The Moravian Cemetery is a cemetery in the

New Dorp New Dorp ( ) is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on ...

neighborhood of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, New York, United States.

Location

Located at 2205 Richmond Road, the Moravian Cemetery is the largest and oldest active

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

on Staten Island, having opened in 1740. The cemetery encompasses and is the property of the local

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

congregation of Staten Island. To the cemetery's southwest is High Rock Park, one of the constituent parks of the

Staten Island Greenbelt The Staten Island Greenbelt is a system of contiguous public parkland and natural areas in the central hills of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is the second largest component of the parks owned by the government of New York City ...

History

In what was a purely farming community, the cemetery was originally made available as a free cemetery for the public in order to discourage families from using farm burial plots. After the closure in the 1880s of the South Reformed Dutch Church in Richmondtown, the graves of that church's graveyard were reinterred at Moravian. A monument to

Robert Gould Shaw Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist family from the Boston Brahmin, Boston upper class, he ...

, a Union soldier who led the first all-

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

regiment in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and died in the

Second Battle of Fort Wagner The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, also known as the Second Assault on Morris Island or the Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was fought on July 18, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union Army troops commanded by Brigadier general (Uni ...

, was erected here by his family. The Moravian Cemetery is the burial place for a number of famous Staten Islanders, including members of the

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...

. The director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

also has a burial plot here.

Notable burials

Vanderbilt Family Cemetery

In the 19th century,

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

gave the Moravian Church of land. Later, his son

William Henry Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman Known as "Billy", he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbil ...

gave a further and constructed the residence for the cemetery's superintendent. The Vanderbilt Mausoleum was designed by

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of architecture of the United States. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 ...

and constructed in 1885–1886. It is part of the family's privately owned cemetery, which is not open to the public. The Vanderbilt Mausoleum is a replica of a Romanesque church in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, France. The Vanderbilt family cemetery's landscaping was designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

. The Vanderbilt Mausoleum and portions of the cemetery were designated a

New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...

in 2016.

Italian-American Catholics

The cemetery is the burial place of many Italian-American Catholics, even though it is a Protestant cemetery. This is due to the efforts of Father Ettore Barletta, who was in charge of the Italian Mission congregation at the nearby Moravian Church in the early 1900s. Catholic mafia families who had been refused a Catholic burial were offered burials in this cemetery.

Notable burials

* Mark W. Allen (1877–1958), businessman and New York state senator. *

Alice Austen Elizabeth Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 – June 9, 1952) was an American photographer working in Staten Island. She is best known for her street photography and her intimate depictions of women's lives and relationships in the Victorian era ...

(1886–1952), notable 20th-century photographer. *

Thomas Bilotti Thomas "Tommy" Bilotti (March 23, 1940 – December 16, 1985) was an American mobster who briefly served as underboss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. It was his promotion that helped trigger the 1985 assassination of Gambino boss P ...

(1940–1985), mobster and underboss in the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

Alfred Thompson Bricher Alfred Thompson Bricher (April 10, 1837 – September 30, 1908) was an American painter associated with White Mountain art and the Hudson River School. Life and work Bricher was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was educated in an academy a ...

(1837–1908), painter associated with White Mountain art and the Hudson River School *

Frank Cali Francesco Paolo Augusto "Frank" Cali (, ; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019), also known as "Franky Boy", was an American mobster and the acting boss of the Gambino crime family of New York City at the time of his death. Law enforcement consid ...

(1965–2019), former reputed boss of the Gambino crime family. *

John Merven Carrère John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

(1858–1911), partner in notable

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and ...

firm. *

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985) was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family of New York City. Castellano ran the organization from 1976 until his murder on Decem ...

(1915–1985), former boss of the Gambino crime family. * John Celardo (1918–2012), comic strip and comic book artist * Charles P. Clinch, playwright and government official who served as

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

Frank DeCicco Frank DeCicco (November 5, 1935 – April 13, 1986), also known as "Frankie D" and "Frankie Cheech", was an American mobster and eventual underboss for the Gambino crime family in New York City. Criminal career Background The son of Vincent "Bo ...

(1935–1986), former

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

of the Gambino crime family. *

John Eberhard Faber John Eberhard Faber (sometimes Johann Eberhard Faber; December 6, 1822 – March 2, 1879) was a German-born American manufacturer of pencils in New York. Biography Johann Eberhard Faber was born on December 6, 1822, in the village of Stein, nea ...

(1822–1879), German-born American manufacturer of pencils. * Frank J. LeFevre (1874–1941), Congressman. * Eddie "Cousin Eddie" Garafola (1938– 2020),

captain * John A. Lynch (1882–1954), New York state senator and Staten Island borough president. *

Jim Mutrie James J. Mutrie (June 13, 1851 – January 24, 1938) was an American baseball pioneer who was the co-founder and first manager of both the original New York Metropolitans and the New York Giants. He had a winning percentage of .611, the highest fo ...

(1851–1938), baseball pioneer. *

John L. O'Sullivan John Louis O'Sullivan (November 15, 1813 – March 24, 1895) was an American columnist, editor, and diplomat who coined the term "manifest destiny" in 1845 to promote the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country to the United States. O'Sulli ...

(1813–1895), journalist who first utilized in print the phrase ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...

'' to embody American expansionist ambitions. * William Page (1811–1885), painter and portrait artist * Anning Smith Prall (1870–1937), Congressman and Chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

. *

Bradhurst Schieffelin Bradhurst Schieffelin (New York City, 21 September 1824 – Staten Island, 9 March 1909) was an American druggist and activist. He was the son of Henry Hamilton Schieffelin and Maria Teresa (Bradhurst) Schieffelin, and was educated in New York ...

(1821–1909), 19th Century social activist. *

Charles Scorsese Luciano Charles Scorsese (May 8, 1913 – August 23, 1993) was an American film actor. He was the father of filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Biography Scorsese was born in New York City, the son of Teresa and Francesco Scorsese, Sicilian immigrant ...

(1913–1993) and

Catherine Scorsese Catherine Scorsese (; April 16, 1912 – January 6, 1997) was an American actress. She began acting when her son Martin Scorsese cast her in his short film '' It's Not Just You, Murray!'' Scorsese was of Italian descent and frequently pla ...

(1912–1997), father and mother of director

* Stephen H. Weed (1831–1863), Union general who died in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. *

Paul Zindel Paul Zindel Jr. (May 15, 1936 – March 27, 2003) was an American playwright, young adult novelist, and educator. Early life Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York, to Paul Zindel Sr., a policeman, and Betty Zindel, a nurse; h ...

(1936–2003), notable playwright and young adult novelist.

In popular culture

In the novel ''It's Superman: A Novel'', the mother of the character

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

is buried in the Moravian Cemetery.De Haven, Tom. It's Superman. Random House, 2011, p. 116

References

{{Coord, 40, 34, 48, N, 74, 7, 00, W, display=title 1740 establishments in the Province of New York Cemeteries in Staten Island History of the America (North) Province of the Moravian Church Moravian Church cemeteries Vanderbilt family Rural cemeteries New Dorp, Staten Island Cemeteries established in the 18th century

Location

History

Notable burials

Vanderbilt Family Cemetery

Italian-American Catholics

Notable burials

In popular culture

See also

References