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New Jersey Herald – August 20, 2017
Look who's buried here!
Photo by Hixon Spangenberg — Sharon Spangenberg poses with a headstone in the Lower Walpack Cemetery that belongs to her husband, Hixon Spangenberg's sixth great-grandfather.
By JENNIE SWEETMAN
Posted: Aug. 20, 2017 12:01 am
WALPACK -- "Look Who's Buried Here!" will be the topic of a program planned for 1 p.m. today at the Walpack Church, Main Street, Walpack. Sponsored by the Walpack Historical Society, the program is free and open to the general public.
Sharon Spangenberg, who will present the PowerPoint program, plans to focus primarily on the cemeteries located within the confines of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA), which would have been impacted if the proposed Tocks Island Project had become a reality. Spangenberg says that according to an April 25, 1974, article that appeared in the Herald, "3,000 graves have to be moved for Tocks." Of this number, 529 of the disinterment sites were located in Sussex and Warren counties.
The sites were identified as the Calno and Depue cemeteries located in the former Pahaquarry Township and the Everitt, Lower Walpack, and the combined Clark, Rosenkrans, Shapanack and Van Campen cemeteries (basically all of the latter four located on one lot) in Walpack.
According to Spangenberg, in 1975, the Army Corps of Engineers planned to purchase a four-acre piece of property on Ridge Road in Sandyston Township, known as the Wesley J. Oliver property, and convey it to the Sons of the American Revolution, Col. John Rosenkrans Chapter, with the cemetery to be called the SAR Cemetery. The plan was to cover all graves located below 432 feet in elevation by the reservoir that would be created as the result of the Tocks Island Dam.
As local historian Myra Snook points out, apparently someone had not done their homework, as several other cemeteries, such as Bevans, Mettler, Minnisink, Layton and Myers, the two cemeteries associated with the Minisink Dutch Reformed Church, as well as several other family plots were not included.
As for the proposed Tocks Island Dam Project, in 1962, Congress authorized the construction of the dam. If constructed, the dam would have been built across Tocks Island, about 160 feet above the river bed and between 400 and 900 feet wide. As a component of the Tocks Island Dam, a 72,000-acre recreation area, to be established on either side of the river, was authorized by Congress on Sept. 1, 1965.
The purpose of the dam was to promote flood control and provide hydroelectricity, a water supply and recreation. Due to strong grass roots opposition, the country's involvement in a war, cost overruns and the unstable soil on which the dam was to be built, Congress officially deauthorized the project on July 19, 1992. Technically, however, it had expired earlier as no money had been appropriated for it.
As for Spangenberg, her interest in the older, basically abandoned cemeteries was prompted by her being drafted by Nan Horsfield to assist in documenting all of the burials in the Layton Cemetery. One of the headstones uncovered in the Layton Cemetery still has Spangenberg stumped. Who was I. Buck with an 1846 date on the stone? Despite research, Spangenberg has failed to uncover anyone by that name that may have resided in Sandyston Township or a nearby municipality. Spangenberg noted that one headstone located in the Layton Cemetery is in the shape of a tree. This one marks the grave of John C. Snook, who passed away in 1904.
With that project completed, Spangenberg then directed her attention to the sadly neglected Germany Flats Cemetery in Andover Township, where several of the inscriptions on these stones are in German. Spangenberg recorded all the legible inscriptions from that cemetery as well. The upper portion of this cemetery reportedly contains the graves of Native Americans. Spangenberg's interest in this cemetery was prompted by her grade school days when she crossed the cemetery field to visit a friend.
Another cemetery visited by Spangenberg was the Lower Walpack Cemetery. With the owners' permission, Spangenberg, accompanied by Snook, tried to reposition fallen stones. One of the headstones in this cemetery that Spangenberg found interesting bore the inscription, "HERE LIES THE BODY OF JOHN CHAMBERS. DIED SEPTEMBER 20, 1776." Still uncertain who John Chambers was, a review of the 1773-74 Walpack tax list not only shows a John Chambers, but an Abraham, Benjamin, Joseph, Patrick and Samuel Chambers listed as property owners in Walpack.
Incidentally, the deed for this cemetery was made on the same date as the Walpack Church. Thomas Brink and Nicholas Schoonover made the original deed for the burial grounds, which contained four acres, on Feb. 1, 1737, so that the inhabitants of Walpack might have a suitable burying place.
The particular churchyard provided a pleasant surprise for Spangenberg, for uncovered was a headstone for Henry Schoonhoven, who died Aug. 16, 1771. For some reason, it had never been recorded when an inventory of the cemetery had been made. Henry Schoonhoven, who was the brother of Nicholas, one of the original property owners, was also her husband Hixon's sixth great-grandfather.
Another find by Spangenberg was the 1732 John Emans gravesite. It was while researching property deeds along the Delaware River that she found mention of Emans' grave on property located in Sandyston Township, with the farm named Gravesend. With the help of deed researcher Richard M. Stevens, Ph.D., and the Sandyston Township tax map, she and her husband decided to locate the gravesite. It took several inquiries from local residents and several tries but they did locate it. She describes the location as beyond the Nyce/Depue House, located on the Old Mine Road and close to the Delaware River.
Another cemetery that Spangenberg plans to discuss is the Shapanack Cemetery, which is located on a hilltop overlooking the Old Mine Road and in close proximity to the Van Campen Inn. This was located in the churchyard of the former log, octagonal Shapanack Church. Although unknown, it is guessed that the church was built between 1760-1770 and was in use until 1826, when the congregation moved to Peters Valley. Due to the scarcity of Dutch Reformed ministers in the area, from 1772-1785, a Presbyterian minister, Daniel Thatcher, served as pastor of the congregation.
The most noted, and presumably the most visited gravesite in this churchyard, is for Anna Tuthill Symmes, best known as the mother-in-law of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandmother of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison. The inscription that appears on this headstone reads: "In remembrance of Mrs. Anna Symmes/who was born October 1771/married to the Honble Jn C. Symmes 30th October 1760/died 25th July 1776/leaving two daughters Marie and Anna."
Due to the now defunct Tocks Island Project, the cemeteries remain at their original location. In the interim, Spangenberg has uncovered not only headstones that have been buried in the various cemeteries primarily located within the confines of the DWGNRA, but also fascinating tales related to them.
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Jennie Sweetman is the history columnist for the New Jersey Herald. She may be contacted at jenniee@warwick.net.
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