Our Cemetery

Part of the present-day cemetery was believed to be an old Native American burial ground.  Colonial settlement took hold here in Rockaway, Morris County New Jersey, around the year 1720, and considerable business formed around 1730 with the building of the Job Allen Sr. Iron Works.   Tradition states that this particular spot was selected as a burial ground by the earliest families.  On March 2, 1758, the Presbyterian Church was founded and organized. The first Meeting House constructed of wood, was built in 1758-60, primarily by Job Allen Sr.   Job Allen Jr.  would complete the construction of the Meeting House some 36 years later in 1794.  The present church sanctuary was built in 1832. 

The original church property consisted of 10 acres and 30 perch, which used to cover property west of Wall Street, and also included property across the street from the present church.  Some of the earliest settlers whose grave sites are unknown and forgotten can be under the large church parking lot or even under some of the cemetery roads. 

On September 27th, 1773, David Beaman: a founding member, deacon, chorister, elder of the Rockaway Presbyterian Church, was voted "to take care of the burying yard, to tell people where to bury their dead, and to advertise it through the parish." This makes him the first sexton at the Rockaway Presbyterian Church. Ironically, David Beaman is buried in a grave that was never marked. He passed away in 1802 and has a cenotaph in the cemetery. Thomas Conger became sexton in 1797. Revolutionary War veteran, David Gordon, became sexton in 1802. People used to call him "the old sexton." His broken tombstone bears the same inscription. He held the position as sexton for over 30 years. He died in 1852 at the age of 92 years and 10 months. In 1832 William Wear became the sexton for the "new church", having "the privilege of tilling and pasturing the graveyard." After his service there was Silvanus Howell in 1840, in 1845 Samuel Garrigus, then John B. Kelsey and Fredrick Star, then David Hamilton in 1858, Joseph H. Beach in 1864, then John Gordon Mott (David Gordon's grandson) in 1875, who held the position for an astounding 47 years! He was also the first sexton who kept accurate records. He was assisted by William Rogers and Peter Beatty in the last few years of his tenure. Peter Carlyon followed John Gordon Mott in 1923 retiring in 1955. 

The oldest gravestone is dated April 8th, 1762.  David Estill lost his beloved wife Mary at the age of 24 years. 

There  are estimated to be 47 Revolutionary War veterans buried here,  including a Hessian Soldier named Leopold Zindle (d. 1821), some  accounts say around 100 people buried here participated in the  conflict.  The Morris County- New Jersey Militia’s highest ranking  officer, Brigadier General William Winds is buried in the small knoll  behind the church.  He was also elected as one of three delegates from  Morris County to the New Jersey Convention which ratified the  Constitution of the United States for the state of New Jersey in 1788.   He died in 1789. 

There are 16 War of 1812 veterans interred in  the cemetery, 6 War of 1812 "peace time era" service members of the  Morris County N.J. Militia, 132 Civil War veterans, 13 Spanish American  War veterans, 89 WWI veterans, as of December 2021 there are 168 WWII  veterans, 41 Korean War veterans, 20 Vietnam War veterans resting in peace.  There are approximately 7,000 people interred in the cemetery. 

In  1861 - 1865 the cemetery was surveyed and plotted, and walkways and  roads were constructed.  In 1933 part of George W. Stickle’s will was  bequeathed to the cemetery.  Part of the money was used to erect the  iron spiked fence that surrounds half of the property.