New York City Marble Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The New York City Marble Cemetery is an historic cemetery founded in 1831, and located at 52-74 East Second Street between First
and Second
Avenues in the East Village
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
. The cemetery has 256 underground burial vaults constructed of Tuckahoe marble on the site.
The New York City Marble Cemetery, which was the city's second non-sectarian burial place,
should not be confused with the nearby New York Marble Cemetery
one block west, which was the first, having been established one year earlier. Both cemeteries were designated New York City landmarks in 1969, and in 1980 both were added to the National Register of Historic Places
.
had led city residents to fear burying their dead in coffins just a few feet below ground, and public health legislation had outlawed earthen burials. The New York Marble Cemetery had met this circumstance by constructing and selling underground marble burial vaults. A year later, five partners – Evert Banckar, Henry Booream, Thomas Addis Emmett, Garret Storm and Samuel Whittemore – organized a similar venture one block east.
Land was purchased from Samuel Cowdrey, who was a vault owner in the earlier venture, and Perkins Nicols was engaged to construct the marble vaults, as he had done previously. The first of the vaults were ready by summer 1831, the cemetery was incorporated on April 26, 1832, and it continued to purchase land on either side of the original plot until 1835, when it reached its current dimensions.
Unlike the earlier cemetery, in which no monuments or markers indicated the placement of the vaults, instead being indicated on marble tablet embedded in the surrounding wall, the new cemetery marked the position of each vault with a marble marker, or with monuments of various sizes, according to the vault owner's preference. At the time, the new cemetery was considered to be a fashionable place to be buried.
The remains from the churchyard of the South Dutch Church were moved to the cemetery, which also contains the remains of the Kip family, after whom Kips Bay is named. Cemetery tradition holds the bones of the first European men to be buried on Manhattan island, the Dutch dominie
s, were moved to the "Ministers' Vault".
Former burials
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Second
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
Avenues in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, 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...
. The cemetery has 256 underground burial vaults constructed of Tuckahoe marble on the site.
The New York City Marble Cemetery, which was the city's second non-sectarian burial place,
should not be confused with the nearby New York Marble Cemetery
New York Marble Cemetery
The New York Marble Cemetery is an historic cemetery founded in 1830, and located in the interior of the block bounded by East Second and 3rd Streets, Second Avenue, and The Bowery, in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is entered through an alleyway with an iron gate at...
one block west, which was the first, having been established one year earlier. Both cemeteries were designated New York City landmarks in 1969, and in 1980 both were added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History and description
In 1830, recent outbreaks of yellow feverYellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
had led city residents to fear burying their dead in coffins just a few feet below ground, and public health legislation had outlawed earthen burials. The New York Marble Cemetery had met this circumstance by constructing and selling underground marble burial vaults. A year later, five partners – Evert Banckar, Henry Booream, Thomas Addis Emmett, Garret Storm and Samuel Whittemore – organized a similar venture one block east.
Land was purchased from Samuel Cowdrey, who was a vault owner in the earlier venture, and Perkins Nicols was engaged to construct the marble vaults, as he had done previously. The first of the vaults were ready by summer 1831, the cemetery was incorporated on April 26, 1832, and it continued to purchase land on either side of the original plot until 1835, when it reached its current dimensions.
Unlike the earlier cemetery, in which no monuments or markers indicated the placement of the vaults, instead being indicated on marble tablet embedded in the surrounding wall, the new cemetery marked the position of each vault with a marble marker, or with monuments of various sizes, according to the vault owner's preference. At the time, the new cemetery was considered to be a fashionable place to be buried.
Visiting
According to the cemetery's website, it is open twice a year, on a Sunday in spring, and a weekend in the fall.Notable burials
- Stephen AllenStephen AllenStephen Allen was the Mayor of New York for three terms from December 1821 through 1824.Under the new constitution the Mayor was appointed by the Common Council, as opposed to the governor, leading to Allen being the first elected Mayor.Feb 1824 Allen declined a directorship on New York and Sharon...
, mayor of New York CityNew York CityNew 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...
and governor of New York State - Preserved FishPreserved FishPreserved Fish was a prominent New York City shipping merchant in the early 19th century. He served as president of the Bank of America, which was unrelated to the current institution of that name, and an early broker of the New York Stock & Exchange Board...
, a noted merchant - David Sherwood Jackson, Congressman (1847-1849)
- James LenoxJames LenoxJames Lenox was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and later became part of the New York Public Library in 1895.-Biography:...
, whose library along with the Astor and Tilden libraries formed the New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries... - Edward Elmer Potter, Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Brigadier General - James Henry RooseveltJames H. RooseveltJames Henry Roosevelt was an American philanthropist who, by bequest, founded Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. He was born in New York to Catherine and James Christopher Roosevelt, a grandson of Jacobus Roosevelt, the founder of the Hyde Park branch of the Roosevelt family. James H...
, founder of Roosevelt Hospital, and other members of his branch of the Roosevelt familyRoosevelt familyIn heraldry, canting arms are a visual or pictorial play on a surname, and were and still are a popular practice. It would be common to find roses, then, in arms of many Roosevelt families, even unrelated ones... - John Lloyd StephensJohn Lloyd StephensJohn Lloyd Stephens was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad....
, archaeologist who was a pioneer in the study of MayanMaya civilizationThe Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
culture - Moses TaylorMoses TaylorMoses Taylor was a 19th century New York merchant and banker and one of the wealthiest men of that century. At his death, his estate was reported to be worth $70 million, or about $ billion in today's dollars. He controlled the National City Bank of New York , the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western...
, financier and backer of the Atlantic Cable - Isaac VarianIsaac VarianIsaac Leggett Varian was a New York state legislator and a Mayor of New York.-Political career:Varian was a prominent Democrat and led Tammany Hall from 1835 until 1842...
, mayor of New York CityNew York CityNew 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...
(1839-1841) - Marinus WillettMarinus WillettMarinus Willett was an American soldier and political leader from New York. He was characterized by historian Mark M. Boatner as "one of the truly outstanding American leaders of the Revolution."...
, hero of the Revolutionary War and Mayor of New York City (1807-1808)
The remains from the churchyard of the South Dutch Church were moved to the cemetery, which also contains the remains of the Kip family, after whom Kips Bay is named. Cemetery tradition holds the bones of the first European men to be buried on Manhattan island, the Dutch dominie
Dominie
Dominie is a Scots language and Scottish English term for a Scottish schoolmaster or a minister, usually of the Church of Scotland but sometimes of other presbyterian churches in Scotland...
s, were moved to the "Ministers' Vault".
Former burials
- John EricssonJohn EricssonJohn Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...
, designer of USS MonitorUSS MonitorUSS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...
, whose remains were subsequently moved to Sweden in 1890 - James MonroeJames MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
, president of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, whose remains were subsequently moved to Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in 1858
External links
- Official Site
- New York City Marble Cemetery at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Forgotten NY