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The Old Ebenezer Church Cemetery is not to be confused with the current Ebenezer Union Cemetery. This cemetery was the original burying grounds that was adjacent to the three earlier churches that were at this site. The church was often referred to in earlier records as Allemaengel, but that was dropped due to confusion with the Allemaengel church that existed in nearby Berks County. Instead, it was commonly referred to as Die Orgel Kirche, or the Organ Church, as it was one of few places of worship that had such an instrument.
Historical information on this cemetery is limited, but as written in the volume Stones of Help; a 250-year history of Ebenezer Union Church, New Tripoli, PA 1740-1990, authors Richard K. Miller and Glenn D. Koch write that "a plot of ground, one hundred feet by two hundred feet was set aside to the northeast of the present church building." They continue by saying "However we do not know the date in time when it was first utilized. Unfortunately, many of the early gravemarkers and stones are missing." They also note that "It is rumored that the remains of Christianized Indians are also at rest in the old graveyard."
In 1966 the remaining gravemarkers that were legible enough to be read were read and transcribed by historians Raymond Hollenbach and Raymond Mantz. There were additional stones than those transcribed, but many were too deteriorated to be read. The list presented here represents that transcription.
Time has not been kind to the Old Cemetery at Ebenezer. In the intervening almost 50 years old stones that were once readable, are no more. And stones that existed when Hollenbach and Mantz transcribed the gravemarkers have often disappeared, sometimes sunken into the ground in which they were erected. As of 2015, this list remains the best extant record of the burials on the old Cemetery.
Glenn D. Koch
December 17, 2015
Address:
Decatur Street
New Tripoli, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
18066