Raymond Grinnell and Deborah DiStefano

GRINNELLRAYMOND J. SR., Sept. 18, 2013. Beloved father of Christina Grinnell, Deborah Lynch (John) and Raymond J. Jr.; loving grandfather of 2 grandsons; also survived by 2 brothers and 3 […]

Richard Drozdowski

DROZDOWSKIRICHARD P.Oct. 25, 2019 age 79. Devoted husband of Lillian (nee Huet); devoted step-father of Carol Kapovic (Bobby) and loving and devoted Pop Pop of Jill Valvo (Joseph) Stephanie Kapovic […]

Capt. Charles Sandgran

The inscription on Capt. Charles Sandgran’s headstone is now obliterated. But, a century ago, it was possible to read this terrible pronouncement: “the earth and the sea shall give up their dead.”

Battle of Rio Nunez

Capt. Robert Rae

A large obelisk commemorating the life Capt. Robert Rae stands in the Gloria Dei churchyard. Rae was “lost at sea” somewhere along the River Nuñez in 1839.

River Tingalinta, a tributary of the River Nuñez, in the 19th century.

Lost at Sea: Capt. Henry Sharp

Capt. Henry Sharp was “lost at sea” while on a voyage to Africa in 1836. What caused his demise? We may never know but many seamen of the time died from exposure to tropical diseases like malaria.

Shipwreck

Lost at Sea: James and Josephine Stewart

The words “lost at sea” are the most melancholy, and often the most mysterious, inscriptions on gravestones at Gloria Dei. In those cases, the stones are merely markers for a person who never came home and never saw their loved ones again.

Reverend Simes

Reverend Snyder Binns Simes And His Wife Eleanor

The Rectorship of Mr. Simes holds a unique place in the record of the Gloria Dei Church’s ministry. During his long tenure, the congregation grew, developed and prospered. He was the spiritual guide of more than a generation of affectionate parishioners.

Sampson Harvey, Sea Captain And Patriot

Sampson Harvey was born in Cornwall, England, on March 14, 1731. He was master of a number of merchant vessels in the 1760s and often sailed to the West Indies.

Martha Stewart

The Stewarts Of Carpenters’ Hall

Members of the Stewart family, buried in the churchyard of Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’ Church), had a long relationship with another important Philadelphia landmark—Carpenters’ Hall.

Cushing

Caleb Cushing And Family

Caleb Cushing’s sea passages took him across the Atlantic as well as to the West Indies. His family traces its lineage in America back to Matthew Cushing, who had emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1638.

Rhoda McCoy

In 1865, Rhoda McCoy, almost 90 years old, was buried in the Gloria Dei Churchyard. Rhoda must have had a strong constitution — she died of “old age” rather than an ailment or disease.

Bernard Dahlgren

Bernard Dahlgren

This stone commemorates Bernard Ulrick Dahlgren, although his body no longer rests here. His remains, with those of his wife Martha and their infant son Washington, now lie in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Isaac V. Culin

Descendants of Isaac V. Culin trace their lineage to Johan van Cöln, an early European settler who arrived on the Delaware around 1662. For most of his adult life, Issac made his living as a tailor, residing and working in the neighborhood of Southwark.

Marker 69

Henry Bennett

Henry Bennett, age 39, died of a heart attack on Jan. 5, 1847, while on his job at an ice cream parlor on Queen Street. Bennett was a mariner by trade.

Sophia Fisler

Born Feb. 24, 1752, Sophia Fisler was a younger unmarried sister of Hannah Collin. She lived with her sister and husband as a housekeeper and appears in church records as early as 1793.

Lizzie Martin

Born in 1837, Lizzie Martin was only 20 years old at her death. She had probably caught the eye of many a young man, but remained unmarried at her death and was still living at home with her parents.