NYC Marble Cemetery John Lloyd Stephens vault-glyph composite

The New York City Marble Cemetery is a historic cemetery founded in 1831, and located at 52-74 East 2nd Street between

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The cemetery has 258 underground burial vaults constructed of

Tuckahoe marble Tuckahoe marble (also known as Inwood and Westchester marble) is a type of marble found in southern New York (state), New York state and western Connecticut. Part of the Inwood Formation (New York), Inwood Formation of the Manhattan Prong, it dates ...

on the site. The New York City Marble Cemetery, which was the city's second non-sectarian burial place, should not be confused with the nearby New York Marble Cemetery one block west, which was the first, having been established one year earlier. Both cemeteries were designated New York City landmarks in 1969,, p.68 and in 1980 both were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

History and description

In 1830, recent outbreaks of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

had led city residents to fear burying their dead in coffins just a few feet below ground, and public health legislation had outlawed earthen burials. The New York Marble Cemetery had met this circumstance by constructing and selling underground marble burial vaults. A year later, five partners – Evert Bancker, Henry Booraem, Thomas Addis Emmett, Garret Storm and Samuel Whittemore – organized a similar venture one block east. Land was purchased from Samuel Cowdrey, who was a vault owner in the earlier venture, and Perkins Nichols was engaged to construct the marble vaults, as he had done previously. The first of the vaults were ready by summer 1831, the cemetery was incorporated on April 26, 1832, and it continued to purchase land on either side of the original plot until 1835, when it reached its current dimensions. Unlike the earlier cemetery, in which no monuments or markers indicated the placement of the vaults, instead being indicated on marble tablet embedded in the surrounding wall, the new cemetery marked the position of each vault with a marble marker, or with monuments of various sizes, according to the vault owner's preference. At the time, the new cemetery was considered to be a fashionable place to be buried.

Visiting

According to the cemetery's website, it is open twice a year, on a Sunday in spring, and a weekend in the fall.

Notable burials

* Stephen Allen, mayor of

and New York State Senator. *

Preserved Fish Fish preservation is the method of increasing the shelf life of fish and other fish products by applying the principles of different branches of science in order to keep the fish, after it has landed, in a condition wholesome and fit for human ...

, a noted merchant * David Sherwood Jackson, Congressman (1847–1849) *

James Lenox James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library. Early ...

, co-Founder of the New York Public Library and founder of Presbyterian Hospital *Edward Elmer Potter,

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Brigadier General * James Henry Roosevelt, founder of Roosevelt Hospital, and other members of his branch of the Roosevelt family *

John Lloyd Stephens John Lloyd Stephens (November 28, 1805October 13, 1852) was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad. ...

, archaeologist who was a pioneer in the study of

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

culture *

Moses Taylor Moses Taylor (January 11, 1806 – May 23, 1882) was a 19th-century New York merchant and banker and one of the wealthiest men of that century. At his death, his estate was reported to be worth $70 million, or about $ billion in today's dollars. ...

, financier and backer of the

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* Isaac Varian, mayor of

(1839–1841) * Marinus Willett, hero of the Revolutionary War and Mayor of New York City (1807–1808) The remains from the churchyard of the South Dutch Church were moved to the cemetery, which also contains the remains of the Kip family, after whom

Kips Bay Kips Bay, or Kip's Bay, is a neighborhood on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by East 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, East 27th and/or 23rd Streets to the south, and Third Av ...

is named. Cemetery tradition holds the bones of the first European men to be buried on Manhattan island, the Dutch

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s, were moved to the "Ministers' Vault". ;Former burials *

John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which co ...

, designer of '' USS Monitor'', whose remains were subsequently moved to Sweden in 1890 *

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, president of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, whose remains were subsequently moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1858

References

Notes

External links

*
New York City Marble Cemetery
at Find a Grave
Forgotten NY
{{Authority control Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Cemeteries in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan 1831 establishments in New York (state) East Village, Manhattan