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Grave Yard of Old Tennent Church
Grave Yard of Old Tennent Church
Grave Yard of Old Tennent Church

Grave Yard of Old Tennent Church

Artist
Publisher
Periodca. 1880
MediumPhoto-lithograph enhanced with graphite and ink
Dimensions10.75 × 9 in. (27.3 × 22.9 cm)
SignedSigned in the center bottom margin, "PHOTO-LITH BY ENDICOTT & CO. N. Y."
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineMuseum Collection
Object number1995.574
DescriptionDepiction of a two story, five bay church with a three bay gable end surmounted by a cupola capped by a conical roof and a rooster shaped weather vane. A single chimney extends above the center of the ridge line. The church is surrounded by a mix of bare trees and evergreen trees. Numerous gravestones surround the structure. Two males stand among the stones, the foreground figure pointing to one that reads "In Memory of Sarah wife of James Hernert who departed this life January 10th 1846 Aged, 63 years 2 months and 17 days." Other legible famly names on the tombstones are Covenhoven, Pittenger, Combs, Gulick and Baird. Grassy areas in the foreground appear as wavy lines.
Curatorial RemarksThis vignette was published by the New York-based lithography firm of Endicott and Company (active under that name 1852–86), after a drawing created by John D. Quackenbush (1842 - 1908), a member of the Old Tennent Church congregation. The scene shows two visitors to church’s historic cemetery (where Quackenbush himself is buried). The (legless!) man in the foreground points to a headstone erected in memory of Sara Herbert (the former Sarah Dey), who passed away on 10 January 1846 at age 64. The forms are highly schematized in the manner of folk art, but the artist’s crisp draftsmanship allows the identification of other headstones, too, including those of several members of the New Jersey Militia who participated in the Battle of Monmouth, such as Sergeant Lewis Covenhoven (1752–1843) and Captain David Baird (1754–1839). The purely illustrative nature of this piece sets it apart from Alessandro E. Mario’s very romanticized painting of the church during wintertime. The ink and graphite enhancements to the printed lithograph were most likely added by the artist as several examples with this treatment exist. One copy of this print owned privately is signed on the backboard.NotesOld Tennent Church in Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, was built between 1751 and 1753. The structure figured prominently in the Battle of Monmouth, which occurred on 28 June 1778. It is one of the best preserved colonial churches in New Jersey.
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