The Presbyterian Cemetery: Lives Behind the Stones

The flagship volume of the Gravestone Stories series — nearly one hundred lives from Alexandria's historic Wilkes Street burial ground, from the founding era to the twentieth century.

Established in the wake of the 1803 Yellow Fever epidemic, the Presbyterian Cemetery holds more than 2,400 of the citizens who built Alexandria: Revolutionary War veterans Captain William Harper and Mayor Dennis Ramsay, who bore Washington's casket; War of 1812 naval hero John Thomas Newton; Mayor and Congressman Lewis McKenzie; Samuel R. Johnston, the reconnaissance officer whose misidentification at Gettysburg has been blamed for the Confederate defeat; Cold War Soviet spy William Weisband; the tavern-keeping McKnights, the merchant Cazenoves, and the families whose names still mark the city's streets and storefronts.

Ninety-six illustrated profiles, arranged alphabetically by surname, with gravestone inscriptions transcribed exactly as carved and plot locations throughout. This edition also includes a complete history of the cemetery — from the 1804 burial ordinance and Spring Garden Farm to the 1903 Victorian gate — and the full research bibliography.

Digital PDF edition • 131 pages • By David Heiby • Published by Gravestone Stories, 2026