The Presbyterian Grave Yard

The Presbyterian Grave Yard. . , In the 1740s, the Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church was established "on the banks of the Potomac River." Their first church was built on the southwest corner of King and Washington Streets. Apparently, this lot was adequate for a meeting house, but not for both a church and a graveyard. Therefore in 1788, the Church Elders purchased one acre of ground from Abraham Shepherd southwest of Mecklenberg (present-day Shepherdstown) on the west side of the Smithfield Pike. The ground was consecrated to serve as a grave yard for their congregants, and today, this is the oldest part of Elmwood Cemetery, The earliest existing tombstone is "IN MEMORY of Mrs. Sarah Morrow" dated 1793. Her daughter, Mary Morrow Rumsey, was the second wife of James Rumsey and was aboard Rumsey's steamboat on its maiden voyage on December 3, 1787. Mary Rumsey is buried somewhere near her mother in an unmarked grave., Among those buried here:. Elizabeth Mitchell who died in 1797. She was a niece of Mary Morrow and the great-grandmother of Dr. Silas Wier Mitchell, the father of neurology., James Glenn lived at Glenburnie on the Sandy Ridge Road. During the American Revolution Glenn served with Lieutenant Daniel Bedinger in the 1779-1780 North Carolina campaign. In 1791 Captain Glenn fought with Lieutenant Colonel William Darke at the Battle of the Wabash.
, War of 18 12 Veteran Isaac Clymer lived at Uvilla., In 1872, Professor Joseph McMurran was appointed the first principal of Shepherd College. During the Civil War, McMurran was a Sergeant in Company G, of the 4th Virginia Infantry Regiment., Lieutenant Henry Hargan served as an aide de camp on the staff of Confederate General James Ewell Brown Stuart. After the Civil War, Hagan held several managerial positions in Shepherdstown including superintendent of the Potomac Cement Mill. Hagan died in 1895., Captain Julian Lane Latimer commanded the USS Rhode Island during World War I and retired in 1930 with the rank of Rear Admiral., Stephen F. Curran whose headstone ready "US Secret Service Agent-known as Sam Smith., This ground is the final resting place for some of the many men and women who contributed to the continued growth and success of Shepherdstown. Veterans of many Ward's, and veterans of life in the "Old Unterriefied" -teachers, doctors, farmers, attorneys, and ministers- all are buried here.