Galena Cemetery Has the Most American Revolution Veterans
Marker of Lt. Gideon Osterhaut, 1730-1813

59 Settlers Were in American Revolution

According to a book written by Doris Pierce and Nellie Budd, Early Settlers Buried in Eastern Delaware County, 13 cemeteries in eastern Delaware county are the final resting place for 53 veterans of the American Revolution.  Galena Cemetery is the final resting place for 13 of the soldiers and is reputed to hold more men from that war than any other this side of the mountains.

Nineteen of the soldiers came from Pennsylvania.  Many of these men, their fathers or uncles fought for years to secure their freedom.  Right after the war, William Penn's (founder of Pennsylvania) grandsons divided the state into manors and set themselves up as manor lords requiring the residents to pay taxes to them.  This was very unpopular tax and many refused to pay it.  Some went to jail and others were slated to do so when Moses Byxbe came to Wilkes Barre, PA, to recruit settlers for Berkshire, Ohio.  The wilderness looked better than jail and thus the veterans gave up their homes and became the early settlers of Berkshire Corners, Galena and Sunbury. 

While most of the soldiers came from Pennsylvania, five came from Byxbe's state of Massachusetts, seven came from New Jersey, four from New York, three from Connecticut and Virginia, and one from North Carolina, Maryland and. Vermont.  Budd and Pierce did not list states for twelve of the men.  

In the Galena Cemetery are soldiers James Atherton, Russell Bigelow, Sr., Ezekiel Brown, Lt. (Judge) Benjamin Carpenter, Rev. Gilbert Carpenter, Edward Knapp, Cap. (James) Leonard Moore, Lt. Gideon Osterhaut (marker pictured above), Rev. Stiles Parker, Ralph Smith, Silas Pierce, Morgan Young and Christian Young.  

Berkshire Cemetery holds Major Thomas Brown, Jacob Fisher, James Gregory, Andrew Himrod, Crocker Jones, Solomon Jones, Christian Loop and Ebenezer Landon.  Also buried there is Colonel Thomas Brown and Elizabeth Bockoven,  the widow of  Captain Jacob Bockovan, an American Revolutionary War veteran. 

Buried in Sunbury Cemetery are George Beach, Philemon Bidlack, Abraham Hess, John Huff (Hoff), Ephraim McCoy, Laughlin McLean, Adam McNett (McNight), William Perfect, and John Williams.  Jonathan Pierce was suppose to be buried in Sunbury but his marker was found in Galena

Soldiers in Burnside (Bon Air) Cemetery are Richard Closson and Bixbe Rogers (Rodgers).  Rev. John Williams is buried in Curtiss or Copeland Cemetery.  Redbank Cemetery hold Elisha Bennett, Oliver Bennett, and Fulkhard Sebring.  These three cemeteries are in Genoa Township.

Harlem Township has three cemeteries.  Fancher Cemetery is the final resting place for Benijah Cook, William Fancher,   James Garlinghouse, Zimri Hill, Thomas Parks, Richard Thompson, and Stephen Thompson.   Abraham Adams, David Adams, Ishmael Bennett, John Budd, and Joseph Hatch are buried in Harlem Cemetery.  Alan Blain (Blane) is in Hunt Cemetery.

Joseph Potter and Harmon Coykendall are buried in  Blue Church Cemetery in Kingston township.  

Edward Culver, Ebenezer Lott, Peter Van Sickle and Capt. Zephraniah Lott are in Porter/Stark Cemetery in Porter township. 

James Caldwell  and Simon Condit in Trenton Cemetery in Trenton Township.

For whatever reason these men left their home states, we are glad they settled in our community and we hope they found the peace they sought.  Watch for their markers along with veterans of many other wars when you visit the cemeteries this weekend.

(07/26/2012 )