The Story of the Methodists in Friendship
Anne Arundel County, Maryland 1760-1975
by Gladys Lassiter

The Cemetery or Burial Grounds at the Brick Church in Friendship was started in 1850 when the Trustees purchased one acre of land from George D. Lyles. Ann Janetta Sutton, an infant, was the first burial in the cemetery. She was buried in the corner of the lot belonging to George D. Lyles.

The second section of the burial ground, a little over an acre, and now part of the cemetery, was purchased in 1860, from Edw. L. Griffith. This lot extended to Dr. Knighton's line, which was a private burial ground that was deeded to the church by Mrs. Ethel Hudson, the latest owner.

In 1879 a committee was formed to plot the cemetery and new numbers were assigned to many of the lots. About 1904, the graveyard had become so overgrown that it was impossible to even find the graves. Under the direction of Rev. W. D. Beall a cleanup project was started and trees with trunks a foot thick were among the growth that had to be removed. So many of the oldest graves had been marked with a cedar post for a headstone and when the cleanup job was completed, many of them had rotted away completely and it became impossible to locate those sites of the early burials.

Directions

Friendship United Methodist Church is in Friendship, Maryland, in southern Anne Arundel County, just north of the Calvert County border.

From Northern Calvert County:
Proceed north on Route 2 through the light at Route 2 and Route 260. Approximately 1.3 miles after the light, turn right on West Friendship Road. (You will see a sign that says "To Route 261.") The church is on the left.

From Southern Anne Arundel County:
Proceed south on Route 2 through the light at Route 2 and Route 258. Approximately 3.5 miles after the light, turn left on West Friendship Road. (You will see a sign that says "To Route 261.") The church is on the left.