My journey started back in the early 1970's when my father brought my brother and me fishing at a local pond. On a small knoll overlooking the tranquil waters of a spring fed pond, there is a family burial ground. Cedar and maple trees surround this place, blanketing the graves in peacefulness. When we approached the graveyard, we found that it had been desecrated. Headstones were broken, others were missing completely. The most impact on me was a broken old red headstone whose grave was freshly dug up. On the broken base of the headstone was a tooth from the person who had been interred there. I had many questions that needed answers. Why do this to someoneÕs grave? Where are the missing headstones?
Colts Neck has a number of family burial grounds tucked away and hidden from the modern world. Some family burial grounds consist of two lonely graves, a husband and wife, resting in peace together as they were together in life. There are family burial grounds that have almost 40 graves spanning 300 years of family history. The lone grave of a soldier who died fighting for the liberty of a nation. Liberty and his 20th birthday he would never see. There are graves of children who died at birth, and ones that lived only into their teenage years. A lone grave of an African American who served his country in the Civil War while fighting for his freedom. There are many unmarked graves which time has erased forever. There is also a Native American burial ground and a slave cemetery. No names, markers, fences, or headstones, just an old picture or a map with a vague location to remind us.
I am currently serving on the Colts Neck Township Historic Preservation Committee. Remembering what impact these scenes had in my earlier years, I wanted to give something back to the people who are buried within our town. Perhaps it is a way of apologizing for what was done to them many years ago, or maybe it was to hear the stories that they could tell. Maybe it is to let them know in my own way that they might be gone, but will not be forgotten. We will always remember their contributions to our town and our country.
All of the information that I have collected and posted is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I have spent many hours cross checking names, dates, and stories. If any information is incorrect please contact me. If you would like to know more about the cemetery work I have completed, share information or have any ideas on how to improve the information, please contact me at edpiotrowski@netlabs.net
I would also like to thank all the people whom I interviewed, photographed and shared stories with. Without you, I could not have done any of this work. You have made this work interesting and brought the past alive again. You opened up your lives and your homes to me. There are too many names to list, so to everyone with whom I shared memories: Thank you for everything.
Ed Piotrowski
Colts Neck Historic Preservation Committee