St. Bartholomew's Cemetery History

Who knew that so much history laid within the boundaries of our tiny neighborhood? New Hope Baptist Church took over from St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in 1968, but the cemetery was not transferred with the exchange of the land to the new church. It was deeded under the care of the Episcopal Diocese of South West Florida. It was originally called Oakdale Cemetery.

In 1887 Dr. Abercrombie, one of our city's founders, donated land for the St. Bartholomew's Church and cemetery. It was recognized by the city as the first cemetery in St. Petersburg according to the St. Bartholomew's Church Website On their website's history page, the cemetery has it's own history section at the bottom.

Something interesting to do, is read about the people buried there. There's a lot of information on the internet! Here's a link to the page that has all the people's information: Find a Grave - St. Bartholomew's Cemetery General Page

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Here are some of the notable people buried there

Abraham C. Pheil - 11th Mayor of St. Pete - First Commercial Airline Passenger in the World

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Dr. John B. Abercrombie gave the land for the church and cemetery. He was the first or nearly the first medical doctor in St. Petersburg.

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Capt. John F. Chase

Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient.

Known best for being the father of modern day Gulfport. He envisioned what was then called Disston City as a retirement community Civil War Veterans. Chase was instrumental in naming what is now Gulfport as “Veteran City” and starting streetcar service at a dedication ceremony held in 1905, according to the book “Images of America, Gulfport” by Lynn S. Brown. The big visitor draw in the area at the time was a dancing casino on a wooden pier that opened on January 14, 1906.

He served in the Civil War first as a Private, then as a Sergeant in the 5th Battery, Maine Volunteer Light Artillery. He was awarded the CMOH for his bravery at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia on May 3, 1863. His citation reads "Nearly all the officers and men of the battery having been killed or wounded, this soldier with a comrade continued to fire his gun after the guns had ceased. The piece was then dragged off by the two, the horses having been shot, and its capture by the enemy was prevented". On the evening of July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg, he was manning a gun of his battery on what is now known as Steven's Knoll during the Confederate attack on East Cemetery Hill when an enemy shell exploded near him. When he was dragged out of the area after the fighting had ended, he was presumed dead and stacked with other bodies. Later, when the bodies were being gather up for burial, he was found still alive and taken to a field hospital. He was laid out alongside a barn and presumed he would die. Three days passed before finally attended to. In spite of this, he survived his wounds. His Medal was awarded to him on February 7, 1888.

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Harold William and Emma Louise Andrews Gilbart - Pioneer Park Honorees

One of 600 Pioneers honored at Pioneer Park

There are many more honorable and interesting people buried in our neighborhood. Look through and add a reply to this blog with the people you find there, and maybe add photos too!

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Here's an article from the newspaper in 1997 that talks about our cemetery

The cemetery today

Our unofficial neighborhood association has been in touch with the Diocese of SW Florida about the need for fence repair and tree removal in the cemetery. They know about the issues and are looking forward to working with us to help improve the repair of the cemetery, it's aesthetic and to help preserve and highlight the history there. If you're interested in helping with this effort email fruhistpete@gmail.com