People & Organizations interested in preserving historic cemeteries in Delaware
Barry, Regina
[email protected]
Regina Barry has been working for several years on documenting who is buried in the historic African American cemetery of Mount Olive on Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington; she maintains an extensive website with information about the cemetery here: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rbarry4145/MtOliveCemetery/MtOliveHome.html
Bolles, H. Ryan
(302) 633-2701 [work phone]
[email protected] or [email protected]
Ryan Bolles is the procurement administrator with the Department of Services for Children,
Youth & Their Families; Ryan has been working the past couple of years to reclaim an abandoned 200+ year old church cemetery from the woods in New Castle; Bethel Cemetery close to Hare’s Corner down 273; he has put them up on findagrave.com along with photos; has gotten cemetery registered –
Delaware Legislature actually changed the law so a “volunteer” could register the cemetery, it didn’t
have to be “the owner.” There is (old) information about this cemetery here: http://www.delawareroots.org/index.php/saving-graves/38-endangered-delaware-cemeteries/76-new-castle-cemetery
Brown, Hal G.
Hal Brown is the former Deputy Director of Delaware’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, He has been doing research on the old Potters’ Fields in New Castle County. Hal brought the “NCCH Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst” to the attention of the committee in the spring of 2014. He has put information up on www.findagrave.com for all the 1,100+ identified people buried in the NCC Hospital/Almshouse "Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst." You can find him on Facebook.
Chant, Dana
(302) 255-9539
[email protected]
Dana works for the Delaware Division of Health and Social Services and is the cemetery manager for the three active Potter’s Fields, one in each county; she directed the work to have granite monuments (with names of the deceased) erected at each site.
Cocker, Tedd
(302) 762-4705 [Riverview Cemetery]
[email protected]
http://www.riverviewcem.com/
Tedd Cocker is a local historian/genealogist/cemetery caretaker who is in charge of the care
of Riverview Cemetery in Wilmington. He seems to know everyone and everything about cemeteries in Delaware .
Cooper, Constance J. “Connie”
(302) 295-2385
[email protected]
http://www.dehistory.org/
Connie Cooper is the Chief Curator at the Delaware Historical Society, at 505 N. Market St.,
Wilmington, DE 19801 (302) 655-7161. She is particularly interested in the history of tuberculosis in Delaware, and is happy to work with the Friends of the Potter’s Field.
Davis, Gwenyth A.
(302)736-74 00
[email protected]
Gwen is a state archaeologist and works for the Delaware Division of Historical and
Cultural Affairs (DHCA), at 21 The Green, Dover, DE 19901. She is interested in any historical or cultural resources, including prehistoric and historic archaeological sites found in the state. Several years ago she tried to figure out what had happened to the Potters’ Field prior to the Boulden Blvd. site, and
was also involved in the archaeological survey of the “NCCH Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst,” carried out in 2007 in conjunction with work being done by the DRBA on the I-295 FAI-1 interchange ramp.
Dettwyler, Steven and Kathy
(302) 388-7836
[email protected] or [email protected]
Steven Dettwyler worked for the State of Delaware, for DHSS, Division of Substance Abuse and
Mental Health for 15 years and was instrumental in paving the way for the restoration of the DSH Spiral Cemetery and the creation of the database of the hospital records (1894-1920) by his wife Kathy. He now works for the federal government. He is a long-time fan of old cemeteries.
Kathy Dettwyler is an anthropologist. She has been working since 2013 on a project involving old patient records from the Delaware State (Mental) Hospital from the 1894 up to 1920. The records will be available online through the Delaware Public Archives sometime in the spring of 2018. They document more than 3,000 patients at the hospital and are searchable.
She is the creator of this website at www.farnhurst.weebly.com
Kuehn, Faith
[email protected]
Faith works for the Delaware Department of Agriculture and is in charge of the Growing Hope garden on the grounds of the Holloway Campus. She is the de facto head of the “Friends of the Potter’s Fields” committee, which worked on the DSH Cemetery (aka the“Spiral” cemetery), the defunct New Castle County Hospital/Almshouse/potter’s field known as the “Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst” (aka the 295 cemetery, the Almshouse Cemetery, or the New Castle County Hospital Cemetery), and the
active potter’s field known as the New Castle County Potter’s Field (aka the “Baylor Potter’s Field”).
Lee, Laura M.
(302) 834-7941
[email protected]
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Polktown's+sleeping+past+awakens%3A+the+African+Union+Church+Cemetery...-a0341132644
Laura Lee is the Interpretive Program Manager/Park Historian at the Fort Delaware State Park
in Delaware City; she is involved in the Polktown (African Union Church) Cemetery restoration project in Delaware City, at the eastern terminus of the C&D Canal Hiking/Biking Trail, and is interested in organizing a group of people to visit various historic cemeteries in New Castle County.
Pickett, Russ
[email protected]
http://www.russpickett.com/
Russ is very active online in listing people who served in (and also those who died in) various wars from various states; very active on www.findagrave.com, works with Tedd Cocker at Riverview Cemetery, and maintains the Riverview Cemetery website.
http://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/hp/DECB.html
Delaware Cemetery Board,
417 Federal St., Dover,
19901. All cemeteries are supposed to be registered with the state, once every five years, for a cost of $10.00. You must be registered whether or not you intend to apply for funds under the distressed cemetery fund. “All cemetery companies and cemetery owners in this State shall register quinquennially (every five years) with the Cemetery Board and pay the registration fee determined by Department of Health and Social Services in an amount that approximates and reasonably reflects the costs necessary to defray the expenses of the Board.”
“Registered Cemeteries which qualify as distressed are eligible to apply for funding assistance from the Distressed Cemetery Fund.”
Delaware Historical Society
http://www.dehistory.org/
Mount Olive Cemetery website
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rbarry4145/MtOliveCemetery/MtOliveHome.html
Polktown African Union Church Cemetery (Delaware
City) article
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Polktown's+sleeping+past+awakens%3A+the+African+Union+Church+Cemetery...-a0341132644
Riverview Cemetery website
http://www.riverviewcem.com/
Barry, Regina
[email protected]
Regina Barry has been working for several years on documenting who is buried in the historic African American cemetery of Mount Olive on Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington; she maintains an extensive website with information about the cemetery here: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rbarry4145/MtOliveCemetery/MtOliveHome.html
Bolles, H. Ryan
(302) 633-2701 [work phone]
[email protected] or [email protected]
Ryan Bolles is the procurement administrator with the Department of Services for Children,
Youth & Their Families; Ryan has been working the past couple of years to reclaim an abandoned 200+ year old church cemetery from the woods in New Castle; Bethel Cemetery close to Hare’s Corner down 273; he has put them up on findagrave.com along with photos; has gotten cemetery registered –
Delaware Legislature actually changed the law so a “volunteer” could register the cemetery, it didn’t
have to be “the owner.” There is (old) information about this cemetery here: http://www.delawareroots.org/index.php/saving-graves/38-endangered-delaware-cemeteries/76-new-castle-cemetery
Brown, Hal G.
Hal Brown is the former Deputy Director of Delaware’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, He has been doing research on the old Potters’ Fields in New Castle County. Hal brought the “NCCH Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst” to the attention of the committee in the spring of 2014. He has put information up on www.findagrave.com for all the 1,100+ identified people buried in the NCC Hospital/Almshouse "Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst." You can find him on Facebook.
Chant, Dana
(302) 255-9539
[email protected]
Dana works for the Delaware Division of Health and Social Services and is the cemetery manager for the three active Potter’s Fields, one in each county; she directed the work to have granite monuments (with names of the deceased) erected at each site.
Cocker, Tedd
(302) 762-4705 [Riverview Cemetery]
[email protected]
http://www.riverviewcem.com/
Tedd Cocker is a local historian/genealogist/cemetery caretaker who is in charge of the care
of Riverview Cemetery in Wilmington. He seems to know everyone and everything about cemeteries in Delaware .
Cooper, Constance J. “Connie”
(302) 295-2385
[email protected]
http://www.dehistory.org/
Connie Cooper is the Chief Curator at the Delaware Historical Society, at 505 N. Market St.,
Wilmington, DE 19801 (302) 655-7161. She is particularly interested in the history of tuberculosis in Delaware, and is happy to work with the Friends of the Potter’s Field.
Davis, Gwenyth A.
(302)736-74 00
[email protected]
Gwen is a state archaeologist and works for the Delaware Division of Historical and
Cultural Affairs (DHCA), at 21 The Green, Dover, DE 19901. She is interested in any historical or cultural resources, including prehistoric and historic archaeological sites found in the state. Several years ago she tried to figure out what had happened to the Potters’ Field prior to the Boulden Blvd. site, and
was also involved in the archaeological survey of the “NCCH Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst,” carried out in 2007 in conjunction with work being done by the DRBA on the I-295 FAI-1 interchange ramp.
Dettwyler, Steven and Kathy
(302) 388-7836
[email protected] or [email protected]
Steven Dettwyler worked for the State of Delaware, for DHSS, Division of Substance Abuse and
Mental Health for 15 years and was instrumental in paving the way for the restoration of the DSH Spiral Cemetery and the creation of the database of the hospital records (1894-1920) by his wife Kathy. He now works for the federal government. He is a long-time fan of old cemeteries.
Kathy Dettwyler is an anthropologist. She has been working since 2013 on a project involving old patient records from the Delaware State (Mental) Hospital from the 1894 up to 1920. The records will be available online through the Delaware Public Archives sometime in the spring of 2018. They document more than 3,000 patients at the hospital and are searchable.
She is the creator of this website at www.farnhurst.weebly.com
Kuehn, Faith
[email protected]
Faith works for the Delaware Department of Agriculture and is in charge of the Growing Hope garden on the grounds of the Holloway Campus. She is the de facto head of the “Friends of the Potter’s Fields” committee, which worked on the DSH Cemetery (aka the“Spiral” cemetery), the defunct New Castle County Hospital/Almshouse/potter’s field known as the “Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst” (aka the 295 cemetery, the Almshouse Cemetery, or the New Castle County Hospital Cemetery), and the
active potter’s field known as the New Castle County Potter’s Field (aka the “Baylor Potter’s Field”).
Lee, Laura M.
(302) 834-7941
[email protected]
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Polktown's+sleeping+past+awakens%3A+the+African+Union+Church+Cemetery...-a0341132644
Laura Lee is the Interpretive Program Manager/Park Historian at the Fort Delaware State Park
in Delaware City; she is involved in the Polktown (African Union Church) Cemetery restoration project in Delaware City, at the eastern terminus of the C&D Canal Hiking/Biking Trail, and is interested in organizing a group of people to visit various historic cemeteries in New Castle County.
Pickett, Russ
[email protected]
http://www.russpickett.com/
Russ is very active online in listing people who served in (and also those who died in) various wars from various states; very active on www.findagrave.com, works with Tedd Cocker at Riverview Cemetery, and maintains the Riverview Cemetery website.
http://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/hp/DECB.html
Delaware Cemetery Board,
417 Federal St., Dover,
19901. All cemeteries are supposed to be registered with the state, once every five years, for a cost of $10.00. You must be registered whether or not you intend to apply for funds under the distressed cemetery fund. “All cemetery companies and cemetery owners in this State shall register quinquennially (every five years) with the Cemetery Board and pay the registration fee determined by Department of Health and Social Services in an amount that approximates and reasonably reflects the costs necessary to defray the expenses of the Board.”
“Registered Cemeteries which qualify as distressed are eligible to apply for funding assistance from the Distressed Cemetery Fund.”
Delaware Historical Society
http://www.dehistory.org/
Mount Olive Cemetery website
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rbarry4145/MtOliveCemetery/MtOliveHome.html
Polktown African Union Church Cemetery (Delaware
City) article
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Polktown's+sleeping+past+awakens%3A+the+African+Union+Church+Cemetery...-a0341132644
Riverview Cemetery website
http://www.riverviewcem.com/