-CREVELING FAMILY BURYING GROUND-
The Creveling Family Burying Ground is located about 1/4 mile north of the westbound lane of State Highway Route 173 in West Portal, Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, NJ. It is situated at the foot of Jugtown Mountain. The burial enclosure is accessible via D Hull Lane which connects to the westbound lane of the highway. The family cemetery can be reached from D Hull Lane by traveling north on that road for about 1/4 mile. A large barn, located about 50 yards from where the lane connects to the highway, was built in 1933 by Albert S. Hagaman, a decade after he purchased the Creveling farm. Upon reaching the small farmhouse at the top of the hill, on the left side of the lane, limited parking is available. The burial grounds are located about 200 yards to the west. One must walk from that point in order to reach the cemetery. Please ask permission before entering the burying ground location.
The Creveling Family Burying Ground was restored in 2007. The grounds are enclosed by a stone wall measuring 50 feet square. The walls are about 2 1/2 feet thick and 4 1/2 feet high. A subterranean foundation of about 6 1/2 feet supports the walls. The entire structure from its foundation base to the top of the capstones is about 11 feet. All of the original wall stones were used during the restoration process. Only a few tombstones are standing in their original locations. Several tombstones and fragments of markers were incorporated into the stone walls during the restoration process for permanent preservation. Reinforced concrete capstones were installed to duplicate the original appearance. An iron gate was erected in the center of the eastern wall for easy access.
The original loose-laid dry stone wall was erected about 1895 and did not have a gate. It was repaired from time to time until it fell into disrepair by the 1960's. It was in ruins when the idea for the burying ground restoration was conceived in 2006; the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Creveling patriarch, Johannes Creveling, Sr. The work began in March of 2007. It was completed in mid July and rededicated by the minister of the Bloomsbury Presbyterian Church on July 31, 2007. The ceremony was attended by many descendants from across the country to honor all descendants and those interred.
The first recorded interment in the cemetery was Johannes Creveling, Sr. who died on January 20, 1782. The final known burial was that of the infant son of Andrew and Mary Creveling who died on July 5, 1841. There is evidence of some thirty to forty burials. Only eleven have been positively identified. A bronze plaque to the left of the gate reads:
In these grounds lie the original Creveling mother and father Johannes and Eva Kriebeling... who traveled from Germany ... between 1743 and 1745. The name was anglicized to Creveling... their farm... as far as you can see in all directions... stayed in the family until 1922 when it was sold to the Hagaman family. A special thanks to Col. Louis G. Creveling for his dedicated research and financial support... and Terry Tersigni, a descendant of Creveling and Hagaman whose work made this cemetery restoration possible.
Google: Creveling Family Burying Ground or select: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL1aRtuRPVM. GPS coordinates: Latitude 40.664260 Longitude -75.042000; updated: August 30, 2016.