New Springplace "God's Acre"

This memorial marker is located in Oaks Cemetery in Oaks, OK.

New Springplace

"God's Acre"

The New Springplace mission was established

 by the Moravian Church in 1842. New Springplace

 was the second Moravian mission station in the

 Indian Territory after the forced removal of the

 Cherokees on the Trail of Tears from the East.

The Moravians named the mission New Springplace

after the original mission in Georgia. The mission

buildings were on the hillside just north of this location.

Brother Boas a Cherokee member of the Moravian

 Church was the first burial in the New Springplace

graveyard. He died October 9 or 10, 1844 In a written

 letter to Salem, North Carolina, Rev David Z Smith

 tells of the death of Brother Boas. His remains

were interred at a little distance behind the garden

at Springplace where a site was selected by the

Brn (Brethren) for a future burial ground.

Moravians call their graveyard "God's Acre".

 Brother Aucustus G Fogle described the New

Springplace graveyard in his travel diary for

 June 28 1854. There are 33 graves in a row, 

3 of which are missionaries wives. Twenty-nine

of those burials were recorded in the Moravian

records. Those names and dates are on the

reverse side of this memorial stone.

An asterisk (*) preceding a name indicates that

the person came on the forced removal of the

Cherokees from the East.

Erected in 2010 by

Cherokee Moravian Historical Association

The Goingsnake District Heritage Association

 The Oklahoma Chapter Trail of Tears Association

EARLY BURIALS IN

GOD'S ACRE

AT NEW SPRINGPLACE

Miles P Vogler (1843 - 1843)

Ki chli ski ol Boas (c1781 - 1844)

infant of John Jacob (c1843 - 1845)

*Tookah Joshua (c1800 - 1845)

Te nah che Martha Henry (c1809 - 1846)

Boas Boas (c1830 - 1846)

Edward Franklin Hicks (1841 -1846)

Alexander Sanders (c1815 - 1846)

Elizabeth Benezet Kummer Smith (1822 - 1846)

Margaret Louise Morris Bishop (1823 - 1846)

*Too sah wah lah tah Joshus (c1780 - 1846)

Elizabeth Boas (c1825 - 1846)

Elizabeth Jacob (1829 - 1847)

*Lucy Fields Hicks (c1806 - 1847)

Nicholas Sanders (c1818 - 1847)

son of George Hicks (c1844 - 1848)

Sarah Naomi (- 1848)

*Susanna Isreal (c1830 -1848)

Gertrude Spach Smith (1826 - 1848)

*son of Go to quah sky Sunday (c1830 - 1849)

"Bullfrog" John Jacob (c1807 - 1850)

*Ti yah ni Rachel Samuel (c1807 - 1851)

Maria Jacob (c1837 - 1851)

Mary Ann Elizabeth Sanders (1841 - 1851)

Wuttie Sunday (c1845 - 1852)

*Jesse Isreal (c1822 - 1852)

Thomas Henry (c1823 - 1852)

Infant of Thomas Henry (c1852 -1853)

*Choo i chah kah Jeremiah (c1801 - 1853)

*an asterisk (*) preceding a name indicates

that person came on the forced removal of the

Cherokees from the East.