Jockey Hollow Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution Holds Grave-marking Ceremony for Revolutionary War Soldier Silus Watters.

The Jockey Hollow Chapter, SAR held a grave-marking ceremony for Revolutionary War soldier Silus Watters (1751-1820) on Sunday, September 22, 2024 at The Pleasant Grove (formerly Presbyterian) Cemetery in Washington Township atop Schooley’s Mountain in Northern New Jersey. The original gravestone is still there, but the inscription has degraded over the years.

Silus Watters was given his famous dog-head sword by Princeton Militia Captain James Moore (a hero of the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton). This sword is now on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

John Lawrence Brasher, Ph.D., a direct ancestor of Silus Watters, along with his wife and son, were in attendance and has written a book “Bright Liberty’s Forgotten Sword and the Battle of Princeton

Numerous friends of the family were in attendance. Four members of chapters of the SAR performed the ceremony along with Dr. Brasher – Jeff La Marca, President of The Jockey Hollow Chapter and the Washingtonburg Chapter, and master of ceremonies; Chris Sands, President of the Abraham Clark Chapter and Vice-President of the West Fields Chapter; and compatriots George Link and Ellis Bailey of the Jockey Hollow Chapter – commemorating Silus Watters’ battlefield contributions as we approach the 250th Anniversary of the Revolution.

A well worn Revolutionary War soldier’s gravestone was marked with the SAR medallion.

Presidents Jeff La Marca (MC) and Chris Sands led the ceremony for the SAR, dressed to honor Patriot Silus Watters.

The ceremony was nicely attended on a beautiful fall day to honor the Revolutionary War Patriot.

Taps was played to honor the fallen.

Dr. Brasher and his wife were thankful for the work that SAR contributed to honor his ancestor.

Compatriots George Link and Ellis Bailey (not pictured) participated in the ceremony.

President La Marca presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Dr. Brasher for authoring his book to bring Silus Watters’ story alive and instigating this ceremony to honor him. Certificates of Appreciation were also given to Michael Del Vecchio who played taps for the ceremony, and to Lyn Smith for helping to arrange the ceremony with the cemetery.

Help Us Participate in the 2024 Wreaths Across America.

The Jockey Hollow Chapter, SAR is participating in its first Wreaths across America program in 2024. The program’s mission is to:

  • remember the fallen,
  • honor those who serve, and
  • teach the next generation the value of freedom.

For 2024, the Chapter is supporting the

Your help in sponsoring wreaths for this wonderful event is greatly appreciated, and can be easily done at http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/NJ0293 . Just click the red “SPONSOR WREATHS” button and follow the simple instructions.

THANK YOU for any support you can give!

Grave Marking Ceremony for Revolutionary War Soldier, Silus Watters (1751-1820)

The Jockey Hollow Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution is holding a grave-marking ceremony at the final resting place of Silus Watters on Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 3:00 P.M. (directions are listed below). All Chapter members are encouraged to attend!

Silus Watters was given his famous dog-head sword by Princeton Militia Captain James Moore (a hero of the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton). This sword is now on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

John Lawrence Brasher, Ph.D., a direct ancestor of Silus Watters, will be in attendance and has written a book “Bright Liberty’s Forgotten Sword and the Battle of Princeton

This event is being held at the Pleasant Grove (formerly Presbyterian) Cemetery in Washington Township atop Schooley’s Mountain. The original gravestone is still there, but the inscription is gone.

Restored Marker Placed on Patriot’s Grave

On June 23, 2024, the Jockey Hollow Chapter, SAR was honored to have worked in collaboration with the Morristown Chapter, SAR to place an old marker on the grave of Patriot William Connet (1735 – 1800).

Final resting place of Patriot William Conner (1735-1800).

The date the marker had originally been placed on the grave is unknown. However, at some point, it was removed as it was damaged. It was later found in the garage of a gentleman who had planned on repairing it. Unfortunately, he passed away before that could be done.

Restored marker

The inscription on the marker states:

REVOLUTIONARY

SOLDIER

WILLIAM CONNET

1735 1800

PLACED BY

MORRISTOWN CHAPTER DAR

&

JOCKEY HOLLOW CHAPTER SAR

As family members were clearing out the garage, they found the marker and contacted the Morristown Chapter, DAR. They set about getting the marker repaired.

Bobbi Bailey, Registrar, Morristown Chapter and her husband, Jockey Hollow Chapter Compatriot Ellis Bailey, not only cleaned the headstone, but helped research William Connet. They also coordinated efforts with the Hilltop Presbyterian Church and Cemetery (Mendham, NJ) to prepare for a ceremony to replace the marker.

The Hilltop Presbyterian Church, Mendham, NJ.

Members of the local community were also contacted and very supportive of the event. William Maurer, Historian at Mendham Borough, wrote a brief biography of Patriot William Connet.

The date for the ceremony was set for 23 June 2024. The day dawned – sunny, hot (90 + degrees), and humid. The event, however, proceeded flawlessly!

Regent Nina Hoban Morristown Chapter, NSDAR introduced the event.
Barbara Genthe, Chaplain, Morristown Chapter, NSDAR led the invocation.
Jockey Hollow Chapter President, Jeff La Marca greets the audience and reads the biography written by William Maurer (who was unable to attend due to other commitments).
Regent Nina Hoban unveils the restored marker as President La Marca watches.
Following the unveiling, Pastor Scot McCachren, Hilltop Church, PC (USA) blesses the marker.
To close the ceremony, bugler John Logan, from Bugles Across America, performed Taps.

Following the ceremony, many photos were taken.

Group photo with members of the Morristown Chapter, DAR and the Jockey Hollow Chapter, SAR.
Jockey Hollow Compatriot Ellis Bailey and President Jeff La Marca.
Pastor Scot McCachren, Hilltop Church, PC (USA) receives a Certificate of Appreciation from Jockey Hollow President Jeff La Marca.

It must be mentioned that Pastor McCachren was extremely supportive of the event and is looking forward to working with both DAR and SAR in the near future.

The Hilltop Presbyterian Church Cemetery an extremely historic site but played a major role during the American Revolution but is also the final resting place of 120 to 140 or more patriots! As noted on this monument, the church served as a hospital in 1777 when 27 Americans passed away from smallpox; they were all buried in a common grave.
Although the ceremony was flawless, there was one snag. The restored marker is not acceptable to the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution for their grave marking program, so an official marker had to be ordered. However, the United States Post Office lost it (!!!!) and the didn’t find it until after the ceremony. Just the same, here it is now next to the grave.

So, what’s next for the Jockey Hollow Chapter, SAR? Over the past few months, our Chapter has developed a great relationship with the Morristown Chapter, DAR and we’re already planning future collaborative efforts.

Equally exciting is that our Chapter is located in one of the most important locations of the Revolutionary War! Everyone has heard of Valley Forge (located in Pennsylvania) but almost no one has heard of Jockey Hollow – the place where George Washington and his army spent two full winters. During 1777, many of his men perished from smallpox but it is the winter of 1779 – 1780 that his army of 10,000 men survived the most brutal winter of the war (indeed, one article noted that compared to Jockey Hollow, Valley Forge was a “Caribbean holiday.” Indeed, the winter of 1779-1780 is still believed to be the worst ever recorded. The area experienced 100 inches of snow, the Hudson River (located about 30 miles to the east) froze over, and Washington’s men were left without adequate food, clothing, or supplies. The conditions were so dire that the army survived by eating their shoes (if they had them; many did not), tree bark, and even their pet dogs. The only thing “worse” at Valley Forge is that approximately 2000 men died (mostly due to smallpox and disease). By the second encampment in Morris County (location of Jockey Hollow), is that Washington learned the lessons from Valley Forge where the lack of sanitary conditions killed his men. At Jockey Hollow, only 100 men perished (which is considered miraculous given the conditions).

It is against this backdrop that the Jockey Hollow Chapter is currently seeking to launch a MAJOR project. Within our boundaries, there are potential thousands of graves of Revolutionary War patriots that have never been marked or recognized by SAR.

So far, a mere four cemeteries have been contacted and they contain 250 or more patriots (a conservative estimate) whose graves have never been marked! Given that each grave marker costs $200, to mark just 250 graves will cost $50,000. Again, it is believed that there are potentially thousands of patriot graves with our Chapter’s boundaries!

It is hoped that we will be able to launch a major fundraising effort to fund our grave marking program!

Photography Workshop and Grave Markings!

The Jockey Hollow Chapter, SAR had a busy weekend with two events to choose from! The first activity was a hands-on presentation on using cell-phones to take interesting photographs. This workshop was sponsored by the Morristown Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and was held a the historic Morristown Presbyterian Church. The congregation for this church first assembled in 1733!

The presenter for this workshop was Xiomáro (Xio) a photographer whose work has been exhibited internationally and who has been hired by the National Park Service to be exhibit at historic locations including our very own Jockey Hollow Visitors Center at the Morristown National Historical Park.

Our Chapter was recently privileged to have Xio provide our organization a workshop on some of our region’s historic locations.

Our chapter President, Jeff La Marca (on the left), presents Xio with a Certificate of Appreciation that is given to all of our guest speakers. (Photo credit: Compatriot Ellis Bailey) Note: this certificate was for a presentation that Xio had presented earlier but President La Marca forgot it at home (duh!), so it was presented now.

Xiomáro may be reached on his web site: https://xiomaro.com

Following the workshop, members of DAR, as well as members of the church, introduced some of us to their historic cemetery. In addition to the 120 to 140 or more Revolutionary War patriots (!!) interred there, we were also shown some of the beautiful gravestones. Compatriot Ellis Bailey and his wife, Bobbi Bailey, explained how they helped clean the stones using skills they had developed through workshops they had attended by an expert on restoring historic monuments. (Might be a fascinating topic for a Chapter meeting/luncheon!)

This stone, while the effects of time are very visible, has been cleaned and much of the epitaph is still visible; making it a favorite among visitors due to its beautiful message.

In Memory of
Rebeckah Wife
of Gideon Riggs
who died May
Ye 16th 1785. In ye
69th Year of her
age

All you that reads this tomb
And studies it a wright
Shall flourish like a plant
That’s waterd day & night

The second activity that our chapter participated in (and co-sponsored with) the Morristown Chapter, DAR, was a rededication of an old damaged marker honoring a Revolutionary War patriot. This will be discussed in our next post.

Reinstallation of Patriot Marker for Pvt. William Connet

By Jockey Hollow Chapter SAR and Morristown Chapter DAR

On Sunday, June 23, you are invited to join the Jockey Hollow Chapter SAR and Morristown Chapter DAR for the reinstallation of the Patriot marker for Pvt. William Connet, a revolutionary war soldier buried at the historic Hilltop Cemetery behind the Hilltop First Presbyterian Church in Mendham Borough, NJ. Private William Connet served in the NJ Militia during the Revolutionary War. His marker was installed many years ago, but was found broken and in bad shape. It has been repaired and restored and will be reinstalled at his grave site.

The beautiful Hilltop First Presbyterian Church and cemetery is near the Jockey Hollow encampment site and is the final resting place of many Revolutionary War veterans.

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Hilltop First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
20 Hilltop Rd., Mendham Borough, NJ 07945

All are welcome. Meet in the cemetery.