Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

at 701 Delaware Avenue in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres.

History

The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought to establish one of Delaware's first

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

cemeteries on 10 acres of his farm, which was outside the city of Wilmington at the time. His venture was quickly a success, and the following year, Wollaston formed a company to expand and landscape the site with Willard Hall serving as president. Engineer George Read Riddle was hired to design the cemetery. In 1850, James Canby planted an imported

cedar of Lebanon ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religi ...

at the entrance of the cemetery. One corner of the cemetery, named Soldier's Graveplot, contains the remains of 121

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states t ...

soldiers who died from their wounds or war-related illnesses at the old Delaware Hospital. Chapel at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery

Interior of chapel at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery

The cemetery's chapel, designed by architect Elijah Dallett Jr., was built in 1913 of Foxcroft stone with

window sill A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place. The ...

s of

Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

. In 1917, the cemetery received remains originally interred at the 18th-century First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington's

Rodney Square Rodney Square is the public square and historic district in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, United States, named after American Revolutionary leader Caesar Rodney. A large equestrian statue of Rodney by James E. Kelly formerly stood in the front ...

. The church was moved to Park Drive to make room for a new library. In 2014, the cemetery launched the Eternal Rest 5K Walk/Run to raise money to maintain the cemetery.

Notable burials

Map of Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery

* William Hepburn Armstrong (1824-1919), U.S. Congressman *

Richard Bassett Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(1745-1815), U.S. Senator and Governor of Delaware, signer of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

* James Asheton Bayard Sr. (1767-1815), U.S. Senator and Congressman *

Richard H. Bayard Richard Henry Bayard (September 26, 1796 – March 4, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party, who served as the first Mayor of Wilmington, Chief Justice of the Delaware Superior ...

(1796-1868), U.S. Senator *

Gunning Bedford Jr. Gunning Bedford Jr. (1747 – March 30, 1812) was an American Founding Father, delegate to the Congress of the Confederation ( Continental Congress), Attorney General of Delaware, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 which draf ...

(1747-1812), Signer of the U.S. Constitution *

Emily Bissell Emily Perkins Bissell (May 31, 1861 – March 8, 1948) was an American social worker and activist, best remembered for introducing Christmas Seals to the United States. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, she made a name for herself at a young age as t ...

(1861-1948), Social reformer, introduced Christmas Seals to the United States *

Levi Clark Bootes Levi Clark Bootes (December 8, 1809 – April 19, 1896) was a career officer in the United States Army, serving in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Biography Bootes was born in Washington, D.C., and educated in the local sch ...

(1809-1896), Civil War Brevet Brigadier General * James Canby (1781-1858), early American railroad executive *

John P. Gillis John Pritchett Gillis (6 September 1803 – 25 February 1873) was a Commodore (United States), commodore in the United States Navy. He served in the Navy from 1825 until 1866 and saw military action in the Mexican-American War and the U.S. Civ ...

(1803-1873), Commodore in the U.S. Navy * Willard Hall (1780-1875), U.S. Congressman *

Bill Hawke William Victor Hawke (April 28, 1870 – December 11, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for three seasons, all in the National League, with a career record of 32 wins and 31 losses. Career Born in Elsmere, Del ...

(1870-1902), Major League Baseball pitcher * William H. Heald (1864-1939), U.S. Congressman * Jacob Jones (1768-1850), U.S. Naval Officer *

Flip Lafferty Frank Bernard "Flip" Lafferty (May 4, 1854 – February 2, 1910) was a Major League Baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in the majors. In , Lafferty appeared in one game as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. Despite not giving ...

(1854-1910), professional baseball player * Henry Latimer (1752-1819), U.S. Senator and Congressman *

Preston Lea Preston Lea (November 12, 1841 – December 4, 1916) was an American businessman and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of Delaware. Early life and family Le ...

(1841-1916), 52nd Governor of Delaware * Eleazer McComb (1740-1798), Continental Congressman *

John McKinly John McKinly (February 24, 1721August 31, 1796) was an American physician and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War, served in the Delaware General Assembly, was the first elected President of Delawar ...

(1721-1796), President of Delaware * Charles R. Miller (1857-1927), 54th Governor of Delaware * John J. Milligan (1795-1875), U.S. Congressman * Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875-1935), poet, journalist and political activist *

Hezekiah Niles Hezekiah Niles (October 10, 1777 – April 2, 1839), was an American editor and publisher of the Baltimore-based national weekly news magazine, ''Niles' Weekly Register'' (aka ''Niles' Register'') and the ''Weekly Register''. Niles was born in ...

(1777-1839), editor and poet of the

Weekly Register The ''Weekly Register'' (also called the ''Niles Weekly Register'' and ''Niles' Register'') was a national magazine published in Baltimore, Maryland by Hezekiah Niles from 1811 to 1848. The most widely circulated magazine of its time, the ''Regis ...

* James P. Postles (1840-1908), American Medal of Honor recipient *

George R. Riddle George Read Riddle (1817 – March 28, 1867) was an American engineer, lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party who served as U.S. Representative and as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life a ...

(1817-1867), U.S. Senator and Congressman * Robert P. Robinson (1869-1939), 57th Governor of Delaware * John Ross (1790-1866), Cherokee nation chief *

Thomas Alfred Smyth Thomas Alfred Smyth (December 25, 1832 – April 9, 1865) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was the last Union general killed in the war. In March 1867, he was nominated and confirmed a brevet major ge ...

(1832-1865), brigadier general in the Union Army *

James Tilton James Tilton (June 1, 1745 – May 14, 1822) was an American physician and soldier from Dover, Delaware. He was a delegate for Delaware in the Continental Congress of 1783 and 1784 and served as Surgeon General of the United States Army duri ...

(1745-1822), Continental Congressman *

John Wales John Wales (July 31, 1783 – December 3, 1863) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. Early life and family Wales was ...

(1783-1863), U.S. Senator *

Henry Winfield Watson Henry Winfield Watson (June 24, 1856 – August 27, 1933) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Henry W. Watson was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was educated in private schools, studied law, w ...

(1856-1933), U.S. Congressman

References

External links

Official websiteWilmington and Brandywine Cemetery
at

Find A Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery 1843 establishments in Delaware Buildings and structures in Wilmington, Delaware Cemeteries in Delaware Rural cemeteries