Early Cemetery

Headstones at the Early Cemetery near Harrisonburg, Virginia

The Early Cemetery preserves the burial heritage of many long-established Anabaptist families whose members have been part of Valley Mennonite and Brethren life for generations. Like the Blosser Cemetery and other family-anchored sites, the Early Cemetery represents the older pattern of family burial grounds that pre-date or operate alongside church cemeteries, providing visible continuity across generations of familial and local religious life.

Established on the farm of Henry (1753–1819) and Anna (1758–1824) Wenger by their son-in-law Jacob Early (1778–1869) in the 1790s, the burial ground is used by local Anabaptist families in the Pleasant Valley area to the present day. The original homestead has been crossed by Interstate 81 and is now surrounded by industrial and commercial landscape; there is no deed for the property, and an unknown number of unmarked graves. The cemetery is cared for by a nonprofit, and neighbors Nielsen Builders’ company headquarters, which is owned by a descendant of Henry Wenger.

The cemetery is the final resting place of many people who were involved in Brethren, United Brethren, Lutheran and Mennonite churches. Surnames include Bailey, Coffman/Kauffman, Early/Oehrli, Flory/Fleury, Landes/Landis, Niswander/Nieswander, Roth/Rhodes/Rodes, Shaver/Shafer, Wenger/Wanger/Winger, and Whisler. The continuing engagement of family members in maintaining and interpreting the cemetery is itself part of the trail’s story: heritage that is alive in the contemporary commitments of descendants, not merely preserved as historical artifact.

For genealogists tracing Early family lineages in the Valley, the cemetery is a primary source. For broader visitors, Early Cemetery offers a meaningful stop where the long-term family rootedness of Shenandoah Valley Anabaptism becomes visible in stone — generations stacked across time, anchored in a single piece of Valley ground.

Sources