Soldier or Indian Burial Ground?

UM Road Return #1029, 1829

A road return is a report filed with (returned to) the county by a surveyor after a road was laid out, altered or vacated. They can be pretty fascinating, some show buildings and landowners for a particular time frame. Here's road return 1029 from 1829, showing River Road being laid out south of Taylorsville in Upper Makefield. Prior to this, Taylorsville Rd was known as River Rd, as it was the closest road to the river  

If you look closely, there is an interesting notation on the return. I have a different version of this same return and it also makes the note.

Some old Soldiers and others buried here about 50 years ago.

Another road return showing "Soldiers graves"

Forgotten soldier's graves from the 1770s? Well that certainly seems like something I'd be interested in rediscovering. With little to go on, I set out to find more.

BCHS Papers Volume 3 “Reminisces of Pineville and Vicinity” Mathias Hall, January 19, 1904

There were some Revolutionary soldiers buried on the river bank on the VanHart farm below Taylorsville, north of and near a small stream of water that empties into the river there. (p. 337)

J. Wallace Hoff – Circa 1909 “Description of land, roads, buildings, etc. in area of Washington Crossing, and account of the crossing, Dec. 26, 1776 “

About a mile and a half to the south, on the river bank, old inhabitants will tell you of another revolutionary burying ground, near the head of Willis Island, now grass grown and covered with stones carted from adjoining farms. 

Next, I came across an article saying that the graves were found in 1922 when straightening the road, which includes an interesting backstory. 

Trenton Evening Times, Dec 26, 1922 Remains of Five Revolutionary Soldiers Unearthed During Repair of Road to Washington Crossing

Mr. Townsend, however, recalled that at one time Samuel Scully, of Philadelphia, had told him that if the bend were ever straightened, some bodies would be found.

Mr. Scully was communicated with, and his story, which is perhaps the only record obtainable explaining this small cemetery was handed down to him by his forefathers, is as follows:

As a boy he had lived in that section of Lower Makefield Township that Washington’s ragged Continentals had been quartered in a century before, and he remembered, on drives along the Delaware with his grandfather, having a peculiar bow in the road drawn to his attention by that old gentleman. His grandfather had built the road and told him that the bend was built in order to miss a small cemetery which otherwise would have been in the direct line of the highway.

Both before and after the battle of Trenton, soldiers had been quartered on the farm of Abdon Buckman, great-grandfather of Mr. Scully, located three miles back from the crossing point. The men numbered about 20, and spent almost the entire winter there. During their stay, three of their number died, and they were taken to a place along the river bank and buried. Later two additional bodies were added to the small plot, being two of Washington soldiers that had died on a farm at the foot of Jericho Mountain. This accounts for the remains of five bodies recently unearthed. Quite likely wooded crosses marked the graves for a time, but if so, had been obliterated. 

All of the remains of those found buried were carefully collected, and sometime in the near future will be reinterred close to the spot along the Delaware from which they were disturbed. It is also planned to have the location marked by an appropriate monument.

All was not settled yet. A year later we see an article in the Enterprise questioning whether the skeletons were soldiers or Indians.

Newtown Enterprise, December 22, 1923 “Were Likely Skeletons of Indians”

A word in regard to some skeletons that were exhumed near the river bank on the Kirkbride farm in the lower corner of Upper Makefield township when widening or straightening the Lower River road, at that place, in 1922. 

It was generally supposed that these skeletons were those of Revolutionary soldiers, but on closer examination of the manner and form of burial at least some of them were believed to be those of Indians beyond any reasonable doubt. Almost any person of average intellect, with a little thought will be convinced that a bed of argillite chips or flakes with sharp edges, such as can yet be seen where these skeletons were found, was not placed there by nature or by the white men. Besides, the writer, picked up three pieces of Indian pottery, which are now in the Mercer Museum at Doylestown. Perhaps more pottery was broken by the plow, and covered in the dirt removal, unnoticed by the workmen, besides the white men had better implements for digging and would bury their dead deeper than did the Indians.

Then if some of the skeletons were those of Indians, it is just possible that they were all Indians, and, that the Revolutionary soldiers’ graves there are yet undisturbed.

That certainly makes it sound like the graves were Indians and not soldiers. This begs the question, are the soldiers graves still there? 

Here's a few more sources. Nobody seems to know what happened to the bodies once they were determined to be Indians and not soldiers. 

Brownsburg Estates Phase 1B Archaeological Survey

“No Spot in This Far Land is More Immortalized” Peter Osborne 2014

This graveyard [Revolutionary Was Soldiers graves at Bowman's] was not the only one near the Crossing’s location. In 1922-1923, as Route 32 was built, the remains of what were thought to be five Continental soldiers were found near the junction of Mount Eyre Road and the new highway. They were uncovered as a dangerous curve was being straightened. The commission took possession of them and decided that if they proved to be Continental soldiers, a special casket would be purchased and they would be given a proper burial. It is not known what happened to them. 

Washington Crossing Park Commission 1917-1997, Vol 1. p. 85

The Secretary stated that about the first of December when straightening the River Road opposite Mount Eyre, the workmen of the State Highway Department found the remains of five bodies, evidently those of Continental Soldiers. A number of the bones which were not destroyed, are in the possession of the Secretary. Upon motion of Mr. Williams seconded by Mr. Fackenthal, the secretary was instructed to preserve these bones for a further investigation and Mr. Baldi stated that if these were found to be the remains of Continental Soldiers, he would present a steel casket and have proper burial at a place to be selected by the Commission.

Unknown Source

It is doubtless not known to many of your that in 1922, the State Highway Commission, in straightening out the River Road, 1.8 miles below Washington Crossing, at a point where the road from Dolington enters the River road, unearthed a number of bodies, supposed to have been those of soldiers who lost their lives by exposure and otherwise at the battle of Trenton. Five of these bodies were carefully removed and placed in boxes, with the thought of having them interred elsewhere;

Oddly, there's a grave stone right in the vicinity of where the graves were found, on the creek bank. It's for a pet, though. If the found skeletons were indeed Indians, then the soldier's cemetery remains undisturbed in the spot it always was. 

Locating A Lost Grave

In August of 2021 I was asked by members of the Bucks County Historical Society and Mercer Museum to help with an amazing project on the Doan Gang. They were seeking information on the whereabouts of a certain grave site. I had previously come across a few references to this in my research, so I figured why not, I'll give it a shot. It was the start of a fruitful relationship, and many fun adventures continue to come out of it. Here's the research.

BCHS Papers Volume 2  “Newtown Prior to 1800” J. Pemberton Hutchinson, July 21, 1896 

As an outcome of these confessions, John Tomlinson, of Wrightstown, at whose house the robbery was planned, was arrested, tried, convicted, hung at Newtown, and buried on his own farm; the stones marking the grave are still to be seen. (p. 399)

BCHS Papers Volume 3  “Reminisces of Pineville and Vicinity” Mathias Hall, January 19, 1904

There is also a family graveyard on the Hettie Ann Williams farm in Upper Makefield, where a number of graves were one time marked, at present however only two are marked. The farmer’s plow is encroaching and probably in a short time this graveyard will be known only in history. (p. 336)

He [John Tomlinson] was hanged October 17, 1782 and was buried on the hill overlooking Cavey Hollow and a few feet north of the east corner of my farm. (p. 340)

History of Bucks County Davis (1905 Edition)  Chapter 29 “Upper Makefield”

http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/bucks/history/local/davis/davis29.txt

On the old Tomlinson farm, now owned by Hettie Ann Williams, near the Eagle, and a few feet north of Mathias Hall’s line, is a head stone said to mark the grave of John Tomlinson, who assisted the Doanes ... It is said that the walnut tree near his grave has been frequently struck by lightning, and that flowers that bloom but once in a century have bloomed over Tomlinson’s grave. Other members of the family are said to be buried at the same place. Two graves only, are marked.

Upper Makefield Speaks...Bucks County Recollections an Oral History UM Historical Society 1981

Interview with Marge Reeve, owner of Egypt Farm, May 21, 1980

John Tomlinson, having harbored and fed them, received 140 hard dollars and a quantity of state money for which he was tried in Newtown, found guilty and hanged on October 17th, 1782. He was buried in a corner of his farm near the boundary with Wiggins’ land. (p. 65)

Locating the Grave Site

On the 1891 EP Noll map of Upper Makefield, the owners of the relevant properties match up with Mathias Hall’s 1904 description of the grave location. Hall owned the property adjacent to Egypt farm, then owned by Hettie Ann Williams. From the descriptions in the source articles, one can narrow down the approximate location of the grave.

Hall says that Tomlinson is buried on the hill “a few feet north of the east corner of my farm.”

The 1891 atlas shows where the east corner of his 106 acre farm meets the property of Hettie Ann Williams, right above the 2nd t in Hettie.

Comparing this to a current tax parcel map, we find that the corner of Hall’s farm is now the corner of parcel #47-004-0072-010.

This corner is bounded to the north by 47-004-074-008 and to the east by 47-004-074-010. Both houses were built by Toll Brothers in 2008. 

A modern Google Map aerial shows the current view, with the location of the corner in the center of the image:

Given the above information, we can conclude that the location of the Tomlinson family burial ground where John Tomlinson is buried now lies in the rear yard of 47-004-074-008. Note that the house has a basement and a swimming pool — one wonders how close they were dug to the graves. 

Clarification of Marge Reeve’s quote:

Marge Reeve’s 1980 interview states that Tomlinson was buried near the boundary with Wiggins’ land. At the time of the event, the Tomlinson farm didn’t border any Wiggins land. By 1876, we can see that there were 3 Wiggins properties bordering Egypt Farm, which was owned by John Eastburn.

Since Benjamin Wiggins owned the adjacent property that Mathias Hall would later own, we can assume that Reeves was simply naming an earlier owner of the property to describe the location. More attention should be paid to the sources from eighty to one hundred years prior, as they were closer to the time of the actual event. Had this been the only source, then we would need to explore the other corners that border Wiggins’ property. Mathias Hall specified the east corner of his property, which eliminates that necessity.  

Family Burial Ground or Single Grave?

Mathias Hall’s 1904 BCHS paper makes separate mention of a “family graveyard” on the property and the location where John Tomlinson was buried. He doesn’t note a connection between the two, leading to the question of whether he’s referencing the same location. A farm of two hundred plus acres could contain more than one burial ground, and Tomlinson could have been buried separately from the family, especially given the circumstances of his death. 

The Upper Makefield chapter in Davis’ History of Bucks County helps to clarify; “Other member of the family are said to be buried at the same place. Two graves only, are marked.” This information was not included the first edition (1876) of the book, it was added in the 1905 revision. It is likely that Davis used the info from Hall’s paper from the prior year; making the connection that Hall didn’t spell out. 

From the available evidence, it seems most likely that there was one burial ground on the property, consisting of multiple graves. J. Pemberton Hutchinson’s 1896 BCHS paper references “stones” being visible at the site, which is consistent with the later descriptions. 

Evidence of the Burial Ground

https://datacommons.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=10af5f75f9f94f01866359ba398cb6a9

The earliest aerial photo available from PennPilot is dated January 5th, 1938. Although there is no visible evidence of any graves, there is the shadow of a larger tree which could be the walnut tree described by Davis. 

In 1904, Mathias Hall said The farmer’s plow is encroaching and probably in a short time this graveyard will be known only in history. The aerial photo from October 27, 1950 shows that his prediction was a prescient one. We can see crops growing where the burial ground would be, and no evidence that any special attention was being paid to avoid it.

An image from a real estate listing for 47-004-074-010 gives another view of what the area looks like today:

Remember, this is private property and they do not want people coming to their backyards to dig up graves. Please don't do that. Who knows, you may have somebody buried in your backyard too.

I wrote another blog about a forgotten graveyard in the same general location that was likely the Tomlinson family plot, and not Continental Soldiers. Who knows? 

https://buckshistory.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-forgotten-graveyard-in-caveys-hollow.html

A Forgotten Graveyard in Cavey's Hollow

Newtown Enterprise - April 23, 1881 

“Cavey’s Hollow. – Our country is too new for many old historical legends, but still, having a few we must take the best uses of them.  Start out on the road from Newtown to Brownsburg, and on reaching the crossing of the one from Wrightstown to Taylorsville, we find ourselves on high ground, where there is quite an extensive view.  At this season of the year the range of hills commencing at the river and running off into New Jersey above Titusville is plainly to be seen, also the hills about Lambertville.  Nearer is the curving line of the Jericho hill, and under its shadow is the camping ground of the little Continental army, led by George Washington, in 1776, and the houses wherein he and Gen. Greene lived during the eventful winter of 1776-7.  Just at that cross road above mentioned, cast your eye to the left, and a ravine or hollow will be noticed, down which flows a small stream.  It is a cleft between wooded hills, though now it is partially cleared.  It must have been partially cleared before the revolution, for in this hollow lived Cavey, a man who was murdered.  Many a man has been killed and left no sign, but Cavey’s soul would not rest, and he came back again, came back without a head!  He was seen many times and oft.  It appears that a road once led down through this valley or “hollow”, and in the early years of the century, many a young man who at a late hour at night had reluctantly broke himself away from the arms of his dearest, encountered the headless form of Cavey.  Whether Cavey yet appears we cannot now learn, for the road is now blocked up, and the young men now go home around by Canaan in spar-spring buggies.

In the hollow, on the farm occupied by Peter Hogeland, is an old grave yard, where are buried the bodies of Washington’s soldiers.  Some upright pieces of red shale rock mark a number of the graves, and the plow has not molested the sacred ground.  This is one of the few places where, without doubt, still rest the remains of the noble martyrs of ’76.  Considering what our country is now, and what we owe to these men who voluntarily took up arms to achieve its independence, should there not be some public recognition of them, something at least to mark their last resting place?  Let there be a wall built around this sacred spot, and a plain monument erected with a suitable inscription, in this Cavey Hollow Cemetery.” 

1876 Atlas Showing Cavey's Hollow