{"id":336,"date":"2024-06-26T02:12:36","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T06:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/?p=336"},"modified":"2024-06-26T03:11:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T07:11:18","slug":"restored-marker-placed-on-patriots-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/restored-marker-placed-on-patriots-grave\/","title":{"rendered":"Restored Marker Placed on Patriot\u2019s Grave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Final resting place of Patriot William Conner (1735-1800).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Restored marker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The inscription on the marker states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REVOLUTIONARY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOLDIER<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WILLIAM CONNET<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1735 1800<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLACED BY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORRISTOWN CHAPTER DAR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

&<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JOCKEY HOLLOW CHAPTER SAR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Hilltop Presbyterian Church, Mendham, NJ.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Regent Nina Hoban Morristown Chapter, NSDAR introduced the event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Barbara Genthe, Chaplain, Morristown Chapter, NSDAR led the invocation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
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).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Regent Nina Hoban unveils the restored marker as President La Marca watches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Following the unveiling, Pastor Scot McCachren, Hilltop Church, PC (USA) blesses the marker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
To close the ceremony, bugler John Logan, from Bugles Across America, performed Taps<\/em>. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following the ceremony, many photos were taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019t find it until after the ceremony. Just the same, here it is now next to the grave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, what\u2019s 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\u2019re already planning future collaborative efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cCaribbean holiday.\u201d 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\u2019s 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 \u201cworse\u201d 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s boundaries! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is hoped that we will be able to launch a major fundraising effort to fund our grave marking program! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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). The date the marker had originally been placed on the grave is unknown. However, at some point, it was … Continue reading Restored Marker Placed on Patriot\u2019s Grave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[61,53,24],"tags":[59,43,46,39,47,40,60,58,48],"class_list":["post-336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ceremonies","category-grave-markings","category-media","tag-cemetery","tag-community-service","tag-dar","tag-dar-activities","tag-daughters-of-the-american-revolution","tag-events","tag-graves","tag-morristown-chapter-dar","tag-sons-of-the-american-revolution"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jockeyhollowsar.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}