USA > New York > Kings County > Flatbush > The social history of Flatbush : and manners and customs of the Dutch settlers in Kings county > Part 10
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CHAPTER XVII.
FUNERALS.
THERE are certain fragrant flowers which have be- come associated with funerals from their constant use on such occasions ; we are sometimes inclined to turn away from them for the painful memories they bring. Still, the custom of placing floral offerings upon the coffin and on the grave is a very beautiful one, and it is to be regretted that, from their indiscriminate profusion, the sentiment that might be expressed is so frequently lost. Equally at the funeral of the aged saint and the little child, we find the cross, the anchor, the harp, or the crown, and these emblems of love, hope, faith, and victory have nearly lost their significance in their promiscuous use, and are too often objects of display rather than touching tributes of affection. But the practice of sending flowers as gifts in memoriam at the time of a funeral is so touching and beautiful that, even when carried to excess, it is like some lovely but un- trimmed vine, over which we express regret, not at its existence and growth, but rather that its wasteful luxu- riance has not been pruned and trained, so as to be kept within its proper limit.
There was a custom which formed part of the fu-
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FUNERALS.
neral preparations of the last century that was as baneful as this practice of sending flowers is beautiful, and which grew in proportionate rankness, like the noxious growth of some poisonous weed. We have reference to the amount of liquor provided by the family of the de- ceased at the time of a funeral. It seems almost incred- ible now that it should ever have been done, so entirely has the custom passed away, leaving nothing but the tradition of its existence and the corroborating bills among the items of funeral expenses.
When the country was thinly settled, and friends and relatives came from a distance to pay the last tribute of affection to the dead, some refreshment was necessary for them, and thence arose the custom of setting a table and preparing a bountiful supply of provisions for such as lived at a long distance. There was the free use of liquor on all occasions at that period ; the decanter was always filled on the sideboard, and it was considered inhospitable not to offer it to visitors. We need not wonder, then, that it was abundantly offered on wedding and funeral occasions.
The following is an exact copy of a bill of certain funeral expenses of a wealthy and highly respected resi- dent of Flatbush, whose death occurred in 1789 :
An account of Funeral Expenses of P. L-, Esq.
20 gallons good wine. 2 spirits.
1 large loaf of lump sugar.
doz. nutmegs.
¿ gros long pipes.
4 lbs. tobacco.
1} dozen of black silk handkerchiefs.
6 loaves of bread.
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
Probably the bread referred to was wheat bread pur- chased for the occasion ; the rye bread was baked in the house at the same time that the other provisions were made ready.
It is certainly significant of a marked change for the better that while in 1789 such articles were deemed ab- solutely necessary and respectable, not a single item on that bill would be called for on a similar occasion by those of the same social status at the present date.
It has been said that the very choicest wines were held in reserve for funeral purposes.
The funeral services were never held in the church in the past century, and rarely until after the middle of this; but always at the late residence of the de- ceased.
Upon the occasion of a death in the family, the sex- ton of the church was immediately sent for, and to him was committed the business of inviting the friends to the funeral. He went from house to house and person- ally gave an invitation to every family. If any one was known to be seriously ill, the distant approach of the sexton, as he proceeded on his melancholy errand, was as certain an indication of death as if he had already announced the summons to the funeral.
The news of a death and the invitation to friends at a distance were generally given through the assistance of the neighbors. Two or three young men volunteered for this purpose, and divided between themselves the routes through the different county towns to which they were requested to drive and deliver the announce- ment.
After the funeral a notice of the death was inserted in the weekly newspapers, there being no daily papers
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FUNERALS.
taken by the people in the country. The daily distri- bution of morning and evening papers is part of the progress of the last twenty years.
There was at that time no undertaker prepared to furnish all the requisites for a funeral. The cabinet- maker was called upon to make a coffin, and he came to measure the dead for that purpose. Some woman in the neighborhood was expected to make the shroud, if it was not in the house, ready made years before, as was often the case. This may seem remarkable, but it is nevertheless strictly true that most persons having reached middle life felt it to be their duty to see that they had a shroud made, so that in case of their sickness or sudden death their family would not be obliged to have it made in haste for them. We have known persons to have a shroud laid by for so many years that it be- came so discolored and yellow by age as to have it thrown aside and replaced by another.
The announcement of death in a house by a drapery hung upon the door-bell, of white for a child and of black for a grown person, was not customary until a recent period.
Funerals were very generally attended, to show re- spect to the deceased, so that the houses were on these occasions much crowded. On the morning of the funer- al, chairs were carried in from the houses of the fam- ilies living near, to seat the numerous relatives and friends who were expected. Long after the services of the undertaker provided the necessities in other direc- tions, the chairs were supplied by the neighbors, for the convenient camp-chairs which now it is a portion of the undertaker's duty to provide were then not known.
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
Neither the casket nor the oblong burial-case, with its heavy silver handles and rich mounting, was then in use. The coffins of those primitive days were more in the shape of the human frame, broad at the shoul- ders and tapering toward the foot. The pall-bearers, of whom there were eight, and who were usually friends of the same age as the deceased, carried the coffin out to the hearse, and from the hearse to the grave ; now, the coffins being so much heavier, that work is per- formed by paid assistants. In case of the death of elder- ly persons, white linen scarfs containing three yards of linen were presented to the pall-bearers. When scarfs were not presented, the gift consisted either of black gloves or black silk handkerchiefs. 6 The clergyman officiating at the burial service, and the family physi- cian who had been in attendance, were included in the number of those who received these gifts.
Not only were the ladies of the family clothed in crape upon the death of a friend, but the gentlemen wore heavy bands of crape upon their hats. This was not, as now, merely a close-fitting band, but, after en- circling the hat from crown to brim, a long piece of the same was left hanging to reach almost to the shoulder. As time passed on this was shortened by pinning it into a fold at the back, which fold stood out at a right angle to the hat, and, finally cutting off all superfluous length, it appeared only as the band of crape at present worn.
Interments were usually made the third day after death, as the preserving of the body on ice was not then practiced. A bier was used to carry the dead when the funeral was not too far from the village graveyard.
There was a strange, superstitious custom said to have been prevalent generations since. It has only sur-
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FUNERALS.
vived in its practice among the colored people in this neighborhood at the present day. All the looking- glasses in the house were carefully covered at the time of a death in the family. It is within the memory of those now living that this has been done.
There was another superstitious custom of which we have heard, but, as it was told by one who has since died at a great age, there is no means of ascertaining if it was very general, and how long ago it existed. For those who owned many hives of bees, it was usual, in case of a death in the family, to knock on the hives and inform the bees of the fact, "lest," said the nar- rator of this superstition, "the bees should leave."
It has been said, also, that a coffin was never placed near a mirror ; but this may have been an individual rather than a general superstition. The diffusion of light and knowledge has driven these old notions skulk- ing into the dark corners where they properly belong, and it is difficult now to trace them distinctly, even in their outlines.
1
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE GRAVEYARD OF THE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH.
DR. STRONG says that in 1698 a document was pre- pared containing certain laws and ordinances, among which were regulations and restrictions in regard to in- terments in the church, a practice which seems to have been quite general. Those whose friends could afford to ineur the extra expense connected with this privilege were laid to rest beneath the church in which they had worshiped.
"This accounts," says Dr. Strong, "for the fact that the graveyard contains so few tombstones of ancient date."
The custom of burying the dead under the church was common formerly in Holland as well as in Eng- land ; the Dutch settlers had therefore a precedent in the usage of their fathers for placing their dead within the inclosure of their place of worship, but they had also an additional reason for doing so in the security it afforded them at that period from molestation ; the In- dians were said, we know not with how much truth, not infrequently to disturb the graves.
There are very few tombstones which bear the date of Revolutionary times, because this part of the country was in a very disturbed state. and it was difficult to ob- tain the brown stone slabs which were then used.
GRAVEYARD OF REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 159
Long ago the consistory refused permission to dis- turb the ground immediately surrounding the church, on account of the bones which were disinterred in do- ing so, for the graves are far more numerous than the gravestones in this old burial-place, and the irregular sur- face of the ground indicates many an unmarked grave.
More recently the consistory resolved to refuse per- mission for interments in any part of the ground ; ex- ception was only to be made in case of elderly persons whose relatives were sleeping there, or for whom vacant spaces had been reserved at their own request.
A substantial iron railing has replaced the wooden fence which formerly inclosed the graveyard, and it is kept in good order. The weeds are not allowed to grow, or the grass to cover the mounds in tangled masses, as is sometimes the case in old burial-grounds.
This churchyard has been enlarged from time to time, as the passing away of successive generations re- quired more room, but it would not now be desirable to change its limits, as most of the Flatbush families have purchased plots in Greenwood Cemetery.
There are no monuments in this graveyard expres- sive of a desire for ostentatious display, and no inflated epitaphs upon the old tombstones exaggerating the vir- tues of the deceased. It is noticeable that a large ma- jority of these tombstones only give the name and age of those who sleep beneath ; sometimes this is so worded as to express a belief in immortality, or to the inscription is added some simple expression of faith and hope. There is a certain solemnity about these old Dutch words, a dignity that is impressive ; it may be the reflection of the graves which they overshadow, or it may be that the silence of the long years since
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
they were the written or the spoken language invests them with the somber grace and tenderness which char- acterizes the record of that which has for ever passed away.
" Hier leyt begraven " (" Here lies buried ") are the simple words that precede the name, and then the age follows ; or the wording is this: " Hier leydt het stoffe- lyk deel --- " (" Here lie the earthly remains of __ "). Sometimes the expression is, " Hier rust het lighaam " ("Here rests the body ") ; or it is thus: " In den Heere ontslapen " ("Sleeping in the Lord ").
These words, simple and unaffected, seem a pleasing contrast to the pompous eulogies and epitaphs which are so often found engraven on tombs.
" Gedachtenis," in remembrance, from gedacht, thought, is a word which frequently appears on these headstones.
The birth and death of a young girl are thus ex- pressed :
Zy kwam in de waereld -. Zy es wader uyt verhuys- den -. She came into the world (date) ; she removed to an- other home (date).
The ugly skeleton heads and cross bones which may be found in some old graveyards are not found here, but, instead, upon nearly every stone are carved a head and wings, supposed to represent a cherub ; more crude and grotesque representations it would be difficult to find.
Time, for so many years weaving through long sum- mers her green coverlet over the beds of the silent sleepers, has also been slowly hiding these hideous faces under her mosses and lichens, until they seem to ap- peal, through their very indistinctness, to our forbear-
GRAVEYARD OF REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 161
ance. So we will not criticise the skill that carved, but acknowledge the love that decorated with tender- ness, a memorial to the husband or to the "huys- vrouw " who here in " den Heere ontslapen."
Some of the inscriptions are scarcely legible from the crumbling of the brown stone and the growth of moss and lichens upon the lettering.
The following are copies of the Dutch headstones. Should mistakes appear, they must be attributed to the defacement of time upon the yielding surface of the gravestones :
Hier leyt begraven het lighaem von Hendrick Suydam, overleden den 9de July 1805 oude zynde 73 jaren, 3 m., en 20 d.
Hier is begraven het lighaem von Adrieantie Hubbard Huysvrouw von de overleden Adriaen Voorhees, overleden de 23ste dag von July 1810. In het 80 Jaar haar levens.
Hier leyt het lichaem von Gerrit Lefferts overleden den 14 May 1773. . .. [illegible].
Hier leght t' lighaam von Rebecca Emons huysvrouw von Hendrick Suydam geboren 1729. Sept. . overleden Oct 1797.
Hier leyt Begraven t' lighaam von Englebert Lott, Sen. Overleyden de 17 daag von Nov. 1779. . . . Out synde 60 jaar.
Hier leydt begraven het lighaam van Marytie Ditmas huys- vrouw von de overleden Englebert Lott, Sen. overleyden de 27 dag von April 1797.
Hier leyt het Lichaam von Abraham Lott Overleden op den 29 July 1754. In t' 70. .
Hier leyt begraven het Lichaam von Hendrick Suydam over- leden den 16 May 1792 oudt zinde 60 Jaaren 3 maanden en 7 dagen.
Hier rust het lighaam von Maria Amermon huysvrouw von Hendrick Suydam, geboren May 29, 1755 overleden Nov. 14 1795 out synde 40 jaaren 5 maanden, 16 dagen.
11
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
Hier Rust het lighaam von Leffert Martense geboren in het jaer 1725 den 17ste Janunare. Overleden den 6de September 1802 oudt synde 77 Jaaren 7 maanden de 20 dagen.
Hier leyt het lighaam von Hilletie Van der Bilt huysvrouw von Leffert Martense overleden 26 Sept anno 1779 oude zynde 58 jaaren.
Hier leydt het lighaam von Adriantie Ryder, Huysvrouw von Adrian Martense Es geboren in het jaar 1747 den 2 Feb. Es overleden den 27 May 1776.
Hier leyt begraven het lichaam van Joris Martense, Geboren Mey 27st 1724 O. S. Overleden Mey 23st 1791 oudt zynde 66 Jaren 11 maanden, en 15 dagen.
Hier Lyt het lighaam van Rem Martense Geboren Den 12st von Deer 1695. Gestorven den 14de von June 1760. Out zynde 64 jaaren 5 maanden en 21 dagen.
Hier rust het lighaam van Garret Martense geboren den 30 Jannuwary 1745 overleden den 1 June 1808 oudt synde 63 jaaren 4 maanden en 2 dagen.
Hier leyt begraven het lichaam von Adrian Martense ge- boren den 9de December A. D. 1742 overleden den 13 Mareh A. D. 1817 oudt zynde 71 jaaren 3 maanden 7 dagen.
Hier leyt het lichaam van Jannetie Monfoort huysvrouw von Adrian Martense overleden den 28 dagh Oct. A. D. 1804 en es geboren den 27 dagh Dec. A. D. 1750.
Hier leyt het lichaem von Joris Martense Overleden den 9de dagh von Nov. A. D. 1804 en es geboren de Sde dagh von Maert A. D. 1737.
Hier rust het stoffelick diel von Philipus de son von Johannes & Jannetie Ditmas overleden den 20 October 1797 oude zinde een jaer ses maanden 13 dagen.
Hier leydt Begraven het lichaem von Jeremyas Von Der Bilt overleden den 12ª dag von November 1785 oudt zynde 70 jaer.
Tot gedachtenis van Leffert Lefferts die geboren es den 20ste February 1723 en overleden oude zynde 77 jaaren 7 maanden 4 daagen.
Hier leyt het lichaam von Catharina Vander Veer Huys-
GRAVEYARD OF REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 163
vrouw von Jacob Lefferts. Zy es overleden den 2ª Nov. en t' yaer 1773. . . . [illegible].
Hier leydt het stoffelyk deel von Adriantie Lefferts dochter von Jacob Lefferts. Haar ziel zy hemels waarts heeft Begraven Zy leyt hier zonder pyn De ziel is in haar rust. Zy kwam in de waereld den 3 Maert 1761. Zy es wader uyt verhuystden 2 Miey 1775. Memento Mori. U. V. S.
Hier leyt begraven het lighaam van Cornelius Vanderveer. Geboren den 5de Dec 1731 O. S. Overleden den 13 de Feb. 1801 oude zynde 72 jaaren 1 maand en 21 dagen.
Hier leyt Begraven het lighaam von Jannetie Wyckoff, Huys- vrouw von Cornelius Vanderveer overleden den 31 Oct 1774 oude zynde 73 jaer . . . . [illegible].
Tot Gedachtenis van Femmetia Vanderveer Overleden den 3ª June 1801 oude synde 79 jaaren 7 maanden en 3 dagen.
Hier leyt begraven het Lichaam von Cornelius Vanderveer Overleden de 22ste Jan, anno 1782 Oudt zynde 85 jaren . . . .
Hier leyt het lighaam von Gilijam Cornel geboren den 238te Augustus 1679 Gestorven den 1ste Augustus 1754 Oude zynde 74 jaren 11 maanden en 9 dagen.
Tot gedachtenis von Jacobus Van Deventer overleden den 14de Nov. 1799 oude zynde 67 jaaren 5 maanden en 24 daagen.
Hier leyt begraven het lichaam von Michael Stryker geboren den 1 March 1725. O. S. overleyden den 26 September 1807 oude zynde 84 jaaren 6 maande 21 daagen.
Hier leyt begraven het lighaam von Johanna Stryker huys- vrouw von de overleden Michael Stryker geboren den 13 Feb. 1733 O. S. overleden den 1 Oct. 1807 oudt zynde 74 jaaren, 7 maanden, en 18 daagen.
Hier leyt begraven het lighaam von Femmetia Schenck huys- vrouw von Peter Stryker geboren den 29 July 1740 Overleden den 14 Dec 1814 oude zynde 75 jaaren 4 maanden en 16 daagen.
Hier leyt begraven het lighaam von Peter Stryker geboren den 22 December 1730 overleden den 14 December 1814 oud zynde 84 yaaren 11 maanden en 22 daagen.
Hier leyt het lighaam von Seytie Suydam huysvrouw von
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
de overleden Evert Hegeman overleden den 11 July 1802 oude 76 jaaren 9 maanden en 13 dagen.
Hier leydt het Lichaam von Jan Leffertse Jun. overleyden den 28 October, Anno 1776 oude zynde 19 jaer 10 maanden. 13 dagen.
Hier rust het lichaam van Jan Lefferts in den Heere ont- slaapen October 20 1776 oude synde 57 jaaren 7 maanden en 4 dagen.
Hier est begraven het lichaam van Sara Martense huysvrouw van Jan Lefferts overleden in het 36 jaar . . . . [illegible].
Hier leyt het Lichaam van Peter Lefferts overleden den 13 March 1774 oude zynde 94 jaaren.
Hier rust het lichaam van Peter Lefferts geboren Dec 27. 1753 in den Heere ontslapen Oct 7. 1791. Voorbeeldig in syn leven heest hy de welvoort van Landt, en Kerk bevorderd: en in syn laaste uuren (die hy met lydzaamheyd heest vervult) syn geist Godt aanbevolen in de hope van een salige opstandinge.
The following is the inscription upon the brown stone over the grave of Dominie Rubel :
Tot gedachtenis van Joh® Caspa Rubel V. D. M. Geboren den 6 Maert O. S. 1719. Overleden den 19 Meii 1797.
In "Furman's Notes " we read that there is in this graveyard a tombstone of some Helen Vanderbilt, the wife of a Martense, which cost £10, a sum at that time equal to the year's salary of the county clerk of Kings County. We have found nothing that answers to this description, unless it be the following :
Hier leyt het lichaam von Hilletie VanD'Bilt, huysvrouw van Leffert Martense overleden den 26 Sep' Anno 1779 oude synde 58 jaar.
This is, however, only a neat granite headstone, with nothing to indicate that it was costly, unless it might be that, at that period, gray granite slabs were rare. All the old tombstones are of brown stone ; some of
GRAVEYARD OF REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 165
the older ones slowly disintegrate, so that it is difficult to trace the lettering ; others split lengthwise. Time has set his strongest workman here; the winter rain- drops lodge in the crevices, and the hammer of the frost king enters after them. These old memorials will not much longer withstand the defacement; they are yielding to Time the conqueror, more slowly, but none the less surely, than those whose names they vainly strive to commemorate. We give a few inscriptions in English of a later date.
There are four large white marble tombs in this old graveyard, two of which are over the graves of John Vanderbilt and his wife, and two are over the graves of his daughter and son-in-law, N. R. Cowenhoven.
On the tomb of John Vanderbilt, who died in 1796, in the fifty-seventh year of his age, is the following in- scription :
He was a merchant of distinguished probity, a real patriot, an affectionate relative, a sincere friend, and a worthy man. Blessed with affluence, he displayed a spirit of munificence in promoting the interests of his country, of religion, and virtue. The moderation and conciliatory disposition which accompanied and conducted his virtues secured him through life an esteem almost unrivaled, and rendered his death a great loss to the public, and to his family irreparable.
On the tomb of N. R. Cowenhoven is the following inscription :
Sacred to the memory of Nicholas R. Cowenhoven, Esquire. Born April 14, 1768. Departed this life Aug. 25, 1809, aged 41 years, 4 months, 11 days.
Calm conscience first his soul surveyed
And recollected toils endeared his shade,
Till Nature called him to the general doom, And Virtue's sorrows dignified his tomb.
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
Beside this is the tomb of his wife, on which the following is inscribed :
In memory of Catharine Cowenhoven, the beloved wife of Nicholas R. Cowenhoven, of Brooklyn, by whom her earthly remains are here deposited. She was born Oct. 3, 1768. Ami- able in manners, gentle in deportment, affectionate to her rela- tives, and kind to all, her virtues acquired her universal esteem. She long and patiently endured a complication of bodily in- firmities, and exchanged a mortal existence for an immortal life Aug. 23, 1801.
Here lies the body of Philip Nagle, Esq. Born 1st January O. S. 1717, and died the 11 of May N. S. 1797, aged 80 years and 4 months.
Behold and see as you pass by, As you are now so once was I. As I am now you soon will be : Prepare for death and follow me.
The name of Philip Nagle appears frequently in Dr. Strong's history ; there are none of that name at pres- ent in Flatbush.
To the memory of John Hegeman, who departed this life the 16th of Sept. 1769, aged 66 years. This stone was erected by his friend Andrew Gautier as a testimony of his regard.
Explanatory of the above, we remember to have been told, when a child, that John Hegeman was never married, and left his property to his friend Gautier, who, however, only reserved sufficient to erect this stone "as a testimony of his regard," and returned the re- mainder to the brothers and sisters of the deceased, who were, he thought, in need of it. It was an unselfish act, to which we would pay the tribute of this notice.
Beyond the western boundary of the graveyard,
GRAVEYARD OF REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 167
separated by the high fence, is a small inclosure not much larger than the grave itself, where lies buried a colored woman by the name of Flora, who lived to a great age in the family of Mrs. A. L. Loyd. The fol- lowing inscription is upon the tombstone :
Sacred to the memory of Flora, a colored woman, who died Jan. 5, 1826, aged 104 years. Strong faith ... trusting in her Saviour . . . [illegible].
Two other colored persons, Diana and Cato, are buried in this inclosure, who were also domestics in the same family.
A small building, known as the guard-house, for- merly stood on the northern boundary of the grave- yard. Near the close of the last century, or about the beginning of this, some of the graves had been dis- turbed in this and the neighboring villages, and in con- sequence great excitement had prevailed ; and an act of the Legislature was passed in 1796, authorizing the in- habitants of Flatbush to establish a night watch. For this reason a building was erected, in which watch was kept for a time over new-made graves.
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