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The Full Story

Bupp's Union

At the August 2014 CGAA Board Meeting, it was moved that a section of our website be devoted to Bupp's Union. As you read the following information, it will become clear why we decided to do this . . .

Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association
Incorporated April 20, 1936

bupp.ceme.assoc.png

This document is a partial transcription of Cemetery Association which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document. The scanned document contains additional information and diagrams pertaining to the property deeds registered in York County.

Incorporators and first directors

 

Walter E. Bailey (1885-1979), Loganville, Dir

 

Kerwin D. Boyer (1892-1978), Seven Valleys #

Glatfelters Station Store

 

Adam Hartman (1867-1949), Loganville, Dir.

 

Jesse K. Leader (1888-1951), York # (r) F-I-L

 

Harry Lentz (1881-1956), Seven Valleys #, Dir. SIL

 

Harvey Lentz (1879-1962), Seven Valleys #, Dir. 32 yr perfect attendance

 

Palmer McWilliams (1899-1980), Seven Valleys 32 yr Supt

 

George Meckley (1892-1956), Gladfelters

 

Bert A. Trout (1885-1979), Seven Valleys

Land of John & Barbara (Gn) Hildebrand

 

Jacob F. Trout (1872-1965), York #, Dir. bd Bupp’s

​

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Cemetery Inscriptions
Arranged Chronologically

1779-1799

  1. Glatfelter, Margret, d. Mar. 31, 1779

  2. F. W., 1779 fieldstone

  3. Walder, Henry, d. Jan. 27, 1781, 70, fieldstone

  4. Hildebrand, Hanes, d. Apr. 2, 1783, 68, fieldstone

  5. Glfed, Pet., Feb 13, 1791 - July 16, 1792 0-15-3

  6. Hildebrand, Barbara, d. Aug. 8, 1794, fieldstone

  7. H. A., Oct. 6, 1794

  8. Ald, Ana Maria, d. Dec. 10,1794

     

1800-1825

  1. Schwartz, Jacob, d. Nov. 20, 1804, fieldstone

  2. Lentz, I. L.,1820, fieldstone

  3. L. W., 1820, fieldstone

  4. Glatfelter, Philip, d. Apr. 13, 1825, 44-9-28
     

1826-1850

  1. H. B. Apr. 11, 1827, fieldstone

  2. Hovis, Jacob, d. Aug. 1827, aged about 38 yrs. 8 mo.

  3. Hartman, Jonathan, June 29, 1803 - Oct. 6, 1827, 24-3-7

  4. Glatfelter, Meichel, d. Oct. 15, 1827

  5. Hartman, daughter of Samuel and Lydia, d. Apr. 21, 1830, 1 day

  6. Lentz, Peter, d. Aug 20, 1830, fieldstone

  7. Lentz, Lea, d. Oct. 20, 1830, fieldstone

  8. Hildebrand, Barbara, wife of Casper, d. Oct. 31, 1832, 62

  9. Howis, Adam, son of Jacob and B, d. Feb. 18, 1833, 7-8-0

  10. Gipe, Eve, d. Mar. 25, 1833

  11. Deis, Henry, Sept. 5, 1802 - July 8, 1833, 30-10-5

  12. Hildebrand, Aaron, son of Casper and Susan, d. Jan. 7, 1834, 4-8-11

  13. Glatfelter, Jacob, son of Philip and Anna Mary, d. Mar. 12, 1835, 16-8-25

  14. Glatfelter, Mary, daughter of Philip and Anna Mary, d. Apr. 25, 1835, 18-11-21

  15. Krout, Adam, Sept. 30, 1834 - July 29, 1837, 2-10-29

  16. Hartman, Lydia, wife of Samuel, June 28, 1805 - Oct. 3, 1838, 33-3-6

  17. Hartman, Frederick, July 4, 1777 - Dec. 7, 1838, 61-5-3

  18. Christina, daughter of Johanes Bop, Apr. 19, 1818 - Aug. 11, 1839, 21-3-22

  19. Bobb, George, d. Jan. 9, 1840, 30-1-18

  20. Bob, Rebecca, wife of Johan, Apr. 3, 1817 - Oct. 24, 1840, 23-6-21

  21. Hildebrand, Casper, d. Oct. 11, 1841, 84

  22. Krout, Lydia, daughter of Daniel and Catharine, d. May 27, 1843, 16

  23. Trout, C., d. Mar. 30, 1844, 4-0-16

  24. Messersmith, Sarah, wife of Michael, d. Nov. 8, 1844, 37-5-28

  25. Deis, Jacob, Feb. 27, 1825 - Sept. 22, 1844, 19-6-24

  26. Swartz, Mary, daughter of Peter and Adaline, d. 1844

  27. Hartman, Samuel, d. June 26, 1845, 3-6-12

  28. Bubb, Julian, d. Jul. 24, 1845, 15-7-0

  29. Trout, G. H., d. Aug. 20, 1845, 7-3-2

  30. Falkenstine, Susanna, wife of Lewis, Apr. 12, 1803 - Sept. 3, 1845, 42-4-21

  31. Williams, Frederick, Feb. 1780 - Feb. 28, 1847, 67 yrs ??

  32. Lentz, Julian, wife of George, d. Nov. 3, 1848, 50-8-28

  33. Bubb, Israel, Nov. 8, 1845 - Aug. 16, 1849, 3-9-8

  34. Trout, E., d. Aug. 29, 1849, 6-5-16

  35. William, Catharine, Dec. 6, 1782 - Sept. 12, 1849, 66-9-6

  36. William, Sarah E., daughter of John, d. Dec. 30 1850, 0-1-22

1851 - 1875

  1. Trout, Sarah, daughter of Jacob and Nancy, Apr. 11, 1850 - Aug. 27, 1852, 2-4-16

  2. Miller, Josiah Franklin, son of Valentine T. and Louisa, Dec. 2, 1850 - Aug. 28, 1852, 1-8-26

  3. Swartz, Jacob, son of Peter and Adaline, d. 1852

  4. Krout, John, d. Jul. 9, 1853, 22-7-29

  5. Hartman, Ann Maria, wife of Frederick, born a Hovis, Aug. 4, 1778 - Oct. 14, 1853, 75-2-10

  6. Lentz, Joseph, Dec. 25, 1793 - Sept. 24, 1854

  7. Lentz, Louise, daughter of E. and A. M., Feb. 6, 1855 - Mar. 6, 1855, 0-1-0 *

  8. Schrock, Elizabeth, d. Nov. 6, 1855, 50-3-16 *

  9. Bupp, John, d. Dec. 28, 1855, 48-10-29

  10. Hartman, son, son of Martin and Elizabeth, d. Dec. 9, 1856, 0-0-9

  11. Lentz, Ledia, daughter of E. and A. M., June 11, 1856 - Sept. 25, 1857

  12. Bobb, Malinda, daughter of John and Maria, d. Sept. 30, 1857, 0-0-12

  13. Swartz, Henry, son of Peter and Adaline, d. 1857

  14. Shaffer, daughter, daughter of Henry S. and Barbara, d. Aug. 6, 1858, 0-0-6

  15. Bobb, Jacob, son of John and Maria, d. Aug. 15, 1858, 5-11-1

  16. Falkenstine, Jacob, d. May 21, 1859, 83-8-6

  17. Glatfelter, Jesse, d. Jan. 24, 1860, 37-10-22

  18. Falkenstine, David, son of David and Mary, d. Mar. 19, 1862, 0-6-25

  19. Bopp, John, Nov. 4, 1779 - Aug. 22, 1862, 82-9-18 *

  20. Bopp, Elizabeth, wife of John Bopp, Oct. 7, 1777 - Oct. 24, 1862, 85-0-17

  21. Lentz, George, d. Feb. 27, 1863, 75-11-9

  22. Falkenstine, John, son of Henry and Leah, d. May 9, 1863, 10-0-23

  23. Bupp, Maria, wife of John F. Bupp, d. Sept. 28, 1863, 34-5-22

  24. Falkenstine, Barbara, wife of Jacob, d. Oct. 2, 1863, 85-4-28

  25. Bopp, Elizabeth, daughter of John F. and Maria, d. Oct. 13, 1863, 0-0-15

  26. Bopp, Barbara, daughter of John F. and Maria, d. Oct. 13, 1863, 0-0-18

  27. Bopp, Mary J., daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah, d. Feb. 11, 1864, 4-1-5 *

  28. Lentz, Daniel, GAR 1861-1865, d. Jun. 19, 1864, 75-6-9 *

  29. Freund, Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick and Anna, d. Sept. 25, 1864, 0-11-18

  30. Krout, Daniel, d. Oct. 1, 1864, 68

  31. Lentz, E. L. and L., 1864, fieldstone

  32. Bopp, Susan B., daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah, d. Feb. 18, 1865, 0-11-13 *

  33. Bopp, John F., son of John F. and Precilla, d. Sept. 1, 1865, 0-5-20

  34. Ness, Irah M., d. Sept. 22, 1865. 0-7-2

  35. Krout, Jacob, d. Nov. 1865, about 75 years, “as a token 1918 by John A. Krout” *1

  36. Bobb, Jeremiah W., son of Jeremiah and Sarah, d. Jan. 8, 1866, 0-0-11

  37. Falkenstine, David, d. Apr. 13, 1866, 49-8-6

  38. Lentz, Emeline, daughter of Harris and Malinda, d. Aug. 2, 1866, 1-9-0 *

  39. Lentz, Lydian, daughter of Harris and Malinda, d. Aug. 13, 1866, 3-10-0

  40. Bopp, infant, son of John F. and Precilla, d. Sept. 1, 1866, 0-0-18

  41. Falkenstine, Barbara, wife of Lewis, June 19, 1811 - Oct. 1, 1867, 56-3-12

  42. Howis, Barbara, wife of Jacob, d. Feb. 27, 1868, 79-9-18 *

  43. Bobb, Levi E.,son of Jeremiah and Sarah, d., Mar. 2, 1870, 0-5-12

  44. Bupp, Ella Mariah, daughter of John F. and Ann Priscilla, d. Nov. 21, 1870, 2-9-23

  45. Glatfelter, Alpheus, son of Julia A. Bupp, d. Mar. 8, 1871, 0-7-28 *

  46. Bupp, Tapy, daughter of John F. and Prissillia, d. Sept. 10, 1871, 0-7-28

  47. Beck, Ellen M., daughter of Julia A. Bupp, d. Jul. 31, 1872, 0-5-7 *

  48. Falkenstine, Henry F., May 2, 1832 - Oct. 31, 1872, 40-5-29

  49. Bupp, Mary E., daughter of Benjamin and Louisa, d. Jan. 13, 1873, 1-0-28 *

  50. Lentz, Catharine, wife of Joseph, d. Nov. 21, 1873, 72-10-11

  51. Jones, Emeline, daughter of Wm S. and Henrietta, Dec. 24, 1870 - May 22, 1874, 3-4-28

  52. Ness, mary, wife of WIlliam A., d. Aug. 1, 1874, 39-6-27

  53. Raffensperger, Sylvester, Nov. 20, 1874 - Jan. 9, 1875 *

  54. Rose (Roser), Susanna, daughter of Lorentz and E., d. Feb. 5,1875, 74-2-15

  55. Bupp, Barbara, wife of John, d. Jul. 14, 1875, 72-3-24

1876 - 1900

  1. Barns (Burns), Sarah, daughter of William D. and Catharine, d. May 2, 1876, 0-8-27 *

  2. Trout, John V., son of John V. and Mary A., d. Jul. 8, 1877, 0-8-26

  3. Schrum, Daniel, son of Michael and Julian, d. Apr. 11, 1878, 1-2-9

  4. Schrum, Ida R., daughter of Michael and Julian, d. Apr. 19, 1878, 11-11-18

  5. Schrum, Charles, son of Michael and Julian, d. Apr. 27, 1878, 2-2-29

  6. Glatfelter, Anna Mary, wife of Philip, d. Dec. 29, 1878, 94-11-11

  7. Glesner, Mary A., d. Jan. 36-9-10

  8. Krout, Catharine, wife of Daniel, d. Feb. 18, 1879, 74-7-11 *2

  9. Jones, Nora, daughter of William S. and H., d. Apr. 20, 1879, 2-3-7

  10. Trout, Adam W., son of John V. and Mary A., d. Nov. 26, 1879, 5-0-9

  11. Falkenstine, Lizzie C.,daughter of Lewis L. and Leah J., d. Feb. 12, 1881, 3-2-17

  12. Bupp, Alfred E., son of Jeremiah and Sarah, d. Apr. 19, 1881, 4-2-20

  13. Trout, Sarah C., daughter of John V. and Mary A., d. Apr. 20, 1881, 10-7-6

  14. Trout, Alvin S., son of John V. and Mary A., d. Apr. 22, 1881, 2-2-3

  15. Trout, William H., son of John V. and Mary A., d. May 4, 1881, 14-5-16

  16. Falkenstine, Chancy J., son of Samuel L. and Emma, d. Feb. 25, 1884, 0-5-7

  17. Sheffer, Henry S., Sept. 26, 1829 - Mar. 31, 1885

  18. Trout, Catharine, wife of Adam, d. Feb. 23, 1887, 77-10-1

  19. Linburg, Wesley G., son of Joseph A. and Sarah N., d. June 15, 1887, 0-0-28

  20. Grove, Mary, d. Mar. 13, 1888, 65-11-1

  21. Falkenstine, Lewis, d. Apr. 7, 1888, 83-3-3

  22. Bupp, Susanna, wife of Lewis, d. Apr. 15, 1888, 81-9-22

  23. Falkenstine, John, d. May 9, 1888, 78-0-3

  24. Stine, Minnie C., daughter of Isreal and Sarah, d. Sept. 13, 1888, 2-0-13

  25. Swartz, Alvin R., son of John and Amanda, Oct. 31, - 1888 - Nov. 5, 1889, 1-0-5

  26. Messersmith, Michael, d. Feb. 6, 1890, 89-1-11

  27. Lentz, daughter of Cornelius and Ida, b. June 7, 1890

  28. Trout, Adam, d. Aug. 21, 1890, 78-10-14

  29. Bubb, Lewis, d. Nov. 12, 1891, 89-6-0

  30. Trout, William, d. Dec. 12, 1892, 47-4-4

  31. Trout, Lottie E., daughter of Wiliam and Maria, d. Dec. 26, 1892, 1-4-29

  32. Swartz, Peter, d. Mar. 15, 1893, 76-5-4

  33. Lentz, Lydia, wife of Daniel, d. Sept. 29, 1893, 92-6-14

  34. Bare, Matilda, wife of George F., d. Dec. 27, 1893, 69-10-23

  35. Falkenstine, Leah, wife of John, Jan. 31, 1814 - Feb. 9, 1896, 82-0-9

  36. Swartz, Adalina, wife of Peter, d. Apr. 22, 1896, 72-7-21

  37. Sheffer, Raymon S., son of W. A. and Sarah, d. Sept. 13, 1896, 0-5-13

  38. Lentz, Emanuel, d. Nov. 16, 1896, 68-0-4

  39. Lentz, Adam, d. Jan. 4, 1897, 75-0-19

  40. Bupp, Benjamin, d. June 3, 1899, 52-9-7

  41. Falkenstine, Henry K., Oct. 23, 1813 - Apr. 2, 1900, 86-5-9

1901 - 1934

  1. Messersmith, Granville, d. Oct. 8, 1902, 76-7-6

  2. Lentz, Caroline, wife of Adam, Sept. 12, 1827 - Mar. 20, 1903, 75-6-8

  3. Krout, Levi, July 10, 1837 - July 7, 1903, 65-11-27

  4. Lentz, Maria, wife of Emanuel, d. July 11, 1908, 73-7-14

  5. Falkenstine, Leah, wife of Henry K., Dec. 13, 1838 - Feb. 4, 1909, 71-2-21

  6. Bupp, John F., d. Aug. 26, 1903, 76-0-23

  7. Sheffer, Willard C., son of George H. and Susan A., d. May 16, 1910, 19-2-17

  8. Brodbeck, William Wesley, Mar. 15, 1876 - Sept. 22, 1910, 34-6-7

  9. Noel, Mary E., wife of Augustus, Mar. 9, 1880 - Dec. 5, 1911, 31-8-26

  10. Trout, John V., Jan. 13, 1836 - Dec. 5, 1912

  11. Bupp, Precilla, wife of John F., 1835 - 1912

  12. Burns, Catharine Lentz, wife of William D., Dec. 15, 1914 only date

  13. Lentz, Harris, Oct. 4, 1835 - Feb. 12, 1915, 79-4-8

  14. Krout, WIlliam, Oct. 25, 1846 - Apr. 10, 1915

  15. Trout, Mary A., wife of John V., Dec. 1, 1847 - Mar. 12, 1918

  16. Stine, Sarah Ann, d. Oct. 7, 1919, 65-5-28

  17. Lentz, Malinda, wife of Harris, Dec. 31, 1841 - Oct. 25, 1919, 77-9-24

  18. Bupp, Sadie, 1887 - 1919

  19. Stine, Israel, d. June 9, 1921, 69-1-16, tin marker

  20. Bupp, Louisa, 1847 - 1921

  21. Sheffer, Barbara A., wife of Henry S., Apr. 3, 1887 - Apr. 8, 1922

  22. Shaffer, George H., d. Jan. 26, 1925, 60-8-29

  23. Noel, Augustus, d. July 22, 1926, 55-10-17, wooden marker

  24. Lehman, Nora Ellen, d. Jan. 7, 1929, 33-9-8, tin marker

  25. Bupp, Paul Levi, d. Nov. 9, 1931, 2-6-8

  26. Messersmith, Henry, d. Sept. 28, 1932, 76-5-24 tin marker

  27. Lehman, Leona R., d. Sept. 30, 1934, 14-6-4, wooden marker

  28. Sheffer, Susan A., wife of George H., no dates *3

  29. Messersmith, Julian, wife of Granville, no dates

  30. Hengst, infant son of F. D. and Cora E., no dates

  31. Trout, Maria, 1850 - 1934

1935 - 1995

  1. Trout, Sallie, 1874 - 1939

  2. Heavel, Susie V., 1859 - 1940

  3. Trout, Emilima, 1855 - 1941

  4. Sheffer, Susan A., d. Jan. 9, 1942, 72-6-5 *3

  5. Trout, Bert G., 1878 - 1944

  6. Burns, Laura, 1871 - 1945

  7. Messersmith, Menerva, 1881 - 1946

  8. Messersmith, John W., 1886 - 1947

  9. Trout, John, 1882 - 1949

  10. Falkenstein, George, July 16, 1859 - Aug. 17, 1949

  11. Bupp, Ida S., 1879 - 1950

  12. Carter, Richard Lee, 1906 - 1953

  13. Hengst, Cora E., 1885 - 1959

  14. Lehman, WIlliam, 1887 - 1959

  15. Bupp, Eli A., 1874 - 1960

  16. Burns, Leah, 1876 - 1962

  17. Trout, Jacob F., 1872 - 1965

  18. Bupp, John W., Dec. 30, 1934 - Aug. 22, 1965

  19. Hengst, Frank D., 1881 - 1967

  20. Bupp, Warren J., 1897 - 1984

  21. Bupp, Effie, d. Jan. 29, 1995, 90

 

Dates of death recorded on tombstones by periods

 

Before 1799 - 8

1800 - 1825 - 4

1826 - 1850 - 36

1851 - 1875 - 55

1876 - 1900 - 41

1901 - 1934 - 27

Total:  171
* Burials Reported by Rev. Constantine J. Deininger at Bupp’s School House, or at Bupp’s

*1 83. Recorded as Jacob Kraut, Dec. 15, 1787 - Nov. 28, 1864, 76-11-10

*2 111. Catharine Kraut, July 7, 1804 - Feb. 18, 1879, 74-7-11

*3 172 and 179 may be the same person

 

1855 - 1879 Deininger reported 19 burials.

For five there were no stones standing in 1932. In the case of Jacob Kraut, the stone was erected much later and the year of death was incorrectly given.

 

Miller, Lewis, d. Apr. 7, 1856, 0-3-17

Williams, Jesse, d. May 2, 1857, 29-10-7

Williams, Jesse, d. Oct. 5, 1858, 0-9-16

Bubb, Adam, d. Aug. 28, 1863, 1-3-17

​

Charles H. Glatfelter, December 1999

_______________

Transcriber’s note:

There is a discrepancy in the numbering in light of the four burials (Miller, Williams, WIlliams, and Bubb) as well as Sheffer (listed here as 172 and/or possibly 179). As a result, the burials total either 199, or 200.

During the period of 1851 - 1875 the number of burials total 59.

During the period of 1935 - 1995 the number of burials total 21.

 

​

This document is a transcription of Cemetery Inscriptions  which was a scanned compilation of three typed documents by Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter.

Committee Letter

This document is a transcription of Historical Committee Letter which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document.

To the members of the historical committee,

On August 18,2006 I met with Ted R. Meckley at his home, 258 Lindy Road, Seven Valleys, for about 45 minutes. Although he was preparing for a business-related trip to Mexico, he was willing to meet with me for that time.

 

Born in 1947, he remembers attending Bupp’s Union Sunday school from the time he was a very small boy. When I asked him whether he remembered anything about the first five directors of the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association, who took office in 1936 and whom I named for him, he recalled only one: Harvey Lentz. He was a veteran member of the Sunday school, Ted said, who from time to time had a part in the program, regularly wearing his perfect attendance badge, complete with its long, long string of annual award attachments.

 

Ted remembered very little about how the cemetery association operated in its early years. When I asked him to identify Harry Leader, Jacobus, to whom a 1937 deed was to be returned after it was recorded in 1962, he remembered the name. When I asked him to identify Raymond E. Meckley, to whom the 1966 deed, recorded in that year was returned, he said that Raymond Meckley is his father. After one or more strokes, he now suffers from dementia and is in a nursing home. For many years Raymond Meckley was one of the director of the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association and for a long time was its treasurer.

 

As a teenager Ted was chosen superintendent of the Sunday school, which for years attracted enough interest in the neighborhood to be a functioning organization. Ted told me what some have told me in the past. Persons attended the Sunday school and then went to worship services in the congregation of which they or their parents were members. Ted also told me what others told me in the past. For many years these congregations were four in number: Salem Lutheran and Reformed (now United Church of Christ) in Jacobus, the Methodist church in Jacobus, and the Codorus Church of the Brethren.

 

As long as Bupp’s Union Sunday school was what has been described as a functioning organization, the weekly offerings received were enough to meet the few expenses required to keep the church (or more properly meetinghouse) and graveyard in acceptable repair. The day came when that was no longer the case. By about 1990 Sunday school attendance had dropped to about twelve. The few remaining members decided that the time had come to discontinue the school. Ted remembers that these few members belonged to either the Lutheran or United Church congregation in Jacobus.

 

The end of the Sunday school raised the immediate question of what to do with the graveyard. It is evident from what Ted told me and from an account which appeared in the York Daily Record on November 23, 2002 (for which he contributed much of the information) that he recognized the historical character of the graveyard and the need to preserve it. It is also evident from the same source that he believed the best way, and maybe the only way, to accomplish this was by making the meetinghouse available on easy terms to a religious organization which would also care for the graveyard.

According to Ted, about the time the Sunday school ceased to function - he did not know the exact time - the board of directors of the cemetery association was reorganized. It then consisted of himself as president, Gary Shearer as vice president, Charlene Shearer as secretary, Raymond Meckley as treasurer, and Glen Doll as member.

 

Ted told me that on several occasions about this time he tried to interest some or all of the four former associated churches in supporting the cemetery association financially, but to no avail. He also named several Glatfelters to whom he had spoken about support, but none seemed interested enough to bring the subject before the board of directors. I have no recollection of its ever being mentioned in a board meeting.

 

About 1987, and thus before the Sunday school was abandoned, a small congregation known as Souls’ Haven Temple Baptist church began using the meetinghouse and caring for the graveyard. On at least one occasion the association board paid the church for its work. About 2001 Souls’ Haven left to merge with another congregation elsewhere.

 

In an effort to attract a new tenant, the cemetery association placed a notice in a newsletter of the York County Council of Churches. A response subsequently came form a group affiliated with the American Catholic Church in the United States. The discussions which followed resulted in an agreement which altered in a major way the authority for the cemetery association.

 

Ted Meckley told me that sometime during the year 2002 the remaining members of the board of directors of the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association resigned their offices and persons representing what was called Resurrection Church at Bupp’s Union succeeded them as directors. Nothing of this transaction, he assured me, was committed to writing at any time.

 

The account of this transaction as found in the November 23, 2002 edition of the York Daily Record reads as follows:

The association agreed to give the building and cemetery to Resurrection as

if the property was being passed on from one generation to another Meckley

says. In return, the congregation has promised to keep the building and

cemetery in good condition.

 

Ted told me that all of the known records of the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association were turned over to the new directors. He was not certain of the volume of these records, but he believed that some of the documents were quite old. The monetary assets of the association, consisting of a bank account and several certificates of deposit, were also turned over.

 

The congregation of Resurrection church at Bupp’s Union did not last long. By early May 2006 there was a “for rent” sign in a meetinghouse window. Several of the officers of the American Catholic church concerned with Bupp’s Union are no longer affiliated with it.

 

In my August 10 letter to Ted Meckley, I explained to him that the historical committee of the Glattfelder Association wanted to determine whether there is a functioning Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association and, if not, how it might be reactivated. My interview certainly provided what was for me some new information on these topics. Interesting enough, without any prompting on my part, Ted told me that he would be willing to contact some of the church officials still interested in Bupp’s Union if we are interested in attempting to reactivate the cemetery association under new auspices. The only thing he would not be willing to do is become a board member again, if only because he has no relatives (at least known relatives) buried in the graveyard.

 

Charles H. Glatfelter

Historian

Copy to Henry B. Leader

 

This document is a transcription of Historical Committee Letter which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document.

The Graveyard at Bupp's Union

This document is a transcription of The Graveyard at Bupp's Union which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document.

Bupp’s Union cemetery or graveyard is located a short distance west of Loganville in Springfield township, York county. It contains about 200 tombstone inscriptions; the oldest, dated 1779, is for Margaret Glatfelter and the most recent, dated 1984, is for Warren J. Bupp. There are also unmarked graves, obviously the total number of which is not known. The most recent unmarked grave is that of Effie A. Bupp, widow of Warren J., who died in 1995.

 

The land on which the graveyard rests was originally claimed, in 1762, by Rudolph Yount, or Yunt. He was one of the founders of the Codorus congregation of the Church of the Brethren. In 1777 Yunt sold his holdings at this place to Bernard Bupp, whose son John obtained a patent deed for 200 acres from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1821.

 

There were no buildings in the immediate vicinity of the graveyard until about 1850, when Springfield township adopted from Pennsylvania public school system, bough a small tract from John Bupp across the road from the graveyard, and built what became known as Bupp’s schoolhouse.

 

In 1871 members of several denominations (we do not know how many or from what denominations) united to build a meetinghouse about 175 feet north of the schoolhouse. Although the newspaper notice of the dedication called the new structure a union church, it never became the property of an organized congregation. It was used for Sunday school purposes by persons belonging to several nearby churches and as the site of occasional preaching.

 

During the nineteenth century there were about 100 marked burials in the graveyard. Some were Falkenstines, who were Brethren people; some were Lentzes and Trouts, who were Lutheran; and some were Bupps and Glatfelters, who were Reformed.

 

For reasons now unknown, on April 20, 1936 ten men living in the general vicinity of the graveyard, none of them named Glatfelter, united to secure from the York county court a charter of incorporation for the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association. The charter defined the purpose: “to provide and maintain a suitable place for the burial of the dead and to transact the business incident thereto.” The association, it declared, “does not contemplate pecuniary gain or profit, material or otherwise, to its members.” The charter designated five of the ten incorporators members of the board of directors, to serve until “election of their successors.” There is no mention in the charter of the meetinghouse property across the road.

 

In November 1937, for $1, four men identifying themselves as “trustees Bupp’s Union Church, and unincorporated association” transferred two tracts to the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association. The courses and distances of the tracts transferred by this deed are those of the present graveyard property. All four of the grantors of this deed were incorporators of the cemetery association the year before.

 

The arrangement for the care of the graveyard as prescribed in the charter worked reasonably well until about 1990, when declining interest in the Sunday school prompted its officers, who were apparently also directors of the cemetery association, to disband. They first made the meetinghouse available to a small Baptist congregation, which agreed to keep the graveyard mowed. When that congregation moved to another location, these officers in 2002 turned over responsibility for the meetinghouse and graveyard to an independent Catholic congregation, called Resurrection church. There were no written agreements of any kind when this transfer was made. Resurrection congregation no longer uses the meetinghouse.

 

***

From the time of its organization in 1906, members of the Casper Glattfelder Association of America have had an interest in the Bupp’s Union graveyard. The organizers of the first reunion planned to hold it in the meetinghouse and chose an alternate site only when it became evident that much more space was needed. One of the first goals of the founders was to determine where Casper and his wife were buried. Even in 1906 they believed it was probably Bupp’s Union, but they could not find tombstones.

 

The search went on for more than a third of a century. While no tombstones for Casper and his wife were ever found, the presence of stones in the graveyard for close relatives who accompanied the family to America (especially Henry Walter and Barbara Hildebrand) finally led to the conclusion that Casper was also buried there. In 1954 the association placed a monument to him and both of his wives. In 2005 it placed one to Felix and his wife, between Casper on one side and Philip, son of Felix, who was the third owner of the Glattfelder homestead, on the other.

 

As responsibility for the continuing proper care of this historic graveyard became increasingly doubtful, during the planning for the centennial reunion in 2005 the historical committee of the Casper Glattfelder Association began discussing what the proper role of the association regarding the graveyard should be. After considerable discussion, our understanding of what this role should be became clear.

 

The 1936 charter of Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association is still in force. That association no longer has a functioning board of directors. The charter provides a way to reconstitute the board.

 

The charter states that the membership of the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association consists of “adult members of the immediate families as well as the descendents of anyone buried upon said burial grounds, such representatives to have but one vote for each person buried upon said burial grounds.”

 

According to this definition, each member of the historical committee of the Casper Glattfelder Association is also a member of the Bupp’s Union Cemetery Association. Acting in this latter role, we propose to call a meeting of the membership to elect five persons to serve as directors of the cemetery association, who will then assume responsibility for the graveyard on a permanent basis.

 

11/2/2006

Charles H. Glatfelter

Historical Committee

The Casper Glattfelder

Association of America

 

This document is a transcription of The Graveyard at Bupp's Union which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document.

The Bupp's Union Monument

This document is a transcription of The Bupp's Union Monument which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document.

Although Dr. Noah, Granville, Harry I., and others began searching for the grave of Casper Glattfelder even before the first reunion, and although they looked for a tombstone in a number of nearby graveyards, the evidence which they needed to satisfy them was not found. In December 1906 Dr. Noah told Granville that “I agree with you in the belief that Casper was buried at Bupp’s,” but belief was not enough. In his 1914 reunion report, Harry I. said that “the very important knowledge lacking is the burial place - where is Casper’s Grave? our deceased Bro. Granville devoted much time and labor in an earnest effort to solve this question, but without success.” He asked “all Glattfelders present here today to take this matter to heart, seriously, and assist during the coming year to solve it, if it be at all possible. Where is Casper buried?”

 

There matters rested until 1934, when Dr. Ezra C. Saylor, a dentist living in Berlin, Somerset county, visited Harry I. in an effort to learn more about the place of his forbear, Solomon, in the Casper Glattfelder family. He delivered an address at the 1935 reunion and, after visiting Bupp’s Union graveyard later on that day, stated that he had found there Casper’s tombstone and therefore the long-sought burial place. The marker he identified was a field stone, bearing an inscription which appeared to be Cpet Glfed and the dates 1721 and 1792. Harry I. visited the graveyard again and at the 1936 reunion presented what he believed was “the solution of the search we made for the past thirty years.”

 

The apparent discovery and conclusion soon proved to be none at all. Both Dr. Saylor and Harry I. quickly concluded that since estate records established conclusively that Casper died in 1775, this stone belonged to someone else. Writing to Millard some months later, Harry I.  said he regretted his error and added that “we must continue looking for the truth about this unfinished part of our family records.”

 

Discovery of some new information and review of some that had long been available but ignored can be said to have “finished this part of our family records.”

 

When Shuster’s church baptismal register was discovered in 1947, it immediately became clear that the “Cpet Glfed” stone marked the grave, not of Casper the immigrant, but of his grandson, Casper, son of Henry Glatfelter, who was born in 1791, not 1721, and who died in 1792. The reunion founders beginning in 1906 were so much concerned with Casper the immigrant that they completely ignored the fact that he arrived in 1743 with his brother-in-law, Henry Walter; that several years later the two took up adjoining land along the Codorus creek; and that Casper’s nephew, John Hildebrand, became their neighbor about the same time.

 

No one has ever found any evidence that any of these close relatives were buried on their farms, but there are tombstones in the Bupp’s Union graveyard for Henry Walter (died 1781), John Hildebrand (died 1783) and his wife Barbara (died 1794). There are also tombstones here for at least three of Casper’s grandchildren, one of whom, Philip (died 1825) and later his wife Anna Marie (died 1878) owned the homestead from 1815 until 1878.

 

Since weight of the available evidence pointed to Bupp’s Union as the place of Casper’s burial, the directors voted at the 1953 reunion to place a monument in this graveyard in memory of Casper and his wives, Elizabeth and Anna Mary. Thanks to the generosity of Director Clark W. Gladfelter, a monument dealer, the cost of the stone was $300.

 

This monument was dedicated on August 15, 1954.

This document is a transcription of The Bupp's Union Monument which was scanned from Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter's typed document.

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