Albany Rural Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Menands, New York
, just outside of the city of Albany, New York
. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries
in the United States
, at over 400 acres (1.6 km²). Many historical American figures are buried there.
.
In 1868, bodies from other cemeteries were removed and reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery.
, the 21st President of the United States
, was interred at Albany Rural Cemetery in Lot 8, Section 24, along with his wife Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur
, who had died in 1880. His memorial was designed by Ephraim Keyser
and dedicated on June 15, 1889. Friends of the former president contributed a fund that provided $10,000 for the memorial and for a statue that was erected in New York City
.
John Van Buren
, son of President Martin Van Buren
, is buried in lot 28, section 62. John Van Buren, a handsome attorney known as "Prince John", died at sea on October 13, 1866, while on the voyage from Liverpool to New York. His grave in Lot 28, Section 62 is marked by an Italian marble cross.
A 36 feet (11 m)-high doric column at Lot 2, Section 29 commemorates General Philip Schuyler
, Major General in the Continental Army
, Delegate to the Continental Congress
, and one of the first two United States Senators elected from New York.
The last patroon
, General Stephen Van Rensselaer
, who died in 1839, was founder of the scientific school which later became Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
. His grave is located at Lot 1, Section 14. Also interred in the same plot is William Paterson, U.S. Senator and Governor of New Jersey and a signatory to the Constitution of the United States. Paterson ended his career as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
, serving until his death in 1806.
Daniel Manning
, who died in 1887, was a journalist, politician and banker and served as Secretary of the Treasury
under President Grover Cleveland
. His grave is located in Lot 5, Section 27.
Erastus Dow Palmer
, a world renowned sculptor, is buried in Lot 15, Section 34. He worked in an Albany studio producing statuary and portrait busts for many years before he died in 1904. He produced two statues which are on exhibit at the United States Capitol Building in Washington D.C.; the Robert Livingston Statue and "Peace in Bondage". Several of Mr. Palmer's works adorn markers at the Cemetery, one of which is titled "The Angel at the Sepulchre" which is located in Lot 1, Section 31, or the Banks plot. Palmer also designed the granite monument at the grave of William Learned Marcy, a U.S. Senator and three-term Governor of New York. The monument is in Lot 94, Section 62. Marcy also served as Secretary of War
under President James K. Polk
and Secretary of State
under President Franklin Pierce
. When he died in 1857, relatives recalled that Marcy "frequently expressed the wish to be buried where he had spent so much time in reading and in contemplation".
Located on a large circular plot in Lot 2, Section 31 is the gravesite of Erastus Corning
, founder and president of the New York Central Railroad
. His great-grandson Erastus Corning 2nd
, who served as Mayor of Albany for 41 years and who died in 1983, is also buried in the family plot.
The Peckham family plot in Lot 19, Section 11 includes Rufus Wheeler Peckham
, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
, and his brother, Wheeler Hazard Peckham
, a prominent New York City lawyer and a failed nominee to the Supreme Court. The plot also includes a cenotaph
to their father, New York Court of Appeals
judge and U.S. congressman
Rufus Wheeler Peckham
(1809-1873), who was lost at sea.
The Spencer family plot includes John Canfield Spencer
, Secretary of War
and Secretary of the Treasury
under President John Tyler
and a failed nominee to the Supreme Court. His father, Ambrose Spencer
, a prominent New York lawyer, judge and politician, is also buried nearby.
Menands, New York
Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand...
, just outside of the city of Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, at over 400 acres (1.6 km²). Many historical American figures are buried there.
History
On April 2, 1841, an Association was formed to bring the cemetery into being. A committee of the Association selected the site on April 20, 1844. The cemetery originally contained 100 acre (0.404686 km²). This portion was consecrated October 7, 1844. The first interment was made in May, 1845. Located near the entrance is the Louis Menand HouseLouis Menand House
Louis Menand House is a historic home located at Menands, New York in Albany County, New York. It is a two story, Queen Anne style farmhouse with a cross gable roof and central chimney. The rear section was built about 1840 and the front section in 1881. It features fishscale shingles on the...
.
In 1868, bodies from other cemeteries were removed and reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery.
Notable burials
In 1886, President Chester A. ArthurChester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
, the 21st President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, was interred at Albany Rural Cemetery in Lot 8, Section 24, along with his wife Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur
Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur
Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur was the wife of the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur.-Early life:...
, who had died in 1880. His memorial was designed by Ephraim Keyser
Ephraim Keyser
Ephraim Keyser was an American sculptor.-Biography:He was educated at the City College of Baltimore and studied art in the Maryland Academy of Arts in 1871-72. He went to Munich in 1872 and studied under Widmann in the Academy of Fine Arts, where he won a silver medal for a bronze statue of a page...
and dedicated on June 15, 1889. Friends of the former president contributed a fund that provided $10,000 for the memorial and for a statue that was erected in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
John Van Buren
John Van Buren
John Van Buren was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He was the second son of President Martin Van Buren and graduated from Yale College in 1828. In 1831, when his father was appointed U.S. Minister to Britain, he accompanied him as secretary of the American Legation in London...
, son of President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
, is buried in lot 28, section 62. John Van Buren, a handsome attorney known as "Prince John", died at sea on October 13, 1866, while on the voyage from Liverpool to New York. His grave in Lot 28, Section 62 is marked by an Italian marble cross.
A 36 feet (11 m)-high doric column at Lot 2, Section 29 commemorates General Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
, Major General in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, Delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, and one of the first two United States Senators elected from New York.
The last patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
, General Stephen Van Rensselaer
Stephen Van Rensselaer III
Stephen Van Rensselaer III was Lieutenant Governor of New York as well as a statesman, soldier, and land-owner, the heir to one of the largest estates in the New York region at the time, which made him the tenth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP...
, who died in 1839, was founder of the scientific school which later became Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
. His grave is located at Lot 1, Section 14. Also interred in the same plot is William Paterson, U.S. Senator and Governor of New Jersey and a signatory to the Constitution of the United States. Paterson ended his career as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
, serving until his death in 1806.
Daniel Manning
Daniel Manning was an American businessman, journalist, and politician most notable for having served as the 37th United States Secretary of the Treasury....
, who died in 1887, was a journalist, politician and banker and served as Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
under President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. His grave is located in Lot 5, Section 27.
Erastus Dow Palmer
Erastus Dow Palmer
Erastus Dow Palmer was an American sculptor.Palmer was born in Pompey, New York. In his leisure moments as a carpenter he started by carving portraits in cameo, and then began to model in clay with much success. His style was academic classicism...
, a world renowned sculptor, is buried in Lot 15, Section 34. He worked in an Albany studio producing statuary and portrait busts for many years before he died in 1904. He produced two statues which are on exhibit at the United States Capitol Building in Washington D.C.; the Robert Livingston Statue and "Peace in Bondage". Several of Mr. Palmer's works adorn markers at the Cemetery, one of which is titled "The Angel at the Sepulchre" which is located in Lot 1, Section 31, or the Banks plot. Palmer also designed the granite monument at the grave of William Learned Marcy, a U.S. Senator and three-term Governor of New York. The monument is in Lot 94, Section 62. Marcy also served as Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
under President James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
and Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
under President Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
. When he died in 1857, relatives recalled that Marcy "frequently expressed the wish to be buried where he had spent so much time in reading and in contemplation".
Located on a large circular plot in Lot 2, Section 31 is the gravesite of Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning I , American businessman and politician, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Corning moved to Troy, New York at the age of 13 to clerk in the hardware store of an uncle; six years later he moved to Albany, New York, where he joined the mercantile business under James Spencer...
, founder and president of the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. His great-grandson Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd
Erastus Corning 2nd was an American politician. He was Mayor of Albany, New York for more than 40 years, from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last two classic urban political machines in the United States. Albany's longest serving mayor, the Democrat died in office in...
, who served as Mayor of Albany for 41 years and who died in 1983, is also buried in the family plot.
The Peckham family plot in Lot 19, Section 11 includes Rufus Wheeler Peckham
Rufus Wheeler Peckham
Rufus Wheeler Peckham was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1895 until 1909. He was known for his strong use of substantive due process to invalidate regulations of business and property. Peckham's namesake father was also a lawyer and judge, and a congressman...
, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
, and his brother, Wheeler Hazard Peckham
Wheeler Hazard Peckham
Wheeler Hazard Peckham was an American lawyer from New York and a failed nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States. His father, Rufus Wheeler Peckham, was also a lawyer, and a New York Court of Appeals judge and congressman. His brother, also named Rufus Wheeler Peckham, was also a New...
, a prominent New York City lawyer and a failed nominee to the Supreme Court. The plot also includes a cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
to their father, New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
judge and U.S. congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Rufus Wheeler Peckham
Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809-1873)
Rufus Wheeler Peckham was a judge and congressman from New York, and the father of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.-Biography:...
(1809-1873), who was lost at sea.
The Spencer family plot includes John Canfield Spencer
John Canfield Spencer
John Canfield Spencer was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President John Tyler.-Early life:...
, Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
and Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
under President John Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
and a failed nominee to the Supreme Court. His father, Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He attended Yale College from 1779 to 1782, and graduated from Harvard University in 1783...
, a prominent New York lawyer, judge and politician, is also buried nearby.