Historic Cemeteries of Oyster Bay
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Historic Cemeteries of Oyster Bay A Guide to Their Locations and Sources of Transcription Information Photo courtesy of the Oyster Bay Historical Society Fort Hill Cemetery contains the graves of John Townsend, died 1668, and George Washington's Spy Robert Townsend (Culper Junior). John Venditto John E. Hammond Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Oyster Bay Town Historian A Message From Town Supervisor JOHN VENDITTO JOHN VENDITTO Town Supervisor Dear Genealogy Enthusiast, In recent years, genealogy has become one of the world's most popular hobbies. Countless people around the world are actively engaged in some form of family research. Whether it's to satisfy a curiosity about oneself, provide children with a sense of who their ancestors were or to compile a medical history, people are trying to get in touch with their roots. Cemeteries are an important research tool for many people delving into geneal- ogy. Inscriptions on gravestones can be a significant source of genealogical infor- mation, but locating cemeteries, especially older ones, is not always easy. This booklet was developed to help those engaged in genealogical research in locat- ing the old cemeteries. It lists historical cemeteries in the Town of Oyster Bay, along with the transcription records for those cemeteries. Careless hobbyists, vandalism and deterioration with age have taken a heavy toll on these historic cemeteries. If you do visit a cemetery, please be quiet and re- spectful while in the cemetery and try not to walk on graves. I hope you find this booklet interesting and helpful as you "climb" your family tree. Very truly yours, JOHN VENDITTO Town Supervisor Historic Cemeteries of Oyster Bay A Guide to their Locations and Sources of Transcription Information Researched and compiled by John E. Hammond, Town Historian First Printing February 2007 Introduction For the historian and genealogist, cemeteries are vast repositories of information about the past. Within the pre-1920 boundaries of the Town of Oyster Bay are located some of the very oldest cemeteries to be found anywhere in New York State. The earliest cemeteries were small family plots such as the Townsend or Mill Hill cemetery located just to the west of the Mill Pond in Oyster Bay. This was a family burial plot for Henry Townsend, who built the first mill in Oyster Bay in 1661 and was buried on his own property. In nearby Oyster Bay Cove, the Youngs family set aside a plot of their own land for a family burying place in 1658. Today, this family burying plot also contains the grave of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. Various church groups began cemeteries in the later part of the 17th century, the earliest being the Friends, who set aside a cemetery on the west side of South Street in Oyster Bay in 1672. Interest in the documentation of the early burials within the Town goes back to the 1800s when some historians and family researchers began recording the inscriptions on the stones in some of the very oldest cemeteries. Samuel Youngs wrote about the difficulty finding the gravestones of the earliest settlers of Oyster Bay and many had disappeared even by the early 1800s; whether Samuel Youngs made any transcriptions is unknown. He, no doubt, was feeling some frustration even then as revealed in a short verse he wrote in the early 1800s; “Where are the stones that mark the bones Of those who die in Oyster Bay? There are no stones to mark the bones Of those who die in Oyster Bay.” The earliest surviving records of cemetery transcriptions is entitled “Oldest Inscriptions in Burial Grounds in this Vicinity” by Jacob T. Bowne. Bowne’s 1867 record covered a few cemeteries in the Glen Cove area. These efforts were followed by many researchers in the latter part of the 19th century. Most notable of these later researchers was Josephine Frost, who compiled information previously gathered by William Wyckoff on cemeteries throughout Long Island. Over the years, many headstones have disappeared from the old cemeteries; some were used in building foundations, as door stoops, and for walkways. During the Revolutionary War, Hessian and British soldiers reportedly desecrated many local graves and took headstones to use for various purposes. Many family cemeteries simply disappeared, while some were removed to larger public cemeteries. Many remaining gravestones have deteriorated so much that they are now completely unreadable. Unfortunately, in many cases, the transcription records made by those early historians and family researchers are now all that remain. Purpose of This Guide The purpose of this guide to Historic Cemeteries of Oyster Bay is to be of assistance to genealogical and historical researchers in determining the locations of the historic cemeteries within the pre-1920 boundaries of the Town of Oyster Bay and to serve as a guide to where transcription records can be found. The guide includes all known cemeteries that have ever existed within the Town of Oyster Bay. Although 23 of the cemeteries listed in this guide no longer exist, several individuals in the distant and not so distant past had the foresight to record the information that was then still present. Some records exist as the direct result of WPA projects during the 1930s. As one peruses the various sets of transcriptions beginning in the nineteenth century and up through those completed in the 1960s by Town of Oyster Bay Historian Herbert Hale, the ravages of time on the old stone inscriptions become clearly evident. This guide does not suggest, nor does it encourage, visits for information gathering purposes to any of the historic cemeteries listed within it. Whatever information remains on the surviving stones is clearly much less than what was transcribed years ago and the sources for obtaining those transcription records are included within this guide. Usage of this guide The cemeteries listed within this guide are arranged first by present day locality and then alphabetically by the most commonly known name of the cemetery; also included is a listing of all known names of the cemeteries. The names and descriptions of the locations were taken from the old transcription records; in some cases, the points of reference no longer exist. At least one transcription record is listed for each named cemetery and, in many cases, there are multiple records. Some of the cemeteries contained in this guide are still active; researchers seeking information relative to active cemeteries should be able to find inscription information by contacting those cemeteries. Bayville (1) Bayville Cemetery Inc. Bayville Avenue Earliest stone dated 1812, most date from 1830s and later. Active-Records at Bayville Village Hall. Partial Inscriptions-Frost 1912; DAR 1941. (2) Native American Grave End of East Slope Road and Washington Avenue. One burial dated by radiocarbon test to 1550 A.D. Data-Bayville Village Historian, TOB 1961. Bethpage (3) Stymus Family Cemetery Norcross Ave and south side of Revere Avenue. Inscriptions-Meigs 1938. (3A) Powell Cemetery Cemetery is located on the old Grumman plant property about a quarter mile west of the Bethpage Community Park. Letter in June 1953 Long Island Forum says cemetery was located "alongside of the Grumman Air Plane Plant.” Gersham Saxton was reported by a descendant to be buried there. Contains more than 20 Powell family graves. One stone has a carved finger pointing skyward with the words “going home”. Inscriptions-Meigs 1938, page 104A. Brookville (4) African-American Cemetery Southwest side of Brookville Road approx. 2,500 ft NW of Rte 106. Inscriptions-TOB 1961, only one readable stone (Henry T. R. died 1886). (5) Dodge Family Cemetery Southwest side of Brookville Road approx. 1,000 ft northwest of Rte 106. Dodge, Baker, Wiggins, Brown families. Earliest stones 1807. Inscriptions-TOB Nov. 19, 1961. (6) Tappentown Cemetery AKA Nostrand-Waldron Cemetery 400 feet south of Cedar Swamp Road, 400 feet east of Cowpath and 500 feet west of Fruitledge Road. Cemetery dates to 1777. Oldest readable stone in 1968 was dated 1806, last known burial 1873. Tappen, Davis, Waldron, Nostrand, Thorne families. Three Tappen family graves removed to Brookville Cemetery before 1903. Inscriptions-TOB 1963 with supplements from Stoutenburgh’s Documentary History of the Dutch Congregation at Oyster Bay. (7) Titus Burial Ground Between Rolling Drive and Wheatley Road on grounds of Robin Hood Country Day School. Titus, Hinman, Crooker families, earliest stone 1805. Inscriptions-DAR June 1950; TOB December 3, 1961 supplemented with information from family descendants; TOB 1969 site map of 26 graves. Centre Island (8) Ludlam Cemetery Off Centre Island Road 19 stones from early 1700s. Inscriptions-DAR 1941; TOB October 27, 1961. (9) Smith Cemetery Off Centre Island Road. Contains grave of Daniel Smith, veteran of War of 1812. Inscriptions-DAR 1941; TOB 36 stones copied October 27, 1961. Cove Neck (10) Smith Family Cemetery North end of Cove Neck Road where road makes sharp right turn. Approx. 19 stones from 1855 through 1953. Inscriptions Frost 1912; DAR 1941; TOB Nov. 16, 1961. East Hills/Old Brookville (11) Townsend Cemetery 100 yards south of Rte 25A about one mile west of Whitney Lane. Cemetery straddles the line that separates the Town of Oyster Bay and the Town of North Hempstead. Earliest stone Timothy Townsend died 1790; other families include Horsfield and Jackson. Property was under development when 1961 survey was done and surveyors took special care to record all data as they believed the site would soon be destroyed. Inscriptions-Frost 1912; TOB 1961 (in very poor condition in 1961 when fragments were copied). East Norwich (Also see Muttontown) (12) Elbert Hegeman Cemetery Rear of north end of shopping center, east side of Rte 106. Cemetery named after Major Elbert Hegeman 3rd N.Y.