The Cemetery Traveler

Saturday, August 8, 2026

Philadelphia Cemeteries that Mark Our Nation's 250th Birthday - Part 4

Gloria Dei Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia

I must thank my readers for prompting me to write about the graveyards associated with the first churches of Philadelphia! I swear this was next on my list. Of course I will discuss Old Swedes Gloria Dei in the Queen Village neighborhood - this is actually a few blocks from where I live and therefore a place I visit often!

But first, lets talk about the settlement of Philadelphia. I thank historian Tom Keels for sparking my initial interest in Philadelphia’s original burial grounds with his wonderful book, Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries (Arcadia, 2003). As Keels says, the city’s 18th century cemeteries spanned its residents’ social hierarchy from “the elegant obelisks and table tombs of Christ Church [est. 1733] to the unmarked trenches of Strangers Burial Ground" [a potters field, established in 1706 in what is now Washington Square Park at Fifth and Walnut Streets – yes, there are thousands of people buried under that park!]

Washinton Square Park, 5th and Walnut, Philadelphia (former potters field)

Burial grounds in 1700s Philadelphia consisted of those associated with churches or synagogues, private family burial grounds, and public cemeteries (Potters’ Fields). I’ll cover the latter two categories in an upcoming blog post, but for now, we’ll focus on churches and their adjacent graveyards.

Early 1700s gravemarkers, Old Swedes

The oldest church in Philadelphia, in fact the oldest in Pennsylvania, is Gloria Dei Old Swedes Church, which was built in 1698 (see black and white photo at top). The Swedes’ settlement on the Delaware River in what is now the city‘s Queen Village neighborhood (historically called Southwark) occurred in 1638, predating the establishment of the city itself (1682). The Old Swedes Church is actually the oldest original building surviving in Philadelphia (and in my opinion, its graveyard has the oldest standing gravemarkers (1708) in the city. Betsy Ross was married here in 1777. Imagine that! You can actually stand at the same altar, on the same marble floor on which she stood. There is a story that the lightning rod and cabling running down the building was installed by a company owned by Benjamin Franklin.

Old Swedes is about ten blocks south of Independence Hall, so if you’re visiting the area, it is a lovely walk down through the Society Hill and Queen Village neighborhoods. And these are neighborhoods in the truest sense – Philadelphia has an oddly high percentage of residential housing mixed in with commercial and historic properties.

Old St. Mary’s Church, with open graveyard entrance gate

Old St. Mary's Church

If you start your tour of historic Philadelphia near Independence Hall, and decide to head on down to Queen Village to see Old Swede’s, do make it a point to walk down Fourth Street, so that you pass Old St. Mary’s Church, at Fourth and Spruce. Its graveyard entrance is only about thirteen feet wide (the width of a typical rowhome in this city), and you might not even see it if you’re driving. You might not even see the massive church itself! Even though the church is not a rowhome (it is about the width of four rowhomes), it’s entrance directly borders the sidewalk on Fourth Street. This is a densely populated city, and you might be surprised that the churches and synagogues are typically not set back from the street separated by a green lawn like you see in the suburbs. Another interesting fact about the building is its unusual rear architectural design (see photo below). All rowhomes in Philly look alike from the front, but they can be wildly different once you get beyond that!

Visitors in Old St. Mary's Church graveyard

St. Mary’s graveyard entrance is bordered by a heavy black iron fence, directly to the right of the church. Its gate is open from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and is one of the city’s oldest burial grounds (it was established in 1759). Commodore John Barry, Father of the American Navy (whose statue you see on the giant pedestal behind Independence Hall), is buried here, along with many early Philadelphians. Signers of the Constitution, artisans, publishers, General George Meade’s grandfather George Meade, Jaqueline Kennedy’s great-great grandfather, Michael Bouvier (who was a renowned cabinet maker), are all buried here in this well-maintained graveyard that opens up into a large area behind the church. Helpful placards are placed throughout the graveyard to identify specific graves and to relate a bit of each person's contribution to our country's history.

Rear view of Old St. Mary’s Church and graveyard, Philadelphia

Grave placard, Old St. Mary's Cemetery

Old St. Joseph's Church

Old St. Mary’s was the second Roman Catholic church to open in Philadelphia, the first being Old St. Joseph Church (near Fourth and Walnut Streets), which was established in 1729 by the Jesuits. Both churches are still active and regularly celebrate mass. That said, open Roman Catholic worship was not tolerated in Philadelphia until 1734, when it was declared legal.

Catholics were discriminated against in the Colonies, and the religion was not tolerated by the Anglican Church (The Church of England). Catholics had to worship and hold mass in secret. In fact, this fascinating bit of history from The Old St. Joseph Church website tells us that the “Church of England was established by law in Maryland in 1702, an Act to Prevent the Spread of Popery was passed in 1704, and Catholics were fully disenfranchised in 1718…” Jesuit missionaries as a result began moving operations to the more religiously tolerant Pennsylvania.

By the summer of 1734, the matter of a public Mass was brought before the Provincial Council in Philadelphia, where it was reported (ref.) that there was “no small concern to hear that a House lately built in Walnut Street [at Third Street, the site of the current Old St. Joseph Church] was sett apart for the Exercise of the Roman Catholick Religion and it is commonly called the Romish Chappell, where Mass [is] openly celebrated by a Popish priest contrary to the Laws of England.”

“After deliberations by the Council, the civil and religious freedom set out in Penn’s Charter of Privileges – the constitution of the colony – took precedence over the Penal Laws of England, and the chapel [what became Old St. Joseph Church] remained, a testament to Penn’s ‘Holy Experiment.’“

St. Michael's Church and graveyard, Germantown

St. Michael's, Germantown Ave.

St. Michaels's Church

While the Jesuits were fighting religious persecution in center city, and the Swedes were eating cheese steaks in south Philly, the Germans were settling an area north of the city, which would become Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood. St. Michael’s Lutheran Church (6671 Germantown Avenue) was founded in 1728 and its graveyard is fascinating – if only for this reason: Christopher Ludwick is buried here: George Washington’s Baker General to the Continental Army!

Christopher Ludwick, Baker General!

Someone had to bake the bread to make cheese steaks to feed the army, right? Did you know there was such a person?! You can still stroll the cemetery grounds, but the church actually closed in 2016. Many veterans of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and the Civil War are buried here, as is Jacob Hinkle. What, you don’t know Jacob Hinkle? Why, he built the Mermaid Inn in Chestnut hill in 1746! The Inn still boasts a rousing folk music jam on a regular basis.

Another view of Ludwick's large table grave in front of St. Michael's Church

Tour guide with open gate, Hood Cemetery

Hood Cemetery

If you’re touring Philadelphia, and you want to check out Germantown (or “Freedom’s Backyard” as HistoricGermantownPa.org calls it), you can buy something called the OnePass this summer, which grants you access to nine historic Germantown sites. Available through August (2026), the $43 pass allows you access to historic buildings, but alas no graveyards. The Hood Cemetery (est. 1692) at 4910 Germantown Avenue, is actually on the tour map, but you need special access to get through its unusual keyhole-shaped entryway. While scaling the stone wall is possible, you really shouldn’t - you might injure yourself or the fragile grave markers. This small burial ground has 58 Revolutionary War soldiers buried here, fighters from the Battle of Germantown. It is one of a few secular burial grounds established in Philadelphia during the Colonial era, i.e., it was not associated with any church or religion. It was mainly for Germantown residents.

A most unusual grave marker in Hood Cemetery is the highly personalized zinc 1876 marker for Mary Ann, who died, tragically, when she was hit by a train. Odd that in this year of the semiquincentennial, 150 years later, people still get hit by trains. However, it is not odd to find a grave this recent in a cemetery this old. While Hood Cemetery is relatively small and it had been established 184 years before Mary Ann died, it seems they found space for one more. There is even a grave marker from 1937, which is about the time they stopped burying people here. Harrowgate, by the way, is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, in the Frankford area. The helpful tour guides explained to me that the accident occurred in Germantown, so that may be why the girl is not buried closer to home.

This gem of an historic burying ground goes by other names (aka Upper Burial Ground and Axe’s Burial Ground); it was renamed Hood after William Hood donated money in 1850 to have the massive marble entryway and front marble fencing wall installed. The site can be visited on the Second Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., from May through October. Gates are just open and the well-informed tour guides will let you just wander. throughout, if you like Check out their website:programs@historicgermantownpa.org.

Link to purchase

Old Swedes Gloria Dei Church

I think I want to end this piece with a bit more about Old Swedes and its graveyard. I do include it in my latest book, Abandoned and Forgotten Cemeteries of Philadelphia and its Environs (America Through Time, 2025), as an example of one of the twenty oldest burial grounds in Philadelphia that has NOT disappeared! There are literally 200 unmarked burial grounds under the streets, playgrounds, and parking lots of the city! You can see the names and locations of these properties that have been buried or forgotten on the website of the Philadelphia Archeological Forum (link). It is nothing short of a miracle that about twenty burial grounds are still intact. Old Swedes is one of those gems.

Not only is the burial ground still active, but the church itself is a vibrant part of the neighborhood. Like Old St. Mary’s and Old St. Joseph’s, masses are still regularly celebrated. The graveyard and the church’s adjoining dog park are open all the time, and neighbors are always about enjoying the green space. Not just parishioners – everyone. Their community outreach is rather unorthodox – I give you, the “Sexton Sideshow.” The what? That’s what they call it. There is intense community involvement with events on the grounds, midnight mass at Christmas, and concerts in the church. The press is local, so you need to see the handbills posted on the telephone poles in the neighborhood to see what’s going on. But word gets around quickly. The church is packed for the annual one-man presentation of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar!

Grave of Capt. Morris, Old Swedes Church

Each December, come have a beer in the church hall, mingle with your in-the-know neighbors, then file through the graveyard of sea captains and Swedish settlers into the church for a live musical performance of the movie, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, all presented by local musicians! You really get that old-time church revival feeling here when you’re singing along with a hundred of your closest friends, Will the Circle Be Unbroken and In the Jailhouse Now. The church is so small and the acoustics so perfect, the musicians need little amplification - the experience is stirring. The early Philadelphia churches are still alive and well.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? performance, Gloria Dei Church

Conclusion

And just like that, we make it to the end of another America 250 post, where we visit the Philadelphia burial grounds that were established prior to 1776, and are still with us. It is a powerful thing to remember that these sacred spaces don’t simply still exist. They remain with us because of the ongoing efforts of fiercely dedicated people who value their past, don't cover it up, and want it to live on. In this way, we make history every day.

Grave in Old St. Mary's Church graveyard, Philadelphia

In the book, Pleasure Grounds of Death (University of Michigan Press, 2024), Joy Giguere tells us that the communities that grew during America’s Colonial period “had their origins in the seventeenth century, during which time British, Dutch, and German colonists had created churchyards and common burial grounds for the dead based on Old World practices.” As we continue to explore the people and ideas behind our country’s origins, it becomes obvious how important immigration has been to this nation’s success. You can’t un-ring that bell.

References and Further Reading:

https://www.old-swedes.org/pages/history

https://www.oldstjoseph.org/18th-century

https://www.phillyarchaeology.net/

https://historicgermantownpa.org/

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Cemetery Memories and Joey Ramone

The grave of punk rock legend Joey Ramone (aka Jeff Hyman)

As I attempted to snap a photo with my iPhone of the zinc Civil War soldier's grave marker I just stumbled upon in Palisades Cemetery, I got the dreaded warning that I was out of memory space! I ended up dicking around with my phone to free up space so I could capture more photos, along with some videos. (As an aside, if you’ve never heard the song Dick Around by the rock band Sparks, you need to listen to it here!

If you’ve never experienced such frustration, I envy you. It is not something you want to deal with in ninety-degree heat, or if you’ve just travelled a hundred miles to take photos (or both). This in fact occurred not twenty minutes from the time I first pulled into this cemetery, after finding that the memory card in my old Olympus PEN E-P1 (micro four-thirds) digital camera was full.

Palisades Cemetery, Weehawken, NJ

I had slammed on the brakes in the shade of a tree just as I pulled in through the entrance gate, as there was a gorgeous mausoleum here with a marble angel statue on top. I have a 200mm telephoto zoom on this camera, which I brought for this specific purpose (you can’t zoom to a distant object with a camera phone – the zoom is digital, not optical, so you lose resolution quickly). I screwed with the camera and card, thinking maybe the write protect switch had gotten moved, but just could not get it to accept an exposure. Dead in the water.

Gate relic of family plot, Palisades Cemetery

It was not like I could just go find a Walgreens and buy another SD card – I discovered a week ago that this camera is so old (2009 technology) that it’s internal processor can only handle a card with a maximum storage capacity of 16GB. I had filled up a card a couple weeks ago and was too lazy to download the images to my laptop, so I just ordered the cheapest, lowest capacity card available (120GB) online. This did not work. After the good folks at WebbCam (in Philadelphia) explained the problem to me, they sold me an old, used 8GB card, which worked fine. Kind of low capacity, and I hadn’t realized that I had filled it up so quickly. Standing in front of this mausoleum, it would not accept any new images. So, I threw the Olympus in the trunk and figured I would order some low-capacity SD cards when I got home.

Gabba Gabba Hey!

Palisades Cemetery in Weehawken, New Jersey (near the Meadowlands sports complex), was actually my second stop. It wasn’t even on my to-do list. I just stumbled upon it as I found it across the street from my actual destination, Weehawken Cemetery (it may actually be a part of Weehawken Cemetery, depending on whether you use Google Maps or the Find-a-Grave ap). There were several zinc monuments there, along with some dynasty plots still bordered with original Victorian-era metal gates and fencing (unusual to see this). First stop, and my primary destination, was New Mount Zion Cemetery in nearby Lyndhurst, NJ, to visit the grave of punk rock legend Joey Ramone (a.k.a. Jeff Hyman). Joey, vocalist for the band The Ramones, died in 2025. (His solo album, “Don’t Worry About Me,” is wonderful, by the way, in case you’ve never heard it. In fact, he’s recorded the best version of What a Wonderful World in the known galaxy! Click to hear.)

Joey (Jeff) Ramone (Hyman)'s dad, Noel

Joey is buried in the New York Social Club plot in Lyndhurst's New Mount Zion Cemetery. New Mount Zion occupies the southern quarter of Hillside Cemetery (which also has several zinc monuments). Joey's dad, Noel, is buried next to Joey. Noel's companion was Nancy Lerner ("My Beloved Nancy"), and Noel's wife Charlott Mandell Lesher - also buried in this cemetery - was Joey's mom.

So I wanted to find Joey’s grave, pay my respects, and make a few photos and videos, which I did. There were a few interesting things in Hillside Cemetery (several zinc monuments), and there is a great diner near the Orient Way entrance to the cemetery, Colonial Diner, if you need a quick bite or a pit stop. You can almost picture the Ramones crammed into one of the red booths here in 1976, right? Jersey diners are the best!

When I left Palisades Cemetery to head over to the Meadowlands, I realized I never even went to Weehawken Cemetery across the street! Ah well, it didn’t really look that interesting. When I mapped out this area, my goal was first and foremost, Joey’s grave, and then any Victorian-era cemetery in the area. There appeared to be three over by the Meadowlands, a few miles away – Weehawken, Flower Hill, and Hoboken cemeteries. So off to Hoboken Cemetery in North Bergen, New Jersey, I drove – knowing full well that I had little or no media on which to record anything. I hadn’t even brought a film camera!

If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Maybe all the gods just hated me that day. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope." However, I think I just screwed up. I was ill-prepared. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Gabba, gabba, hey. Had I taken to heart the words of the great philosopher Charles Manson, “Total paranoia is total awareness,” I would have been better off. Would have checked the storage space on all my gear, battery life, and so on. I already knew that I had run out of film last week, so I didn’t even bring my Leica SLR film camera. Sigh. So with all this poor planning in mid-July, 2026, I drove two hours from Philadelphia in an attempt to blitz several cemeteries in North Jersey.

Hoboken Cemetery, NJ

After leaving Palisades, I hit these other nearby cemeteries that definitely warranted more time and memory than I had. Almost every image I shot at Flower Hill Cemetery had to be preceded by my freeing up iPhone storage by deleting aps or text messages with image files attached. Certainly sucked the joy out of exploring these new places. Hoboken Cemetery, next to the opulent gorgeousness of Flower Hill, was in poor condition. The grass was cut, but the tombstones were knocked over, the bronze elk from the B.P.O.E. (Elks) monument had either been removed or stolen – the place was kind of desolate and in a shambles. Not to mention mountainous.

Pyramid mausoleum, Flower Hill Cemetery

Missing Bronze Elk

To say that Flower Hill and Hoboken cemeteries were built into a hillside is a rather mild description of these steep properties. The land grades up almost immediately after you enter either property by their separate Tonnelle Avenue entrances. I didn’t realize that I entered both from the rear (pun intended) until I drove up the steeply hilled properties to the upper ridge of Flower Hill where the magnificent mausoleums sat (right off John F. Kennedy Boulevard). I spent about a half hour walking amidst these structures with their amazing stained glass windows, statuary, and sculpted granite sphinxes. I realized I should have brought my Canon G11 point-and-shoot zoom camera to get better images of these amazingly colorful windows. Not bringing that super versatile pocket camera was not just stupid, it was stupid on stilts. Sigh.

Mausoleum window, Flower Hill

So in actuality, it seems that you enter Hoboken Cemetery from its main entrance off Tonnelle Avenue, but you should enter Flower Hill from it's main entrance on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. The dark green Flower Hill gatehouse is quite a lovely piece of architecture itself – I did not get a photo as I only noticed it as I was leaving - and a funeral procession was entering at the same time I was trying to merge into the steady stream of traffic. As I shot by a White Castle burger joint, I lamented having gotten that tuna hoagie at Colonial Diner. I LOVE White Castle burgers!

I am contemplating a trip back here at some point, but honestly, the traffic is so dense and congested in the area that it makes driving such a chore. I was there just two days before the FIFA World Cup Final soccer match was to be held at the Meadowlands – I could not image what the traffic would be like around here at that point! This entire area is close to the highway leading to the Lincoln Tunnel so I would strongly suggest visiting these places on a weekend. If you do so during a weekday, avoid being on the roads anytime during rush hour. Or during road construction. Or a traffic accident.

Intensely-designed fireman's monument, Flower Hill Cemetery

Pieta, Flower Hill

So much of my life revolves around memory. I photograph cemeteries, which is all about memory. I’m 65 years old, so I’ve got all my personal memories. Plus there is recording media - memory! I remember decades ago standing in line at Best Buy with an armload of blank CDs, blank audio cassettes, and blank VHS tapes. I remember thinking at the time, “This is weird. I’m standing in line here ready to spend all this money on memory.” Twenty-five years later, its still all about memory. Why is the act of recording things so important to humans? What are the broader implications?

Maybe its to help us correct our future behavior. The liminal moments I experienced on this trip will hopefully benefit me – at least until I learn how to go back in time to warn myself about the future. How about I pack an extra memory card and free up space on my phone? Take a film camera for backup? Also, why is it that I always find myself driving past a White Castle burger joint when I’m not hungry? How about, on my next trip, I look for nearby White Castle fast food places ahead of time and plan to stop at one for lunch or dinner? Then, I'm guessing, all the world would be happier in relative terms and we can all join in singing the Ramones' We're a Happy Family! (Click link to listen.)

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Ace Frehley's Grave

What would a Fourth of July celebration be without fireworks? And what better fireworks display to witness than Ace Frehley’s 2007 Dunkin Donuts television commercial? Easily one of the best television commercials EVER, assuming you’re a KISS fan. Here’s a link to the commercial on YouTube, to refresh your memory.

Still from Ace Frehley Dunkin Donuts commercial (2007)

If you’ve ever attended a KISS concert, you know that pyrotechnics were a big part of the band’s stage show. Firepots, explosions, flashing lights were de rigueur, and Ace Frehley, the lead guitarist, had his guitar rigged up to shoot sparks! It’s difficult not to feel all that excitement standing in front of Ace’s final resting place. This past June, I visited his crypt at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NYC.

Ace, or rather Paul Frehley, died in 2025. He was 74 years old. Hard to picture him at 74. The first time I saw him perform with KISS was in 1974, when he was just 23. That’s kind of how I pictured him for many years, face made up in his painted-on mask, spaceman costume, sunburst 3-pickup Les Paul, and more swagger than you could possibly imagine. The epitome of a lead guitarist in a dynamic rock band. Of course, none of the band members ever appeared to age, as they performed with the same painted faces for many years. Time is a challenging dimension.

Fans leave offerings, as you can see in my photos. No graffiti, all very tasteful. I brought an old guitar pick of mine, which I left on the artificial blue rose someone had left standing against his crypt cover. The pick was one I’d had since the 1970s, so it had the relevance of bringing me back to an era when I first saw KISS in 1974.

Here’s a short Instagram video of me placing the pick. I was rather shocked at how many “likes” I got when I posted this the day after I shot it. My IG feed (@mourningarts) is all cemetery-related images and videos. I typically get about 54 likes on each of my daily posts, mainly from cemetery nerds like me. The day I posted this video, I got 3,316 likes! A few days later, this was up to 8,855. Obviously, Ace touched a number of lives in his career with KISS and then as a solo artist after that. I have nothing but respect for the man.

Many people (literally hundreds) commented on the video in the first days it was posted, and most comments were positive and appreciative. A few people took issue with the fact that I left a Fender pick, thinking it was an insult to Ace, who mainly played Gibson electric guitars. The KISS Army is not to be trifled with. I’ve been playing guitar since around 1970, and I’ve never seen a Gibson guitar pick. I see them now on the Internet, but I’ve never seen one in real life or in a guitar store for sale. So, to be clear, this was not meant as an insult. My pick just had sentimental value to me.

When I saw KISS the first time in September 1974 in a theater in Wilkes-Barre, PA, they were an opening act for Blue Oyster Cult. I was a huge fan of both bands, mainly as a result of buying their records (KISS had just released their first album) and reading about them in Creem magazine. KISS appeared on Don Kirchner’s Rock Concert and ABC’s In Concert, the late night concert television shows that pre-dated MTV, so people did have some idea of how wild their stage show was. As an aside, there was actually a lesser-known act that opened that show before KISS came on – they were a three-piece Canadian noise band called Rush. They had just released their first album as well, but the audience didn’t care. Rush was pretty bad – Led Zeppelin wannabes. Who knew that Rush would evolve into one of the world's most popular and successful prog bands?

I had to sneak off to that show. I was 15 at the time and my parents did not want me to go, since I couldn’t even tell them when the show would end (concerts did not have 11 p.m. legal curfews then as they do now, so shows ran to all hours). I don’t recall the details, exactly, but I seem to remember “going to bed early,” climbing out the window of my second-floor bedroom, shimmying down the rain gutter, and walking the four miles to the Paramount Theater in Wilkes-Barre! I had to go - after all, I had already purchased the $6.00 concert ticket! I reversed the procedure after the show, getting home who knows when, with my parents never knowing that I was gone. Not quite as exciting as the movie, Detroit Rock City, but it was a coming-of-age adventure for me nonetheless!

That year KISS’s popularity grew so fast that they returned as headliners to the same theatre in Wilkes-Barre only two months later (December, 1974). I went to this show as well, this time with my brother Tim (who provided some of these show date facts). As I said, concerts did not have a hard stop at 11 p.m. back then, and I seem to remember this one running past 1:00 a.m.!

Garden Conservatory Mausoleum

Finding Ace’s final resting place was nearly as challenging as getting to that first KISS concert. Once I found out he was a resident, I needed to visit. After a few attempts on the Internet to locate him, I saw that he was in a community mausoleum. Woodlawn has four of these, so I needed to do more searching. To add to the confusion, his parents are interred in a different community mausoleum in Woodlawn, and I believe there was some speculation that Ace’s body was placed in an unmarked crypt below those of his parents. However, Ace resides in the Garden Conservatory Mausoleum. He’s a bit difficult to find, this being a large building. Based on some photos I found on the Internet posted by previous visitors, I was able to find him after about twenty minutes of searching. Through the front doors, past the other spaceman (the white marble angel in the center of the building), and toward a rear corridor of the building. For video guidance to Ace’s crypt, you can watch this video, which I found after I visited, unfortunately. Would have saved me some time.

So why all the fuss? Why do fans want to visit? Why are they so intrigued by the video I posted? Most likely, these are people - from all over the world - whose lives were touched in some way by Ace. And visiting his grave, albeit vicariously, is a way to thank him and pay their respects. There are a lot of famous people at Woodlawn who I did not visit. I’m not a celebrity stalker. But I did visit the graves of a few well-known people whose work touched my life in some way. One of whom was Dorothy Parker, who lived in New York in the 1920s and was a theater critic. Her finely crafted prose was clever and often biting. I think of her line almost every morning when I walk into work and ask myself, “What fresh hell is this?” So of course, I visited her grave.

If you visit Ace, or any grave at Woodlawn, do be respectful. There may be mourners there visiting their loved ones, and people grieve in their own way. When I was in the Garden Conservatory Mausoleum, an old guy was slow dancing in front of a crypt while holding his cell phone, which was playing Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” Music is often such a big part of our lives, and our memories. My brother Tim found this YouTube video of a fellow who visited Ace's final resting spot recently. He mentions some of his own reminiscences in the video and also leads you through the confusing hallways of the mausoleum right to Ace, which would be helpful should you want to stop in and pay your respects to this talented artist.

Rock ‘n’ Roll all Nite, Ace.

Monday, June 29, 2026

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.