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William H. Foote once wrote of Moses Hoge (Sketches of Virginia, Second Series, p. 373):
He also visited Princeton College, which, in 1810, had conferred on him, in company with his friend, Mr. [Archibald] Alexander, the degree of S.T.D.; and passed a few days with Dr. Alexander. A cold easterly rain was falling the whole time of his visit. He examined thoroughly the condition of the two institutions, the College and the Seminary, with reference to the two in Prince Edward. He rejoiced in the extended influence of his friend Alexander, and [Samuel] Miller the co-laborer. He could not refrain from a visit to the grave-yard to meditate by the tombs of [Aaron] Burr, [Sr. and Jr.]; [Jonathan] Edwards, [Samuel] Davies, [John] Witherspoon, and [Samuel Stanhope] Smith. As he tarried in that hallowed spot, the bleak wind pierced his diseased frame, and hastened his descent into the valley of death. His heart was elevated as he went from grave to grave, and read the epitaphs of these Presidents of College and teachers of Theology; and his body under the cold rain was chilled in preparation for his own resting in the silent tomb. The conversations of Hoge and Alexander those few days, had there been a hand to record them, laying open the hearts, as by a daguerrotype, of men of such exalted pure principle, so unselfish and so unlike the mass of men - what simplicity of thought, benevolence in feeling, and elevation of piety! -- but there was no man to pen what all men would have been glad to read. Mr. Hoge took his seat in the Assembly - but his fever returned upon him, of a typhus case, and by means of the cold caught in Princeton, became too deeply seated for medicine to remove. He bowed his head meekly to the will of the Head of the Church, and fell asleep in Jesus, on the [5th] of July."
Of the Alexander family, A.A. Hodge once said (Henry Carrington Alexander, The Life of Joseph Addison Alexander, Vol. 2, p. 583):
Of this one great family, A. A. Hodge once said, “I never go to Princeton without visiting the graves of the Alexanders – father and sons – and I never think of them without having my poor staggering faith in God and in regenerated humanity strengthened. Let us uncover our heads and thank God for them.”
Princeton Cemetery is comparable to Westminster Abbey or Bunhill Fields, where so many godly saints are buried - John F. Hageman described it as "the Westminster Abbey of the United States." The number of Log College Press authors who have been laid to rest here is numerous; included are Archibald Alexander, James W. Alexander, Joseph A. Alexander, Aaron Burr, Sr., Samuel Davies, A.A. Hodge, Charles Hodge, Samuel Miller, B.B. Warfield, John Witherspoon, and so many more.
For those who are unable to visit Princeton Cemetery in person, or who wish to revisit the cemetery virtually, take a tour of this special place online here. See where the past Presidents of Princeton (including Jonathan Edwards, Sr.) are buried, along with a President and Vice-President of the United States, and many other luminaries with Princeton connections. This writer has spent many hours touring the grounds, including a visit to the grave of Charles Hodge on the 140th anniversary of his entering into glory. We can all be thankful for the technology to be able to revisit Princeton Cemetery, especially in a time of isolation.
