Veterans Day In Livingston: Town Offices Closed, Cemetery Open

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Livingston town buildings will close on Veterans Day in honor of the holiday. However, the historic Ely Cemetery will be open to the public for two hours.

According to a township news release:

“All Livingston Township offices will be closed on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 in observance of Veterans Day. The township honors those who have served our country in the military and is grateful for the dedicated involvement of veterans in our community. Garbage and recycling will still be collected according to the normal schedules on November 11.”

Meanwhile, the historic Ely Cemetery will be open to the public for Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The township clerk’s office offered the following details about the event and cemetery.

“Located near the corner of Hillside Avenue and Hillside Terrace, the cemetery is preserved and maintained by the Livingston Historical Society. Docent-led tours will be held following COVID-19 protocols: face masks and social distancing will be required, and hand sanitizer will be available. The Historical Society usually opens the grounds twice a year, on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

“The cemetery is the burial ground of Captain William Ely, an early Livingston settler, and his descendants. According to Livingston Historical Society records, the Ely family arrived in this country in 1660, when Richard Ely emigrated from Plymouth, England.

“Captain William Ely moved to New Jersey from Lyme, Connecticut. He, his wife Elizabeth Perkins Ely, and their seven children settled on a farm on Riker Hill. One quarter-acre of that farmland was set aside for a burial ground that is now the southern end of Ely Cemetery.

“Captain Ely and his descendants are buried in the cemetery. The earliest of the graves dates back to 1777 in the family plot where parents Elizabeth and Frederick along with their son Benoni are buried, having died within days of one another. Elizabeth is the daughter of Captain William Ely and Benoni his grandson. Many were prominent in Livingston's history. Their stories were told by Edwin Augustus Ely, who died in 1927 after serving as unofficial family historian. His papers were given to the New Jersey Historical Society as records of an important family in the greater-Newark area. His book, The Personal Memoirs of Edwin A. Ely, is available at the Livingston Public Library.

“The Livingston Historical Society, whose members will be in attendance at the cemetery to provide socially distanced tours, is the court-appointed trustee of the burial grounds. In the early 1980s, when the cemetery had become overgrown, Society volunteers committed themselves to keeping it open and in good repair. In 1983 and 1984, members gathered each week to clear the grounds and to repair the gate and monuments. An Ely Cemetery Fund has been created by the Society to provide income for future upkeep, and donations are welcome. Many gravestones are in disrepair, so any donations made when visiting the cemetery will go toward the maintenance and upkeep of the grounds and headstones.

“The Ely Cemetery monuments reflect their age – not only in condition, but in style and materials. Older headstones are smaller and closer to the ground, while a 1940s monument reflects an Art Deco influence. The final burial in the Ely Cemetery took place in 1978, when Janet Halsey Olstead, an eighth-generation descendant of Captain Ely, was laid to rest. She left behind a legacy of Livingston history, now open to the public twice each year.”

For more information about the Ely Cemetery, visit https://livingstonnjhistoricalsociety.weebly.com/ely-cemetery.html. For information about the Livingston Historical Society, visit https://livingstonnjhistoricalsociety.weebly.com/.

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