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    Greensboro's First Presbyterian Cemetery
    Greensboro's First Presbyterian Cemetery
    Greensboro's First Presbyterian Cemetery
    Ebook204 pages53 minutes

    Greensboro's First Presbyterian Cemetery

    By Carol Moore

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    Historic First Presbyterian Church Cemetery was established in 1831 and over time has survived vandalism, storms, an earthquake, and threats of removal. It is a lasting remembrance to the early citizens of Greensboro who carved a city out of the wilderness. Originally the cemetery was located on the edge of town, but because of Greensboro's growth, it is now nestled in the center of the cultural district behind the Greensboro Historical Museum. Those buried in the cemetery are from all walks of life-from wealthy to poor, those with doctorate degrees to the illiterate, the famous to those whose names are lost for all time, the newborn to the centenarian, the saint to the sinner, and the slave owner to the abolitionist. The early builders of the city and state and veterans of four wars now rest in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439617410
    Greensboro's First Presbyterian Cemetery
    Author

    Carol Moore

    Carol Moore is a writer and public speaker in Guilford County, North Carolina. She was awarded the Willie Parker Peace History Book Award by the North Carolina Society of Historians for her books, Greensboro's First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in 2006 and Greensboro's Confederate Soldiers in 2008. The United Daughters of the Confederacy presented her with a Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal in 2008 for her historical research and publications amongst other awards.

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      Book preview

      Greensboro's First Presbyterian Cemetery - Carol Moore

      BM.

      INTRODUCTION

      The First Presbyterian Church Cemetery was established in 1831 when Jesse Lindsay donated land to the First Presbyterian Church as a location to erect a house of worship. The deed listing approximately three quarters of an acre of land is dated 1833. The cemetery served as a public burial ground, a churchyard, and a family cemetery in the early days of its existence. The exact date of the first burial is not known, but it is known that Fannie Sloan Logan was the last interment in 1926. The cemetery has withstood the passage of time and serves today to give one a unique glimpse into the lives of the early citizens of Greensboro, North Carolina.

      The cemetery has withstood the ravages of nature. The earthquake of 1886 destroyed the Lindsay Street School located behind the cemetery. The windstorm damage through the years was surpassed by the 2002 ice storm that brought about the demise of century-old oak trees. Broken limbs came crashing down and damaged many monuments. These trees were so large that it was necessary to bring in a crane to remove many of the limbs.

      The cemetery has withstood many acts of vandalism dating back to 1904. It is recorded that five monuments were completely destroyed at that time. Weather destruction and vandalism is still evident in the cemetery today in the form of fractured gravestones.

      Through the years, many people have found comfort in the old cemetery. It is a place of tranquility, a place of meditation, and a sacred place. The cemetery touches persons from all walks of life. Even the homeless have frequented the cemetery and found a safe haven in which to rest a moment. Some of the senior citizens of Greensboro can recall visiting the cemetery and playing there as children. More recently, school children enjoy field trips to the cemetery.

      The First Presbyterian Church proudly maintains the cemetery. It appears that in every generation members of the church unite with concerned citizens of the community to perform maintenance on the cemetery. Records dating back to 1864 give insight into some of the problems besieging the cemetery, such as the need to maintain the walkways. Another old record tells of erecting a fence consisting of seasoned white oak to protect the cemetery. Currently the walkway and fencing are a great concern, and plans are underway to build better walkways. The cemetery is protected by a beautiful brick fence and three iron gates, which are locked in the evening.

      By reading the epitaphs, one will learn that many of the early citizens of Greensboro were immigrants looking for a better life in the United States. Though a Presbyterian cemetery one will find Episcopalians, Methodists, and other religious affiliations represented in the cemetery. A large number of the monuments have Bible verses carved upon them, thus lending insight into the deep religious beliefs of the citizens of 19th-century Greensboro.

      First Presbyterian Church Cemetery is unique in the fact that through time it has been left as it originally existed. Modern cemeteries or those that have been restored have monuments with the inscriptions facing the same direction in perfect rows, but in this cemetery one will find inscriptions facing east, west, north, and south. The reason for this uniqueness is rather puzzling; a possible explanation for the orientation of the stones is that it distinguishes one family from another.

      Popular in the cemetery is the enclosing of graves with edging or fencing. Headstones, footstones, and side rails are widely used in the graveyard. The total number of graves in the cemetery is not known to date, as several fallen stones have been covered in vegetation for years and have only recently been unearthed. There could possibly be as many as 375 graves. At the age of 175 years old, the cemetery is unique given the fact that it has not fallen victim to removal, as many inner-city cemeteries have.

      The cemetery has a wide array of gravestones including plaques, tablets, obelisks, shafts, columns, pedestal monuments, bedsteads, ledgers, box tombs, and a tree monument. The artisans who created the works of art in the form of gravestones are equally varied, with signatures such as Walsh, Couper, Robertson, Lauder, Leinbach, and Brown carved upon the stones. Local artisans are represented, though they did not sign their work. Monument inscriptions dating back to the 1830s are still legible, serving as examples of the expertise of the stone carvers.

      Wording on the stones is religious in nature, poetic, and prophetic. The stones range from massive works of art to simple soapstone markers with only an initial or two carved upon them. The cemetery is laid out in family plots mostly rectangular in shape. Several of the family plots are protected by ornate iron fencing decorated with finials. The monuments and fences are adorned with symbolic motifs.

      The cemetery offers a refuge not only to people but to wildlife. North Carolina’s state bird, the cardinal, is a regular visitor, as well as assorted butterflies and lizards. There is at least one resident rabbit and a multitude of squirrels.

      Plant life in the cemetery ranges from those naturally planted by nature to exotic tropical plants. The American holly tree in the cemetery is possibly the largest in North Carolina. The pine tree, North Carolina’s state tree, is represented in the cemetery as well as the state

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