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.

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