Welcome to the Old Town Cemetery Newburgh, New York
In 1709 Palatine German refugees (twelve families and two bachelors) settled near Quassaick Creek. This land became known as The German Patent. On December 18, 1719, Queen Anne of England granted a charter to the land which included 50 acres for every man, woman and child of the 53 settlers. The grant included a 500 acre section known as the "Glebe." This land was intended to provide support for a clergyman and schoolmaster for the new community. Also known as The Parish of Newburgh, The Glebe extended from the Hudson River one mile to the west, to Limestone Hill. (This western boundary was established in 1804.) Today's North and South Streets formed the northern and southern boundaries.
After the American Revolution, efforts were made to change the legal status of The Glebe, but in 1803, the state government passed a law which served as the basis for administration of the Glebe. This includes appointment of five commissioners responsible for the Old Town Cemetery, which are to include the mayor of the city, the superintendent of schools, the pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church and two others. The commissioners for the year 2004 are Mayor Nicholas Valentine, Dr. Johns, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Deke Spierling, Interim Pastor, Calvary Presbyterian Church, John McCormick and Gerardo Sanchez, restorer/developer.
The cemetery contains roughly 1,300 stones, headstones and footstones, with at least 1,700 persons buried; there may be as many as 2,500, as there were numerous gravesites without headstones. Many of the burial records have been misplaced or destroyed over the years, though original plot maps are still in the possession of the Board of Education,. Many copies of the 1898 Inscriptions inventory and annotations prepared by the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands still exist.
The earliest headstone that can still be deciphered is 1759, although even in 1898 there were stones already so old that the writing had been obliterated. Among the rich variety of monuments is the 1853 Robinson Mausoleum, thought by some to be designed by Andrew Jackson Davis. Unique in the world, it is a pyramid set atop a mastaba in the Egyptian Revival style. Captain Henry 'Bully' Robinson was a seafarer who traveled the world, returning to Newburgh with what may be the first goldfish brought to America. Upon retirement, he founded a rowing club that is parent to the existing Newburgh Rowing Club, and organized renowned regattas.
Woolsey, Anna C. 09-06-1865
Woolsey, Anna S. 09-06-1865
Woolsey, Charles C. (son of George D.) 08-08-1871
Woolsey, Charles E. 02-10-1834
Woolsey, Eleazer 11-08-1860
Woolsey, Eleazer G. 09-30-1811
Woolsey, Elijah I. 02-225-1867
Woolsey, Elizabeth 11-27-1854
Woolsey, Elizabeth (wife of Stephen) 04-30-1848
Woolsey, George D. (son of George D.) 03-05-1859
Woolsey, James (son of James) 09-01-1821
Woolsey, John C. 01-01-1841Woolsey, Maria (daughter of Eleazr G.) 04-21-1838
Woolsey, Maria (wife of Eleazer) 05-30-1862
Woolsey, Mary Ann (daughter of James) 04-12-1835
Woolsey, Mary E. 01-11-1846
Woolsey, Mary E. (daughter of Elijah L.) 01-11-1846
Woolsey, Mary Emma 11-01-1857
Woolsey, Nathaniel 05-14-1853
Woolsey, Phebe Crawford (wife of E.L.) 05-03-1883
Woolsey, Stephen 09-04-1846
Main Index
Wilford Whitaker
Carolyn Woolsey Wilkerson
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