The Old Scots Burying Ground is a historic cemetery located on Gordon's Corner Road in the Wickatunk section of Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 15, 2001, for its significance in history and religion. With The Old Scots Burying Ground is about an acre in size, about 195 feet above sea level"Early Church and Graveyards in Monmouth", The Red Bank Register, December 23, 1937, Page 5 and dates back to 1685."Scottish Clans to Gather to Play Highland Games", Asbury Park Press, September 3, 1936, Page 21"Halloween Activity Ancient Pagan Rites", Asbury Park Press, October 30, 1983, Page 20 The total number of burials at the cemetery is not precisely known, suggested by Symms, "There are a large number of graves in Old Scots yard without any inscribed stones".Symmes, Frank Rosebrook, History of Old Tennent Church, 1905, page 260 Some reports place the number as at least 100 known graves"Work is Completed on Old Scots Cemetery", Asbury Park Press, March 12, 1951, Page 1 with most headstones of brown sandstone. However, more recent research using ground penetrating radar reported by the Old Tennent Church in 2001 has put the number of confirmed sites at about 122 graves with a possible 140 more unmarked; placing the number at about 262 total graves in the cemetery. In 1945, in an attempt to clean out the site of vegetation and over-growth, a bulldozer was used on the property and as a result some headstones were dislodged and broken stones removed. The defining structure in the cemetery is a tall monument to Rev. John Boyd, created by the J&R Lamb Company."Gods Acre", The Assembly Herald, Volume 3, Issue 6, Page 157 Built to commemorate the first recorded Presbyterian ordination of Rev. John Boyd.Unveil Monument to Presbyterians, Asbury Park Press, 15 Jun 1909, Page 1 The monument is currently owned by the Synod of the Northeast who holds the property deed but it is maintained by the Old Tennent Church. The last identified burial was in 1977.
Structure on site
Oldest Presbyterian Church
Defined in the beginning by the church that the Presbyterians built; the oldest Presbyterian church,"Middletown, Most Ancient of Settlements, was Cradle of Monmouth County History", Asbury Park Press, Nov 14 1948, Page 5 starting with a crude structure of logs in 1692. The location was known as "Free Hill" or "the upper meeting house""The Monument to Religious Liberty", The Red Bank Register, July 4, 1940, page 5 and was the site of the first recorded Presbytery session.Helen Henderson, Matawan and Aberdeen: Of Town and Field, 2003. Page 33 By 1705"Old Tennent to Celebrate 250th Year As Congregation with Ceremonies", Asbury Park Press, June 14, 1942, Page 11 a refined church was constructed and a notation in the court record of the location as a "publick meeting house"."Presbyterians", Matawan Journal, October 13, 1960, Page 12 With Rev. John Boyd as Minister, by 1730 the congregation had grown and the church was removed to Freehold Township."Historic old Tennent Church, Asbury Park Press, May 2, 1986, Page 93 Adjacent to the church was the Old Scots Burying Ground.
Original description
In September 1710, the General Presbytery of Philadelphia wrote a letter to the Presbytery of Dublin Ireland. In the letter they identified the congregation and location of the Old Scots Church. They stated "We have in Jersey only two congregations... one of the two was near freehold, in the province of East Jersey""Presbyterians Unveil Shaft", Matawan Journal, June 17, 1909, Page 1
The Boyd Monument
In the center of the cemetery is a tall monument of Scottish and Vermont granite and Irish Graystone,"Old Scots Monument", New York Times, June 4, 1899 surrounded by Scottish thistle carved in the granite. These stones were selected since the men who made up the original Presbytery were from Scotland, Ireland and New England."A Monument at Old Scots", The Freehold Transcript and Monmouth Inquirer, Freehold NJ, May 13, 1898, Page 7 The monument stands twenty-five feet high,"Monument Unveiling", Matawan Journal, May 31, 1900, page 4 including a spire which was lost in the 1950s. The total cost of the monument was $1300. A fund containing an additional $1000 was raised for the preservation of the monument and care of the grounds. The monument was created in 1899 by the J&R Lamb Company, after submitting the winning design to the Synod committee."The Monument Not Here", Matawan Journal, October 12, 1899, Page 4 The monument was refurbished in 2002 and the spire was replaced."Historic Monument Honors Minister", Asbury Park Press, November 7, 2002, Page 48
The monument was erected in memory of Rev. John Boyd, the first pastor of the church."Little Known Today of History of Pre-Revolution Topanemus", Asbury Park Press, December 25, 1949, Page 5 In 1915, The Presbyterian Synod added John Tennent's name to the monument."Memorial Tablet For Rev. John Tennent", Asbury Park Press, February 25, 1915, Page 6 A man made mound-like elevation measuring approximately thirty-feet square and 3.5 feet high, supports a late-nineteenth-century monument situated in the approximate center of the site. The base of the monument states "To the untiring effort of Rev. Allen Henry Brown, which led to the erection of this monument this tablet is set as a memorial by the Synod of New Jersey".Veteran Minister Dead, The Matawan Journal, November 14, 1907, Page 2 On another side of the monument written at the base is "Elder Walter Ker" and under his name is "Acts VIII 4" (Meaning: "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.")
On one side of the monument there is an inscription: "Erected under the supervision of the Synod of New Jersey in 1899 to recognize the good providence of God in planting the Presbyterian church in this county and to commemorate the first recorded ordination by a Presbytery in the American colonies. The general Presbytery assembling in the Old Scots meeting house on this ground December 1706, ordained John Boyd, who died August 30th 1708 and was buried here.""Poet's Birthday Feast", Red Bank Register, February 1, 1928, Page 1 Another side of the monument has a brass plack saying "Continuing in the tradition of John Boyd, The United Presbyterian Church in the USA was formed by merger in 1958, and the Presbyterian church (USA) was formed by merger in 1983. This reaffirmation of our reformed tradition made by the Synod of the Northeast in 2002." This was placed on the monument after the 2002 restoration.
Additionally, the following seals were on the gables of the monument: The seal of the Presbyterian Church of Monmouth County The seal of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America The seal of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland The seal of the Scotch Irish Society
The Monument was to be originally unveiled on October 18, 1899, it was however delayed in shipping and did not arrive on time for that scheduled event forcing the event to be delayed to the spring. The monument was actually unveiled on June 14, 1900 at 11 am."John Boyd Monument", Matawan Journal, June 7, 1900, page 1
Stairs
In 1945, stairs with handrails were added to the site to help ascend to the property from the street.
Signs
There are three signs on the property: The Old Tennent Church added a sign to the property at the street which reads: "Old Scots Graveyard 1692 | Original Site of Old Tennent Church." Unknown origin of the sign that reads: "OLD SCOTS MEETING HOUSE: Old Scots Meeting House was built in the year 1692 by Scottish Presbyterians (Calvinists) on this ground known as 'Free Hill.' This sight (sic) was the location of the first recorded Presbytery meeting and the sight (sic) of the first ordination of a Presbyterian minister in North America in the year 1706. Now these Scottish exiles could worship freely in their own fashion. The granite border around the central monument marks the dimension of the small log structure that was the boundary of the Old Scots Meeting House. In 1731, the congregation moved to its present location in Tennent called Old Tennent Church." Marlboro Township Historic Commission added a sign to the site that reads: "Scottish settlers established a Presbyterian meeting house and cemetery on this site in 1692. John Boyd, the first Presbyterian minister trained in the New World and the first pastor of the church, was buried here in 1708. The church was moved five miles away in 1731 and became Old Tennent Church. In 2001, this cemetery was listed in the National and State Registers of Historic Places."
Vandalism
There was an episode of reported vandalism on March 25, 1994. At that time there were several smashed tombstones and some tombstones were removed from the mounts.Somers, Terri, May 1994, "Reward Posted in Cemetery Vandalism", Asbury Park Press, Page 20
Restoration
The first recorded interest in restoration of the site was in 1883 when Gideon C. McDowell (A local farmer and member of the State Potato AssociationMarket Growers Journal, Volumes 22-23, January 1, 1918, page 419) encountered the site and was specifically interested in the gravestone of Rev. Boyd. When McDowell first encountered the stone it was "in a neglected state and covered with lichens". He cleaned the stone at that time of the lichens. There have been a number of additional site restorations over the years:
In 1898, The site was restored and overgrowth was removed. The cemetery was prepared for 600 people to visit and have a pilgrimage. In 1931, the site was again cleared out of overgrowth and groomed for a pending pilgrimage. In 1945, The site was again overgrown. At that time, the site surface was scraped with a bulldozer to remove overgrowth and vegetation. Some damage to the cemetery was done at that time including dislodging gravestones and removing partial fallen stones from some of the grave sites. In 2000, vegetation and growth was removed from the cemetery to accomplish scientific testing. In 2002, attention was again given to the cemetery. Specifically, the central monument was the focus of the restoration. The budget for the Old Scots Burying Ground was $13,000 for the restoration. The funds were supplied by the Monmouth Count Historic Commission, Old Tennent Cemetery and the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast. Most of the funds were used to replace a five foot spire, lost in the 1950s. It was recreated and put back on the Boyd Monument. Records suggest it was removed for cleaning in the 1950s, but never put back on due to the company going bankrupt in the process and the original spire was lost. A re-dedication of the monument was conducted by Charles Vasbinder on October 17, 2002. There were almost 60 people in attendance.Jonathan Rifkin, "Historic Monument Honors Minister", Asbury Park Press, November 7, 2002, Page 48
Archaeological site surveys The first site survey was done in December 2000, a site survey was conducted using electronic metal detecting equipment. The survey uncovered 15 artifacts, of note are 2 matching coffin handles from the 19th century and one ornate coffin handle with the embossment, "Our Darling," was recovered near the Reid family gravemarker. This marker represents three burials: James Reid (1828-1904), Hannah Reid (1829-1899) and Emma Reid (1852-1869). It is possible that this handle became dislodged from one of the Reid coffins, perhaps the one belonging to Emma Reid, who predeceased both of her parents.