New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones presents a culturally diverse account of New Jersey's historic burial places from High Point to Cape May and from the banks of the Delaware to the ocean-washed Shore, to explain what cemeteries tell us about people and the communities in which they lived.

This illustrated guidebook to New Jersey's old burial grounds is unique, not just for New Jersey, but for anywhere in America. Janice Kohl Sarapin introduces you to the history and lore of old graveyards. She shows you how to read epitaphs, how to date gravestones by style, how to restore an abandoned graveyard, and how to find out the stories of the people buried there. She describes more than 120 fascinating old burial grounds throughout the state (including the cemeteries of African-Americans, Jewish communities, and other ethnic and religious groups). She provides full directions and details about what makes each one special as well as suggestions for planning your visit and for educational activities to use with children and adults.

It has been almost two years since Part One of this series has been put together. I really enjoy visiting the old cemeteries in my spare time and learning from the people I meet. There are eleven more amazing graveyards to see in this volume, with most being located near a place of worship, like The Montville Reformed Church Cemetery which is still in use today, and some of them being tucked away in wooded areas far from site, like the "Early Newfoundland Cemetery," also known as the "Cuff Burying Ground," which is located next to the banks of the Pequannock River at the northern border of Morris County. The cemeteries and burial grounds we visit have been around since the 1700's and 1800's when the state was full of farmland and woods. Land owners would use a spot on their farm to bury their family members, others may have been buried near a church that was functioning at the time, but may no longer be in use today. The old farmland is disappearing, giving way to new homes and roads. So what happens to the cemeteries or family burial grounds? Some of them are in plain site on the side of the road, while others are off the beaten path hidden from view. The visible ones are usually fairly well maintained by a church, or a person who volunteers their own time to look after them, but the hidden ones are not as lucky. Many of them have simply been forgotten, lost in time, they are overgrown with brush, poison ivy and trees. Most of the tombstone names and writings have eroded away with time and have been damaged by falling tree limbs, wind, or vandalism over the years. These sacred places are in danger of being lost forever, some are already gone. Some heavily overgrown areas may be better visited in the colder months, but either way, dress appropriately with long pants and hiking boots, you don't want to encounter poison ivy, or ticks wearing shorts and flip-flops. Bring along some bug spray (deep woods off) and sunscreen when traveling off the beaten path in the warmer months. Be safe, and happy cemetery hopping!

This book relates the stories and describes the memorials of the people buried in Shelby, North Carolina's historic Sunset Cemetery, a microcosm of the Southeastern United States. The authors, an academic and a journalist, detail the lives and memories of people who are buried here, from Civil War soldiers to those who created the Jim Crow South and promoted the narrative of the Lost Cause. Featured are authors W.J. Cash and Thomas Dixon, whose racist novel was the basis for The Birth of a Nation. Drawn from historical research and local memory, it includes the tales of musicians Don Gibson and Bobby "Pepper Head" London, as well as a paratrooper who died in the Battle of the Bulge and other ordinary folks who rest in the cemetery. A bigger responsibility is to give a voice to the silenced, enslaved people of color buried in unmarked graves. Cemeteries are sacred places where artistry and memory meet--to understand, we need both the tales and the tombstones.