USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The Albany Rural Cemetery > Part 7
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And now, with the above explanation, I proceed to express the object of this note addressed to you as president of the board of the Albany Cemetery. As the granddaughter of Gen. Schuyler, I do most earnestly desire that a plat of ground should be presented by the board of trustees as a tribute of respect to the memory of Gen. Schuyler, upon which lot I may erect a handsome and appropriate monument, and by this united action preserve to succeeding gener- ations both the name and place where rest the remains of this great and good man of revolutionary fame.
In making known to you my wishes, I am actuated by the one desire to do the greatest honor to Gen. Schuyler, to have the pres- tige of a gift of respect to his memory, and, as it were, a voluntary expression from citizens of his native city and birth-place to his patriotic worth; and, if I am not mistaken, this opportunity will be cordially accepted, and the beautiful Cemetery will add another object of interest to the admiring public.
With respect, allow me to subscribe myself
Yours truly, MARY R. MILLER.
(Mrs. W. Starr Miller, Rhinebeck, N. Y.)
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THE ALBANY RURAL. CEMETERY.
At the annual meeting of the trustees held in January, I870, the following resolutions offered by Judge Ira Ilarris were adopted :
The name and the fame of Gen. Philip Schuyler have become his- toric. The memory of no one of the illustrious dead, whose virtues or whose valor have lent lustre to the early annals of Albany, is more rightly revered. In the darkest days of the revolution his steady faith in the cause of liberty never faltered, and ever ready was his response to the call of his country, with his purse, bis sword and his services. In the cause which he espoused he deemed no sacrifices too great. Personal wrongs were endured in silence, unjust criticism, most galling when directed against the professional conduct of a soldier, earnest, loyal, skilled in arms, evoked from him no indignant response; flagrant injustice, displayed in the most offensive form, could not for a moment provoke him to intrude upon the public his private wrongs while his beloved country was in danger. But in heroic silence as to self this true patriot, this loyal soldier marched grandly onward to his duties, "stifling his resentment until his country was in safety," and if perchance he fell upon the battlefield leaving to posterity his vindication. Nobly has he been vindicated !
In the dim galleries of the past, where now hang the portraits which commemorate the good, the gifted and the brave who "pledged their lives, their fortunes and their honor " to the cause of liberty in the stormiest days of the American Revolution, no one more deservedly challenges admiration than does that of him who only asks of us a grave. Among all those grand actors in the heroic history of our country, whose shadowy outlines are now but faintly visible through the smoke of revolution and the haze of an intervening century, surely none should be more proudly recognized by the citizens of Albany than Gen. Philip Schuyler.
A statesman, a hero, a patriot, he has consecrated our ancient city, and has bequeathed to this home of his childhood the rich heritage of his manhood's fame. It is fitting then that his memory should be cherished by the institutions of the country which he loved so well and for whose prosperity he had sacrificed so much.
It is eminently fitting that this beautiful city of the dead, so near
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THE CORNING PLAT.
to the home where he dwelt while living, and where slumber the descendants of friends and neighbors who stood shoulder to shout- der in the contest of the past, should furnish for his remains a rest- ing place; and it is, therefore, hereby unanimously
Resolved, That as a tribute of respect to the memory of Gen. Philip Schuyler, by the trustees of the Albany Cemetery Associ- ation, a suitable plat of ground be selected within the grounds of the Cemetery in which may be deposited the mortal remains of Gen. Philip Schuyler of revolutionary fame.
Resolved, That such lot, when selected, be dedicated and set apart for such purpose, and that notice thereof be communicated to such of his descendants as may be desirous to erect thereupon a monument to commemorate his name and to direct the footsteps of true pilgrim worshipers of valor to the grave where " a hero sleeps."
Resolved, That the selection of a plat of ground suitable for such be referred to Mrs. W. Starr Miller and the standing committee of the Cemetery, who are hereby appointed a special committee for such purpose.
Resolved, That these proceedings be published and a copy sent to Mrs. Miller of Rhinebeck, N. Y.
By order of the Board.
THOMAS W. OLCOTT. President.
CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN.
Secretary. ALBANY, January 11, 1870.
The Corning plat (31) is the largest private property in the Cemetery. It is circular in form and is the crown of Prospect hill. The great cruciform bronze sarcophagus is in memory of Erastus Corning, the elder, one of Albany's most distinguished merchants and capitalists, to which position he rose from a poor boy who sold oranges in the streets of Troy. Mr. Corning was the first president of the New York Central railroad ; he was director and a large
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
stockholder in the Michigan Central, and director and one of the originators of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. lle was mayor of the city of Albany, a regent and vice- chancellor of the state board of regents, and a member of congress for three terms. He died April 9, 1872. His son and namesake, Hon. Erastus Corning, is the third and present president of the Albany Cemetery association.
The massive polished granite cross on this lot isto the memory of Gertrude Tibbits Corning. On the arms are inscribed "Via Lucis," on the upright, "Via Crucis." Beautiful trees adorn this most sightly lot in the Cemetery.
The granite monument of Dr. Alexander Thompson (29). excellent of its kind, is near here, and further along, on Mount Auburn avenue, is the Daniel S. Lathrop tomb of granite, lighted with illuminated windows. Mr. Lathrop, the son of Dyer Lathrop, was a well-known business man of Albany, who died in 1883. He was a member of the car- wheel manufacturing firm of George Il. Thacher & Co., and Hon. John Boyd Thacher has written a graceful tribute to his memory. Mr. Lathrop was a trustee of the Cemetery.
The Pruyn lot (30) attracts the admiring attention of all who appreciate refinement and good taste. Besides the beautiful headstones which terminate in crosses, there are two ample and most beautifully lettered tablets of red Scotch granite placed horizontally over the graves of Gen. and Mrs. Robert Hewson Pruyn. Gen. Pruyn served in the various capacities of corporation counsel, member and also speaker of the assembly, adjutant-general, and
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THE ANGEL OF THE SEPULCHRE.
United States minister to Japan. He played an important part in Eastern diplomacy and in securing American rights in the land of the tycoon and the mikado. Mr. Pruyn was president of the New York state constitutional con- vention of 1872, and at the time of his death, February 26, 1882, was president of the National Commercial Bank of Albany.
The Maurice E. Viele plat has as yet no monument.
It is the generally accepted opinion that in Palmer's Angel of the Sepulchre mortuary art has reached the highest development which it has attained in any age or in any country, and this idea has made the Albany Rural Cemetery a Mecca to which pilgrim lovers of the beautiful journey from afar with expectant eyes and eager anticipa- tions.
They are never disappointed.
It is not to be expected, of course, that any ideal crea- tion will be interpreted by all alike, and there is a differ- ence of opinion as to the expression to be read in the Angel's face similar to that heard in the observations upon the Sistine Madonna, or in the commentaries upon the character of Hamlet; but in all three instances the intelli- gent critic realizes that he is contemplating a sublime masterpiece of creative art.
To begin with : The theme was worthy of the artist. Read your Bible through and between its lids where is the incident or passage recorded, not merely so full of promise,
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
but so overwhelming in its assurance of the Christian's hope of immortality as the one here represented ? In the hour of the deepest gloom, when even the body of their Lord seemed lost to them forever, behold the Heavenly visitant appears to the weeping women and thrills their souls with the question and declaration which from that hour have rung down the ages, the most welcome words that ever reached a stricken mourner's heart:
" Why seek ye the living among the dead ? lle is not here, but is risen."
Of all texts of Scripture this surely is the most appro- priate for inscription above the remains of those whom we have loved and lost. Forever and forever the great truth, so full of comfort, gathers fresh meaning and new force with every closing coffin, with every rounded grave.
For the sculptor it was an inspiration. How should it be embodied?
If any one will recall the art of twenty-five years ago he will recognize the fact that angelhood had become singu- larly demoralized. An angel meant a female figure, of course - much spiritualized, of course, and weakened accordingly, till there was little left but sloping shoulders, ilat chest, a featureless face, impossible wings and a Grecian gown. So firmly impressed had this idea of an angel become upon men who ought to have known better, that a distinguished divine who happened in at the studio where Mr. Palmer was at work, actually took him to task for rep- resenting an angel in the shape of a man, and incautiously asked for his authority. The reply was that there was no
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THE ANGEL OF THE SEPULCHRE.
inspired authority for anything else; that from the angel who wrestled all night with the patriarch Jacob to the angel seen standing in the sun by the evangelist John, there is not a woman in all the heavenly throng. And of this angel in particular (if, as is allowable, we adopt a harmonized version of the four gospels), it is said " His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers did quake and become as dead men."
Here then was the idea; an angel, a man angel; a celes- tial man! The original design of a figure suggested although not specified by the terms of the contract, "not less than four feet high," was thrown aside, and instead of a girl, and instead of a dwarf, there was to be a superb being seven feet in stature. The stone which was such a mountain to the women, he has rolled away from the mouth of the tomb and has just seated himself upon it -- alighted, would seem the proper word, so full of airy grace is the pose; the two Marys approach, Mary Magda- lene, the most cruelly slandered woman in all human history -and the other Mary. Before their white lips can syllable a single word the Vision propounds the question : "Why seek ye the living among the dead ?" and again, before they can collect their scattered senses he adds the amazing declaration: " Ile is not here, but is risen."
One can imagine the wondrous scene in the breaking dawn of that first Lord's day morning on the hills of Palestine-the odor of the forgotten spices mingling with the fragrance of the unheeded flowers, as in the garden of
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
the resurrection the two women, "last at the cross, now first at the sepulchre," with clasped hands and transfixed eyes, drink in the beatific vision.
The face of the Angel is of wondrous beauty -etherial- ized, but strangely and strongly human -with an intel- lectual brow, a forceful nose, full loving lips, an exquisitely moulded chin - a face embodying the strength of a god with the tenderness of woman, and through all, shining the glory of eternal youth, unsullied by care, unspotted by sin-a face that has looked unscathed upon the glory of the Infinite. The primary meaning of the word angel is sug- gested by such a face-it is that of a Messenger, and a mes- senger of the Most High, bringing tidings, the immense sig- nificance of which he is fully and sympathetically aware. Such an errand is not entrusted to a weakling ; there must be power behind it, power to convey, to enforce, to con- vince ; and power in noblest form is written in a face as strong as imagination can conceive, and still retain the harmonious beauty of the features.
The position is no more careless than it is studied. One unshod foot is advanced a little below and farther than the other ; the hands, shapely and beautiful, are naturally placed, one palm downward upon the knee, the other clenched and pressed hard against the leg, denoting the intensity of interest which the messenger himself feels in the great mission on which he is sent. As is the case in all the works of Michael Angelo, there is nothing detached, no finger pointing upwards, to be broken off by accident. The single garment is a marvel of grace, seamless and undi-
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The Angel of the Sepulchre. By permission of Erastus Dow Palmer. ]
THE ANGEL OF THE SEPULCHRE. 129
vided, caught under the neck and falling over a form anatomically as perfect as the Apollo Belvidere. Every detail is exquisitely carved, even to the nails upon the toes. The hair, long and flowing, is parted on one side, and falls back upon the shoulders from a head quite unequalled in modern sculpture. The throat is full and rounded ; the neck like a column of ivory. Most wonder- ftil of all is the management of the wings which seem as mtich in place as arms or legs, while their feathery light- ness is an effect in marble almost incredible.
It is a curious optical delusion that the figure seems smaller when close to it, than it does at a distance, but nowhere does it appear to be as large as it really is -the result of its harmonious proportions.
The London Art Journal ( 1871), in connection with a steel engraving of this statue, said :
" The figure is of heroic size, and is a production of great artistic power. Exception may, perhaps, be taken to the face as too stern, and not angelic, and yet is it grand in expression and very beautiful. He is seated on the stone in an attitude of dignified repose. his flowing locks reaching down over the upper portion of the wings, and his entire form covered by a garment disposed in its folds and setting with remarkable grace. There is no conventional treatment here; it is the outcome of an original and earnest mind, a statue which the greatest living sculptor might acknowledge with pride as his own."
A work of art like this belongs to no one man, to no community, to no country - it belongs to the world, and the world has too few such treasures not to prize it as it deserves.
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THE ALBANY RURMI. CEMETERY.
East of the Angel is the handsome, costly and richly traced cottage monument of James A. Wilson (31), with niche in which stands a figure of Faith. It was erected in 1870 to the memory of an Albany merchant and is one of the last commissions executed by Launitz, the famous sculptor. Still further to the left, as we look toward the river, is the granite sarcophagus of Francis H. Tows ( 31 ).
Opposite the Angel of the Sepulchre is the granite sar- cophagus ( 30 ) to the memory of Dr. John Swinburne, one of the most notable physicians Albany has ever known. Called sometimes the "fighting doctor," because of the tenacity with which he defended his rights and his opin- ions, he treated thousands of cases gratuitously, main- taining for years a free dispensary, at which more than 60,000 people were treated, 25,000 cases being of a surgical nature. He rendered important hospital service during the war. He was appointed health officer of the port of New York in 1864, and Swinburne Island hospital is named after him. During the Franco-Prussian war he had charge of the American Ambulance in Paris and was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor by the French government, and also received the Red Cross of Geneva. lle was elected mayor of Albany and also congressman.
Rev. Dr. Henry Darling is buried near here. His stone records the fact that he was pastor of the Fourth Presby- terian church in Albany from 1863 to 1881, and that he was president of Hamilton college from 1881 to 1891, the date of his death, and bears the appropriate text, " I have kept the faith." The Charles Godfrey Saxe sarcophagus
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GEORGE DAWSON.
and the Liscomb marble cross further adorn this section.
Cypress Water is a pretty little pear-shaped lakelet, with an island in the centre. Previous to 1870 it was little else than a swamp, but the skill of Superintendent Thomas has converted it into one of the most attractive features of the landscape. It was formerly largely supplied from the ravine by a hydraulic ram, but later on two or three little streams were made to add their tribute to springs near at hand and the lake is now as natural in its source of supply as it is in appearance.
Near its stem end. if we continue to liken its shape to that of a pear, will be found, in section 33, a grave with the word " Father " and the initials " G. D."-little, indeed, to indicate the resting place of one of the ablest editors of his day. In the Tabernacle Baptist church in Albany a polished granite tablet erected by the Hon. Hamilton Harris thus portrays the character of the man who is nameless here :
GEORGE DAWSON Born March 14, 1813, Died February 17. 1883. His renown as a Journalist. Author and Party Leader: His eminence as a citizen and statesman ; His life of probity and spiritual elevation, Commanded the admiration of all who value goodness and greatness. His labor and munificence in its establishment and maintenance endeared him to this church, in which he illustrated the nobility of an exalted Christian manhood. Private affection placed this tablet to commemorate his virtues and worth.
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
Mr. Dawson was born in Scotland. He came to Albany as foreman of the Albany Evening Journal when it was established in 1830 by Thurlow Weed. From 1831 to 1836 he was the paper's legislative reporter; after that he edited papers in Rochester and Detroit, returning to the Journal as associate editor in 1846. He remained such till 1862, when Mr. Weed retiring, Mr. Dawson became senior editor and proprietor, which position he held for most of the time till 1877, and again from 1880 until 1882. He was for six years postmaster of Albany and all his life a devoted disciple of Izaak Walton, both in angling itself and in writing about it.
In the same lot with his father rests Major George S. Dawson, of the ed N. V., who died December 6, 1864, aged 26, from wounds received in battle before Petersburg. " Ile gave his life to perpetuate the Union, and to secure freedom to the enslaved." Post 63, Grand Army of the Republic, honored itself by adopting the name of this brave young soldier.
Howard Carroll, colonel of the 105th N. Y., is buried near here.
In the vicinity of Cypress Water the following artistic monuments will be seen : The J. W. Van Valkenburg, of red granite ; the Mills granite shaft ; the Packard block of uncut granite, and the G. W. Packard sarcophagus ; the Wiltsie granite shaft ; the sarcophagus to Dr. Jephtha R. Boulware, a much esteemed physician and surgeon ; the Douglass cross of polished granite, broad and very hand- some -all in section 30.
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THE GIBBONS-MATHER MEMORIAL.
The Kibbee memorial, in the same section, is surmounted with a figure of a woman in deep contemplation, and hav- ing her hand on a wreath. The pose is natural and grace- ful, and the monument is much admired.
The Fort monument of Hallowell and Westerly granite (28) is of the Italian cottage style, and is crowned with a figure of Hope pointing upward. The Hascy monument bears an angel with a trumpet.
Particularly worthy of admiration is the Godfrey memo- rial beautifully embodying in granite the idea of Religion consoling Sorrow. One figure is bowed in weeping on the knee of the other, who holds a Bible and is looking upward. The positions, the expression, the drapery are all natural ; the whole treatment is dignified, artistic and satis- fying. There are few better designs in the Cemetery, and few better executed.
The Brainard granite sarcophagus and that of Dr. Rens- selaer Jewett come next and then the Royal Bancroft Gothic memorial.
On the Gibbons-Mather lot stands a memorial which will bear the closest study and the most intelligent criti- cism. The design is a cross, eight feet by six at the base, and twenty-one feet high. It consists of three bases, two plain, and the third ornamented with a delicately carved moulding of conventional leaves so unobtrusive that the beholder does not feel that an effort has been made to produce it. Immediately above the base is the die, one of
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THE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
the first ever designed of a spherical shape, plain and mas- sive, bearing the family record. Above the die is a large panel, which gives a footing for the cross, and contains a most artistic carving of poppies and poppy leaves, the emblem of sleep, while upon a band at the foot of this panel are the words, in rich old church text : " He giveth His beloved sleep." On the other three sides respectively the legend is continued, " Looking unto Jesus;" " There remaineth a rest ;" " Until the Lord come."
The shaft of the cross is decorated by a carved foliation of "annunciation lilies," which although originally drawn for bronze has become a marvel of accuracy and delicacy, even in the stubborn granite, while the sides are worked in the shape of engaged columns with richly carved cap- itals, and finials where the calla and its leaves stand out in perfection, with a soft effect, as though moulded in clay rather than cut from the solid rock. Above these columns stretch out the arms of the cross, decorated with conven- tional carvings, a crown of thorns, beautifully executed, standing out from the centre. The material is a porphyritic granite of a pale gray, with just a faint pinkish tinge, and with a resisting power of 1,900 pounds to the square inch.
This beautiful design stands on the lot of Joseph Mather and his son-in-law George W. Gibbons. Captain Mather, as he was familiarly known, was descended from the distinguished colonial family of Mathers. £ He was for many years connected with the towing interests of the river, and later was in charge of the Central railroad's affairs at the important station of West Albany, in which
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GIBBONS-MATHER.
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NEAK CYPRESS WATER.
position $170,000,000 belonging to that corporation passed through his hands leaving them pure and clean. Captain Mather died in 1884, respected and regretted by all who knew him.
The headstones on this lot are also worthy of careful study as specimens of both originality and good taste, a combination not altogether common.
The James E. Craig lot ( 27) is marked with a high cot- tage monument of pink granite, very handsome and artistic. The Albert Wing monument carries a female figure with a most expressive face, holding in her arms a book and a cross. The Hinckel figure of Hope is much admired and the lot bears marks of careful and loving attention. The Luke monument of pink granite is here, also the McGarvey granite shaft approached by handsome granite steps. In the rear of these plats will be found the lots of Dr. Robert H. Sabin, Isaac La Fevre and Judge Elisha P. Hurlbut.
Going back to Cypress avenue, at the other side of the little lake. we note section 30, the modest stones on the lot of Dr. Albert Vander Veer, and of the late Dr. Horatio N. Snow. Dr. Snow did good service in the army as sur- geon, was health officer of the district of Savannah in 1865, and in 1875 came to Albany where he was active in public affairs as well as in the practice of his profession, till cut short by death.
The heavy horizontal polished granite cross of John F. Roy is in section 28; also the pretty white marble head-
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THIE ALBANY RURAL CEMETERY.
stone on the lot of John F. Shafer; and the John Clinton DeWitt and Simons sarcophaguses are near at hand.
Facing on Mount Auburn avenue, section 29, is the Root family vault of the most substantial granite, very neatly constructed, the doors being highly polished slabs. The present figure is to be replaced with one from Italy.
The Samuel L. Munson lot (28) nearly opposite, has no monument. The John Patton light granite is noticeable as is the P. K. Dederick vault.
We have now reached what is known as the Six Points, at the south-west corner of the occupied part of the Cem- etery. On one of the points or corners is the lot of Dr. S. B. Ward ( 28) containing a pink Westerly granite sarcophagus, highly polished, and of a design which for simplicity without meagerness, is not excelled by any in the Cemetery. It has character, is sufficient but not obtrusive, is enduring and in perfect good taste.
On another corner is the lot of Mr. G. A. Van Allen ( 122), president of the First National Bank, as yet without a monument, but marked with a great floral bed in the shape of an anchor.
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