Montgomery Cemetery is a historic cemetery located near the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

on Hartranft Avenue and along Jackson Street in

West Norriton Township, Pennsylvania West Norriton Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township that is located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Norristown Area School District. The population of the township ...

, immediately adjacent to and southwest of the Municipality of Norristown. Founded in the late 1840s, the cemetery is the final resting place of several high-ranking

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officers and former

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The cemetery is adjacent to Riverside Cemetery, which was founded a half century later, during the

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

era of the 19th century. The cemetery is currently administered by the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, located in

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough with Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located ...

Origins and history

The Montgomery Cemetery Company, which originally owned and maintained the cemetery, was incorporated by act of the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

on April 10, 1848. The initial members of the cemetery company were William Hamil, John R. Cooken, Adam Slemmer, Henry Freedley, James Wells, Abraham Markley, John Freedley, and Joseph Fornance, with the first five being trustees.Act of April 10, 1848 (1849 P.L. 734, No. 398), https://archive.org/stream/lawsofgenerala1849penn#page/734 The of land for the cemetery had been sold to the company on March 31, 1848, by one of the trustees, William Hamil, and his wife Willimina. The first burials in the cemetery ensued shortly thereafter. The cemetery was originally a part of Norriton Township when the cemetery company was incorporated. When the then- Borough of Norristown annexed the land immediately to the northeast of the cemetery in 1853, the cemetery's land, including the road leading to the cemetery (now Hartranft Avenue), was specifically omitted from the annexation. However, the cemetery company's land along and beside Hartranft Avenue, not including the cemetery itself, became a part of the then- Borough of Norristown on January 18, 1909. Less than two months later, the cemetery itself became a part of West Norriton Township after Norriton Township was divided on March 9, 1909.Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Clerk of Courts. ''In the matter of the Application to divide the Township of Norriton into two Townships'', Election Case No. 205 (Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1909) (final decree). Available at Montgomery County Archives,

East Norriton Township, Pennsylvania East Norriton Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is served by the Norristown Area School District. History On March 9, 1909, Norriton Township was divided ...

Notable interments

* Joseph Fornance (1804–1852), member of the

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* John Freedley (1793–1851), member of the

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(1824–1886), General during the

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and the Democratic nominee for

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1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

* John F. Hartranft (1830–1889),

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and General during the

* Adam J. Slemmer (1828–1868), officer during the

* John Wood (1816–1898), member of the

* Samuel K. Zook (1821–1863), General during the

; mortally wounded at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

References

External links

Montgomery Cemetery
on the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania's web site. *

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video of

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ceremonies at Montgomery Cemetery
2009 Memorial Day at Historic Montgomery Cemetery
*

on

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. * {{GNIS, 1181455, Montgomery Cemetery 1848 establishments in Pennsylvania Cemeteries in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Origins and history

Notable interments

See also

References

External links