Westwood Cemetery was established in 1861 as the Old Hook Cemetery. The earliest burial was in 1791. Westwood Cemetery is a non-sectarian cemetery and continues to offer final resting places that suit individual needs. Whether you are planning for the future or purchasing for an immediate need, we have a variety of options available within the 35 acre park.
The newest part of the Westwood Cemetery where the family burials start around 1840 to Present sits on the Kinderkamack Road side of the cemetery
The back of the cemetery sits on a buff overlooking the pond that is parallel to Old Hook Road
The original family members were buried in this section of the cemetery while their grandchildren and great grandchildren are interned in the front section.
The oldest section of the cemetery which sits next to Old Hook Road is the Hopper Family plot which dates back to before the Revolutionary War
The Blauvelt Family plot sits next to the Hopper Family plot
The oldest section of the cemetery by Old Post Road home to family members of the Post, Blauvelt, Voorhis and Hopper members
The Demarest family plot overlooking the pond from the buff
The Blauvelt and Bogart family plot
The DeBaun family plot by Old Hook Road
One of the original Demarest family plots
The Haring family plot overlooking the pond
The Ackerman family plot
The Eckerson family plot with members of the Hopper and Demarest families
This section of the cemetery contains the oldest tombstones in the cemetery so many have broken or crumbled away. The lawn in this section of the cemetery is also not as well maintained so there are overgrown bushes and trees hiding the tombstones so you really have to look.
Then I worked my way back to the front of the cemetery finding the graves of these people’s children and grandchildren by following the names and dates of these people’s family members.
One branch of the Demarest family is front and center in the front of the cemetery
Next to them are the DeBaun and Vanderbeck families
Another branch of the Demarest family is a few rows behind
The Kipp family have a rather large family plot
The Hopper & Banta families share this large twin family plot
The Bogart family has this large family plot
The Westervelt family is near them with many of their members of the family
The Demarest family had two large family plots in the middle of the cemetery
The family plot of the Demarests and the Harings
The Demarest and Van Bushkirk family plot
The large Blauvelt family plot
The DeWolfe family plot
The Voorhis family plot
The Terhune Bogart family plot
What I found fascinating about this cemetery was to see the progression of each of these families from parent to child to grandchild just by walking through it. The families branch out in all sections intermarrying with similar families and the buried next to them. From back to front here they rest.
The stone marker sign at the entrance to the family cemetery. This cemetery is the final resting place of Captain John Outwater from the local militia who fought in the Revolutionary War and his family.
The memorial to Captain Outwater in the center of the cemetery dedicated to his contributions to Revolutionary War
Captain John Outwater during the Revolutionary War
When John J. Outwater was born on 9 February 1780, in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, his father, Captain John Outwater, was 33 and his mother, Hendrickje Dirck Lozier, was 34. He married Cathalina Van Bussum on 1 February 1813, in Old First Reformed Church, Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey, United States.
They were the parents of at least 4 sons. He died on 25 September 1842, in Wilson, Wilson, Niagara, New York, United States, at the age of 62, and was buried in Glenwood, Lewiston, Lewiston, Niagara, New York, United States.
The original entrance to the cemetery must have been on Moonachie Avenue in the distant past.
The original graves of Captain John Outwater and his wife, Louise Lozier
Across from their graves is the memorial to the family
Various members of the Outwater family including parents, brothers and sisters and children are buried here.
The grave of Jacob Outwater and his family
The tombstone of Jacob Outwater
The grave of Jacob’s son who died as an infant
The graves of George Outwater and his wife, Ann Van Note
I think this is the grave of George Outwater’s first wife, Mary
Buried outside the family plot is the grave of Henry Cordes
The Outwater family cemetery sits on a small hill overlooking a Quick Check store and gasoline station. Talk about modern progress.
I took a quick tour of the cemetery:
My video of the Outwater Family Cemetery and the grave of Captain John Outwater of Revolutionary War fame.
The entrance of the Orchard Street Cemetery and Gatehouse
The Orchard Street Cemetery in Dover, Morris County, NJ was originally founded in 1851 when a group of men determined that a cemetery was needed in the Village of Dover, then part of Randolph Township. One member of the group, William Young, the first baker in Dover who had his store on Dickerson Street traded his “garden plot” at the end of Orchard Street to this new endeavor in return for several building lots on Orchard Street. The plot transferred from William Young to the Association was approximately one acre in size (Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Society website).
The Gatehouse
The first thing you notice when you enter the cemetery is the Gatehouse. It needs a lot of work. Also it was not manned. Funny, the building looks like it belongs in a cemetery.
The historic plaque for the cemetery
The historic sign for the cemetery
The Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 3500 men, women, and children from the greater Dover area, primarily Dover, Randolph, Wharton, and Rockaway. There are over 125 veterans from the War of 1812, the Civil War, The Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam as well as well as peacetime veterans. There are many of the founders of Dover, Wharton, and Rockaway, civic and industrial leaders, and ordinary citizens of the area. Unfortunately, many burial records have been lost through the passage of time, fire, etc. so a full accounting of the burials will most likely never be realized as many people were buried without a stone memorial through choice or economic reasons (Orchard Street Gatehouse Historical Society website).
The entrance to the cemetery by the gate
When I visited the Orchard Street Cemetery, I noticed that most of the cemetery was designed into family plots, most gated or sectioned off. In each plot, you can see the generations of family members. There is a distinct change on the tombstones of family member marking the graves. Either is was prosperity of the family or just a sign of the times when people died where you see the changes in the tombstones and what they look like.
At least the families are housed together. Each of the family plots are marked by a gate or just a series of tombstones. Each of these family plots deserve respect and please remember this as you walk around the cemetery to pay your respects. There is a very positive feel to this cemetery.
I noticed the cemetery was broken into family plots separated by fencing
The Munson family plot
The Munson family plot
The Moller family plot
The Moller family plot
The Ford family plot
Deer watching me at the cemetery
The Hoagman Family plot
The Dickerson family plot
I had just come from the Bridget Smith House in Mine Hill and discovered that the Dickerson’s were once a prominent mining family who owned a large mansion just outside of Mine Hill.
The grave of Mahlon Dickerson
I found out from a member of the Cemetery Society that this is not the grave of the former Governor of New Jersey but a distant relative.
The Orchard Street Cemetery from the back of the cemetery
The Gatehouse at the front of the cemetery
The cemetery is an interesting look of how burying our dead has changed over the last 100 years.
The History of the Cemetery:
(this comes from the OrchardStreetCemeteryGatehouse.org website)
The Orchard Street Cemetery
The Orchard Street Cemetery in Dover, Morris County, NJ was originally founded in 1851 when a group of men determined that a cemetery was needed in the Village of Dover, then part of Randolph Township. One member of the group, William Young, the first baker in Dover who had his store on Dickerson Street traded his “garden plot” at the end of Orchard Street to this new endeavor in return for several building lots on Orchard Street. The plot transferred from William Young to the Association was approximately one acre in size.
The inside of the cemetery
On September 11, 1854 following the passage of the “Rural Cemetery Act of 1854 by the New Jersey Legislature, the Dover Cemetery Association was founded during a meeting in the Village of Dover held at School House District No. 1. The location of this school was to the east of Morris Street and to the south of the railroad tracks. This puts it on the opposite side of the railroad tracks from the old Stone Academy. The papers of incorporation were dated September 14, 1859 and duly registered with the County of Morris.
The inside of the cemetery
A deed dated February 22, 1855 was signed by Jabez Mills and his wife Hannah selling approximately 4.5 acres of their property to the Trustees of the Dover Cemetery Association. This deed was received and recorded on February 27, 1855 by the County of Morris. The acquisition of this property brought the cemetery to its final boundaries and size of 5.4 acres. It is believed based on gravestones in the cemetery that the entire property was being used as a cemetery prior to the date of the recording of the deed. Further, some sections of the cemetery property may have been used prior to 1851 due to gravestones that predate the founding of the cemetery. It is also known that there was an earlier Dover cemetery, the Morris Street Burying Yard located south of the train tracks along Morris Street.
The Munson family plot
It is believed that a number of the remains that were interred there were disinterred and moved to the Orchard Street Cemetery. Many stones in Orchard Street predate the cemetery founding and it can be inferred that either there were burials in the cemetery confines before it was founded or these are reinterments from the Morris Street Burial Yard, or both. In addition, there was later a small cemetery on Grant Street next to what was the Swedish Methodist Church. Around the turn of the 1900’s, this cemetery was closed and again, the remains within were disinterred and many were removed to Orchard Street.
The entrance to the historic Orchard Street Cemetery
The old Gate House at the entrance of the cemetery
The one thing I refuse to do on Father’s Day is to spend the day at the cemetery. I know that is some people’s idea of honoring one’s family members but it is not mine. I went on Friday and paid my respects to my father (whom this blog is dedicated to) and spent time remembering some of the good times we had in past. I dropped some cut flowers from our gardens (some of which he planted) and said a small prayer. Then I left.
My idea of honoring my father and spending Father’s Day with him is to do something that we would have shared together. We were always running around somewhere and exploring something new and doing something fun. That is how I wanted to honor him. By being active and giving him a toast at Sunday dinner.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 