The "Old First Cemetery" dates back to the original founding of the "First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown." The cemetery contains over 2,000 known headstones, but the total number of burials is unknown. It contains grave markers dating from the late-seventeenth century to 1917, including markers for some of the church's most prominent patrons, such as Rev. James Caldwell, American Revolution Soldiers, and including some 313 both Free and/or Enslaved African Ancestors. By Carmen Juri/The Star-Ledger https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/restoration_of_elizabeth_churc.html Many of the headstones marking the graves in New Jersey’s oldest cemetery are no longer readable, not only because they’re worn, but because they’re partially underground. While excavating around the headstones in the Old First Presbyterian Church cemetery in Elizabeth last week, archaeologist Seth Gartland found stones had sunk several feet, leaving only the top half exposed. When workers elevated the decaying stones, Gartland discovered inscriptions that had long been hidden. Brought to light were the intricate carvings and carefully chiseled words on the tombstone of Ebenezer Price, who had a workshop in Elizabeth and was one of the most skilled and prolific gravestone carvers in colonial America. He died in 1788. Long-forgotten information about Matthias Ogden was recently lifted into the sunlight after decades of darkness. Ogden, who died in 1791, was one of those who tagged along with his friend, Aaron Burr, on Benedict Arnold’s march to Quebec and became a soldier. The conflict was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Restoring the centuries-old headstones is a tedious task Gartland and others have been involved in as part of a $7 million rehabilitation of the church and cemetery. Work on the oldest English-speaking church in New Jersey and cemetery began last year with the refurbishment of windows and a roof repair in the parish house. Time, neglect and the sheer weight of the stones have all contributed to further hiding the grave markers, along with their engravings. "They’re about 200 pounds. They’re really heavy," said Gartland, of Milner and Carr Conservation of Philadelphia, historic restoration specialists. But restoration of the headstones is only a start for the church, located near City Hall and the Union County Courthouse on Broad Street. Plans are in the works for new plumbing and electric, an arts center, and the launching of a daily feeding program and a homeless drop-in shelter, church board member Dave Rogers said. At one time, it seemed like repairing the church and property was a pipe dream. But then retired interim minister Rev. Charles Brackbill stepped in. Seven years ago, Brackbill contacted Audrey Snyder, who ran the Harold B. and Dorothy A. Snyder Foundation until her death five years ago. Snyder donated $170,000 and later, the foundation continued to support the renovations with over $5 million and a $1 million endowment to care for the property in perpetuity, Brackbill said. Other government grants total over $1 million. "He’s the one who started all this stuff, got the ball rolling for all these grants," Rogers said. For Brackbill, renovating the property meant preserving a part of American history. When the church was founded in 1664 by English Puritans from Long Island, it became the centerpiece of Elizabethtown, so named at the time, he said. "They dominated the Presbyterian faith for many years," said Brackbill, 89. "The Presbyterians established the town, owned it, had the prestige." Historian Charles Shallcross said Elizabeth played a huge part in America’s history. In 1762, the church’s Rev. James Caldwell became one of the most outspoken supporters of the Revolution, said Shallcross, a former history teacher. "Legend has it that on Sundays he preached with two loaded pistols on the pulpit," Shallcross said. In 1780, the church was burned. Six months later, in June, British troops shot and killed Caldwell’s wife, Hanna, as she sat in the parsonage in Connecticut Farms with her nine children, Shallcross said. A year later, Rev. Caldwell was shot and killed as he went to visit prisoners at the Elizabethtown waterfront. A centerpiece in the cemetery is a monument to the Caldwell family. By 1789, a new church building was constructed, Shallcross said, along with a new steeple. But 100 years later, a tornado destroyed the steeple. The steeple was rebuilt, but in 1946, a fire brought down the church and the steeple, leaving only the walls standing, he said. "The steeple has had a difficult history," Shallcross said. The church was rebuilt by 1949, but there were insufficient funds for a steeple, Shallcross said. Thanks to the latest project, an exact duplicate of the steeple was placed atop the old tower last August. "I never thought I’d see that in my lifetime," said Rogers. Buried in the cemetery are 227 soldiers, including three generals, said Shallcross. The oldest headstone dates to 1687. The headstones offer history lessons. "Some stones have gunshot marks from the British using them as target practice," said Gartland.