Christ Church Burial Ground in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

is an important early-American cemetery. It is the final resting place of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

and his wife, Deborah. Four other signers of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

are buried here,

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

, Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes, and George Ross. Two additional signers of the Declaration of Independence, James Wilson and Robert Morris, are buried at Christ Church just a few blocks away.

History

The cemetery belongs to Christ Church, the Episcopal church, which was founded in 1695 and served as a place of worship for many of the most notable participants in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, including

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. The burial ground is located at 5th and

Arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

streets, across from the Visitors Center and

National Constitution Center The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution that is devoted to the study of the Constitution of the United States. Located at the Independence Mall (Philadelphia), Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the center is a ...

in Center City Philadelphia. The Burial Ground was opened in 1719, and is still an active cemetery. The Burial Ground is open to the public for a small fee, weather permitting; about 100,000 tourists visit each year.

Benjamin Franklin gravesite

While the burial ground is closed,

's gravesite is visible from the sidewalk at the corner of 5th and Arch Streets through a set of iron rails. The bronze rails in the brick wall were added for public viewing in 1858 by parties working at the behest of the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

, which assumed the responsibility of defending Franklin's historic ties to

after prominent citizens from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

criticized the city's maintenance of the grave and erected a Franklin statue there. Leaving pennies on Franklin's grave is a long-standing Philadelphia tradition.

Burials

Other famous people buried at Christ Church Burial Ground include: * John Andrews, (1746-1813), fourth Provost of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

* Michael Woolston Ash (1789–1858), U.S. Congressman * Samuel John Atlee (1739–1786), delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

* Benjamin Franklin Bache (1769–1798), grandson of

, printer and publisher of the ''Aurora'' newspaper *

Sarah Franklin Bache Sarah Franklin Bache (September 11, 1743 – October 5, 1808), sometimes known as Sally Bache, was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read. She was a leader in relief work during the American Revolutionary War and frequently served as ...

(1743–1808), daughter of

* William Bainbridge (1774–1833),

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

hero of

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and captain of the USS ''Constitution''" * Francis Biddle (1886–1968), former U.S. attorney general * James Biddle (1783–1848), Commodore in

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

* Thomas Bond (1713–1784), co-founder (with

) of

Pennsylvania Hospital Pennsylvania Hospital is a Private hospital, private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located at 800 Spruce Street (Philadelphia), Spruce Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia, The hospital was founded on May 11, 17 ...

, the nation's first hospital * Paul Busti (1749-1824), ''Agent General'' of the Holland Land Company *Major General George Cadwalader (1806–1879),

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

general * John Cadwalader (1805–1879), congressman and judge * Matthew Clarkson (1733–1800),

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

* Joseph Clay (1769–1811), U.S. Congressman * Tench Coxe (1755–1824),

delegate * William Henry Drayton (1742-1799),

delegated and signer of the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

* John Dunlap (1747–1812), printer of the

* Lewis Evans (c.1700–1756), cartographer and surveyor * Tench Francis, Jr. (1730-1800) * David Franks (1740–1793), aide-de-camp to General

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

* Samuel Hardy (1758–1785), delegate to the

* Michael Hillegas (1729–1804), first

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...

* Thomas Hopkinson (1709–1751), father of Francis Hopkinson, president of the Philosophical Society, and one of the founders of

The Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most ...

* John Inskeep (1757–1834), mayor of Philadelphia *Major William Jackson (1759–1828), Revolutionary War officer and secretary of the Constitutional Convention *

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

, five-time mayor of Philadelphia *Major General Charles Lee (1732-1782), controversial Revolutionary War officer and second-highest ranking general after

from 1776 to 1778. * Charles Mason (1728–1786), astronomer and surveyor who laid out the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

in 1763 * George A. McCall (1802–1868),

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

brigadier general and prisoner of war during the

* William M. Meredith (1799–1873),

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

* Philip Syng Physick (1768–1837), known as the "father of modern surgery" * John Hare Powel (1786-1856), Pennsylvania State Senator and agriculturalist * Samuel Powel and his wife Elizabeth Willing Powel * Henry C. Pratt (1761–1838) prominent Philadelphia businessman and builder of Lemon Hill * Matthew Pratt (1734–1805) American colonial era portrait painter *Col. Isaac Read (1739-1777) Virginia revolutionary and commander of the 1st Virginia Regiment, who died of disease during the Revolutionary War *

(1746–1813), signer of the

and founder of

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

, known as "the father of American psychiatry" * Annis Boudinot Stockton (1736–1801), poet * Philip Syng (1703–1789), silversmith who created the Syng inkstand and early co-founder with

of several organizations * Henry Tazewell (1753–1799), U.S. Senator *Commodore Thomas Truxtun, commander of the USS ''Constellation'' * William Tuckey (1708–1781), composer * John Goddard Watmough (1793-1861), U.S. Congressman * Charles Willing, (1710–1754), three-term mayor of Philadelphia *Anne Willing Francis (1733-1812) wife of Tench Francis and daughter of Charles Willing * File:Ben Rush Christ CH Burial G Philly.JPG,

's grave File:J Taylor Christ Church Burial Ground.JPG, The grave of John Taylor (right), a long-time grave digger at the cemetery. File:Edwin DeHaven headstone.jpg, Edwin De Haven's headstone File:Bainbridge tombstone.jpg, Commodore William Bainbridge's tombstone

References

External links

*
Official Map of Christ Church Burial Ground
(archived 28 September 2007)
Christ Church Burial Ground
at Find a Grave {{authority control 1719 establishments in Pennsylvania Anglican cemeteries in the United States Arch Street Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia History of Philadelphia Old City, Philadelphia Religious buildings and structures completed in 1719 Tourist attractions in Philadelphia