Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres.
| Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery | |
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| Details | |
| Established | 1843 |
| Location | 701 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 39°45′03″N 75°33′12″W / 39.7508°N 75.5533°W |
| Type | private |
| Size | 25 acres |
| No. of graves | 21,000 |
| Website | http://wilmingtonbrandywinecemetery.org/ |
| Find a Grave | Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery |
History
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The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought to establish one of Delaware's first non-sectarian cemeteries on 10 acres of his farm, which was outside the city of Wilmington at the time.[1] 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.[2] In 1850, James Canby planted an imported cedar of Lebanon at the entrance of the cemetery.[3]
One corner of the cemetery, named Soldier's Graveplot, contains the remains of 121 U.S. Civil War soldiers who died from their wounds or war-related illnesses at the old Delaware Hospital.
The cemetery's chapel, designed by architect Elijah Dallett Jr.,[4] was built in 1913 of Foxcroft stone with window sills of Indiana limestone.[5]
In 1917, the cemetery received remains originally interred at the 18th-century First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington's Rodney Square. The church was moved to Park Drive to make room for a new library.[6]
In 2014, the cemetery launched the Eternal Rest 5K Walk/Run to raise money to maintain the cemetery.[7]
Notable burials
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- William Hepburn Armstrong (1824–1919), U.S. Congressman
- Richard Bassett (1745–1815), U.S. Senator and Governor of Delaware, signer of the United States Constitution
- James Asheton Bayard Sr. (1767–1815), U.S. Senator and Congressman
- Richard H. Bayard (1796–1868), U.S. Senator
- Gunning Bedford Jr. (1747–1812), Signer of the U.S. Constitution
- Emily Bissell (1861–1948), Social reformer, introduced Christmas Seals to the United States
- Levi Clark Bootes (1809–1896), Civil War Brevet Brigadier General
- James Canby (1781–1858), early American railroad executive
- John P. Gillis (1803–1873), Commodore in the U.S. Navy
- Willard Hall (1780–1875), U.S. Congressman
- Bill Hawke (1870–1902), Major League Baseball pitcher
- William H. Heald (1864–1939), U.S. Congressman
- Jacob Jones (1768–1850), U.S. Naval Officer
- Flip Lafferty (1854–1910), professional baseball player
- Henry Latimer (1752–1819), U.S. Senator and Congressman
- Preston Lea (1841–1916), 52nd Governor of Delaware
- Eleazer McComb (1740–1798), Continental Congressman
- John McKinly (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 (1777–1839), editor and poet of the Weekly Register
- James P. Postles (1840–1908), American Medal of Honor recipient
- George R. Riddle (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 (1832–1865), brigadier general in the Union Army
- James Tilton (1745–1822), Continental Congressman
- John Wales (1783–1863), U.S. Senator
- Henry Winfield Watson (1856–1933), U.S. Congressman
References
edit- ^ "Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery". www.wilmingtonbrandywinecemetery.org. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ Scharf, John Thomas (1888). History of Delaware: 1609–1888. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards & Co. p. 845. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
wilmington and brandywine cemetery.
- ^ Maynard, W. Barksdale (2015). The Brandywine: An Intimate Portrait. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-8122-4677-3. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Our Chapel". www.wilmingtonbrandywinecemetery.org. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ The Modern Cemetery. Allied Arts Publishing Company. June 1914. p. 106. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Milford, Maureen. "Cemetery offers a lasting history". www.delawareonline.com. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Connor, Krista. "Storied Past, Spirited Future". www.outandaboutnow.com. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
