Fact and Fancy
are intertwined in the story of the oldest cemetery in Wantagh,the Jackson
Cemetery, which lies just north of St.Frances de Chantal Church on Wantagh
Avenue.Sixty-three graves are recorded in this cemetery, about half of those
are Jacksons, while most of the others are the graves of Seamans & ALTHAUSEs.
Not far from the Jackson Cemetery stands one of the oldest houses in Wantagh,
that being the home of Captain Richard JACKSON, who commanded the Jerusalem
Company of the Queens County Militia in the Revolutionary War.
From that house is told the story of a Revolutionary War romance, that of
Richard's daughter Jane falling in love with a Hessian soldier named John
ALTHAUSE & eloping with him. The story says that a black slave carried
Jane on his back across the Jerusalem swamp in the back of the house to a
spot where ATthause waited with two good horses. Jane's father pursued them
towards East Rockaway & he caught them just after they were married there
but before they could hire a boat for a honeymoon on the bay. Her father
forgave them on the condition that John would give up his Hessian uniform
& become an American patriot. John agreed to do so, & they all returned
to Wantagh.
Is this story fact or fancy? Many believe that there were no Hessian soldiers
in this area, & that John ALTHAUSE was a Tory of German descent. The
ages of the John & Jane ALTHAUSE who are buried in the Jackson cemetery
(if they are the same John & Jane) do not confirm the story: they were
too young.
Another Revolutionary story -- which is probably based on fact is that of
a raiding party from a British man-of-war anchored in Great South Bay forcing
its way into the home of Parmenas Jackson in 1781, demanding money. Jackson
refused to tell where the money was, and the British tortured him until his
wife gave the British the money to save his life. But her efforts were in
vain, because he died shortly after. Although there are no records to show
it, he is believed to be interred in the Jackson Cemetery.
The only authenticated burial of a Revolutionary War soldier in the cemetery
is that of Thomas JACKSON, who served in the 4th Line and the Second New
York Regiment. Just before the Battle of Long Island, he received bounty
money for his men to guard the stock of Queens County so that the British,
who were about to invade & occupy Long Island, would not capture &
slaughter the stock. He was also en- gaged in the capture of Fort St. George
on November 30, 1780. Jackson was born in 1754 & died in 1842. He owned
the property where the Wantagh Public Library now stands & lived on the
east side of the Jerusalem River.
Most famous of those buried in the cemetery is General Jacob Seaman JACKSON,
who served in the War of 1812 as a Brigadier General.
Many of the other Jacksons prospered with the good farm lands of the area,
although hard times followed the Revolutionary War, as the British had depleted
the livestock, wood supply, & buildings. Grist and saw mills were built,
employing many in the area.
The local families gradually began to use other cemeteries in which to bury
their dead, with the last recorded burial in the Jackson Cemetery being that
of Jackson A. Seaman, who died January 20, 1921, although there are reports
of later burials.
PRESERVATION
OF JACKSON CEMETERY
The Town of Hempstead fenced in
the cemetery some yrs ago and mows the grass. The Wantagh American Revolution
Bicentennial Committee has discussed wording for an historical marker
& has asked the neighbors of the cemetery to make suggestions concerning
this wording. With all opinions taken into consideration, the Town of Hempstead
has been requested to erect this sign:
JACKS0N CEMETERY
IN THIS HISTORIC
CEMETERY ARE BURIED EARLY RESIDENTS OF THE
AREA, INCLUDING DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT JACKSON WHO SETTLED
HERE OVER THREE CENTURIES AGO.
SIGN ERECTED 1976
BY THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD
AT THE REQUEST
OF
THE WANTAGH AMERICAN
REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE