Bass, Samuel [original burial site] d. 1884 Civil Rights Activist. The widely respected African-American sexton of the First Baptist Church in Hackensack, New Jersey, Samuel Bass had requested to be buried in local Hackensack Cemetery. When he died in 1884, however, his body was refused interment there on the basis of race. During the public outcry which followed, newly-elected Governor Leon Abbett (Democrat, 1884-87; 1890-93) championed Bass's cause, and prevailed upon the New Jersey State Legislature to pass the "Negro Burial Bill" of...[Read More] (Bio by: Nikita Barlow) Gethsemane Cemetery, Little Ferry, Bergen County, New Jersey, USA Plot: *Original burial site
