Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the North Ward of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on the west bank of the Passaic River in Newark's Broadway neighborhood, opposite Kearny. It occupies approximately 40 acres (162,000 m²) and was designed by Horace Baldwin. The cemetery is listed on both the New Jersey Register (ID #1284, since 1987) and the National Register of Historic Places (Reference #87000836, since 1988).
The graves of some of Newark's most eminent citizens are within Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The cemetery is dominated by the marble mausoleum of John Fairfield Dryden, the founder of Prudential Financial. Other notable interments include Marcus Lawrence Ward, Governor of New Jersey; Seth Boyden, inventor of patent leather; and Mary Stillman, first wife of Thomas Edison. Mount Pleasant also contains graves of members of the Kinney, Ballantine, and Frelinghuysen families.
The cemetery itself was opened and incorporated in 1844, but there are graves that date back to the mid-17th century, which were moved from older graveyards that were crowded out due to development.
Notable burials
Peter Ballantine (1791–1883) Seth Boyden (1788–1870), inventor of patent leather Joseph Philo Bradley (1813–1892), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, served on the Electoral Commission that decided the disputed 1876 presidential election Amanda Minnie Douglas (1831–1916), writer John F. Dryden (1839–1911), United States Senator and founder of Prudential Financial Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885), member of the United States Senate representing New Jersey and a United States Secretary of State Charles Alling Gifford (1860-1937), architect Edward W. Gray (1870–1942), represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district from 1915–1919 George A. Halsey (1827–1894), represented New Jersey's 7th congressional district from 1867–1869 and 1871–1873 Augustus A. Hardenbergh (1830–1889), represented New Jersey's 7th congressional district from 1875–1879 and 1881–1883 Franklin Murphy (1846–1920), 31st Governor of New Jersey Charles Wolcott Parker (1862–1948), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1907–1947 Thomas Baldwin Peddie (1808–1889), Mayor of Newark Alexander C.M. Pennington (1810–1867), represented from 1853–1857 William Pennington (1796–1862), 13th Governor of New Jersey and Speaker of the House during his single term in Congress Nehemiah Perry (1816–1881), member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, Mayor of Newark Theodore Runyon (1822–1896), Civil War general, Newark mayor, and U.S. ambassador to Germany Marcus Lawrence Ward (1812–1884), 21st Governor of New Jersey and represented the state in Congress for one term