I’m looking forward to autumn when the weather is more conducive to cemetery exploration; it’s been too hot and humid these past couple months. In the meantime, I have a backlog of cemeteries to work through, including this one which I visited in mid-January of 2020.
From the road, this cemetery doesn’t seem particularly notable. A few rows of contemporary headstones are visible up front, and the wing of the church that faces Main Street only dates from 2000, but it would be a mistake to dismiss it as a generic modern graveyard. To be fair, their roadside sign does state “since 1735,” which suggests the presence of much older graves.
I was thrilled to find several beautiful headstones from the late 1700s. Besides the obvious dates (and some do not have a discernible year listed), they can typically be distinguished from their later counterparts by their angular, almost Romanesque lettering, and by the fact that most are created from local, humble stone. In my observation, starting around the turn of the 19th century, fashion shifted to prefer marble headstones, and black letter (what we now often refer to as “Gothic”) became the favored style of typography. This shift can be seen in this very graveyard. In fact, due to its continuous use, it serves as a cross section of stylistic trends in area cemetery art from the late 1700s to the present.
According to the
church’s website, there is even a burial mound in this cemetery, believed to house the remains of several Native Americans who attended services there. Although their site provides scant information, I think it’s likely they were members of the Lenape tribe, who are the original inhabitants of much of what is now southeastern Pennsylvania.
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Find A Grave
Two stones featuring winged soul effigies sit side by side. They belong to
Anna and
Leonhart Beytleman, a husband and wife, who both died in 1788. Their last names are also rendered elsewhere as Beutelmann and Beidelman. In my explorations, this motif is not common in my area of PA, and is more reminiscent of early New England gravestones. Although one has lichen growth that obscures some of the text, overall they remain in beautiful condition; their incised lines still crisp and legible. The same cannot be said of a lot of later marble stones, although this cemetery has a few well-preserved examples of those too. I’ve included multiple photos of this pair, including some in color, to try to convey how wonderful they are.
“So lang es Gott will” is written on the unusual headstone of
Maria Gserin. It features a large, circular design that reminds me of a spoked wheel, but I’m honestly not positive what it depicts. I believe it dates from 1783, if I’m reading the numbers on the corners outside the wheel correctly. Also included in this set are some of the oldest headstones I found in the cemetery from the late 1700s.
Some marble headstones, many featuring rosettes and/or sunburst details.
A selection of headstones adorned with funerary urns.
A last set of images from this graveyard, this time featuring my beloved willow trees, florals, and hands.
✣ 6639 N Main St Coopersburg, PA 18036 • Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County ✣
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