Nassau Presbyterian Church
Building upon their prior efforts to document and digitize 268 years of burial records from Princeton Cemetery, Nassau Presbyterian Church now aims to go beyond records to find engaging ways share the diverse, often-untold stories of those interred there, from revolutionary leaders to anonymous residents whose lives reflect the broader American experience.
Nassau Presbyterian Church stewards a historic cemetery that has served as a final resting place for 268 years, including figures like John Witherspoon, Aaron Burr, and Grover Cleveland. While they have successfully compiled and digitized comprehensive burial records, the church sees this program as an opportunity to “put some flesh back on the bones” of their history by moving from cold data to human-centered storytelling.
The church intends to use the program’s training to envision new ways to honor those in unmarked graves, particularly in the section designated for African Americans in the early 1800s. They hope to collaborate with neighbors like the Arts Council of Princeton to interpret the cemetery as a reflection of the national arc of race, immigration, and institutional history.
