The Albany Rural Cemetery
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<^ » " " .-^ v^'*^ •V,^'% rf>. .<^ 0- ^'' '^.. , "^^^v ^^^os. l.\''' -^^ ^ ./ > ••% '^.-v- .«-<.. ^""^^^ A o. V V V % s^ •;• A. O /"t. ^°V: 9." O •^^ ' » » o ,o'5 <f \/ ^-i^o ^^'\ .' A. Wo ^ : -^^\ °'yi^^ /^\ ^%|^/ ^'%> ^^^^^^ ^0 v^ 4 o .^'' <^. .<<, .>^. A. c /°- • \ » ' ^> V -•'. -^^ ^^ 'V • \ ^^ * vP Si •T'V %^ "<? ,-% .^^ ^0^ ^^n< ' < o ^X. ' vv-ir- •.-.-., ' •0/ ^- .0-' „f / ^^. V ^ A^ »r^. .. -H rr. .^-^ -^ :'0m^', .^ /<g$S])Y^ -^ J-' /. ^V .;••--.-._.-- %^c^ -"-,'1. OV -^^ < o vP b t'' ^., .^ A^ ^ «.^- A ^^. «V^ ,*^ .J." "-^U-o^ =^ -I o >l-' .0^ o. v^' ./ ^^V^^^.'^ -is'- v-^^. •^' <' <', •^ "°o S .^"^ M 'V;/^ • =.«' '•.^- St, ^0 "V, <J,^ °t. A° M -^j' * c" yO V, ' ', '^-^ o^ - iO -7-, .V -^^0^ o > .0- '#-^ / ^^ ' Why seek ye the living among the dead }"—Luke xxiv : s. [By i)ormission of Erastus Dow Palmer.] e»w <:3~- -^^ THE ALBANY RURAL ^ CEMETERY ITS F A3Ts^ 5tw copies printeil from type Copyn.y:ht. 1S92 Bv HKNkv 1*. PiiKi.rs l*lioto>;raphy by l*iiic MarPoiiaUl, Albany Typogrnpliy and Prcsswork by Brnndow l^rintinj; Comimny, Albany ac:knowledgments. rlfIS hook is tlir D/i/i^mio/fi of a proposilioii on lite pari ot the Iriixtccx to piihlisli a brief liislorv of the .llhaiiy Cemetery A ssoeiation, iiieliidiiiQa report of the eonseeration oration, poem and other exercises. It li'as snoocsted that it niioht be well to attempt son/e- thino- more worthy of the object than a mere pamphlet, and this has been done with a result that must spealc for itself. Jl'h/le it would be impi-aclicable to mention here all who have kindly aided in the zvork, the author desi/'cs to express his particular oblioations : To Mr. Dudley Olcott. Mr. Erastus D. Palmer, and .Mr. Abraham I 'an I'cchten, of the board of trustees, for the interest they have manifested and the enconraoement they have given. To Supt. Jeffrey P. Thomas and Mr. John F. Shafer for their valuable assistance. To the Brandoiv Printino- Company for the character- istic care they have bestoiued upon the typography and the press-zvorh. And to Mr. Pirie MacDonald, 7vlio, bringing to the project of illustration all the enthusiasm of an amateur, has been able to combine thereioith, not merely the acijuired skill of the professional, but that much rarer qualifica- tion, the gift of (esthetic intuition rohich is absolutely necessary to raise the camera from the plane of mechanics to the realm of art. HEXR J ' P. PHELPS. Brookside avenue, Meiiands, .4 1baity, N. Y.. Dec. i, iS<)2. ' For some we luved, the loveliest and the best That from his vintage rolling Time has prest, Have drunk their cup a round or two before, And one l)y one crept silently to rest." —Omar Kliayyiiiit. CONTENTS. Page Prelim iNAKv .... i6 Historic Ai, .... 31 Hon. D. U. Barnard's Oration 50 DeSCRU'TIVE .... Tlie South Ixidjjc 92 The Middle Ridire 169 The North Ridye 200 BlIiLIOGkAI'llV .... -'5 Index ..... 2 I 7 ILLUSl RATIONS. •• ?" win Sri.k vc (lie Liviiiii' Amonii' the Dciul I-"rontispit'cc By permission of Erastus Dow Palmer. I | Mnp (il the .\lli;in\ kui.il (\'nu'tiT\' . Paocs 12-13 Page luistcin Enlranci' . 16 Tlie Soutlu'in (ialf ...... 24 Mrail of Con.socration Lakr . 32 Lake Tawasentlia ...... 40 Alfrctl liilliiiiis Si reel 46 From an old slcol cnj;ravin,y;. I | " All tliosf fair orounds with hnisli heaulii's spread. Nature's sweet clmrms — \vc oi\c tluni tn tlic dead." 4*^ Poitrair of TTon. Daniel I). Barnartl . 52 From an old lithograph.] I On tlu' lour, west (d" Stimmit Riil^c . 56 Near Cvpress Walcr ..... 64 Consecration Lake ...... ;o I\)rtrait of I\e\'. liartholoiiiew 1. Weleli. 1X13. 72 From an old and faded ])hotogra|)h.J I Portrait of I'honia^ W. ( )kon .... 76 Poitrait of I'.r.isl tis ( oniino .... 80 [From a photograph by Sieiry.] Tvasteni 1 .oilov and OlTiee ..... S6 The Chai)el 88 The Cascade ....... 90 II,H>TK.\ I II INS. KacmK I'age Ivcliojon Coiisoliny Sorrow .... g6 On Ravine Side Wa\' . .104 \'an X'eehten . 112 Douuias L. W'liite 116 ("len. Sehuvler's Mununient . 120 'I'he Any^el of the Sepulehre . .128 [By permission of Erastus Dow Palmer.] ( iililiiin^-Mather . 134 The l\oot I~amil\- \'auh . .138 \Vec(l-.\l(len-l)arnes ..... 140 \'an Alst\ne . .142 Masonie Buiial I'lat ...... 143 (ieorii'e C Cook . .144 Daniel Mannintj . 146 n. W. Wooster 150 Western Lodge . 152 The Angel of Soiiow . .154 Dver Lathi'ci|) ....... 162 Wilhain Appletoii . 166 Townsenel ....... 170 Thomas W. Oleott ...... Parker Amasa J. ...... 77 Dr. S. B. Ward 184 Jesse C. Potts ....... 192 John \'. L. Pru\ n ...... 196 Tlie Soldiers' Plat 205 The Mills Monunicni ..... 208 The \isselier \ aidl . 210 i' % »p ^s^3^ / /' ^'^--:5^' '> ) --^Jr BAW SEC tzo ^>'' TV) •) A - « C I t 23MAI ^-^(Vv- The Eastern Entrance. [From the Troy road.] " - >/fM^^^ "^-^ PRELIMINARY. nPHE custom of reverently caring for the remains of the dead, and for the places of their burial, has its oriyin deep down among the fundamental principles by which human affairs are regulated. As natural as the love of life itself is the desire to be remembered — at least, as Hamlet, with melancholv sar- casm observes, " for half a 3-ear ! Few of us expect our names will outlive centuries : thousands upon thousands care little for epitaph, or monu- but he must ment or posthumous fame of any degree ; be something more or less than human who is not made he loves a little happier 1)V the belief, that so long as those survive him, his grave will not be wholly forsaken or neglected. self-love prompts, Thus it is that the powerful motive of for places in some degree, the regard which is generally felt embel- of sepulchre, and the liberality with which they are lished and maintained. Another feeling more creditable to human nature, because less selfish, leads us to hold the graves of our " l8 Till-'. AI.UANV KIKAI. CKM K TKRV. loved (incs in such alTrrlioii and ivNTrencc as we hcstow u|u)n no other sj)ot on rarlh. Uur l)irtli-placcs, tlic honu-s of our cliiKlhooii, the scenes of carl\- pleasures and eaih' soiniws. phKcs en- (.leared in later life liv wliat we ha\e enjoxed. or made sacred l>\- what we have suffered — all have their own pecuhar associations, luit mme are so deep, so tender or so lasting, as those which cluster arounti the resting-places of oiu' dead. \'ain is the attempt to reason this sentiment out of existence. It is as oKl a^ the race: it has its hirtli in the atYeclions ; it has been nurtured \)v the ])oets of all ages, and sanctioned hv every lelioion worthv of the name. iMom time immemorial, also, it has been an incentive to iKitiiotism, and next to "God and your native land," has been ranged " tlie green graves of your sires," as a thought with which to strengthen the arm anil nerve the heart against the invader of the soil. Ot course, we know that what isde[iosited in theorave with such loving care is onl\- " an empty sea shell — one ; Out of whicli the pearl is gone that the spirit has lied to (ioil. who gave it ; we know that what remains sium becomes terribl\- liie reverse of all that is lovely and attractive — that Mother Earth, in her great and abiding tenderness, hides from us what otherwisi' would freeze oin- souls with horror. " : P.KIIKl- IX Tin: RESURRECTIOX. I9 And 3'et, what mother can thus he ars^ued from her darling's grave ? She will say with Lowell "Your logic, my friend, is perfect, Your morals most drearily true; But, since the earth clashed on he?- coffin, I keep hearing that, and not you. There's a narrow ridge in the churchyard. Would scarce stay a child in his race. But to me and my thought it is wider Than the star sown vague of space." •' I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. The sentence falls dailv from the lips of millions, often, ])erha])s. wit hoiit thought of its real significance, hut it e.\|)resses the intellectual lielief and spiritual expectation of a \-ast number who thus avow their creed antl their religion. And it is not surprising that to those who accept the literal meaning of the words, the place where reposes the clay which is to be " raised a spiritual hodv," should possess a peculiarly sacred character ; nor that, in spite of the philosophical and sanitarv claims of crema- tion as a means of disposing of the dead, the ]M'aetice has thus far gained little favor among those who believe in a future for the human bodv. And it is not merelv a coincidence that those who express a desire to become subjects for incineration are almost without exception those who have " outgrown " the belief that anything awaits the body of a human being other than that which awaits the bodv of a beast. ^O THE Al.KAXN KL'KAl, CEM KTERV. V/'ERV carl\- in the history of the race did this sentiment lead to the estal)lishment of what we now call ceme- teries — how earlw we do not know. Of the hurial of our first parents, Adam and ll\e, there is no authentic account, although tradition, with an eve to poetical effect, places the toml) of Adam upon Calvarv. As to what was done with the lioth' of the murderetl Ahel. the sacred record is silent. Cain huilt a citv, hut what became of its dead we can only surmise; and whethei' the Hood swept away sepulchres as well as hahitations is also left to our imagination.