Newton Cemetery is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in Newton, in Sussex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Founded in 1860, the cemetery is in current use and is owned and operated by the Newton Cemetery Company. It is the "new" cemetery in town—opening after the Old Newton Burial Ground (founded 1762) was filled.''The Sussex Register'', 20 June 1872. The Newton Cemetery Company was incorporated on 22 March 1860 by an act of the New Jersey state legislature.James P. Snell (compiler), ''History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers'' (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881), 276. It named seven men as "corporators", including Michael B. Titman, Moses W. Northrup, attorney Daniel S. Anderson, Samuel Cassady, the Reverend Nathaniel Pettit (of Christ Church, Newton), Thomas N. McCarter, and Whitfield S. Johnson. By 1866, the corporators had raised funds—approximately $16,000—to purchase a tract of land from the heirs of Aaron Peck and open for burials. According to James P. Snell, the first interment was for Joseph A. Linn, who was buried in August 1867. Five years later, in 1872, a local newspaper reported that "the number of interments is about 340--a large majority of which were re-interments from other places". Burial options at Newton Cemetery include interment in the cemetery's Mausoleum Chapel, erected in 1991.

Notable burials

Lewis Cave Grave 1909 Newton Cemetery Sussex Co NJ

* Jacob L. Bunnell (1855-1932), newspaperman, owner of ''Blairstown Press'', ''

New Jersey Herald The ''New Jersey Herald'' is a newspaper published six days (Sunday-Friday) every week. Its headquarters are in Newton, New Jersey. It is the only daily newspaper published in Sussex County, New Jersey and one of the oldest in the state. It has a ...

'', ''Sussex Independent''. * Thomas G. Bunnell (1834-189?), editor and later owner of the ''New Jersey Herald'' * George Sullivan Dodge (1838-1881) Chief Quartermaster of the

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

, Battle of

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

, Bvt. Brigadier General, American Civil War * Benjamin Edsall, poet, orator, editor of the ''Sussex Register'' *

Bartholomew Gill Bartholomew Gill was the pen name of Mark C. McGarrity (July 22, 1943 – July 4, 2002),Gravestone for Mark C. McGarrity/Bartholomew Gill, Newton Cemetery, Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey. an Irish-American crime fiction and mystery novelist an ...

(Mark C. McGarrity) (1943-2002), American crime fiction-mystery novelist, newspaper feature writer. * John Kays (1739-1829), Revolutionary War military officer, aide to George Washington. * Henry C. Kelsey, New Jersey Secretary of State, leader of the Kelsey Ring *

Warren K. Lewis Warren Kendall Lewis (21 August 1882 – 9 March 1975) was an MIT professor who has been called the father of modern chemical engineering. He co-authored an early major textbook on the subject which essentially introduced the concept of unit opera ...

(1882-1975),

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

professor, "father of modern

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

." * Lewis J. Martin (1844-1913), represented

New Jersey's 6th congressional district New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Democrat Frank Pallone, who has served the district in Congress since 1993. The district includes the northern and eastern portions of Middlesex County and the coastal areas of Monmou ...

in 1913. * Henry W. Merriam (1828-1900), industrialist and philanthropist * Robert Hamilton (1809-1878), represented

New Jersey's 4th congressional district New Jersey's 4th congressional district is a congressional district that stretches along the New Jersey Shore. It has been represented by Republican Chris Smith since 1981, the second-longest currently serving member of the US House of Represe ...

from 1873 to 1877. *

Andrew J. Rogers Andrew Jackson Rogers (July 1, 1828 – May 22, 1900) was an American lawyer, teacher, clerk, police commissioner and Democratic Party politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives for two terms from 1863 to 1867 ...

Copperhead Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * '' Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Ta ...

congressman during Civil War * Francis J. Swayze, Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

The Lewis children's "cave grave"

In 1909, three local children were lost in the underground limestone caverns underneath the town of Newton. An entrance to these caves (now sealed) was located in the woods near the cemetery. Currently, a marker bearing the names of these three children, James W., Margaret, and J. Howard Lewis, is mounted in the face of the rock-outcropping approximately fifty-yards into the woods on the cemetery property. The magazine ''

Weird NJ ''Weird NJ'' (sometimes abbreviated ''WNJ'') is a semi-annual magazine that chronicles local legends, purported hauntings, ghost stories, folklore, unusual places or events, and other peculiarities in New Jersey. The magazine originated in 1989 as ...

'' recounts that the daughter, Margaret found her way into the cave and got lost. Her two brothers went in to find her and also got lost.Sceurman, Mark and Moran, Mark. ''Weird New Jersey'' (New York: Sterling Publishing, 2003).

Gallery

File:Newton Cemetery Sussex Co NJ South View Kelsey Masoleum.jpeg, Looking south toward Henry C. Kelsey mausoleum, May 2013 File:Newton Cemetery in December.JPG, Looking north, December 2011 File:Gravestone of Henry W Merriam Newton Cemetery Sussex Co NJ.jpeg, Gravestone for industrialist and philanthropist Henry W. Merriam (1828-1900) and wife, Frances (1839-1897) File:Gravestone Newton Cemetery NJ Bartholomew Gill Mark McGarrity.jpeg, Gravestone for Mark McGarrity (aka Bartholomew Gill), crime fiction writer File:Kelsey Masoleum Newton Cemetery Sussex Co NJ.jpeg, Mausoleum for Henry C. Kelsey, former New Jersey Secretary of State, leader of "Kelsey Ring"

References

External links

Newton Cemetery Company

(Sussex County Historical Society, Nancy Pascal)

at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

Newton Cemetery
at Find A Grave {{coord, 41.0505, -74.7520, region:US-NJ_type:landmark, display=title Cemeteries in Sussex County, New Jersey Newton, New Jersey 1867 establishments in New Jersey