Warrior Run Church Cemetery History

Mounted on the front of the Warrior Run Church is a display board listing the 589 persons buried in the historic cemetery.  The cemetery was officially started in 1789 with a beautiful stone wall being built after 1813.

 

cemetery gatesFor those who fought at the Battle of Fort Freeland on July 28, 1779, they were buried on the site of the battle on August 2, 1779.  There are 10 graves at the Warrior Run Cemetery of those who were at the battle.

There are four wars represented in the cemetery and the known number of veterans are:

 

 

Revolutionary War -77

War of 1812 – 13

Mexican War – 1

Civil War – 10

Total of 100 Soldiers

 

 

 

Listed below are facts about some of the people buried in the cemetery (the letter and number on the left is the site of the grave):

L-16R First burial, Cornelius Waldron – 1736-1789, He was a Revolutionary War soldier and was killed while felling a tree.

M-4L Last burial, Sarah Russell – 1861-1940, She was a maiden lady who lived with and helped relatives.

E-2R Mary Vincent Derickson – She was born at Fort Freeland, February 10, 1779. A daughter of Cornelius and Phebe (Phoebe) Vincent, her 17-year-old brother, Isaac, was killed July 21, 1779 in an ambush.

I-7L Margaret McClintock Durham – In the fall of 1778, she had an infant killed in her arms when they were fired upon by Indians. She was scalped and left for dead. Found alive, she was put in a canoe and taken to Northumberland where she recovered. She died in 1829.

Q-7L Dan Caldwell – At age 25, he started and ran a ferry from Watsontown to White Deer.

P-12L Alexander Pollack – His mother was Eleanor Snell Pollack who was the niece of Benjamin Franklin.

A-5R Richard Guffy and A-6R Hester McKee Guffy – They were married in 1864 at the Warrior Run Church. Both were killed when their buggy was hit by a train while on their way to a wedding in 1871.

K-15R Mary Kirk – Widow of Moses Kirk, was in Fort Freeland with her ten children. She is alleged to have melted pewter spoons and plates for bullets during the Battle of Fort Freeland. She dressed her son, William, age 16, as a girl to get him out of the fort after the battle.

I-1L James Slote – Built the Hower-Slote House c. 1829 and fired the bricks for the Warrior Run Church. He moved to Michigan in 1837, but was back east on business when he died.

C-7R Cornelius Vincent – Fought in Battle of Fort Freeland. When he died in 1812, it was said that the marks from leg irons, worn while a prisoner of war in Canada, were still visible.

C-7R Phoebe (Phebe) Ward Vincent – Wife of Cornelius, she also is alleged to have melted pewter spoons and plates for bullets during the Battle of Fort Freeland.

E-24L George McKee – Fought at Battle of Fort Freeland and escaped capture.

G-4R Joseph Hutchinson – Gave land in 1779 for the log Warrior Run Church.                                                   
G-5R Margaret Hutchinson was the wife of Joseph.

H-13R Thomas DeArmond – Sold additional land to the Warrior Run Church in 1811.

C-3R Daniel Vincent – Escaped ambush by Indians on July 21, 1779.

L-16L to L-21L – Russell children ages 5 mos. to 6 yrs. Six of the ten children of John and Mary Russell died before the age of six. Two sons died on 26 December 1871. Their parents and their four surviving children are buried in the Watsontown Cemetery.

For additional online information on graves at the Warrior Run Cemetery, refer to the Find a Grave link:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GSiman=1&GScid=2175067&GSfn=&GSln=

 

                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Address for the Warrior Run Church is 41 Warrior Lane, Watsontown, PA 17777