Tag Archives: Historic Churches in Bergen County NJ

English Neighborhood Reformed Church 1040 Edgewater Avenue Ridgefield, NJ 07657

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New Jersey, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Ridgefield NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Small museums in New Jersey, Smile! Your Visiting New Jersey!, The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

English Neighborhood Reformed Church

1040 Edgewater Avenue

Ridgefield, NJ 07657

(201) 943-1231

https://www.englishneighborhoodreformed.org

Open:

Worship: Sunday 11:00am-12:30pm

Office: Sunday 11:00am-12:00pm/ Monday Closed/Tuesday 9:00am-12:00pm/Wednesday-Thursday Closed/Friday 9:00am-12:00pm/Saturday Closedi

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/14329261?m=19905

The front of the English Neighborhood Reformed Church

The sign in front of this historic church

The front of the church

The front of the church from Church Road

The historic marker in front of the church

Since my project studying the historic graveyards and cemeteries of the Revolutionary War with my International Marketing students, I have taken my time to walk these sites and try to understand the history and importance of these sites as part of the memories of who these people were, the contributions that made to not just our county but the country and trying to keep their memories alive while many have been forgotten by their families.

The newer back part of the cemetery

Visiting during a recent post Memorial Day visit, I got to see how many veterans of all the wars from the American Revolution to Desert Storm were buried here. Even though we studied just the veterans of the Revolutionary War, I was fascinated by the number of Civil War and World War I and II veterans here as well.

The older section of the graveyard

The history of our County and Country are shown among the rows of tombstones that represent the contribution of our County residents to the many causes. It was very humbling to see them being honored at this time.

What I found interesting was many of the branches of ‘Founding First Families’ of Bergen County were interned here, representing Bergen County’s contributions to the foundation of the United States.

The Engle family plot where Revolutionary War veteran John Engle was a member

The Vreeland family plot closest to the church is the resting place of Revolutionary War veteran Michael Vreeland (again this site was once their family’s farm)

A closer look at the Vreeland family plot

I believe this is the tombstone of Michael Vreeland, Revolutionary War veteran

Another branch of the Vreeland family

Another branch of the Vreeland family

The Herring (Haring) family crypt

The Outwater family crypt. General Outwater’s side of the family is buried in a family plot in Carlstadt, NJ

The Banta family plot

The DeGraw family plot

The grave of Benjamin Westervelt

The grave of a soldier I could not read

It was so interesting to walk amongst the rows of tombstones and trying to understand each person’s story and their personal contributions to the way our community was founded and developed. So many of these family names are woven into the history of Bergen County.

There is a quiet elegance to these graveyards and on a warm sunny afternoon they are less scary and more of a place of understanding and respecting our past. It was an interesting history lesson.

Looking at the oldest section of the graveyard where many Colonial family plots are located

History of the Church:

(From the Church website)

The English Neighborhood Reformed Church is the oldest building in Ridgefield, NJ, erected on its current site way back in 1793, long before Bergen County became the bustling metropolitan area it is today.

But even before this, way back in 1675, Ridgefield was known as “The English Neighborhood” and covered roughly 10 miles of land between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers. This is where our church gets its historic name. The first construction of the church (in Leonia) dates back to 1768, but was moved to its present site in Ridgefield, in 1793.

This area played a role in the Revolutionary war, when General Washington retreated with the Continental Army in 1776 from NY City and passed through the English Neighborhood. Those who fled the area for their cause, included the English Neighborhood Church’s first minister, Garrit Leydekker, an Englishman and a Tory, who fled for the safety of New York City, taking the church’s first records with him.

The historic graveyard next to the church

The church’s steeple was the tallest structure to rise above the flat meadowlands and would become a surveyors landmark. It is approx. 80 ft. in height and made from hand-strewn timbers and wood dowels, rather than nails.

The historic church on a sunny afternoon

In 1804, Edgewater Avenue was a bustling artery for commerce and was part of the toll road known as the Bergen Turnpike. For 100 years, covered wagons transported their goods from the farms of NJ, to the ferries that would carry them to market in NY City, right past the church. The church was once located in the heart of the bustle of life as it was, before the industrial revolution.

The historic doors of the church

In 1854, the railroad was brought to Ridgefield, which introduced industry and growth to the town. Throughout the Civil War, members of the congregation were active in the “underground railroad.” Runaway slaves were hidden under the bridge by Overpeck Creek. They were given food, clothes and other necessities to help move them to the next safe haven, during the night.

In 1912, the Sunday school building was added, across the way from the church. Additions to the building were completed in 1954 and 1962.

A bridge was built over the Railroad tracks in 1932, which led to the closing of Edgewater Avenue and the “Old Highway” that once brought passersby with regularity, became a dead-end street. These gradual changes have meant that the historic legacy of the English Neighborhood and its church, goes largely unnoticed.

However, these changes also, today provide the quiet hamlet that the church finds itself surrounded by – a little piece of heaven on earth – right here in a busy, and often congested, Ridgefield. It is this history and this unique location that makes the English Neighborhood Church a one-of-a-kind place to worship.

We hope you will join us some Sunday to see for yourself. God has blessed this congregation for nearly 233 years (2026). Jesus is doing some amazing things with this church and its people. You are welcome to be one of them, as we move into the next thing God is calling us to do and be, as Jesus’s disciples.

The back part of the graveyard

The oldest sections surround the church

Ramapo Reformed Church 100 Island Road Mahwah, NJ 07430

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Farms of Bergen County, NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Visiting Farms and Farm Stands of New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ramapo Reformed Church

100 Island Road

Mahwah, NJ 07430

(201) 529-3075

https://ramaporeformedchurch.org/home

Open: Sunday 10:00am-12:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/photo/819672582?m=19905

The Ramapo Reformed Church at 100 Island Road

The historic sign of the history of the church

The church in the summer

The history of the Ramsey Reformed Church:

(from the Ramapo Reformed Church website)

Formerly The Ramapo Meeting House was organized in 1785 and built in 1798

In 1713, a small group of eleven German Lutheran families settled at the “Island,” so named because of extensive marshlands surrounding high, dry land. They formed a congregation in 1715, and c. 1720 built a log church. Prior to 1739, they built a larger, frame church.  

Dutch, French, English and Scottish settlers of the Reformed faith came to the Island about mid-century and attended church in Paramus, 10 miles distant. In 1785, they organized The Ramapo Dutch Reformed Congregation at Ramapough in Bergen County.  

After the Revolutionary War (1776-1783), the first task of the new nation was to repair the damages of war and neglect. Neither the Lutheran nor the Reformed congregation at the Island had sufficient means to build a new church. In spite of having fought on opposing sides during the War, they agreed to jointly repair and use the old Lutheran church. The arrangement was so successful that in 1798, they agreed to build the present church together.  

Construction began on June 4th, and was finished in November. The last items purchased were “one lock and two keys” on December 12, 1798. The two congregations shared the church for fifty years until 1848, when the Lutherans sold their interest and moved to Airmont, NY and established the present Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church.  

As soon as its doors opened to the public in 1798, the new Ramapough Meeting House became the heart of the daily activities. Social gatherings and civic meetings were held here all week long, and personal and official notices were posted on the doors. But on the Sabbath (from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday) the building became a sacred place.  

Ramapough – or Bellgrove, as it was called at this time – had four mills, several blacksmith shops, a general store, a stagecoach stop, and U.S. Post Office, one of the earliest in New Jersey (1797). The old Kings Highway of 1703 or Ramapough Road (Island Road) was part of the ancient 150-mile Albany Post Road from Paulus Hook (Jersey City) to Albany, NY. Dobbin & Tustin, est. 1797, ran a passenger and mail stage line on this road, right past the door of the Ramapough Meeting House.  

In 1798, when pews and people were smaller, the Meeting House held 385 people. (Today, it holds 250). Though the old box-type pews are gone from the sanctuary, the gallery seats above still exist.  The Island Church held an important place in the railroad hamlet of Mahwah throughout the 1800s. It was known simply as the Community Church until the 1950s, when suburbanization brought many other faiths to Mahwah.  

One of the earliest public schools in the area, c. 1815, was operated on the church property until 1906, when the church sold land to the Township for the Commodore Perry School. In the cemetery is a roadbed of the old Kings Highway.  

The Ramapo Reformed Church is the oldest public building in Mahwah, and a repository of more than 200 years of local and regional history. It is the older of only two remaining frame Federal-period churches in Bergen County, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The modern church sign

I walked through this quiet and reserved graveyard in search of ghosts from the past. The graveyard at the Ramapo Reformed Church, like many of these former Dutch churches, are steeped in memories of the past.

The historic graveyard in the back of the church

In the unique graveyard are the places of rest of many of the first families of Bergen County, NJ who not just shaped the county, but the State of New Jersey and the United States as well.

The oldest part of the graveyard surrounds the church

While the names Haring, Christie, Blauvelt, Demarest, Ramsey, Sutherland, Fox, Hopper, Van Ripper, DeBaun, Terhune and Tice may not similar to most people, to a generation of us were the names of farming families in Bergen County.

The Hopper Family plot

https://www.usrhistoricalsociety.org/families

https://www.hhkborough.com/home/hopper-zabriskie-family-cemetery

Getting to Know the Hoppers!
Family Files Catalog

Another branch of the Hopper family

Their farms supplied us with fresh fruits and vegetables when in season and places for us to go during Halloween and Thanksgiving for our baked goods and much needed apple cider.

The Suffern family plot

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/SUFFERN

https://www.ancestry.com.au/last-name-meaning/suffern?srsltid=AfmBOorrfCGqRBXcEw4poUsVKndOmhzuu2NoaQ6dYjeuEz1I7Ph2UHeI

The 1980’s real estate boom put an end to many of these traditions but those names still live in the memories of an older generation. We see some of these traditions still hold tight at Demarest Farms in Hillsdale where hayrides and apple cider and fritters are still part of that experience.

The Goetschius family plot

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~njhudson/bio_goetschius_family.html

https://bergencountyhistory.catalogaccess.com/people/17462

https://dutchgenie.net/GSBC-familyfiles/familyfiles/g0/p463.htm

For this trip though, I was in search of graves of our brave veterans of the American Revolution and in the faded tombstones surrounding the church, I found most of them.

The oldest part of the graveyard wraps itself around the church or faces the road, which at one time must have been a country lane.

Some of the oldest families from the community are buried closest to the church building

The graveyard is filled with family plots of most of the first families of the area once surrounded by old fences.

The graveyard is full of families and their memories. In some parts of the graveyard, family plots are organized by generations. To so the progression of mother and father to their children and grandchildren. The history of these families is in the rows of names and the intermarriages of all these families to one another.

The Fox family plot, where one of the members of the family was a veteran of the Civil War

https://www.familysearch.org/ms/search/catalog/2366042

Early Bergen County Families, by Pat A. Wardell

The Ramsey family plot

https://bestofnj.com/features/entertainment/jersey-through-history-ramsaysburg-james-ramsay-farmstead/

The Ramsey family plot

The grave site of Peter Ramsey, who the town of Ramsey was named after

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/K4FS-R7L/peter-j.-ramsey-1804-1852

Peter J. Ramsey was born on 23 November 1804, in Bergen, New Jersey, United States. He married Margaret Hopper in 1828, in Hohokus Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 10 May 1852, in Ramapo, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 47, and was buried in Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Family Search.org).

Closer to the church, I discovered the graves of our brave soldiers from the Revolutionary War whom I had been searching for.

The grave of John Suffern, who fought in the Revolutionary War and whose family the County of Suffern was named after

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MT85-8B1/john-suffern-1741-1836

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Suffern-60

When John Suffern was born on 23 November 1741, in County Antrim, Ireland, his father, William Suffern, was 27 and his mother, Margaret Templeton, was 19. He married Mary Myers on 1 January 1766, in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Rockland, New York, United States in 1820 and Ramapo, Rockland, New York, United States in 1830. He died on 11 November 1836, in Suffern, Ramapo, Rockland, New York, United States, at the age of 94, and was buried in Ramapo Reformed Church Cemetery, Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).

The graves of John Suffern and his wife

The Christie family plot, where John and James Christie who fought in the war were buried

The graves of John Christie and his wife

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2SY-CNW/john-w-christie-1754-1815

When John W Christie was born on 7 May 1754, in Schraalenburgh, Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, William James Christie, was 33 and his mother, Catalijntje Demarest, was 32. He married Annatie Hannah Brinkerhoff about 1773, in New Barbadoes Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 8 daughters. He died on 11 September 1815, in Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 61, and was buried in Bergenfield, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).

The graves of James Christie and his wife

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LKRF-61W/james-willem-christie-1744-1817

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M56X-DYC/james-christie-1746

When James Willem Christie was born on 20 August 1744, in Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, William James Christie, was 24 and his mother, Catalijntje Demarest, was 22. He married Maria Banta about 1772, in Schraalenburgh, Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 23 July 1817, in Bergenfield, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 72 (Familysearch.org).

The grave of Lawrence Sutherland another Revolutionary War Veteran

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LHNH-3RV/lawrence-sutherland-1763-1846

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sutherland-2841

When Lawrence Sutherland was born on 12 June 1763, in Harrington Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, his father, James Sutherland, was 21 and his mother, Marietje, was 19. He married Elizabeth Sutherland in 1786, in New Hampstead, Rockland, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 9 October 1846, in New Hampstead, Rockland, New York, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).

The Terhune family plot

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~batrhune/genealogy/Early%20Dutch%20Family%20Ties/page04.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terhune_House_(Wyckoff,_New_Jersey)

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~batrhune/genealogy/Early%20Dutch%20Family%20Ties/page29.htm

The grave of John DeBaun and Matilda Van Belget

The Haring family plot of John and Elizabeth Haring

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/HARING

The graves of John and Elizabeth Tice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tice_Farms

Early Bergen County Families, by Pat A. Wardell
The Theis family arrives in North America and settles in New Jersey

The historic family tombstones

The Ackerman family plot

https://www.njgsbc.org/files/familyfiles/g0/p10.htm

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/ACKERMAN

Click to access Ackerman-A-G-Ber-Co-Fams.pdf

The graves of John Straut and his wife, Susan Evers Straut

There are a million stories to be told in this graveyard and it is interesting to know their families stories

The family plots in the graveyard

Wyckoff Reformed Church 580 Wyckoff Avenue Wyckoff, NJ 07481

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wyckoff Reformed Church

580 Wyckoff Avenue

Wyckoff, NJ 07481

(201) 891-1782

https://www.wyckoffreformed.org/

Open: Sunday 9:00am-11:00am (Sunday Mass)

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/13777849?m=19905

The Wyckoff Reformed Church and Graveyard

The front of the church in the Summer of 2025

The graveyard at the church dates back to before the Revolutionary War. The graveyard has veterans from all the wars since the Revolutionary War to the current wars.

The Wyckoff Reformed Church was built with local fieldstone in 1806. The carpentry inside was done by Daniel Baldwin. The style features vernacular Early Republic, Federal architecture and the windows are done in the Gothic Revival style (Wiki).

The historic graveyard in the back of the church

The back of the graveyard that reaches further back into town

The part of the graveyard from the mid to late 1800’s. There are Civil War veterans buried here.

The back of the church from the 1800’s

The graveyard from the 1800’s

The Revolutionary War era section of the graveyard

The graves of the Revolutionary War veterans

The grave of Revolutionary War veteran Albert N. Van Voorheis

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LXQY-KCH/albert-voorhees-1759-1820

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=12407

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stephensz-2

When Albert Voorhees was born on 24 July 1759, in Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, Albert Van Voorhees, was 54 and his mother, Cornelia H. Van Gieson, was 42. He married Rachael Hopper on 26 July 1788, in Acquackanonk Township, Passaic, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. He died on 17 October 1820, at the age of 61 (FamilySearch.com).

The grave of William P. Winter

The grave of Vanithy Van Voorheis, the wife of Albert Van Voorheis.

The historic part of graveyard right behind the church

The graves of Bridget Ackerman and Martin Myers

The graves of Jack Van Saun and his wife, a descendant of the Van Ripper farm family

The graves of the Van Ripper family

The family plots

The grave of David Stagg

The graves of Peggy Willis and Margaret and Abraham Van Voorheis

The graves of the Mickler family

The graves Abraham and Sara Ann Quackenbush

This historic church and graveyard are really interesting to walk around. It is a glimpse into the past of Bergen County, NJ and the entire State of New Jersey

Saddle River Reformed Church 481 East Saddle River Road Saddle River, NJ 07458

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Saddle River, NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Exploring Upper Saddle River, NJ, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saddle River Reformed Church and Cemetery

481 East River Road

Saddle River, NJ 07458

(201) 327-5242

https://oldstonechurchonline.org/about-us/

Open: Sunday 9:00am-12:00pm/Monday-Saturday Be Appointment

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Saddle River Reformed Church at 481 East Saddle River Road in Saddle River, NJ is also known as the “Old Stone Church”

The historic marker of the church

I visited the ‘Old Stone Church’ in Saddle River, one of the oldest churches in the state and was taken not just by the beauty of the church but by the respect the church has for the people who are buried here. There is much recognition for the contributions of the soldiers and the armed forces not just for the Revolutionary War soldiers but current ones as well.

The oldest part of the cemetery is the closest to the church

The oldest part of the cemetery contains names like Demarest, Haring, Hopper, DeBraun, Eckerson, Terhune and Zabriskie. These are the first settlers of the area whose families owned farms in Saddle River. Many of the families have family plots in the cemetery.

The Hopper family plot

The Zabriskie family plot

The Gilderston family plot

The DeBraun family plot

The oldest part of the cemetery holds so much history of the founding members of the Saddle River and Bergen County community.

The History of the Church:

(from the Saddle River Reformed Church website)

Our church, known to many as the Old Stone Church, was organized in 1784 as a daughter church of the Old Paramus Church. It is a part of the Reformed Church in America, a denomination which traces its roots to the Dutch colonists.

While there is evidence that the original church building was erected in 1789, our present sanctuary was built in 1819. An extensive renovation in 1971 – 1972 recreated the appearance of the original structure.

The Old Stone Church and the historic Revolutionary War Cemetery that is located behind it.

The History of the Cemetery:

(From the Saddle River Reformed Church website):

Our cemetery is the resting place of numerous American Revolution and Civil War Veterans. Church records indicate that the following veterans have been buried at our historic site.

The Saddle River Reformed Church Cemetery is one of the most historic in this part of the country. Our cemetery is over 230 years old and is the burial ground of nine known Veterans of the American Revolution. Tracing back to the founding of this nation, these resting places designate the cemetery as an historic spot of great significance, with a special interest to historians and antiquarians. Surrounded by mature and lush foliage, its peaceful setting by the banks of the Saddle River make for an esteemed and hallowed resting place for your loved ones.

Some of the most fascinating part of the cemetery is its historical section

With the Bergen 250-The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War next year, I wanted to point out the veterans buried here from the war.

Click to access srr-osc-church-and-cemetery-guidebook-for-viewing_649314046da32.pdf

Jacob David DeBraun

(from the church website)

David DeBaun was born in Schraalenburg (Bergenfield) in 1759 to Abraham DeBaun and Bridget Ackerman. About 1770 the family moved to Hempstead in New York. David served as a private in the Second Regiment of Hay’s Militia, Captain Garret Ackerson’s Company. He married Hannah Forshay, b. 1868, d. 1836. David died in New Hempstead, NY in 1820. He was tax officer of Hempstead in 1811 and 1812; supervisor of Haverstraw 1811-1814. An enclosed plot in the Upper Saddle River Cemetery is the resting place of his entire family.

John Tallman

(from the church website)

John Tallman was a Sergeant in Hays Regiment of Militia, Orange County, NY Militia, Company of Captain Hogenkamp, William Sickles, and Aurie Smith, and is listed on the Revolutionary War pension records. He was born in Tappan, the son of Jan Tallman and Helena Gerritse Blauvelt. He married Margrietje Forseur (Forshay). He died in New Hempstead, NY in 1839.

David Eckerson

(from the church website)

David Thomas Eckerson, was born in Schraalenburgh (Bergenfield) in 1738. He married Angenetye Vanderbeek and they had a sons Thomas, Paul, Jon, David and Aurie and daughters Hannah, Mary and Angenetye. He is on the Revolutionary War rolls in Rockland County. Revolutionary War veteran Peter van Orden was an executor to his will.

Thomas Eckerson

(from the church website)

Thomas Eckerson, 1745-1818, was married to Cornelia Eckerson. They had children, Thomas Eckerson, Edward T. Eckerson, Maria Eckerson Crouter, and Jacob Eckerson. He is listed as a Private, New Jersey Regiment. He also served in the War of 1812.

Abraham Haring

(from the church website)

Abraham G. Haring was born in 1755 in Tappan, Orange, NY to Garret J. Haring and Cornelia Lent. He married Elizabeth Blauvelt. He died in 1832 in Hempstead, Rockland, NY. He served in the Revolutionary War 1775-1783, Coopers Regiment, NY Militia.

John Terhune

(from the church website)

John A. Terhune, 1753-1805, was the son of Albert A. Terhune and Elizabeth Doremus. He inherited the stone house on the sw corner of Lake Street and West Saddle River Road, known as the Terhune-Hopper house. He married Catherine Lutkins, daughter of Harman Lutkins of Paramus. He is on the SAR list.

Jacob Zabriskie

In the modern day, I wanted to point out a hero to the Bergen Country Firefighting Community and former Saddle River Fire Chief Larry Rauch and his wife, Sherry who both contributed so much to the firefighting community.

Chief Larry Rauch

https://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/ber091143

Many members of the Revolutionary, Civil, war of 1812 to WWI and II to Desert Storm are buried here. These church treats our veterans with great respect.

The cemetery sign

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Team Project Spring Semester 2026:

As part of our historic cemeteries and graveyard project we are working on for the Bergen 250 project for the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War, my class and I toured the historic graveyard and the family plots. This is one of the oldest churches in Bergen County and in New Jersey. We came to

The Old Stone Church at 481 East Saddle River Road in Saddle River

Touring the oldest part of the graveyard

This church has the most complete set of tombstones of Revolutionary War veterans and the church website has some of the most complete information on their veterans.

Our group picture at the Old Stone Church

My class and I toured the Old Stone Church first through some of the family plots that the students were writing about and then I took them on a tour of the section of the graveyard that held most of the veterans noted above. I walked them through the many family plots around this section of the church through the class period.

South Presbyterian Church 150 West Church Street Bergenfield, NJ 07621

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Bergenfield, NJ, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Walking in Downtown Bergenfield NJ, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
South Presbyterian Church 150 West Church Street Bergenfield, NJ 07621

The South Presbyterian Church in Bergenfield, NJ

The Historic Marker of the Church

The historic graveyard