Old Town Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Old Town Cemetery is located in the city of Newburgh
, New York
, USA, behind Calvary Presbyterian Church on South Street. It was established in 1713 by German settlers
from the Palatine
who had settled on the site of the present city four years earlier. It is within a section of the city known as the Glebe, a 500-acre (2 km²) grant made by Queen Anne
to provide for a schoolmaster and clergyman for the Germans. A church built by the Palatines was located on the western edge of the site, on what is presently Liberty Street. As the Old Town Cemetery and Palatine Church Site, it was listed as a historic district
on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2000. It is also a contributing element
in the larger Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Streets Historic District
.
There are an estimated 1,700 buried in the cemetery
, although there may at one time have been 2,500. Thirteen hundred headstone
s survive today; the earliest date of death still legible is 1759. Among the noteworthy persons are former congressmen Jonathan Fisk
and Thomas McKissock
.
The mausoleum
of Capt. and Mrs. Henry "Bully" Robinson is architecturally
distinctive. It was built in 1853, possibly by Andrew Jackson Davis
, whose most notable work in Newburgh, the Dutch Reformed Church
, stands a few blocks away. It is the only Egyptian Revival
tomb anywhere to feature both a mastaba
and a pyramid
. It was overgrown and had fallen into disrepair until a 1999 restoration.
An interesting memorial marker here is the one for Archibald Wiseman and two of his young children by his wife, Susan Clyde, located at gravesite 1-140. Somewhat of a mystery is the inscription on the marker that reports that he Died At Sea on May 9, 1853. Where, when and how he died is unknown. His widow Susan remarried in 1860 to a James McCord, a leather tanner and apparently unrelated to the McCord family of brush manufacturers in Newburgh, and she and McCord are last recorded anywhere in the 1880 Census at the home of her son, David Clyde Wiseman (who suffered from 'consumption') and his daughter Mary, who married in about 1869. Mary was the only daughter of James McCord by an earlier marriage. Susan and James' later fate after 1880 is unknown as of June 2011.
In 1803 New York amended the law governing the Glebe to include the creation of an Old Town Cemetery Commission. It consists of five members, three of them serving ex officio: the city's mayor, the local superintendent of schools and the pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church. The other two members are appointed by the state. Currently those are John McCormick and Gerardo Sanchez, whose company restored the Robinson Mausoleum. Sanchez also co-chairs the Friends of Newburgh's Old Town Cemetery.
Newburgh (city), New York
Newburgh is a city located in Orange County, New York, United States, north of New York City, and south of Albany, on the Hudson River. Newburgh is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area, which includes all of Dutchess and Orange counties. The Newburgh area was...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA, behind Calvary Presbyterian Church on South Street. It was established in 1713 by German settlers
German colonization of the Americas
The German colonization of the Americas consisted of failed attempts to settle Venezuela , St. Thomas, the Crab Island and Tertholen in the 16th and 17th centuries.-Klein-Venedig:...
from the Palatine
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
who had settled on the site of the present city four years earlier. It is within a section of the city known as the Glebe, a 500-acre (2 km²) grant made by Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
to provide for a schoolmaster and clergyman for the Germans. A church built by the Palatines was located on the western edge of the site, on what is presently Liberty Street. As the Old Town Cemetery and Palatine Church Site, it was listed as a historic district
Historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
on 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...
in 2000. It is also a contributing element
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
in the larger Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Streets Historic District
Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Streets Historic District
The Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Streets Historic District was the first of two to be designated in the city of Newburgh, New York, USA. It runs along the three named north-south streets in the northeast quadrant of the city and includes 250 buildings in its ....
.
There are an estimated 1,700 buried in the cemetery
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...
, although there may at one time have been 2,500. Thirteen hundred headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
s survive today; the earliest date of death still legible is 1759. Among the noteworthy persons are former congressmen Jonathan Fisk
Jonathan Fisk
Jonathan Fisk was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
and Thomas McKissock
Thomas McKissock
Thomas Mckissock was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Montgomery, New York, Mckissock studied medicine and law.He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newburgh, New York....
.
The mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of Capt. and Mrs. Henry "Bully" Robinson is architecturally
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
distinctive. It was built in 1853, possibly by Andrew Jackson Davis
Andrew Jackson Davis
Andrew Jackson Davis , American Spiritualist, was born at Blooming Grove, New York.- Early years :He had little education, though probably much more than he and his friends pretended. In 1843 he heard lectures in Poughkeepsie on animal magnetism, as the phenomena of hypnotism was then termed, and...
, whose most notable work in Newburgh, the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church (Newburgh, New York)
The Dutch Reformed Church is one of the most prominent architectural landmarks in Newburgh, New York. It was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1835 in the Greek Revival style common in America in that time period. It is his only surviving church in that style and is considered to be his latest...
, stands a few blocks away. It is the only Egyptian Revival
Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile during 1798....
tomb anywhere to feature both a mastaba
Mastaba
A mastaba, or "pr-djt" , is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period...
and a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
. It was overgrown and had fallen into disrepair until a 1999 restoration.
An interesting memorial marker here is the one for Archibald Wiseman and two of his young children by his wife, Susan Clyde, located at gravesite 1-140. Somewhat of a mystery is the inscription on the marker that reports that he Died At Sea on May 9, 1853. Where, when and how he died is unknown. His widow Susan remarried in 1860 to a James McCord, a leather tanner and apparently unrelated to the McCord family of brush manufacturers in Newburgh, and she and McCord are last recorded anywhere in the 1880 Census at the home of her son, David Clyde Wiseman (who suffered from 'consumption') and his daughter Mary, who married in about 1869. Mary was the only daughter of James McCord by an earlier marriage. Susan and James' later fate after 1880 is unknown as of June 2011.
In 1803 New York amended the law governing the Glebe to include the creation of an Old Town Cemetery Commission. It consists of five members, three of them serving ex officio: the city's mayor, the local superintendent of schools and the pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church. The other two members are appointed by the state. Currently those are John McCormick and Gerardo Sanchez, whose company restored the Robinson Mausoleum. Sanchez also co-chairs the Friends of Newburgh's Old Town Cemetery.
External links
- Egyptian-Style Tomb, Calvary Cemetery, Newburgh, Orange, NY: 3 photos, 1 data page, and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Building Survey
- Friends of Newburgh's Old Town Cemetery