Extinct churches and closed cemeteries

I am one of those people who actually enjoy visiting cemeteries. I like doing tombstone rubbings and hunting down that elusive ancestor. With the virtual advancements of recent years, research has become easier but not always as exciting. Today I had an exciting moment! I found my husband's great great grandfather's first marriage information.

Leopold Cousault married Mary Canon on 3 July 1832 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Southwark, Philadelphia(1). The church was located below 3rd Street at Catherine Street. The church no longer exists sadly, according to Edwin Rivera's article on the church. The Episcopal Diocese closed because of declining membership in 1908, according to Rivera. Eventually the building deteriorated and the City of Philadelphia finally condemened the property in 1914. The property is now known as the Friends of Mario Lanza Park.

The graves were removed to the Mount Moriah Cemetery, which also has closed. The cemetery was incorporated in 1855 along Cobbs Creek. The cemetery was considered a "rural cemetery" and for awhile enjoyed its prominent status. Mount Moriah Cemetery is a National Historic Landmark. It is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and was placed on Preservation Pennsylvania's Most Endangered Historic Properties List in 2004 and on The Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Endangered Properties List in 2005. Today it is closed for business. It no longer accepts new burials. It is located at 6201 Kingsessing Avenue. Leopold passed 18 June 1867 but I do not have a confirmation as to his burial location.

Leopold's second marriage was to a woman named Catherine. Leopold and Catherine gave birth to Charles E. Coursault. Charles (1859-1909) fathered Julia Cousault (1885-1945) who married Morgan Deyoe. Julia and Morgan gave issue to Dorothy who married Frank Eckman - my husband's father.

Sources:

(1) Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Comments

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he found hi

Living History Offers Opportunity to Step Back in Time

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to work the fields on a plantation during the Revolutionary War? Or stroll through an 18th century village? Or fight in battle during the Civil War? Living history offers an interactive perspective which incorporates historical activities and dress providing a sense of stepping back in time. So, how can YOU step back in time? Rock Ford volunteer Nancy Bradley in the Study of the mansion Rock Ford Plantation, in Lancaster County, PA, will be hosting a Volunteer Tour Guide Recruitment Event on Sunday, 22 March. They need tour guides for its upcoming tour season. Built circa 1794, Rock Ford was the home of Edward Hand and his family. Hand, an Irish immigrant and physician, served as Adjutant General to George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Volunteer tour guides at Rock Ford bring the past to life for museum visitors. A tour guide can be any person aged 18 years and up. No experience is necessary, and trainin

Genealogical Gems

Search This Blog