The Moorestown Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) hosted a commemorative event on May 16 that honored 18 under‑recognized patriots who lived in Burlington County and worshipped at historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
“As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, it is our honor to ensure these patriots are remembered and celebrated,” said NSDAR Moorestown Chapter America 250 Committee members. “Their courage and sacrifice shaped the nation we know today.”
Followed by a brief opening ceremony, attendees visited the churchyard in Burlington to lay rosemary springs – an herb associated with memory and fidelity – on each patriot’s tombstone. They include Margaret Berrien (born about 1730); Peter Birkey (born 1744); Joseph Bloomfield (born 1753); Elias Boudinot IV (born 1740); William Bradford (born 1755); Daniel Ellis (born 1727); Bethaniah Hodgkinson (born 1746); Robert Strettell Jones (born 1745); Frederick Lowden (born between 1735 and 1739); Dr. William Mcllvaine (born 1750); Thomson Neale (born 1744); Jacob Perkins (born 1731); Bowes Reed (born c. 1740); Joseph Richardson, Jr. (born 1761); Jacob Shedaker (born c. 1746); Edward Tonkin (born 1752); John Tonkin (born 1743); and Abraham Van Sciver Jr. (born 1766).
Docents stationed at each patriot’s gravesite shared the histories uncovered through research by township DAR members. Birkey, Boudinot, Ellis, Hodgkinson, Jones, McIlvaine, Neale, Perkins, Richardson, Shedaker, Tonkin and Sciver got new grave markers, purchased with funds from the Arlene Greismer Memorial Fund, founded in memory of chapter member Greismer.
“These patriots were real people,” said chapter regent Barbara Quimby, a member of the NSDAR for more than 45 years. “They were committed to the ideals of liberty and equality, and they fought or somehow supported this revolutionary idea, and I think they deserve to be recognized.
“Their stories need to be told,” she added. “We wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t done what they did, so I think the significance of it – even in the aftermath of their service – (they) should always be remembered. It helps us remember, as we go forward, what they went through.”
Moorestown chapter member Victoria Cuneo was one of the event’s docents. Having grown up in Doylestown, in Bucks County Pa., it was always her goal to live in Moorestown, where she’s been for the past 24 years. She loves its variety of activities and restaurants on Main Street, and called it a terrific place to raise her children.
Cuneo has been a member of the chapter for three years and she had the responsibility of sharing Van Sciver’s history with event attendees.
“Every cemetery or graveyard that you go by is full of stories,” she explained. “It is an adrenaline rush every time you find a new person; you make the connection, you learn their story … It’s exciting to learn other people’s stories and tell people about them.”
Chapter member Peggy Centanni, who also served as a docent, has only been a member of the NSDAR for a year but since both her mother and grandmother were also members, that’s what inspired her to join. And she says it’s been a great experience for her so far.
Cuneo had the responsibility of sharing Tonkin’s history. One of eight children, he arrived in the Colonies with his family before the 1680s and settled in the Springfield Township area. Tonkin served as a first lieutenant under Capt. Thomas Fennemore’s company. He passed away at 33 on April 28, 1786, three years after the Revolutionary War ended.
Tonkin’s brother John was appointed commissioner of Springfield Township in 1779. Among his duties, he collected clothing for the Continental Army, authorized money for militia supplies, did courthouse and jail maintenance and oversaw roads and bridges. He was also a county freeholder between 1779 and 1784; in that era, the role only went to a white male landowner without debt.
“The quote, which you can’t read on (Tonkin’s) tombstone says, ‘My time was short, the longer is my rest. God called me home because he thought it best,’” Centanni noted. “ … This ceremony is to recognize the sacrifice and service of these patriots for the freedom we enjoy today.”
The NSDAR has three main goals: education, historic preservation and patriotism. Through research, community programming and service, the Moorestown chapter – organized on July 5, 1917 – honors the legacy of those who fought for American independence.
Victoria Cuneo (center) shared the story of Abraham Van Sciver Jr. on May 16, as the Moorestown Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution honored under‑recognized patriots who lived in Burlington County.
