Digging Around at Mount Moriah

My Chambers Great-great Grandparents - born in Ireland

As an avid genealogist, Mount Moriah Cemetery in southwest Philadelphia has been "calling" me for a long time. Eighteen direct ancestors, going back to my great-great-great-grandparents, were buried there: twelve on Dad's side and six on Mom's. So far I've identified over 130 other family members and their friends who share those and neighboring plots. It was a popular local cemetery for South Philadelphians and many families held picnics there on Memorial (Decoration) Day. Dad's family was the only one on his block of Wharton Street with a lawn mower. They had no lawn; its sole purpose was to trim the family graves at Mount Moriah. 

Grandmom McFarland & some grandkids - picnic @ Mt. Moriah 1932

At my grandmother's funeral in 1986, I wasn't aware of any maintenance problems; I was busy looking at all the ornate monuments. However, at a second-cousin's funeral in 2003, poor upkeep was more obvious. I picked up several beer cans from the deep grass around the grave as people assembled for the interment. Afterward we needed the undertaker's help to obtain from the office the location of our Harvey great-great grandparents' grave in order to visit it. The headstone looked damp that raw, November day, as if it had been face down on the ground until that morning. In fact, I thought it was made of brownstone rather than the typical light grey granite. Beside it was an older white stone leaning forward at a 45-degree angle and I wondered if it held the names of their four young children who died before them.

Sadly we didn't take good pictures that day and I wanted to return to find those two stones. In 2008, armed with maps and plot numbers, a cousin and I tried unsuccessfully to find them again – this time wading through a low jungle of thick weeds and vines which had been a mowed lawn five years before. But with no visible section markers in that area it was impossible.

Since I no longer live in the Delaware Valley, opportunities to visit are few so I was delighted for an excuse to come in February 2012 and help make a video for the benefit of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery organization. With the help of a Friends volunteer, we were able to tie the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania's burial database to a satellite map and pinpoint the right area of Section 31 to start looking. (Let's hear it for technology!) Weeds and vines were knee deep but I recognized the top of the tilted white headstone peeking out. Pulling away the weeds, there was my great-great-grandparents' headstone flat on its back. We gently brushed off the dried mud and rinsed it and what was indeed light granite turned brown. As it dried in the sunlight it became grey again revealing unusual designs and lettering. 

 

My Harvey Great-great and Great-great-great Grandparents - all born in Ireland

Meanwhile, we dug around the older stone and were able to lay it down on its back and carefully brush away the dirt. The lower half had been in damp earth for many years and was even harder to read than the top. I was surprised to find the name of a woman whom I thought was a family friend, Mary Elizabeth Hutchison (1868). But under her name were the words "Also her Father James Harvey (1870)" and "Also her Mother Mary Harvey (1851)." I knew my great-great-great-grandfather James was buried in this plot but hadn't known his wife's name or that the Mary Harvey buried here (one of twelve people in the plot) was his wife or that Mary Elizabeth was their daughter. These genealogical secrets had been buried in the mud.

Interestingly, the headstone seems to read 1851 for Mary Harvey—before Mount Moriah opened in 1856. It may be that she was re-interred there after the family bought the plot. I need to find her death certificate or obituary to answer those questions.

 Etching of front gates from a Chambers deed dated 1874

Mount Moriah Cemetery has seen better days. That's old news. Many of us on several genealogical email lists had wrung our hands for years and wondered if anything could be done while the office resisted. But with a shift in ownership, interest on the City's part, and the mobilization of hundreds of volunteers for cleanup and organization, 2011 and 2012 saw much progress and the enthusiastic momentum continues to grow. I like to think Mount Moriah's "residents" would be pleased.

Glad Nana didn't marry a 3rd time!

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Here's a link to the Mount Moriah video "Espy's Field":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSKJSphHnNw

The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the historical significance, enhancing the beauty, and preserving the artistic heritage of Mount Moriah Cemetery:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/fommc/  and  http://www.friendsofmountmoriahcemetery.org/