✣ Morgenland, aka Eastern Salisbury Jerusalem
Or, The Confusion of Tambour Yokel, Part Two ✣
In my last post, Jerusalem Western Salisbury, I noted that sources differed on the location of the cemetery in the Colonial Era tale of Tambour Yokel. While there seems to be agreement that the legend took place in Salisbury Township, some cite the Western graveyard as the place of reckoning for the drummer, while others the Eastern, which is also called the Morgenland Cemetery. Sources claiming the Western graveyard as the site of the ballad are listed in the previous entry, while the following article, commemorating the church’s 225 year anniversary in 1984, and this entry from Haunted Lehigh Valley instead cite Morgenland as the location of the Tambour Yokel legend.
Part of the discrepancy may be due to authors not realizing that there are, in fact, two cemeteries in the township with very similar names and misattributing information as a result. For example, in Adams' Ghost Stories of the Lehigh Valley Book Two, it's stated that the Western chuch was abandoned after the log building fell into disrepair, but their history does not seem to bear that statement out. By contrast, a period of abandonment did occur at the Eastern Salisbury Jerusalem Church. A History of Morgenland from 1910 discusses the gap in use of the site for worship, which corresponds to one in the church's documents: “From 1791 to 1848, a period of 57 years, there is no record of any kind to be found.” The author, C.J. Cooper, specifically mentions that the original log building fell into disrepair and was abandoned by the congregation as they were too poor to rebuild it. He also attributed this lack of records to increasing irreligiousness and the presence of a new church in nearby Upper Saucon, Frieden’s Church, which drew attendance away from this location. The stone church was not built until 1847, which is when the records begin again. This information is consistent with the marker at the site. However, the graveyard remained in use at Morgenland even through the congregation's fallow period. When attempting to trace the legend, the ominous hiatus of church services becomes an interesting touchstone as it was said that the locals avoided the area for some time after Tambour Yokel's demise:
Tell the story with bated breath – A story of horror, and gloom, and death. A little church on a lonely hill; A churchyard near it, calm and still; Fair in the morning's early light; Dark and gloomy it seems at night. There it is said, in the olden time, Happened a nameless deed of crime; And stalwart men, with swiftest pace, Haste when they pass that dreadful place.It may be possible that the legend arose as a post hoc reasoning for the church's abandonment. Despite being in use since the late 1700s, I was only able to locate three headstones which I believe date from the earliest period of the graveyard. The first two are thick, rough-hewn, and have distinctive semi-circular notches carved on both sides. The first is adorned with a heart and what may be a date of 1769. There is additional inscription, but I am not able to read it.
I could not locate any legible writing on the other headstone in this style, so it is entirely possible it is from a later time. It's strong similarity and placement near to the first one also leads me to think it dates from the same time. In my observation, the more rustic gravestones of local stone tend to be older as marble was in wide use once it became fashionable. The third headstone I found from the older era belongs to Wilhelm Moritz (1720 - 1797). His wife Eva (1727-1791) is also interred here, but I did not photograph her memorial.
These are a few post-1850 headstones that caught my eye. The first with three spires belongs to Eliza Daniel (1858). The pair with draped urns are the memorials of Joseph and Elizabeth Lein (1858, 1862). ➺ Dubbs, Joseph Henry. Home Ballads and Metrical Verses. 1888. ISBN 9781343070004. 26-28. ➺ Adams III, Charles J. Ghost Stories of the Lehigh Valley Book Two. Wyomissing, PA: Exeter House Books. ISBN 9781880683. 38-43. ➺ Find A Grave ➺ Historical Sites of Salisbury Township ➺ No Rain Date Ep. 24: Haunted Lehigh Valley with Ellen Flynn - The Tambour Yokel legend is told at 26:34-35:00. ✣ 1707 Church Rd. Allentown, PA 18103 • Salisbury Township, Lehigh County ✣
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