Philadelphia Cemeteries that Mark Our Nation's 250th Birthday - Part 3

So would YOU look this good after 250 years? This banner was draped on the wall of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church graveyard in Philadelphia – back in 2011. Yes, the church and graveyard were here before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 (1761 to be precise). 

Peale painted the portraits of George Washington we are all familiar with (see link).

As you walk the historic district in Philadelphia (where the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall are), many cemeteries and graveyards pop into view. While it might seem super cool to step into Ben Franklin’s Post Office a few blocks away (316 Market Street), it really isn’t his actual post office. 

St. Peter's Church, 3rd and Pine Streets

Like so many “historic” buildings in this Old City historic district (the original city of Philadelphia), Franklin’s post office is just a facsimile. On the other hand, there are twenty Colonial-era cemeteries and graveyards in the area that are NOT facsimiles! They are the real deal. You can walk through St. Peter’s graveyard and touch the same tombstones that Colonial-era artist Charles Wilson Peale’s family touched as they laid him in this very ground. You can even pick up one of the hefty osage oranges that drop (watch out!) from these trees on the property. Horticulture was a big thing back in the eighteenth century, when people imported all kinds of exotic bushware and treeware to ornament these sites.

Roger Wing's sculpture of Duffield

Then, you can walk across Fourth Street (at Lombard) to another church graveyard that was established prior to 1776, the graveyard of Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church. Old Pine was established in 1768, and has over 200 Revolutionary War soldiers buried in its graveyard. Rev. George Duffield was one of the church’s first ministers, and served as chaplain of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and then chaplain for General Washington’s army at Valley Forge in that winter of 1777-78 (ref.). I really wish the tree that my friend Roger Wing carved into a giant likeness of patriot Duffield still stood in the graveyard for you to see, but alas, it was removed a few years ago. 

Teach your children well - daughter Olivia in the Old Pine Churchyard, 2013.

So if you’re into cemeteries, it is super convenient to have two back-to-back, at two separate and wonderful historic sites. Unlike Christ Church Burial Ground (est. 1719, across from the U.S. Mint at Fifth and Arch Streets), St. Peter’s and Old Pine Presbyterian Church graveyards are free to visit. Yes, you actually have to pay to get in to visit Christ Church itself and its cemetery (which is run by the National Park Service). 

Old Pine Street Church building with Colonial-era graveyard.

Religion in The Colonies

Franklin's grave, Christ Church Burial Ground

You may have noticed in my prior blogs on cemeteries for “America 250” that these extant Colonial-era burial grounds are typically associated with a church. An astute observation. The practice of burying our dead in the ground is one we brought from Europe. Burial grounds were initially associated with specific communities, e.g. the Quakers, the Swedes, and the early Protestant religions. Christ Church, established in 1695, was Anglican, the Church of England. Its original burial ground was (and still is) on the grounds of the church itself at Second and High Streets (near Market Street). The church building is magnificent, having been completed in its present form in 1754! The relatively remote (a few blocks away) Christ Church Burial Ground was an expansion of the church’s small graveyard and was established in 1719 at Fifth and Arch Streets. It’s big claim to fame is that it boasts the grave of Ben Franklin. By some extreme quirk of non-greed, there exists in the brick wall a stretch of open metal fencing through which observers can see (and toss pennies onto) Franklin’s grave. You don’t actually have to pay admission fee to the graveyard to see the graves of Old Ben and his wife.

Volunteers tend to flowers in Old Pine 

So what do you get to see in St. Peter’s and Old Pine burial grounds? Well, Old Pine had its last burial in 1958 so it is no longer an active graveyard. Interestingly, St. Peter’s is still active! And both graveyards are meticulously kept up by volunteers - planting flowers, weeding, mulching, and so on. The grass is cut so you don't have to worry about weeds and deer ticks. It is a bad year for ticks, especially in the larger cemeteries where white-tailed deer live (white-tailed deer, by the way, are the main meeting and mating spot for ticks - they are the party bus for these insects). If you’re a movie buff, you might recognize Old Pine’s graveyard as the setting used in the 2004 movie, National Treasure, in which Nicolas Cage runs through the graveyard. I actually remember seeing all the movie trucks parked around there at the time, but movie shoots are usually top secret so during a shoot, you would never know who was there or what movie they were filming.

Privateer Gustavus Conyngham buried in St. Peter’s Churchyard

Gustavus Conyngham is buried in St. Peter’s Churchyard, a merchant sea captain and privateer who worked for the U.S. government attacking British ships during the Revolutionary War – a privateer being a hired gun. “He captured 24 ships in the eastern Atlantic between May 1777 and May 1778, bringing the expenses associated with British shipping to what was then an all-time high. He has been called ‘the most successful of all Continental Navy captains” (ref.) Several privateers are also buried in Old Pine. Were they pirates? Some were. The U,S. government has been forced to engage the services of such bad boys when the U.S. Navy was not able to protect American shores from foreign threats. You’ve no doubt heard of Jean Lafitte? In exchange for a legal pardon, Lafitte and his pirate – er, privateer – fleet aided General Andrew Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans to defend the city against British invasion during the War of 1812.

All is fair in love and war, right? Old Pine also holds an example of one of our early misdeeds - eight dead Indian Chiefs buried in unmarked graves.

Indian chief sign in the Old Pine Church graveyard

The Indian Chiefs and the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic

Old Pine Street Church, 4th and Pine Streets

In 1793, the eight Native American chiefs you see listed in the image here traveled to Philadelphia to meet with President George Washington and other officials to discuss boundary disputes in the Northwest Territory. They came from various nations, including the Wabash, Veattonns, and Potowatami (which probably meant that they all spoke different languages, so how could boundary discussions occur?). They were among many foreign dignitaries who visited during the city’s severe yellow fever epidemic (ref.). Apparently, they all died, quickly. Not sure why they were buried in unmarked graves, since their identities were known, or when their deaths were divulged to their respective nations. But it is rather convenient for the U.S. government to eliminate the leaders of those who might resist America’s westward expansion. A happy coincidence - eliminate the chiefs, and the tribes have no leaders. I do wonder about the follow up by the U.S. government after they died, but like our good friends in the current administration, I won’t dwell on any inconvenient disparaging history (like the fact that when Old Pine opened in 1768 slavery was legal in Philadelphia and some of its congregants owned slaves). Can I get an ‘Amen?'”

Cemeteries are perfect for a summer walk!

The actual church buildings of Old Pine and St. Peter’s are the very structures that were built prior to 1776, they are not facsimiles! 1768 for the Old Pine building and 1750 for St. Peter’s. The latter actually still has the original high-backed box pews, including Mayor Samuel Powel’s boxed seat used frequently by George and Martha Washington! St. Peter's was also the site of a memorial service for Alexander Hamilton in 1803 after he was killed in his duel with Aaron Burr. Yes, you can actually stand in the "room where it happened," as they sing in the play, Hamilton (unlike the City Tavern at Second and Walnut where Hamilton, Washington, et. al., supposedly hoisted a few - its not the original building). Check each church’s websites for days and times when you can see the interior of these historic buildings

So come back in the winter!

If you are visiting during the summer, you’ll miss the snow, which creates a magical landscape in these graveyards. In the fall, giant osage oranges fall from the trees and smash on the headstones! These pounders must really hurt if you get struck on the noggin by one, but the squirrels do love them. They go nutso in a wild squirrel-nut orgy eating the pants off these citrus-scented fruits. The grounds are open year-round in both these graveyards and I would suggest you come back to see the Christmas lights and other decorations. One of the oldest cemeteries in the city, Palmer Burial Ground (est. 1732) in the Fishtown neighborhood (a few miles from Old City) has a lovely live pine tree in front of the bier house which is decorated each year for Christmas. Neighborhood tree-lighting ceremonies have been held in the past.

Palmer Burial Ground, Fishtown neighborhood, Philadelphia

Read my prior two blogs in the "America 250" series:

Philadelphia Cemeteries that Mark Our Nation's 250th Birthday - Part 1

and 

Philadelphia Cemeteries that Mark Our Nation's 250th Birthday - Part 2 

References and Further Reading:

https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/subjects/religion-faith/

https://www.stpetersphila.org/

https://christchurchphila.org/visit/

https://oldpine.org/history/historic-colonial-churchyard/ 

 https://www.stpetersphila.org/about-st-peters/history/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-national-parks-slavery-exhibits-b2998525.html 

https://ornamento.blog/2025/09/04/a-journey-through-time-at-st-peters-church-philadelphia

https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/860254-indian-chiefs-in-st-peter-s-yard

Philadelphia Cemeteries that Mark Our Nation's 250th Birthday - Part 2

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed. Two hundred and eighty-six years ago (in 1740), Congregation Mikveh Israel was established – and with it, the first Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia. The small burial ground is one of about twenty colonial-era cemeteries in Philadelphia that exist as they did when America’s founders walked this land.

As you peer through the black iron gate onto the small, quarter-acre property, you get a more visceral sense of history than if you were walking past, say, the Liberty Bell. This is the actual ground that America’s founders walked on, actual headstones that thousands of Philadelphians have touched over the centuries. Unlike some other “historic” landmarks in this city (like the fake Betsy Ross grave in front of the fake Betsy Ross House), these cemeteries have intense historic significance as tangible artifacts of our proud past.

There are in fact three Mikveh Israel cemeteries, the oldest being on Spruce Street, between Seventh and Eighth streets, directly across from the oldest hospital in America, Pennsylvania Hospital (which has a newly opened museum, by the way!). How this cemetery came to be established is an interesting story. Nathan Levy (who is buried here) was a Philadelphia merchant who petitioned the William Penn Family (Royal Proprietors of Pennsylvania) for a piece of ground to bury one of Levy’s children (in 1738). In 1740, Levy established the space as a cemetery for Jews. This was not unusual at the time. There were no public cemeteries then – they were either private family burial grounds, potters' fields, or the graveyards of churches of various denominations (Protestant and Quaker, mostly, and a few Catholic).

Eli Gabay, Parnas (an ancient term used amongst Sephardic Jews) of Mikveh Israel, points out that the cemetery was declared by Congress as a national shrine [in 1956].  He adds that amongst those buried in the cemetery are the Jewish soldiers who fought shoulder to shoulder with General George Washington.  "Let us not forget that the Jewish community of Philadelphia through this 'Synagogue of the American Revolution' fought bravely for the establishment of these United States from the very beginning."

The cemetery is part of Independence National Historical Park and is within easy walking distance of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The cemetery will be part of the Interfaith Philadelphia Religious Freedom Walk that has been organized for this summer, so do stop by to see it as you walk through the area (ref.).

Mikveh Israel Synagogue, 44 N. Fourth Street, Philadelphia

The people buried in Mikveh Israel were members of Mikveh Israel Congregation, the “Congregation of the American Revolution.” The congregation was formed in 1740 by Jewish Spanish and Portuguese immigrants when Nathan Levy began to hold services in his home. He was a merchant whose ship the Myrtilla, was thought to have brought the Liberty Bell to America from England in 1752 (but they probably didn’t call it “The Liberty Bell” at the time, so as not to tip off the Brits!).

One wishes that photographs existed to show what these monuments and gravestones looked like when new – or at least the ones that were carved and set after photography was invented (around 1830). Sadly, it didn’t occur to many photographers back then to photograph gravestones. Of course it was only black and white photography back then, right? So any such early photos would never have captured the beauty of these azaleas in the springtime. But wait, were there azaleas in America back then? Turns out there were! They were first brought to America from China around 1840, so it is possible that azaleas were planted here when the cemetery was established that same year!

The landscaping is well tended at Mikveh Israel Cemetery and I must pause here just to say that we all benefit from the efforts of people who work to maintain and preserve our historic cemeteries in Philadelphia. Of the 200 graveyards and cemeteries that were moved, destroyed, and buried throughout Philadelphia’s history, some still exist. Whenever one disappears, that chapter in the city’s history disappears. So it is truly a marvel and a testament to the tenacity of visionary people that twenty cemeteries actually exist that were here prior to 1776, with Mikveh Israel (the “Hope of Israel”) being one of them.

 “Send for Haym Salomon” – George Washington

A permanent resident of Mikveh Israel Cemetery is American patriot Haym Salomon, a financier who helped George Washington meet payroll for the soldiers under Washington’s command, so they would not desert. Because of this one action, Washington won the battle of Yorktown - the final battle of the Revolutionary War. This singular instance is but one example of the 250 years of Jewish contributions to our American story.

Salomon worked with Washington and Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finance of the United States, from 1781 to 1784 to finance the war effort. In 1781, Washington determined that he needed at least $20,000 for continued financing of the campaign. Washington wanted to lead his army from the Hudson Highlands (in New York) to Yorktown, Virginia to engage the trapped British army (led by Cornwallis). When Morris told him there were no funds and no credit available, Washington said, "Send for Haym Salomon." Salomon raised $20,000 through the sale of bills of exchange. With that contribution, Washington conducted the Yorktown campaign, which proved to be the final battle of the Revolution. Hence, Haym Salomon, patriot.

With regard to historically famous residents of the Mikveh Israel Burial Ground, the Gratz family may be a name more familiar to Philadelphians. Gratz College, the Gratz Building (Fifth and Spruce), Gratz Street, and so on.  – Hyman Gratz is buried here, the founder of Philadelphia’s Gratz College (which places its focus on Biblical and Talmudical study). 

Hyman’s sister Rebecca is of course, the cemetery’s most esteemed resident. Perhaps you’ve not heard of her? Let’s change that, then.

Rebecca Gratz 

Rebecca Gratz portrait at the Rosenbach

I took a special interest in Rebecca Gratz’ grave, as I was quite the fan of Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe (1819). The heroine in this novel, Rebecca, is patterned after Rebecca Gratz (1781 – 1869). “The leading American Jewish woman of the nineteenth century, Rebecca Gratz founded several organizations that poignantly defined American Jewish public life for years to come and helped move women to the center of that life” (Ref.). 

Rebecca Gratz exhibit at the Rosenbach Museum and Library

A friend of the Gratz family, author Washington Irving, extolled Rebecca’s virtues to fellow author Walter Scott, who created the character “Rebecca” for his novel around 1817. By that time, Rebecca (who was the first Jewish female college student in the United States, having attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) was seen as “gentle, benevolent, and accomplished … she soon became the centre of a brilliant circle of men and women of all denominations.” As a philanthropist, Rebecca Gratz established the Philadelphia Orphans Asylum (1815) and co-founded the Female Association for Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances (1800). The latter provided assistance to women whose families had suffered economically during the American Revolution - one of the first of its kind in America.

Daughter Olivia, back in 2018

My daughter Olivia owes her Sunday mornings spent in Hebrew School to Rebecca Gratz, as Gratz was the person who instituted the practice of religious education for Jewish children. In 1838 she founded the Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia (at Mikveh Israel), “based on the pedagogy of Isaac Leeser” (the pioneering champion of written Jewish Orthodoxy, who is buried in Mikveh Israel’s West Philadelphia cemetery, at 55^th and Market Streets). Leeser and Gratz supported each others’ work in Jewish education, starting the Jewish Sunday school movement within the Mikveh Israel Congregation (ref.). This became the first such organization in America and served as the model for others like it, such as the school my daughter has attended for years at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia.

Rebecca Gratz' stone, before cleaning

In 1906, Mary M. Cohen wrote in the City History Society of Philadelphia:

 “I stood the other day by her forgotten grave in the little grass-grown Jewish cemetery on Spruce Steet and read the simple inscription on the tomb – ‘Rebecca Gratz, born March 4, 1781, Died August 29, 1869.’ … ‘Forgotten’ grave? Oh no! Far from it! Never would the grave of one of the noblest and most distinguished of Hebrew women of the land be forgotten by her kindred or her grateful fellow believers!”

You can still read the inscription, barely. The marble has eroded to the point where it can no longer really be cleaned. In 1959, on the 90th anniversary of Gratz’ death, a bronze memorial plaque was attached to the brick wall at the head of her burial plot. 

My friend Robert Reinhardt's hand, assisting in the cleaning

Rebecca’s large marble crypt cover is weathered but the more recently placed marker of polished granite lent itself to gentle cleaning with a soft brush, soap, and water. Since plans are for Mikveh Israel Cemetery to be open to the public around the July Fourth holiday this year, I thought it would be a good idea to clean this newer gravemarker. It was barely readable in April of 2026 when I visited. A few weeks later, I returned to clean the stone.

Rebecca Gratz at Rosenbach

The artist Thomas Sully painted this remarkable portrait of Gratz, which was recently on loan to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and is now back with its owner, the Rosenbach Library and Museum in Philadelphia. It hangs in the Gratz family parlor at the Rosenbach, along with other portraits and pieces of the family’s furniture. And if period furniture interests you, Congregation Mikveh Israel is preparing a “Gratz Room” that will be open to visitors this summer at the Synagogue (44 N 4th Street). This is on Independence Mall, so if you are strolling by Ben Franklin’s post office on Market Street, do stop by the synagogue to see the portraits and other artifacts from the Gratz estate. History is so much more interesting when it is tangible, you know? Like when you can see yourself reflected in said history, as I’m reflected in this actual mirror in which Rebecca saw herself.

Our Shared American History

Gratz' mirror at the Rosenbach

Having a tangible link to our shared past is a strong catalyst to understanding our history, ourselves, and the role we play in creating that history. For 250 years, we’ve struggled with that line in the Declaration of Independence, the one about all men being created equal. Our forefathers espoused the ideals of freedom, liberty, and equality while owning slaves and engaging in religious persecution. Today, we tear down the historic reminders of slavery from the site of George Washington’s former home in Philadelphia, within Independence National Historic Park.

Gratz room at the Rosenbach

The nation’s 250th birthday comes at a rather inconvenient time, when respect for human life does not seem to be a popular notion in America. As a result, I am reminded of a quote related to the current restoration of Har Hasetim Burial Ground, the formerly abandoned Jewish cemetery in the woods of Gladwyne, PA.  Rabbi Beth Kalisch (of Beth David Reform Congregation, the new owners of the cemetery) said, “Restoring the cemetery is a way of affirming that each person buried there matters, even if we don’t know their name… we live in a world that so desperately needs the reminder of how valuable every single human life is.” - Beth David Rabbi Beth Kalisch, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 28, 2022

So as you stroll past Mikveh Israel Cemetery this summer, pause. Look inside. Consider how this 250th birthday may be an opportunity to put into action what our forefathers wrote on paper. They were somewhat hypocritical, so perhaps we should consider the Declaration of Independence as a goal, one that we’ve not fully attained, or lived up to yet. Alexander Hamilton called us (in 1787), “The American Experiment.” Why? Because the founders really did not know if a democracy on this scale would work. It does seem that it has worked reasonably well for nearly 250 years --- the goal being, as Hamilton stated, to be able to govern ourselves without a king.  

Click here for Parts 1 and 3 in this series!

https://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2026/02/philadelphia-cemeteries-that-mark-our.html

https://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2026/06/philadelphia-cemeteries-that-mark-our_01700527249.html

Further general information:

https://www.mikvehisrael.org/

https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/roman-catholic-church-and-catholics/

https://legalclarity.org/what-was-the-american-experiment-and-is-it-over/

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=81984

https://jewishaction.com/cover-story/isaac-leeser-1806-1868-champion-of-orthodoxy/

https://www.gratz.edu/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haym_Salomon

https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/liberty-and-freedom-religion-america

For a more detailed account of Rebecca Gratz’ life, please see:

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gratz-rebecca

https://books.google.com/books?id=9sHVsA2dfHkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rebecca-Gratz

Also, my friend Joe Lex created a wonderful podcast entitled, “Mary S. Costanza: Finding a Glimmer of Light in the Darkness,” in which he covers the Gratz family history.

https://www.aojd-online.net/tng/getperson.php?personID=I1839&tree=tree1