Bradford Cemetery in Marshallton, Pennsylvania

About

Get directions 521 Northbrook Rd
Marshallton, Pennsylvania 19382 United States

Coordinates: 39.94748, -75.68090
Cemetery ID:
Additional information
Records for this cemetery are compiled from caretakers' books, permits, and other miscellaneous records and can be found at the Chester County History Center.
It must be noted that one caretaker's list, that of T. Wilson Cheyney, is often thought to be for the neighboring Bradford Friends Burial Ground and has led to much confusion.

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About these numbers These percentages indicate the number of Find a Grave memorials that have a grave photo or GPS coordinates. We don't know the total number of burials in a cemetery, so we cannot calculate a percentage of those with memorials, photos or GPS coordinates.

Photos

2 open photo requests.

Bradford Cemetery is the newest of three cemeteries in the village of Marshallton, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is located on Northbrook Road at the western edge of the village. It is said its origins lie in the early 1860s, when the Friends at the Bradford Meeting removed or laid down many gravestones that had been set by families over the years to better reflect their plain customs. As their ground had been used by many families around Marshallton, most of whom were no longer members of the Society, some became unhappy with the "fanatical spirit" of the decision to remove the stones. it is said that a group of residents became determined to purchase their own space for a cemetery where "more liberal views would prevail and people could mark the graves of their dead, according to their tastes and means."

The ground on which Bradford Cemetery would be laid out was a small farm, with a stone house and small frame stable, belonging to Hannah Woodward. On January 16, 1871 James Young purchased a six-acre plot land from Woodward's estate for $2,225; shortly thereafter, on April 28, 1871, the Bradford Cemetery Association was chartered with the corporate body of Dr. Moses Marshall, James Young, James Young, Jr., Abraham Marshall, Jr., Abraham Martin, George Young, Milton Young, and Wilson Young starting to plan and transact business for the cemetery. On July 15, 1871, James Young conveyed the land to "The Bradford Cemetery."

The cemetery consists of eight sections; along the eastern fence line lies ground called Potter's Row or Stranger's Row — single lots for those without much means for burial. This includes, in the northeast section, the County Home Lot, 12 graves purchased in 1925 by the Directors of the Poor for the Chester County Home, and removals from the Hickman Family Burial Ground in Westtown.