USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The Albany Rural Cemetery > Part 6
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We come now to the handsome monument of James D. Wasson, one of the early expressmen, and postmaster in 18448; and of "the beloved physician," Dr. Peter McNaughton. Next is that of Ira Jagger, the iron manu- facturer. A little in the rear is seen the lot of William and Clark Durant, marked not only with a well shaped monument, but by two massive crosses of polished granite, laid horizontally upon the graves and resting on granite frames filled with myrtle.
Following the Tour southward and turning to the left we retrace steps already taken along the side of the glen till we reach the Glen Cross bridge at the right, and cross- ing, note on the pretty knoll which bears the name of Roseland Hill, the Wendell and Vanderpoel lot (9). Here sleep three of Albany's eminent physicians, Dr. Herman Wendell, Dr. S. O. Vanderpoel and Dr. Peter Wendell, the latter having practiced medicine in Albany for forty- two years, and at his death being regent and chancellor of the university of the state of New York. The following
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inscription upon another marble shaft in the same lot tells its own story :
The trustees of the Albany Rural Cemetery have directed this inscription to be made to commemorate the services of JOHN 1. WENDELL One of the early members of the board who gratuitously devoted his time and the energies of a cultivated mind and taste to improve and beautify these grounds until called by death to occupy a place at the foot of this column.
Dr. Vanderpoel was surgeon-general of the state at the outbreak of the war, was inspector of hospitals for the sanitary commission, and for eight years health-officer of the port of New York, to which city he afterwards removed ( 1881). In the same lot is buried Col. Lewis O. Morris, who was killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 4, 1864. The insignia on his stone are a cannon, a cross, a sword, sash and accouterments. Post 121, Grand Army of the Republic, is named after this gallant soldier.
Next west is the Stephen Paddock montiment (9) of
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THE LAUNITZ MARBLES.
granite, with urn, well proportioned, solid and substantial. Beyond that Robert Dunlop's, of sandstone, bearing vine and clusters of grapes with the thistle of Scotland. Near by Jies Robert Dunlop Lathrop, adjutant of the 159th N. Y., killed in battle at Irish Bend, Bavou Teche, La., April 14, 1863, aged 22. His last words were: "It is all right if we conquer."
In the Archibald Melntyre lot, carefully fenced, stands the granite monolith to Dr. James McNaughton, " for fifty-six years a practicing physician and surgeon in the city of Albany, and for fifty-three years a lecturer on medicine." He was born in Kenmore, Scotland, as the thistle indicates, in 1796, and died in Paris, June 11, 1874. Archibald McIntyre (state comptroller 1806 to 1821 and an original Cemetery trustee ) and Rev. John McDonald, "forty-two years a minister of the gospel," are buried in the same lot with a large and very elaborate marble sarcophagus to mark the spot. The Gregory and Henderson monuments in the same enclosure are fine specimens of marble cutting by R. E. Launitz of New York, a pupil of Thorwaldsen, and the first instructor of Thomas Crawford. He has been called the father of monumental art in America. Among his productions are the Pulaski monument in Savannah, the battle monument in Frankfort, the Gen. George H. Thomas monument in Troy, etc. The Henderson marble is crowned with a figure of Faith with an open Bible.
To the right (11) is a monument to Edgar Cotrell, a well-remembered Albany merchant who died in 1890. " So faithful, tender and unspoiled by fortune." The Stimpson
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stone, the L. Sprague Parsons and the Warren lots are passed. Then we come to the artistically marked lot of Thomas S. and Robert P. Wiłes. One of the stones is red, and bears a medallion portrait ; the other is light granite, and each terminates in a Greek cross.
The Anna L. Armsby monument of sandstone is peculiar - an imitation of a stump of a tree, out of the top of which real vines are growing.
On the Gideon Hawley and Alfred Van Santvoord lot (Sec. 9) a sandstone monument that shows traces of age is sacred to the memory of Col. Henry Quackenbush, " who having lived the life, died the death of the righteous on the end of February, 1813, aged 76." We learn further from the same unimpeachable source that Col. Quacken- bush was with Lord Amherst at Ticonderoga, and with Gen. Gates at Saratoga, in the days that tried men's souls. Hle was chairman of the Albany committee of safety, a member of the colonial legislature, and elector of presi- dent and vice-president. A long list of relatives and descendants whose remains are said to be buried around him ends with " and Nancy his servant, a faithful slave."
Across Roseland Way, a little to the southwest (Sec. 12), is the granite monument to Dr. James II. Armsby, with a medallion portrait in bronze by John S. Hartley, a pupil of Palmer's. Dr. Armsby was for many years a leading physician and surgeon in Albany, and with Dr. March was the founder of the Albany medical college, and of the Albany hospital. The Dudley observatory, and in fact nearly every public institution which, during his long resi-
CHU
On Ravine Side Way
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HICGHI J. HASTINGS.
dence in Albany, appealed to public spirit, found in him a liberal friend. He was in an eminent degree the patron of struggling art, and the sculptor Palmer has shown his appreciation of his friendship by a memorial bust in Wash- ington park. Dr. Armsby was a trustee of the Cemetery.
Back of the Armsby lot is the Howe-Robinson monu- ment (Sec. 12) of polished Scotch granite with a female figure pointing upward. The James Morrow-Brown testi- monial (Sec. 8) is a marble monument with a niche in which is represented the pitcher broken at the fountain. The John and William Reid lot is also in Sec. S, as is that of Jacob H. Ten Eyck and William E. Bleecker. Just west of the Lloyd-McCaskie granite shaft (12) isthe Ilen- drickson-Meech lot, interesting in that it is the grave of Henry T. Meech, for so many years proprietor and mana- ger of the old Albany museum, a quaint old figure in dra- matic history, as utterly unlike the manager of the present day as the mind can well imagine. The Robert Shepard shaft of red stone and the light granite sarcophagus of James Kidd are in the same section, as is also, although in a lot at the left, as we turn into Greenwood avenue, the Fred J. Barnard dark granite sarcophagus, in excellent taste. We pass the Sisson and the Mitchell shafts (13) the Moseley-Ainsworth (8) monument of light granite, then turn to the right, and there, marked with a handsome granite shaft bearing a cross on the side, is the Hastings lot (40) in which is buried Hugh J. Hastings, best known of a large family of newspaper men, for many years editor of the Albany Knickerbocker, which he founded on a
13
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capital of $7.50, and afterwards of the New York Com- mercial Advertiser, which he purchased in 1867, and con- ducted till his death in 1883.
The Chase stone opposite (38) is of the pink Westerly granite and contrasts favorably with any around it.
At the left, eastward, opposite the DeForest marble shaft will be found the modestly marked graves of Ralph P. Lathrop (39) for many years internal revenue collector in this district, and near by that of Thomas Spencer Lloyd whose music has long been sung in hundreds of churches, in this country and elsewhere. A simple headstone bears his autograph which will be regarded with more than passing interest by all who know anything of musical history in the United States.
The Martin L. Cutler granite sarcophagus is here ; also the Southwick cottage monument of marble, recording the removal of a number of bodies, in 1866, from Christie street, New York, to this place. Still further cast, at the extreme end of the section, is the Lyman Root plat, on which stands a large Quincy granite obelisk, one of the most ponderous in the Cemetery, the single stone weigh- ing nineteen tons. It was one of the first of this kind erected here, and by a pure accident is set exactly accord- ing to the cardinal points of the compass.
Directly opposite (38) is the great boulder brought from Mount Hope to serve as a monument for Ezra P. Prentice. It is now covered with vines, and not particularly notice- able, while tasteful headstones have since been erected.
Turning back, passing around the Alexander Greer mon-
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DR. JACOB S. MOSHER.
ument (39) and going down through Cold Spring Dell, we come in section 37 to one of the tallest and most graceful monuments on the grounds, that of James and Ezra G. Bene- dict. It is of light granite, artistically cut from base to apex.
Along the Tour is noticed the lot of the present super- intendent, Mr. J. P. Thomas (38), where is buried his father, Burton A. Thomas, for thirty-two years the engineer of the Cemetery, which is largely indebted to him, as well as to his son, for many of its beauties. The Avery Herrick lot is neatly marked with modest light-colored headstones, on which the lettering is particularly plain. Next is the dark-colored stone of Dayton Ball.
At the right stands the granite shaft to the memory of Amos Pilsbury (36), for many years keeper of the Albany penitentiary, a man who made the welfare of the unfor- tunates committed to his care a constant study.
Turn to the right, and in the same section is the lot of Paul Cushman, with a handsome variegated granite sar- cophagus, in the form of a cross, and two granite crosses. Opposite, across Fern avenue, marked with a cross of granite, is the grave (37) of Dr. Jacob S. Mosher, whose sudden death, in the prime of life and usefulness, shocked the community in 1883. Ile was surgeon-general of the state under Governor Hoffman, and from 1870 to 1876 was deputy health and executive officer of the port of New York. His tact, his suavity, his keen perceptive faculties and his sympathetic temperament made him one of the most popular physicians Albany ever had.
The Jones-Northrup monument stands in this section.
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
A FOREST NOOK.
" A nook within the forest: overhead The branches arch, and shape a pleasant bower, Breaking white cloud, blue sky and sunshine bright Into pure ivory and sapphire spots, And flecks of gold ; a soft, cool, emerald tint Colors the air, as though the delicate leaves Emitted self-born light. What splendid walls And what a gorgeous roof carved by the hand Of cunning Nature ! Here the spruce thrusts in
Its bristling plume, tipped with its pale green points: The scalloped beech leaf and the birch's cut Into fine ragged edges interlace, While here and there, through clefts, the laurel lifts Its snowy chalices half brimmed with dew, As though to hoard it for the haunting elves The moonlight calls to this their festal hall. A thick, rich, grassy carpet clothes the earth, Sprinkled with autumn leaves. The fern displays Its fluted wreath, beaded beneath with drops Of richest brown; the wild rose spreads its breast Of delicate pink, and the o'erhanging fir Has dropped its dark long cone.
"The scorching glare
Without, makes this green nest a grateful haunt For summer's radiant things. the butterfly Fluttering within and resting on some flower, Fans his rich velvet form ; the toiling bee Shoots by, with sounding hum and mist-like wings; The robin perches on the bending spray With shrill, quick chirp; and like a flake of fire The redbird seeks the shelter of the leaves. And now and then a flutter over head In the thick green, betrays some wandering wing Coming and going, yet concealed from siglit. A shrill, loud outery-on yon highest bough
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IN GREENLEAF FOREST.
Sits the gray squirrel, in his burlesque wrath Stamping and chattering fiercely: now he drops A hoarded nut, then at my smiling gaze Buries himself within the foliage. The insect tribe are here; the ant toils on With its white burden ; in its netted web, Gray glistening o'er the bush, the spider lurks, A close crouched ball, out darting as a hum Tells its trapped prey, and looping quick its threads Chains into helplessness the buzzing wings. The wood-tick taps its tiny muffled drum To the shrill cricket-fife, and swelling loud, The grasshopper its swelling bugle winds. Those breaths of Nature, the light, fluttering airs, Like gentle respirations come and go, Lift on its crimson stem the maple leaf, Displaying its white lining underneath, And sprinkle from the tree-tops golden rain Of sunshine on the velvet sward below. Such nooks as this are common in the woods: And all these sights and sounds the commonest In Nature when she wears her summer prime. Yet by them pass not lightly ; to the wise They tell the beauty and the harmony Of even the lowliest things that God hath made. That His familiar earth and sky are full Of His ineffable power and majesty: That in the humble objects seen too oft To be regarded shines such wondrous grace, The art of man is vain to imitate ; That the low flower our careless foot treads down Stands a rich shrine of incense delicate, And radiant beauty: and that God hath formed All, from the cloud wreathed mountain to the grain Of silver sand the bubbling spring casts up, With deepest forethought and severest care. And thus these noteless, lovely things are types Of His perfection and divinity."
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
In such a nook, amid the shade and sunshine which chase each other through Greenleaf Forest, without so much as a headstone to mark the spot, sleeps the author of the foregoing lines, Alfred Billings Street. It is a place he would have loved ; in all the Cemetery of whose consecration he was the poet, there is no resting place which would have better suited his gentle fancy, his unob- trusive nature. The trees, the flowers, the insects, the birds which he painted with such Meissonier-like patience and fidelity, are all about, while the great world for which he cared but little, and but little cared for him, is typified in the glimpse of smoking industries seen in the distance. It is true he studied law, and wrote a massive tome of political biography ; for a while he found in the care of the state library a congenial pursuit, but it is as a poet that he lived his life, and as a poet he will be remembered, by the few who appreciate his sympathetic fidelity to the minutia of natural objects as they fell under the observation of a mind which found its chief inspiration in the truths of Nature. The lot where he is buried can be located by a pine tree on which is a very matter-of-fact signboard bear- ing the words " Greenleaf Forest."
The Van Vechten lot (36) is well situated at the corner of Fern and Prospect avenues. It contains a granite Latin cross mounted upon a high pedestal of the same material, and is the resting place of Abraham and his nephew Teunis Van Vechten, once prominent members of
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THE TREMAIN LOT.
the legal profession in this state. The former was recorder of Albany, state senator, attorney-general and member of the constitutional convention of 1821. He died in 1837. Ilis grandson and namesake is a trustee of the Cemetery association. Teunis Van Vechten was mayor of Albany in 1837-9, and again in 1841-2.
Opposite, sleeps another mayor of Albany, Edmund L. Judson (35) who filled the office from 1874 to 1876. He was a much respected citizen and stood high in the Masonic order, as well as in the esteem and confidence of all who knew him.
Keeping to the right along Prospect avenue we come to the Tremain lot (35) where rests the Hon. Lyman Tremain, who died in 1878, after having been attorney- general, congressman-at-large, speaker of the assembly, and one of the most eminent criminal lawyers in the state. His monument is a granite cross on a dark-colored granite pedestal. Beside him lies his son, Col. Frederick L. Tre- main, who fell at the head of his regiment at Hatcher's Run, Va., February 4, 1865, "in the great conflict for freedom and the union." His monument is of marble, draped, and surmounted with a soldier's cap. Here also is another son, Grenville Tremain, a young and promising lawyer, whose sudden death in 1877 unquestionably hastened that of his father.
A beautiful granite cross, with ivy, and a lofty granite shaft mark the lot in which reposes Archibald McClure, a noble hearted, devoted, philanthropic Christian gentleman, to whose benefactions many an Albany institution is the
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERV.
grateful debtor. Another cross, with links of bronze, further adorns this lot.
The Peter Monteith monument in this section stands for the grave of another well-remembered merchant. The circular lot ( 34), a little to the right, is that of D. D. T. Charles, recently deceased, and as yet has no monu- ment. Opposite is the noble granite obelisk of Douglas L. White ( 34) tastefully surrounded with granite acces- sories. The approach is between two granite urns, well proportioned and in good taste. The headstones in the lot are in admirable keeping with the main feature.
Bending south between the Monteith shaft and the S. 11. Cook pillar we come to the Jeffers ( 34 ) column of red Scotch granite, and next to it the well chosen but unmarked lot of Mr. Erastus D. Palmer, the sculptor, whose genius, more than that of any other man, has made both famous and beautiful this Cemetery, of which he is a trustee.
The Boyd lot, with marble copings, is in section 35. The Van Wormer granite figure of a female with wreath of flowers and the massive granite urn of Hugh White are east of the Boyd lot. The "twin brothers" monument to Drs. Robert and Alexander Nelson is seen in 33, nearly opposite a similar shaft to James Wilson in 35. The Nelson brothers were dentists of excellent reputation, long resident in Albany and much esteemed.
Looking to the right along Groveside avenue we note Horace B. Silliman's handsome cottage monument in 34 ; and not far distant the Lord cross with anchor at the base, and the Mellick sarcophagus of dark granite; then the
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ANVISITED
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VAN VECHTEN. [Page 110.]
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VIEW FROM PROSPECT HILL.
cruciform memorial on the lot of Hon. Abraham Lansing, one of the Cemetery trustees. Opposite ( 33) are the monuments of Hiram Livingston and of LeGrand Ban- croft. Mr. Bancroft was a partner in the law firm of which the late Henry Smith and Nathaniel C. Moak were the other members. He died in 1880.
Without pursuing Groveside avenue any further, turning back we find ourselves on Prospect hill, where, and in the immediate vicinity, wealth has been lavished with unspar- ing hands in the decoration of a spot which, from its eminence and the views afforded, is to many persons the most attractive in all the Cemetery.
Nearly every lot will repay careful examination, although some of the monuments are simple in their massiveness. Of these is the one on the circular lot (32) of the King family, commemorating Rufus 1l. King and wife, and their son Col. Henry L. King. Rufus H. King who died in Albany in 1867, aged 73, was president of the Albany Savings Bank, the New York State National Bank, and the Albany Insurance Company, positions which well denote his prominence as a banker and a business man. To his memory there is now erecting in Washington park, a costly fountain for which object $20,000 was left by his son, Col. Henry L. King who is also buried here.
A wide expanse of country is visible here. The view eastward is circumscribed only by the hills of New England many miles distant rising against the sky in dim outline. A little nearer the productive farms of Rens- sełaer county turn their green faces to the fructifying sun.
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
More woodland than seems likely so near great cities adds its darker green to the picture. The slope to the river is at intervals divided by ravines through which we know little brooksare singing merrily. White farm-houses mark the location of happy homes. To the left the great iron- works of Troy and vicinity are evolving clouds of smoke, blue, black and gray. The rich bottom lands of the Hud- son with their market gardens are almost at our feet. Steamers glide up and down the river; canal boats creep through their narrow course-way ; locomotives with great trains of freight and passengers rush madly on, but the noise does not disquiet us. In this garden of mortality the living are almost as much at rest as the dead, the world so near at hand seems for the moment so far away.
At the left. looking toward the river, is the granite shaft to Daniel Weidman (32), an Albany wholesale merchant ; still further to the left the Avery and Arnold monument (36) with female figure, and the simple but impressive shaft of M. V. B. Bull.
To the right of Weidman, and in this vicinity (32), may be seen the following named memorials, all of which will be found worthy of admiration : The marble shaft to Dr. Joseph Northrup and Daniel Ketchum ; the granite shaft to Charles W. Kelley ; the granite cross of F. W. Vosburgh ; the granite sarcophagus to Nathan D. Wendell. a former county treasurer ; the Henry Russell monument with its beautiful female figure ; the Minch. Cheever, Daniel W. Wemple, Sand and Van Rensselaer monu- ments ; the Center Scotch pillar under a weeping willow ;
MJOLASLWHITE
DOUGLAS L .. WHITE.
[Page 112.
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THE SCHUYLER MONUMENT.
the cruciform granite sarcophagus of Samuel Schuyler, of towboat celebrity ; Dr. Cox's oblong block of beautifully polished granite ; Edward J. Larrabee's block of uncut granite, six feet square ; the Isaac 1. Chapman cottage monument with cross and pillar of Scotch granite ; Luther M. Palmer's cottage granite with urn ; the Ambrose B. Coates monument ; the light-colored granite sarcophagus of Douglas ; the massive granite sarcophagus of Joseph Russell; the Towner memorial in excellent taste; the Nathan B. Perry sarcophagus ( 29) ; the William W. Reed granite shaft ; the James B. Sanders monument (29) crowned with an angelic figure bearing the trumpet of the resurrection.
The noble column to the memory of Gen. Philip Schuyler (29) demands more than a passing notice because of the man whom it commemorates. It is a Doric column thirty-six feet in height, bearing only his name, date of birth at Albany, November 22, 1733, and death, November 18, 1804, and the fact that it was erected to his memory by his granddaughter in 1870. The lot is surrounded with granite coping, and at each of the four corners is a century plant.
Gen. Schuyler was a prominent figure in colonial history. At the age of 22 he was commander of a company which took part in the battle of Lake George, and he served in various capacities during the French and Indian war which followed. After the peace of 1763 he managed his large private business, which included transporting
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
timber from his estate in Saratoga, to New York, and the establishment of the first flax-mill built in this country. He represented Albany in the colonial assembly, and was a delegate to the continental congress of 1775, by which he was appointed one of four major-generals, and was assigned by Washington to the command of the northern district of New York. On account of ill health he trans- ferred the command to Gen. Richard Montgomery, who fell at Quebec in the Canadian invasion. Gen. Schuyler was active in the war of the Revolution, but he and Gen. Horatio Gates did not agree and there was a long conflict between them, which did not end till Schuyler had been tried upon charges preferred by Gates, and acquitted with honor, by court-martial. Ile was with the army till the surrender of Burgoyne. He served several terms as state senator, and was one of the first two of New York's senators in congress, Rufus King being the other. The paternity of the New York canal system is claimed for him. His resi- dence in Albany was the Schuyler mansion, at the head of Schuyler street, which house for forty years was distin- guished for its hospitality, numbering among its guests Benjamin Franklin. Gen. Burgoyne and Gen. Lafayette, and there the body of Lord Howe was taken after his death at Ticonderoga. Gen. Schuyler was at first buried in a vault in Albany. That his remains might have been lost and forgotten altogether, is clearly shown by the fol- lowing letter preliminary to their final disposal :
Gen. Schuyler's Monument.
MRS. MILLER'S LETTER. 1 2]
RHINEBECK, N. Y., August 27, 1869.
THOMAS W. OrcoTT, Esq.,
Dear Sir :- Permit me to address these few lines to you on a sub- ject of exceeding interest to myself. At the funeral of the late Patroon Van Rensselaer I found, to my amazement, that the old family vault had been broken up, and to my greater surprise and regret learned that the contents had all been removed, without the slightest intimation to any member of our family; that metallic cases or boxes had been prepared for the crumbling coffins, and that in one of these the remains of Gen. Schuyler, his wife and son, John Bradstreet Schuyler, had been placed, and interred in the Van Rensselaer lot, a few feet from their centre monument, without note or mark as to the spot, save in the diagram of the lot! Hav- ing subsequently ascertained the truthfulness of this statement and having waited a proper time before bringing the subject to the notice of the family, permission has been given to disturb their lot in order to remove these sacred remains to a suitable place.
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