VAN PELT FAMILY BURYING GROUND
ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP (formerly Matawan Township), NEW JERSEY


The Van Pelt Family Burying Ground in Aberdeen, New Jersey, is landlocked, behind the backyards of several houses in the "F" section of Strathmore development. Once the farmland of Peter Van Pelt, it is now located between Fordham Drive, Fair Lane and Faith Lane, with access provided by an unmarked easement to the right of house No. 25 on Faith Lane. This cemetery measures 132'x132' and has at least 29 known burials from 1796-1906. Remnants of a white picket fence are still visible. Over the years vandals have damaged and removed some gravestones. Walter Hyer's brownstone marker, over 200 years old, is in remarkably good condition. During the summer of 1999, Aberdeen Township maintenance crew cleared the property of fallen trees, brush and debris.

Peter P. Van Pelt (Jr.) mentioned the burying ground in his Last Will and Testament, signed February 2, 1876, in Matawan Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, on file at Monmouth County Surrogate's Office, Will Book L, pp 344-345:

". . . Fourth, it is my will and I do order that the Graveyard or burying ground where my father, mother, brothers and sisters lie shall be enlarged and made to be a square plot or piece of land being so enlarged as to make it two chains on each and every side to be enclosed with a substantial picket fence and to be kept perpetually as a grave yard for the Van Pelt family in the line of the heirs of Peter P. Van Pelt, the father of the present Peter P. Van Pelt . . ."



Van Pelt Family Burying Ground



Pictured left to right are the sandstone grave markers for Peter P. (Jr.), Alexander P., William P., Catherine, Hendrick P., Mary (wife of) and Peter P. Van Pelt (Sr.).




This information is provided by but not guaranteed by George Joynson, available for further research on a commission basis. Baptism, marriage, military, death, obituary and other genealogical information on these, their ancestors and their descendants is available.

1. BROWN, ELIZABETH (BREWER) - born May 24, 1751, died July 8, 1842; widow of William Brown; Gravestone is right next to her first husband, Walter P. Hyer.

2. COLLINS, JOHN EDMUND - born October 18, 1879, died October 19, 1879; infant son of John A. and Ella (Matthews) Collins.

3. HYER, WALTER - baptized June 9, 1745, in Freehold, NJ, died June 22, 1796; son of Pieter and Altse (Van Pelt) Hyer; Veteran of American Revolutionary War; oldest known gravestone.

4. MATTHEWS, ANNA LAURA - born August 29, 1861, died November 25, 1862; infant daughter of Thomas Ellison and Mary (Van Pelt) Matthews.

5. MATTHEWS, CATHERINE JANE - born March 16, 1859, died March 1, 1860; infant daughter of Thomas Ellison and Mary (Van Pelt) Matthews.

6. MATTHEWS, MADORA - born September 5, 1859, died March 7, 1860; infant daughter of Thomas Ellison and Mary (Van Pelt) Matthews.

7. MATTHEWS, MARY ELIZABETH - born about 1843, died about 1862; daughter of Thomas Ellison and Mary (Van Pelt) Matthews; gravestone missing.

8. MATTHEWS, MARY VAN PELT - born 1819, in NJ, died February 26, 1904; of asthma; daughter of James J. and Mary (Van Pelt) Van Pelt; wife of Thomas Ellison Matthews.

9. MATTHEWS, THOMAS ELLISON, ESQ. - born 1817, died February 16, 1903; of heart failure, in Matawan, NJ, husband of Mary Van Pelt.

10. VAN PELT, ALEXANDER P. - born October 1, 1808, died January 30, 1876; near Matawan, NJ; son of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.); never married.

11. VAN PELT, CATHERINE - born September 3, 1796, died August 10, 1873; daughter of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.); never married.

12. VAN PELT, ELEANOR - born December 31, 1803, died November 5, 1823; daughter of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.).

13. VAN PELT, ELLA C. (ELLANORE) - born September, 1879, died January 1, 1881; of diptheria; near Matawan, NJ; 2 year old daughter of Jacob A. and Ella H. (Conover) Van Pelt; gravestone missing.

14. VAN PELT, HENDRICK P. - born December 15, 1800, in NJ, died July 18, 1872; son of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.); never married.

15. VAN PELT, JACOB J. - born November 4, 1820, died July 19, 1906; of heart failure, on Holmdel Road farm (Rt. 34), Matawan, NJ; son of James J. and Mary (Van Pelt) Van Pelt; husband of Sarah Jane (Coles); most recent known burial in the Van Pelt Family Burying Ground.

16. VAN PELT, JAMES J. - born August 17, 1790, died August 23, 1851; son of Jacob and Mary (Brooks) Van Pelt, husband of Mary Van Pelt.

17. VAN PELT, JOHN BARNEY P. - born October, 1849, died April 17, 1898; of alcoholism, in Matawan, NJ; son of Jacob J. and Mary (Van Pelt) Van Pelt.

18. VAN PELT, JOHN P. - born December 6, 1804, died January 11, 1811; 6 year old son of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.).

19. VAN PELT, MARY - born March 2,1794, NJ, died January 26, 1876; near Matawan, NJ; daughter of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.), wife of James J. Van Pelt.

20. VAN PELT, MARY (HYER) - born December 18, 1768, died May 25, 1855; wife of Peter P. Van Pelt, (Sr.).

21. VAN PELT, PETER P. (Jr.) - born September 22, 1792, died February 12, 1876; son of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.); never married.

22. VAN PELT, PETER P. (Sr.) - born June 5, 1772, died December 8, 1823; son of Pieter and Neeltje (Vanderbelt) Van Pelt, husband of Mary Hyer.

23. VAN PELT, SARAH JANE (COLES) - born December 14, 1825, in England, died December 22, 1865; in Matawan, NJ; wife of Jacob J. Van Pelt.

24. VAN PELT, WILLIAM P. - born September 17, 1798, died December 21, 1874; son of Peter P. and Mary (Hyer) Van Pelt, (Sr.); never married.

25. ROBERTS, ELLA C. - born about 1877, died December 7, 1882; of diptheria, in Matawan, NJ; 5 year old daughter of Joseph and Sarah Catharine (Kate) (Van Pelt) Roberts; gravestone missing.

26. ROBERTS, WILLIAM E. - born January 26, 1876, died December 5, 1882; of diptheria, in Matawan, NJ; 6 year old son of Joseph and Sarah Catherine (Kate) (Van Pelt) Roberts; gravestone missing.

27. ROBERTS, JACOB R. - born July 9, 1883, in Monmouth County, NJ, died July 24, 1883; of want of vitality; in Oak Grove (1 mile southeast of Matawan), NJ; 15 day old son of Joseph and Sarah Catherine (Kate) (Van Pelt) Roberts; gravestone missing.

28. VAN PELT, ELLA H. (CONOVER) - born about 1859, died May 2, 1893; near New Brunswick, NJ; wife of Jacob A. Van Pelt; gravestone missing.

29. COOPER, PHEBE JANE - born about 1854, died Aug. 15, 1897; Matawan, Monmouth County, NJ; crippled daughter of William and Ellenor (Van Pelt) Cooper; gravestone missing.

Thank you for visiting this Monmouth Genealogy Research Services page. George Joynson is available for your genealogy research at tel/fax (732) 239-0118. Last updated November 2006. Hope to hear from you soon! Please email or call.