Rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
The first cemetery on this site was established in 1837 and it was known as "Union Cemetery of Rye". James Parker and David Brooks of
Rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
donated of land to Christ's Church, Rye, 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 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 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
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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 executive.
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967) one of only two people to win a gold medal in the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
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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 (1891–1955) American author.
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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.
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William West Kirkby The Venerable William West Kirkby (24 August 1827-September 5, 1907) was an English Anglican clergyman and translator who spent time as a missionary in Northern Canada.
Born in Lincolnshire, he studied at Oxford University and was the first Anglic ...
(1827–1907), Rector of Christ's Church, Rye.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Jared Valentine Peck
Jared Valentine Peck (September 21, 1816 – December 25, 1891) was an American businessman and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1853 to 1855.
Biography
Born in Port Chester, New York, Peck atten ...
(1816–1891) US Representative.
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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 ...