Whispers of history echo here at Bayview Cemetery. Bayview Cemetery is not just a burial ground. It is a tapestry woven from stories of immigrants, politicians, and heroes.
Bayview Cemetery resulted from the merger of Bay View and New York Bay Cemeteries. The New York Bay Cemetery began around 1848. It was designed as a garden-style burial ground. This followed the Rural Cemetery Movement. The movement sought to move burials away from urban development. Landscaping was important. A grid system was used for the layout. Bay View Cemetery opened in 1884. It was located just south of the New York Bay Cemetery. Bay View features winding paths. Its picturesque setting easily distinguishes it from the grid of New York Bay Cemetery.
Notice the Romanesque Revival-style granite arch at the Ocean Avenue entrance to Bayview-New York Bay Cemetery. It dates back to 1902. The arch has three rounded openings. Smaller pedestrian arches flank the central arch. Each reveals the founding date of the two cemeteries. A wrought iron gate now closes the entrance to vehicles.
Among those buried at Bayview Cemetery are many prominent individuals. Political figures rest here. They include Edward I. Edwards and A. Harry Moore. Both men served as NJ Governors and US Senators. William Brinkerhoff, William Davis Daly, and George Bragg Fielder are also interred here. They served in Congress and the New Jersey legislature. Jersey City mayors Edward Hoos and Glenn D. Cunningham are buried here too. Influential lawyer George L. Record also rests here.
Bayview Cemetery is the final resting place for three Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. They are Hans Johnsen, Joseph Keele, and William Winterbottom. Architects like George Von Arx and Gustav Blau are also buried here. Representatives of the business community rest here. They include George Carragan and Henry Lembeck. Harry Louderbough, Zebina K. Pangborn, and George Stratford are here too. Financier E.F.C. Young rests here as well. Memorials honor social activist Mary Hudspeth Benson. Also honored are deceased members of the Jersey City Police Department up to 1936. The heroic sandhog Peter Woodland is also memorialized.
The opening of the New York Bay Cemetery addressed the burial needs of immigrants. They lived in Manhattan across New York Bay. Some of the earliest burials were of Jewish faith. Fraternal organizations supervised the care of some graves. Most graves date to the 1870s and 1880s. Inscriptions show birthplaces in Germany and Alsace. The oldest readable grave marker is for Moses Hirsch. He died in 1857. Jersey City’s first Jewish congregation formed in the 1860s. It became Temple Beth-El. The cemetery was made available to them.
The Cunard Line also purchased plots here. This area was for employees who lived in Jersey City. The granite monument reads: “Erected by the crews of the Cunard steamships in memory of their dear shipmates.” The earliest death listed is Hugh McPherson in 1857. There is also a marker for the deceased of the HMS Hibernia.
Bayview Cemetery offers a unique glimpse into the past. It connects us to the lives and stories of those who shaped Jersey City. Take a moment to reflect on their legacies.