Birmingham Hicksite Friends Burial Ground
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Birmingham Hicksite Friends Burial Ground

Also known as Birmingham Meetinghouse Cemetery , Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery

Birmingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA

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The origins of the present day cemeteries at Birmingham can be traced back to 1721 when a parcel of land was purchased from Richard and Elizabeth Webb to build a new Meetinghouse to be used by the Religious Society of Friends. A small burial ground was laid out within a stone boundary wall to the immediate north of the building. The early graves in this original section are mostly unmarked, in keeping with the early customs of the Friends.


The original Friends burial ground would continue to be used into the 1840's at which time an expansion was found t be necessary. In 1842 a new burial ground, enclosed by a stone wall, was opened for burials by the Friends. By the time of the opening of the new section of the cemetery, Quaker traditions had evolved to allow simple headstones marking gravesites.


The new section of the cemetery was, for a time, used by the Quakers in both the Orthodox and Hicksite branches of the Meeting. In 1874 a plot of land for use as a cemetery was purchased by the Orthodox Friends about ⅛ mile south along Birmingham Road. The Birmingham Hicksite Friends continued using the an expanded stone Meetinghouse adjacent to the original cemetery.


Conflict in grave marking practices led to the formation of the Birmingham Lafayette Cemetery Association in 1891. The once Quaker burial ground was opened up to the public as a non-denominational cemetery. The original section of the Friends burial ground adjacent to the Meetinghouse was subdivided and continued to be used and maintained by the Birmingham Hicksite Friends.

The origins of the present day cemeteries at Birmingham can be traced back to 1721 when a parcel of land was purchased from Richard and Elizabeth Webb to build a new Meetinghouse to be used by the Religious Society of Friends. A small burial ground was laid out within a stone boundary wall to the immediate north of the building. The early graves in this original section are mostly unmarked, in keeping with the early customs of the Friends.


The original Friends burial ground would continue to be used into the 1840's at which time an expansion was found t be necessary. In 1842 a new burial ground, enclosed by a stone wall, was opened for burials by the Friends. By the time of the opening of the new section of the cemetery, Quaker traditions had evolved to allow simple headstones marking gravesites.


The new section of the cemetery was, for a time, used by the Quakers in both the Orthodox and Hicksite branches of the Meeting. In 1874 a plot of land for use as a cemetery was purchased by the Orthodox Friends about ⅛ mile south along Birmingham Road. The Birmingham Hicksite Friends continued using the an expanded stone Meetinghouse adjacent to the original cemetery.


Conflict in grave marking practices led to the formation of the Birmingham Lafayette Cemetery Association in 1891. The once Quaker burial ground was opened up to the public as a non-denominational cemetery. The original section of the Friends burial ground adjacent to the Meetinghouse was subdivided and continued to be used and maintained by the Birmingham Hicksite Friends.

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  • Added: 1 Jan 2000
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 44406