The old burial grounds

by Shel Haber

published August 3, 2003

If you follow the curving hill on Old Mountain Road in Upper Nyack just west of North Broadway, you will see a new historical marker for the Old Palmer Burial Ground. How it got there is a tale of historical detective work, determination, effort and a lot of grimy labor.

Known locally as the Old Upper Nyack Cemetery, its real name was uncovered in 1986 by Winston G. Perry, father of architect and historian Win Perry.

The senior Mr. Perry discovered the original name in a hand drawn inventory of gravestones done by James Christie in 1918.

Christie meticulously drafted & described each stone and inscription. One reads,

Here lyes the body of Benjamin Knapp Sener aged about 67 years. Another reads, In memory of Jacob Deeclark aged 1 year, 4 months and 27 days.

The senior Mr. Perry searched though piles of old courthouse records to uncover the deed for the burial ground. In 1837 James & Ann Palmer sold the cemetery property for $70 to twenty local citizens. The deed described the property as,

... bound southerly by the road running though the mountains.

One hundred fifty years later, Florence Katzenstein, then a new resident, took a walk up the same road.

"I came to a densely overgrown patch enclosed by a very old stone wall with faded painted words, Old cemetery, she recalls, "I entered the cemetery up some tippy rock steps and my gardener's heart fell in love. On my own, I pulled out some of the overgrowth. I came back often and cleared more and more brush."

At the time Ms. Katzenstein was working with Cornell Agricultural Extension for her Master Gardener's certification. A requirement was community service. "They suggested I do a flower planting at the court house in New City," she says, "but the cemetery was my idea of community service."

At a meeting of the Nyack Historical Society, Ms. Katzenstein described the burial ground and her efforts in clearing it. Soon volunteers joined the battle against poison ivy and biting deer ticks to clear the overgrown tombstones.

In his research Win Perry, president of Nyack Historical Society, found that under law, ownership of an abandoned cemetery reverts to the Township. No, said the assessor of Clarkstown, the cemetery belongs to Upper Nyack. When the former mayor of Upper Nyack declined all support, Mr. Perry took the matter back to Clarkstown's attorney. When, at length, Clarkstown's ownership was confirmed, Supervisor Charles Holbrook offered township help. Before long members of the Clarkstown DPW were at work on site. Among other services, they expertly restored the old rock steps.

With the tombstones uncovered and vegetation under control, Win Perry invited gravestone expert Gray Williams to have a look. On his visit, the expert spotted the work of two well known colonial stonecarvers, John Zuricher and Solomon Brewer. Zuricher had fled New York when the British occupied the city in 1776. Brewer lived in Orangetown to have easy access to Nyack's sandstone quarries. Some of the gravestones are carved with the winged head that is characteristic of Brewer's work. Mr. Williams pointed out that most of the surviving markers are of local sandstone; the more expensive imported marble markers eroded long ago. He added that the blue flowering vinca blooming in the cemetery may have been planted in colonial days.

Jeff Tangredi, a member of Boy Scout Troop 2, created a photo inventory of every stone in the cemetery as his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Tangredi is 17 and a resident of Upper Nyack.

$1200 was raised for a split rail fence to enclose the cemetery, built by the Boy Scouts and their parents.

With the help of Mary Ann Smith, the chair of the marker committee, the Nyack Historical Society placed a handsome marker at the entrance to the cemetery. Donated by Russ Woolley of Wright Bros. Realty, it reads in part,

Old Palmer Burying Ground

This burial ground was established circa 1737 on the farm of Cornelius Kuyper, ..... who between 1685 and 1687 with his family and slaves was the first settler in this area .....The graves of Kuyper and his wife Aeitje are marked CKD and AKD .... Stones commemorate three Revolutionary War veterans Major John Smith, Capt. Aury Smith and Corporal Philip Sarvent. A slave cemetery was nearby, its exact location unknown.

In this restoration is revealed the real history of our nation - the people who made America: farmers and slaves, militia men and store keepers, housewives and stone carvers. It is also about the men, women and young people of the present day, joyfully performing service of lasting value to their community because it's the right thing to do.

Interested in our historical markers? Contact Maryann Smith.