Mary Ellis (1750-1827)

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Grave of Mary Ellis (1750-1827) in 2003
Grave of Mary Ellis (1750-1827) in 2003

Mary Ellis (1750-1827) was a spinster in New Brunswick, New Jersey whose grave now sits 7 feet above a parking lot. [1]

The oral tradition was that she was seduced by a sea captain who vowed to return to marry her. He never returned and she would come to the spot where her grave now stands, each day, to look for his ship in the Raritan River in New Brunswick, New Jersey. [2] The song "Brandy" by the New Jersey band Looking Glass is said to have been inspired by the Mary Ellis story. The lyrics include the lines: "Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you would be. But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea." Her family home eventually became the site for the Route 1 Flea Market, and later the Loews Theatre. Her grave now sits in what became the parking lot, and now rests about seven feet above the level of the parking lot. [2] [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "A Sentimental Developer Saves a Grave.", New York Times, November 6, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. "This story concerns real estate in the 21st century, but it starts with a long-ago romance. Sometime in the 1790's, a woman named Mary Ellis arrived in New Brunswick and fell in love with a sea captain who had been an officer in the Revolutionary War. The captain soon put out to sea again, heading down the Raritan River toward New York Harbor, but he left behind his trusty horse - and a promise to marry Mary when he returned. The graves of Mary Ellis and two others are to be moved to a site closer to the Raritan River if the Raritan Heights development is built. Every day for years after, as local legend has it, Mary rode her sweetheart's steed to the riverbanks, waiting for her beloved to reappear. In 1813, she purchased a piece of property overlooking the river from which she maintained the daily watch - until she died, her love unrequited, in 1826." 
  2. ^ a b Sarapin, Janice Kohl (2002). Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813521114. “Back in the 1790s, Mary Ellis came to New Brunswick to stay with her younger sister, Margaret, and her husband, Colonel Anthony White. ... Back in the 1790s, Mary Ellis came to New Brunswick to stay with her younger sister, Margaret, and her husband, Colonel Anthony White. ... Back in the 1790s, Mary Ellis came to New Brunswick to stay with her younger sister, Margaret, and her husband, Colonel Anthony White. ...” 
  3. ^ "Mary Ellis", Weird NJ. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. "As the legend goes, Mary Ellis came to New Brunswick in the 1790's to stay with her younger sister Margaret. It was around this time that she met and fell in love with a man who was a sea captain, and former Revolutionary War officer. The Captain sailed down the Raritan and out to sea one day, vowing that when he returned he and Mary would be wed. He even left her his beloved horse to look after in his absence. Every day after her captain's departure, Mary would ride his horse from her sister's house, on what is now Livingston Avenue, down to the banks of the river to eagerly await a glimpse of her lover's returning ship. ..." 
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