Brownsville’s Bridgeport Cemetery occupies a picturesque, out-of-the-way promontory at the perimeter of what was once Bridgeport borough.  Last week we described the location of this historic cemetery and established that despite its age, it was not Bridgeport’s first burying ground.  That distinction belongs to a forgotten parcel of land near the former site of Prospect Street school, a tract that contains the unmarked graves of many of Bridgeport’s early Quaker settlers.
         In last week’s article we also noted that by 1847, Bridgeport borough council had decided to find land on which to establish a new public burial ground within the borough.  At its council meeting on September 14, 1847, council resolved  “that the Burgess and Town Council meet on Thursday next at one o’clock to examine those Lots at disposal, and select upon the most suitable one for a Grave Yard, and report the same at the next meeting of Council.”
         The search for a site for the new borough cemetery was quick.  At its next meeting two weeks later, council moved to purchase real estate.
         “Resolved,” read the council minutes of September 28, 1847, “that the Burgess be instructed to article with Wm. Warf for the two acre Lot selected by Council for a Public Grave Yard.
         “Resolved that the Burgess be instructed to make a Dublicate [sic] which will be sufficient to raise the sum of two hundred and sixty-five Dollars for the purchase of the Grave Yard and its expenses, fencing etc.”
         What cannot be discerned from these council minutes is whether there were any bodies already privately buried on the property the councilmen had selected.  Another question involves the meaning of the term “dublicate,” which appears in the minutes of several different 1847 council meetings.  The first explanation that comes to mind is that it is a consistent misspelling of the word “duplicate,” yet in the context in which the word is used in these council minutes, it does not seem to mean “a copy,” the meaning normally associated with the word “duplicate.”
         Upon researching the minutes of council meetings that occurred a few years later, minutes that were authored by a different town clerk, the word “duplicate” (correctly spelled) is found in a similar context to that in which it was used in the 1847 minutes.  In these later minutes, “duplicate” refers to a type of tax or assessment.
         If that is the word’s meaning in the mid-nineteenth century, then the 1847 council resolution “to make a Dublicate which will be sufficient to raise the sum of two hundred and sixty-five Dollars for the purchase of the Grave Yard and its expenses, fencing etc.” implies that council had to seek permission from the borough’s citizens to buy land for the cemetery and to assess each citizen a special tax in order to finance the purchase.
         After the September 28 council meeting, Bridgeport burgess Samuel B. Page met with William Warf to negotiate a price for the land council had selected, and at the October 18, 1847 meeting, an agreement between Warf and council was finalized.
         “The Article of Agreement,” read that meeting’s minutes, “between Wm. Warf and Council concerning the ‘Grave Yard’ was made out and signed.
         “The Dublicate which was decided by a majority of the Citizens for the purchase of said Grave Yd. was made out, and amounted to two hundred & sixty one dollars fifty-seven cts.  John G. Gregg was appointed Collector of the ‘Grave Yard’ Dublicate.”
         By virtue of that October 1847 council action, Bridgeport Cemetery was born.  It is not often that a new public cemetery is created, and Bridgeport councilmen worked for two months to formulate rules and regulations to govern the borough’s new cemetery.  At its December 28, 1847 meeting, those regulations were adopted in the form of a resolution.  That resolution is printed below just as it appears in the minutes of the December 28 meeting, without correction of town clerk R. K. McLean’s occasional misspellings.
         “Council met in persuance of adjournment,” the council minutes read, “and the following members were present: Burgess – Samuel B. Page; John Riley, John Buffington, Aaron Branson, James Gue, Joseph Johns. . . .
         “The following ordinance was passed unanimously.  No. 57:
         “An Ordinance Regulating the Grave Yard.
         “A majority of the voters of the Borough of Bridgeport having, in accordance with the Sixth Section of the Charter of said Borough, Authorized the Burgess and Town Council to buy [sic] an extra tax to raise sufficient funds for the purchace of a suitable Lot for a Public Grave Yard.  They have, in persuance of said authority, levied a tax and purchased a two acre Lot from Wm Warf near said Borough, and by virtue of authority vested in them, do ordain the following rules for the Government of the same.
         “It shall be the duty of the Town Council Yearly to appoint a competent person as Sexton, whose duty it shall be to take care of the Lot, and attend to the digging of all Graves that may be required, for which service he shall receive the following compensation, to be paid by the person ordering the Grave – for all persons twelve years of age and upwards – one dollar and fifty cents for each grave; for all persons under twelve years of age – one dollar except when in time of hard frost, when if necessary fifty cents more on each Grave may be added or charged.
         “It shall be the duty of any person wishing to bury in the Ground to apply for the same to the regular Sexton, who alone has the priviledge of breaking Ground; unless he shall waive his priviledge to the person applying, he shall be entitled to the regular fee.
         “This Lot shall be forever free to the Citizens of the Borough of Bridgeport for a burying Ground.  It shall also be free to Strangers dying or who may die in the Borough.
         “It shall be further the duty of the Sexton to ascertain from every applicant for a Grave, whether the person to be buryed be a Citizen of the Borough.  And if they should not be a Citizen of the Borough, he shall require them to bring a permit from the Burgess for that purpose, or in case of the absence of the Burgess, said permit shall be signed by two members of the Council.  The Burgess shall collect for every such permit the sum of two dollars, for which he must acct. to the Treasurer of the Borough, who shall set apart all sums so collected as a fund for making and repairing fences around said Lot.
         “It shall be further the duty of the Sexton, as far as practicable, when families may require it, to so arrange the Ground that a space may be allowed for the use of said family not exceeding fifteen feet square; when this is not required, the Graves shall be dug in regular rows, commencing at the most convenient point.
         “The Council hereby appoints Stephen West Sexton the ensuing year.
         “This ordinance may be altered or amended from time to time – But no such alteration at any time to prevent the right of a citizen from the free use of Said Lot as a burying place.
         “This ordinance to take effect from and after this date.
         “R. K. McLean, Town Clk.”
         Collecting that extra cemetery tax from the good citizens of Bridgeport was sometimes difficult.  More than one year after the tax was enacted, the minutes of the March 19, 1849 council meeting revealed that “Joseph John, Grave Yard Collector, appeared and was exhonorated from collecting tax from the following persons – viz: A. G. Booth 37 ½ cts; Joel Ball 25 cents; James C. Tuller 25 cts; John Black 25 cs; Robt. Baldwin 62 ½ cts. . . . .”
         The list goes on to include a total of 33 citizens.  The largest tax due was $1.90 owed by A. Minehart, no person owed less than 25 cents, and a total amount of $26.32 was shown as “exhonerated” from collection, reasons unspecified.
         The expense of maintaining the cemetery caused subsequent borough councils to regret the generosity of the 1847 council, which had made all cemetery lots free to citizens of the borough or to strangers who died in the borough.  The original 1847 ordinance allowed for later amendment but included the stipulation that the right of a Bridgeport citizen to free use of the cemetery as a burying place could not be altered.
         In 1855, eight years after borough council created the cemetery, the mounting cost of taking care of it led council to amend the 1847 ordinance.  At its July 1855 meeting, council resolved that any citizen taking a lot in the cemetery after that date for the purpose of using it as a family burying ground would have to pay three dollars, and those who had already purchased lots would be assessed two dollars.
         The income, council decreed, would be used for “making and keeping up the fences and keeping the ground in order.”  Council suggested having a committee lay out the lots in the graveyard, number them and keep a book detailing who owned each one.  To remain in compliance with the original 1847 ordinance, the amended ordinance stated that any person who died in the borough and did not own a lot could still be buried in the cemetery for free.
         By 1891, Bridgeport borough had owned and maintained the Bridgeport Cemetery for nearly forty-five years, but maintenance costs had continued to mount, the physical appearance of the cemetery was deteriorating, and a new fence was needed.  Council was anxious to shed the burden of caring for the cemetery, and the councilmen came up with a plan — a plan that created the Bridgeport Cemetery Company, which still operates the cemetery today.  Next week, we will learn more about the people who now give freely of their time to operate Bridgeport cemetery.