Ben Salem Cemetery
Founded by Carbon County’s oldest religious congregation
Located
in
East
Penn Twp.
The Ben Salem Union Church congregation (Lutheran and German Reformed) is the oldest in what is now Carbon Co. The exact date of the congregation’s formation is not known, but it dates back at least to the early 1790s. The first church was commenced around 1794 and finished in 1797. It is likely the burial ground goes back to the earliest days of settlement in the East Penn & Mahoning area, the area being populated prior to the Revolutionary War.
The earliest
death in this list is from 1800, the most recent from 1949. Many of the earliest stones are not included
here because they are lost, broken or worn illegible. Later burials were made in the new section of the cemetery.
For a more complete
history of the congregation and church, visit the Matthews & Hungerford
1884 History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, Pennsylvania, Chapter
13, East Penn Township.
The Cemeteries
of Carbon Co. Index page
Genealogical information
researched by Jack Sterling
Website by
August 2005