Oak Summit Cemetery
Kingwood Road (Rte. 519) at Oak Summit Rd.
Map / Directions to the Oak Cemetery
Oak Summit Cemetery was established in 1754. It was the cemetery of the Kingwood Presbyterian Church, which once stood on the grounds of the cemetery.
At the time of the Revolutionary War, the congregation of the Kingwood Presbyterian Church contained members who supported the cause of Independence, as well as members who remained loyal to the British.
The original church building was replaced in 1837 by the Old Stone Meeting House, which still stands on the opposite side of Oak Summit Road. (Shown in the picture to the right.) The building is now a Unitarian Universalist Church.
The last known burial in the cemetery was in 1914.[1]
Oak Summit Cemetery contains the graves of a number of Revolutionary War soldiers, including: [2]
John Chamberlin
(Died September 15, 1830)
Private, Henry Phillips Company
Jesse Dalrymple
(March 20, 1756 - May 31, 1844)
Private, New Jersey Militia
Samuel Lowrey
(Died Feb. 14, 1791)
Thomas Lowrey
September 3, 1737 - November 10, 1809
Colonel, New Jersey Militia; Supply Officer
(See Gravesite Of Thomas and Esther Lowrey text below)
David Motley
(1760 - March 20, 1826)
John Prall
(1756 - May 4, 1831)
1st Lt., Captain Stout's Company, 3rd Regiment
Wounded January 20, 1777)
John Taylor
(Died May 2, 1833)
Captain, Minute Men
John Van Camp
(Died June 4, 1811)
Gravesite Of
Thomas and Esther Lowrey
Thomas Lowrey was a prominent citizen of the area, who was active politically as well as militarily during the Revolutionary War era. He served in the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775,[3] and during the war as a supply officer and Colonel in the New Jersey Militia. [4]After the War, he served in the New Jersey Assembly in 1791 and 1792. [5] Thomas Lowrey was born in Ireland in 1737, and immigrated to America at age ten with his widowed mother. He was the first cousin of William Paterson, who signed the Constitution for the state of New Jersey and later served as the state's governor.
Thomas is buried next to his wife Esther. She was born Ester Fleming and was the eldest daughter of Samuel Fleming whom the town of Flemington was named. On April 21, 1789, Esther was one of a group of women who organized an elaborate reception for the newly-elected first President George Washington, when he passed through Trenton en route to his inauguration in New York City, which was then the national capital [6]
On the Kingwood Road side of the cemetery, there is a historic marker noting that in December 1778, Continental Troops camped here. They were escorting British and Hessian prisoners captured the previous year at the Battle of Saratoga to Virginia. [7]
The Battle of Saratoga was an important American victory. It actually involved two battles which took place on September 19 and October 7, 1777. The site of the battle is now a National Historic Park in Saratoga, New York. For more information see the park's webpage.
1. ^ Kenneth V. Myers, Old Stones at Oak Summit (Flemington, NJ: Hunterdon County Democrat, 1985)
2. ^ Kingwood Township Historical Society grave markers in the cemetery
3. ^ Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey (Trenton: Naar, Day & Naar, 1879) Pages 169-170, and 183-184
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here4. ^ William S. Stryker, Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War (Trenton: Wm. T. Nicholson & Co., 1872) Pages 343 and 353
Available to be read at Google Books here5. ^ James P. Snell, History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881)
Available to be read at Google Books here6. ^ William S. Stryker, Washington's Reception by the People of New Jersey in 1789 by (Trenton: Naar, Day & Naar, 1882) Page 12
▸Note that on page 16, Mary Lowrey, the daughter of Thomas and Esther, is listed as having taken part in the event.
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here• See the Trenton page of this website for more about the April 21, 1789 reception for George Washington.
7. ^ Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission sign