The Ebenezer Church and Cemetery has long been associated with the Mauk and Lingenfelter families of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. Although the first Mauk reunion was held in 1897 at the Isaac Mauk homestead records of the reunion starting in 1903 indicate that the reunion was held at the Ebenezer Church from that year until 1973. In 1974 the Church building was sold at an auction for $250 and torn down by a private citizen who used the lumber to build a home in the Ringgold area. Family lore has it that as the church was being torn down the records were seen blowing away in the wind.

A report on the care of the Ebenezer Cemetery is included in the minutes of the Mauk Family Reunion each year with a board appointed from the Mauk family to oversee the care of the cemetery.

Research has shown that everyone buried in the cemetery is either a Mauk descendant or related to the Mauk family by marriage.

"Three Mauks are buried at St. John’s Cemetery with no stones: Susannah Walters Mauk 1799-1854 Her grandchildren - children of Henry & Elizabeth Knarr Mauk : Elizabeth Mauk 1849-November 27 1853 Jacob Mauk November 1850-November 29 1850.

They were buried there because there was no Ebenezer Church and Cemetery at the time. Susannah’s name is on the stone in Ebenezer Cemetery but we do not know if her remains were moved from St. John’s cemetery." --- History of the Mauk and Lingenfelter Families by John Norris Lingenfelter

In looking at the stones in Ebenezer the earliest burial appears to be William Franklin Mauk son of Henry and Elizabeth Knarr Mauk d. 23 April 1865 age 7 m. 1d. The next is Jacob Mauk 1792-1866.

"Ebenezer Cemetery History: On December 31 1862; William and Sarah Bush of Oliver Township, deeded 139 perches of land for $8.00 to the Trustees of the Evangelical Association of Oliver Township to enlarge their Church and Cemetery grounds. (this would indicate the Church was built before 1862 And that a burial ground already existed; It would also indicate that the Church was no longer Methodist Episcopal as indicated by the Jefferson County History above.) The Trustees named were John Lingenfelter, Henry Mauk, Adam Swab, Simon Shaffer and William Geist. This was part of allotment # 1, tract # 298 of warrant #3280 which was surveyed to the Holland Land Company and sold to William Bush in January of 1841." --- Steele, Patricia M. Tombstones, Burials and Cemetery Histories of Jefferson County, PA, Copyright October 2000.

Much careful research needs to be done on Ebenezer Church and Cemetery. We post that which is available now and will update as we learn more about this Church and Cemetery which is so dear to our family.