New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones presents a culturally diverse account of New Jersey's historic burial places from High Point to Cape May and from the banks of the Delaware to the ocean-washed Shore, to explain what cemeteries tell us about people and the communities in which they lived.

This illustrated guidebook to New Jersey's old burial grounds is unique, not just for New Jersey, but for anywhere in America. Janice Kohl Sarapin introduces you to the history and lore of old graveyards. She shows you how to read epitaphs, how to date gravestones by style, how to restore an abandoned graveyard, and how to find out the stories of the people buried there. She describes more than 120 fascinating old burial grounds throughout the state (including the cemeteries of African-Americans, Jewish communities, and other ethnic and religious groups). She provides full directions and details about what makes each one special as well as suggestions for planning your visit and for educational activities to use with children and adults.

It has been almost two years since Part One of this series has been put together. I really enjoy visiting the old cemeteries in my spare time and learning from the people I meet. There are eleven more amazing graveyards to see in this volume, with most being located near a place of worship, like The Montville Reformed Church Cemetery which is still in use today, and some of them being tucked away in wooded areas far from site, like the "Early Newfoundland Cemetery," also known as the "Cuff Burying Ground," which is located next to the banks of the Pequannock River at the northern border of Morris County. The cemeteries and burial grounds we visit have been around since the 1700's and 1800's when the state was full of farmland and woods. Land owners would use a spot on their farm to bury their family members, others may have been buried near a church that was functioning at the time, but may no longer be in use today. The old farmland is disappearing, giving way to new homes and roads. So what happens to the cemeteries or family burial grounds? Some of them are in plain site on the side of the road, while others are off the beaten path hidden from view. The visible ones are usually fairly well maintained by a church, or a person who volunteers their own time to look after them, but the hidden ones are not as lucky. Many of them have simply been forgotten, lost in time, they are overgrown with brush, poison ivy and trees. Most of the tombstone names and writings have eroded away with time and have been damaged by falling tree limbs, wind, or vandalism over the years. These sacred places are in danger of being lost forever, some are already gone. Some heavily overgrown areas may be better visited in the colder months, but either way, dress appropriately with long pants and hiking boots, you don't want to encounter poison ivy, or ticks wearing shorts and flip-flops. Bring along some bug spray (deep woods off) and sunscreen when traveling off the beaten path in the warmer months. Be safe, and happy cemetery hopping!

When people think of archaeology, they commonly think of unearthing the remains of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Rome, Central or South America. But some fascinating history can be found in your own New Jersey backyard 3/4 if you know where to look. Richard Veit takes readers on a well-organized guided tour through four hundred years of Garden State development as seen through archaeology in Digging New Jerseys Past. This illustrated guidebook takes readers to some of the states most interesting discoveries and tells us what has been learned or is being learned from them. The diverse array of archaeological sites, drawn from all parts of the state, includes a seventeenth-century Dutch trading post, the site of the Battle of Monmouth, the gravemarkers of freed slaves, and a 1920s railroad roundhouse, among others. Veit begins by explaining what archaeologists do: How do they know where to dig? What sites are likely to yield important information? How do archaeologists excavate a site? How are artifacts cataloged, stored, and interpreted? He then moves through the states history, from the contact of first peoples and explorers, to colonial homesteads, Revolutionary War battlefields, cemeteries, railroads, and factories. Veit concludes with some thoughts about the future of archaeological research in New Jersey and with suggestions on ways that interested individuals can become involved in the field.

There are so many cemeteries and family burial grounds all over New Jersey, many of them have been around since the 1700's and 1800's when the state was full of farmland and woods. Land owners would use a spot on their farm to bury their family members, others may have been buried by a church that was functioning at the time, but may now be long gone. The farmland is also disappearing rapidly, giving way to new homes and roads. So what happens to the cemeteries or family burial grounds? Some of them are in plain site on the side of the road, while others are off the beaten path hidden from view. The visible ones are usually fairly well maintained by a church or a person who volunteers their own time to look after them, but the hidden ones are not as lucky. Many of them have simply been forgotten, lost in time. They are overgrown with brush, poison ivy and trees. Most of the tombstone names and writings have eroded away with time and have been damaged by falling tree limbs, wind, or vandalism over the years. These sacred places are in danger of being lost forever, some are already gone. The hustle and bustle of modern life goes on around them, yet most people don't know they exist, like "The Little Lost Cemetery" which is situated next to an on ramp to Interstate 287. Left over from an old orphanage and almost destroyed by the construction of the Interstate, until an organization took a stand to save it, and St Patricks' Cemetery that sits in an area that appears to be, "in the middle of nowhere", on top of a mountain in the woods of Rockaway. Some of the cemeteries listed require a bit of hiking, while others are very easy to get to. There are also veterans from different branches of the armed forces and different wars, such as World War 1 and the Revolutionary War. Multiple references were used to locate the cemeteries listed and I have personally visited each one in this book. I did not visit or document every cemetery in every town, I tried to focus on the older ones (1700 & 1800's) and the ones less obvious or visible.When visiting any cemetery remember to seek permission from any land owner where the cemetery resides on private property like The Luker Cemetery which is located in the backyard of a farm in Boonton, or the VanDuyne family burial ground in Towaco, which is on a small hill behind a house. Some heavily overgrown areas may be better visited in the colder months, but either way, dress appropriately. Be safe, and happy cemetery hopping!

It has been almost two years since Part One of this series has been put together.There are eleven more amazing graveyards to see in this volume, with most being located near a place of worship, like The Montville Reformed Church Cemetery which is still in use today, and some of them being tucked away in wooded areas far from site, like the “Early Newfoundland Cemetery”, also known as the “Cuff Burial Ground”, which is located next to the banks of the Pequannock River at the northern border of Morris County.The cemeteries and burial grounds we visit have been around since the 1700's and 1800's when the state was full of farmland and woods. The old farmland is disappearing, giving way to new homes and roads. So what happens to the cemeteries or family burial grounds? Many of them have simply been forgotten, lost in time. These sacred places are in danger of being lost forever, some are already gone.