The Greenwood Union Cemetery is a cemetery in Rye and

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

History

The first

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

on this site was established in 1837 and it was known as "Union Cemetery of Rye". James Parker and David Brooks of Rye donated of land to

Christ's Church, Rye Christ's Church, Rye (formerly Grace Church), is an Episcopal church in the Diocese of New York, located next to the Boston Post Road ( U.S. Route 1) in Rye in Westchester County, New York. Established in 1695, the parish is one of the oldest i ...

, with plots to be reserved for the ministers of the three churches of Rye and their families. Two strips on the eastern and western sides of the grounds were to be used as a public cemetery. In January 1855, the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Rye bought an additional contiguous to the cemetery, and, between 1864 and 1868, they added more than . The total land was then . Methodist Episcopal Church operated the cemetery from 1855 until 1902, when it transferred management to a Rural Cemetery Corporation organized under the

Rural Cemetery Act The Rural Cemetery Act was a law passed by the New York Legislature on April 27, 1847, that authorized commercial burial grounds in rural New York state. The law led to burial of human remains becoming a commercial business for the first time, re ...

of 1847. This arrangement continued from 1902 to 1984, under the leadership of successive generations of the Cowan family, but in 1984 the responsibility of management was turned over to a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

with a volunteer elected

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

whose members are lot owners and local community leaders.

Notable burials

Bill Bergesch Louis William Bergesch (June 17, 1921 – May 10, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball executive. Beginning as a minor league manager and scouting director in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, he would serve in a variety of management ...

(1921–2011) American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

executive. *

Eddie Eagan Edward Patrick Francis Eagan (April 26, 1897 – June 14, 1967) was an American boxer and bobsledder who is notable as being the only person to win a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in different disciplines.Gillis Grafstr ...

(1897–1967) one of only two people to win a gold medal in the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. *

Marta Eggerth Marta Eggerth (17 April 1912 – 26 December 2013) was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Str ...

(1912–2013) Hungarian-born singer and actress. *

Marquis James Marquis James (August 29, 1891, Springfield, Missouri – November 19, 1955) was an American journalist and author, twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his works ''The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston'' and ''The Life of Andrew Jackson''. Early ...

(1891–1955) American author. *

Jean Kerr Jean Kerr (born Bridget Jean Collins, July 10, 1922 – January 5, 2003) was an Irish-American author and playwright born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who authored the 1957 bestseller ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and the plays ''King of Hea ...

(1922–2003) American author. * William West Kirkby (1827–1907), Rector of Christ's Church, Rye. *

Edward LeMaire Edward LeMaire (October 26, 1924 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and men's singles. In pairs, he won the junior title at the United States Figure Skating Championships in 1942 and won a bronze medal in se ...

(1924–1961) American figure skater. *

John McGillicuddy John Francis McGillicuddy (December 30, 1930 – January 4, 2009) was an American banking industry executive who oversaw the merger between Manufacturers Hanover Trust and Chemical Bank in the early 1990s. McGillicuddy played football for Harri ...

(1930–2009) American banking executive. *

John Motley Morehead III John Motley Morehead III (November 3, 1870 – January 7, 1965) was an American chemist, politician, and diplomat. As a chemist, his work provided much of the foundation for the business of Union Carbide Corporation. The Union Carbide and Ca ...

(1870–1965) former mayor of Rye and US Ambassador to Sweden. * Jared Valentine Peck (1816–1891) US Representative. *

Marvin Pierce Marvin Pierce (June 17, 1893 – July 17, 1969) was president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the popular women's magazines '' Redbook'' and ''McCall's''. He was the father of United States First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush, the maternal gra ...

(1893–1969), president of

McCall Corporation McCall Corporation was an American publishing company that produced some popular magazines. These included ''Redbook'' for women, ''Bluebook'' for men, ''McCall's'', the '' Saturday Review'', and ''Popular Mechanics''. It also published ''Better L ...

and father of

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...

. *

Clarine Seymour Clarine E. Seymour (December 9, 1898 – April 25, 1920) was an American silent film actress. Early life Seymour was the eldest of two children born to Albert V. Seymour and Florence Seymour in Brooklyn, a wealthy couple who were devout Method ...

(1898–1920) American actress. * George Smith (1892–1965) American Major League Baseball pitcher. *

Dick Surhoff Richard Clifford Surhoff Jr. (November 16, 1929 – May 1, 1987) was an American professional basketball player.National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

player. * Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1864–1945) US Congressman.

References

External links

Official web page
* {{Find a Grave cemetery Cemeteries in Westchester County, New York Buildings and structures in Rye, New York Harrison, New York 1837 establishments in New York (state)