1881), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Joseph Killackey (1879–1946), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• John Laverty (1842–1903), double Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Nicholas Lear (1826–1902), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Thomas G. Lyons (1838–1904), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• James Martin, II (1826–1895), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Sylvester H. Martin (1841–1927), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• William McCandless (1834–1884), Civil War Union Army officer^[11]
• John Edward McCullough (1832–1885), Shakespearean tragic actor^[11]
• Samuel Miles(1739-1805), French & Indian War officer, Revolutionary War officer, Philadelphia civic activist, 1st Troop Captain (1786-1791), Mayor (1790-1791), and nation's first faithless elector, presidential election, 1796.
• John "Jocko" Milligan (1861–1923), baseball player^[11]
• Moses Orr (1840–1897), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Michael Owens (1837–1890), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Henry Shutes (1804–1889), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Samuel Sloan (1815–1884), architect
• William Burns Smith, (d. 1917), Mayor of Philadelphia 1884–1887
• Thomas H. Stockton (1808–1868) Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives
• August P. Teytand (1878–1956), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• William Thompson (d. 1872), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Alexander H. Truett (1833–1898), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• John Whitehead (1948–2004), singer, songwriter^[11]
• Francis A. Wilson (1840–1888), Medal of Honor recipient^[11]
• Robert E. Winslow (1829–1893), Civil War Union Army officer^[11]
• John Russell Young (1840–1899), journalist, diplomat, and Librarian of Congress^[11]

In 1856, the remains of Betsy Ross and her later husband John Claypoole were moved from the Free Quaker Burying Ground to Mount Moriah.

The cemetery contains one British war grave, of a World War I Serjeant of the Royal Scots Regiment.^[13]

See also

• Mount Moriah (SEPTA station)
• Mount Moriah, Philadelphia – the surrounding neighborhood

References

1. History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, by John Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott, Published 1884, L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
2. Pompilo, Natalie (July 15, 2011). "Abandoned Mount Moriah in grave condition". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
3. "Mount Moriah Cemetery Naval Plot and Soldiers' Lot Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". Civil War Era National Cemeteries. National Park Service. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
4. Bolling, Louis (May 23, 2012). "Mount Moriah Cemetery clean up a moving experience". Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
5. "Cemetery History". Friends of the Mount Moriah Cemetery. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
6. "Digitally Preserving A Historical Philadelphia Landmark". DJS Associates. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
7. "Historic Resource Information, key # 201334". CRGIS. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
8. "Mount Moriah Cemetery Gatehouse". Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
9. "In Memoriam". Courtney Coombs. December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
10. "Mount Moriah Cemetery". Antiquity Echos. June 20, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
11. Mount Moriah Cemetery: Famous names at Find a Grave
12. "Baseball President Dead: George Dovey of Boston Passes Away on a Railroad Train". The New York Times. June 20, 1909. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
13. CWGC casualty details: MacFarlane, Malcolm

External links

• Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1634, "Mount Moriah Cemetery Gatehouse"
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. PA-4-A, "Mount Moriah Cemetery, Mt. Moriah Soldiers Lot"
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. PA-4-B, "Mount Moriah Cemetery, Mt. Moriah Naval Lot"
• "Confederates, Catholics, Muslims and Masons: The Mount Moriah Cemetery Tour" at the Necessity of Ruins