Chester Rural Cemetery is a historic

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

founded in March 1863 in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. Some of the first burials were

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

soldiers, both Union and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, who died at the government hospital located at the nearby building which became the

Crozer Theological Seminary The Crozer Theological Seminary was a Baptist seminary located in Upland, Pennsylvania, and founded in 1868. It was named after the wealthy industrialist, John Price Crozer. Martin Luther King Jr. was a student at Crozer Theological Seminary f ...

Description

The cemetery is landscaped and had a large lake that was drained in the 1950s. It covers 36 acres and contains approximately 31,000 graves. Two monuments in the cemetery have been documented by the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System: the statue "Sorrow" by Samuel Murray atop the Alfred O. Deshong memorial, and the Civil War Memorial, by Martin Milmore.

Soldiers Circle

Veterans from the

and other conflicts are buried in this area of the cemetery. There are also memorials to commemorate each war since the Civil War. On September 17, 1873, the Soldier's Monument was dedicated to the memory of the soldiers and sailors of Delaware County who died in the Civil War. The dedication was attended by 8,000 people. The main speaker at the dedication was the U.S. Congressman John Weiss Forney and many dignitaries attended, including Major General Galusha Pennypacker. On the front of the Civil War Memorial is the following inscription:

History

Chester Rural Cemetery was a part of the United States National Cemetery System during the Civil War with a leased lot within the cemetery for soldiers that died in the nearby hospital. See p. 233. Many of the soldiers' graves, including Confederate soldiers, were moved to

Philadelphia National Cemetery Philadelphia National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the West Oak Lane, Philadelphia, West Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1862 as nine leased lots in seven private cemeterie ...

in Philadelphia in 1892. On April 13, 1917, 55 unidentified victims of the

Eddystone explosion On April 10, 1917, four days after the United States declared war on Germany, an explosion at the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation's artillery shell plant in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, killed 139 people. The majority were women and girls who worked ...

at the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation were buried in a mass grave at the Chester Rural Cemetery. An estimated 12,000 people attended the funeral service. Sorrow Murray Deshong

Notable burials

Henry Graham Ashmead Henry Graham Ashmead (June 30, 1838 – November 27, 1920) was an American historian, journalist, and chronicler of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. His ''History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania'' (1884) is one of the classic texts of southeaster ...

(1838–1920), journalist and historian of

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylv ...

Edward Fitzgerald Beale Edward Fitzgerald Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was an American naval officer, frontiersman, rancher and diplomat. He fought in the Mexican–American War, emerging as a hero of the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846. He achieved n ...

(1822–1893), Explorer of the West, a founder of California, hero of the US-Mexican War, US diplomat * Clarence D. Bell (1914–2002), Pennsylvania state senator * William H. Berry (1852–1928), Pennsylvania State Treasurer and 10th mayor of Chester * Dorothy Chacko (1904–1992), US physician and

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

awardee *

Robert Chadwick Robert Chadwick may refer to: * Robert Chadwick (sportsman) (1879–1939), New Zealand cricketer and footballer * Robert Chadwick II, United States Navy admiral * Robert E. Lee Chadwick (1930–2014), American anthropologist and archeologist * Robe ...

(1834–1902), Pennsylvania state representative * Joseph R. T. Coates (died 1921), Civil War Major, Mayor of Chester * Walter H. Craig (1880–1937), Pennsylvania state representative for Delaware County from 1923 to 1925 *

Edward Darlington Edward Darlington (September 17, 1795 – November 21, 1884) was a three term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from the Anti-Masonic Party. His cousins Isaac Darlington and William Darlington were also both members ...

(1795–1884), US congressman * Alfred O. Deshong (1837–1913), industrialist, philanthropist and art collector * John O. Deshong (1807–1881), businessman and banker *

Peter Deshong Peter Deshong (1781 – December 26, 1827) was an American businessman and banker in Chester, Pennsylvania. His family maintained their wealthy status through generations including his son John O. Deshong and grandson Alfred O. Deshong. Early ...

(1781–1827), businessman and banker * Samuel Edwards (1785–1850), US congressman * David Reese Esrey (1825–1898), businessman and banker * John K. Hagerty (1867–1945), Pennsylvania state representative * John B. Hinkson (1840–1901), lawyer, businessman and sixth mayor of Chester * Mignonette Kokin, aka Margaret Galetti (1880–1957), vaudeville dancer, singer and actress * John Larkin, Jr. (1804–1896), businessman, banker and first mayor of Chester * John J. McClure (1886–1965), Pennsylvania state senator * Edward Nothnagle (1866–1938), Pennsylvania state representative for Delaware County (1926–1936) * William G. Price, Jr. (1869–1960), businessman and

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

officer * James William Reese (1920–1943),

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient *

William Cameron Sproul William Cameron Sproul (September 16, 1870 – March 21, 1928) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1897 to 1919 and as the 27th governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 t ...

(1870–1928), Pennsylvania governor *

John R. Sweney John Robson Sweney (December 31, 1837 – April 10, 1899) was an American composer from Pennsylvania. He was a professor of music at the Pennsylvania Military Academy for twenty-five years and collaborated with William J. Kirkpatrick to produce a ...

(1837–1899), gospel music composer *

David Trainer David Trainer is an American television director. He is known for directing every episode of the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'', with the exception of " That '70s Pilot", which was directed by Terry Hughes instead, and every episode of the Netfli ...

(1814–1890), textile manufacturer and banker * Henry Clay Vedder (1853–1935), Baptist church historian * Young Singleton Walter (1811–1888), Pennsylvania state representative for Delaware County from 1877 to 1880, owner of ''Delaware County Republican'' newspaper * William Ward (1837–1895), US congressman * William Ward Jr. (1865–1949), Pennsylvania representative and two-term mayor of Chester * Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge (1844–1935), American shipbuilder * William P. Worrall (1827–1887), Pennsylvania state representative for Delaware County from 1875 to 1876

References

External links