St. Thomas' Cemetery
Cemetery Information
St. Thomas' has three cemeteries located on our property:
- The Old Cemetery which was enclosed by a stone wall in 1822
- The New Cemetery which was laid out in 1926
- The Rosewood Cemetery which is contiguous to the New Cemetery
The Old cemetery surrounding St. Thomas’ Church on three sides exudes an air of serenity and repose. Throughout the centuries, congregants have been laid to rest, close by the church where they and their families have enjoyed worship and fellowship. The names on the gravestones remain a virtual litany of early settlers: Owings, Carroll, Cradock, North, Taggart, Howard.
Often servants and slaves of early congregants were buried nearby, in a plot just outside the north cemetery wall. No records were kept for that adjunct to the cemetery.
Because of the growing church population, all available cemetery lots were eventually taken up, and it was decided that a “new” cemetery be created. With the erection of the new Parish House in 1926, a plot of cemetery, including roads and pathways was organized on the west side of the church driveway and adjacent to the “old” Parish House. Thus, it was decided that only those families previously owning plots in the “old” cemetery could claim burial in the churchyard area; all others would be interred in the “new” cemetery.