Among the leading members of Mount Tabor church in its earliest years was the family of Nathaniel and Ann Hunter; natives of Greenbrier County, Virginia, they relocated to Salem Township in 1814.

[3] Like many other committed members of the church, this family — parents, all four sons, and all five daughters — is buried at the adjacent cemetery.

[2]: 515–516 From the Mount Tabor society's earliest years, members buried their dead near the site of the present church.

The earliest recorded burial on the site of the church's cemetery is that of a child who died in 1811; at that time, there were no plans to use the ground for religious purposes.

[4] In 1995, the Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church, its cemetery, and an associated hitching lot were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places, due primarily to their architectural significance.