Way back when, the first significant monument I was introduced to at Green-Wood was the "bride." So significant was this that I noted it in my first book Grave Undertakings. Naturally, I included this monument in my second book, Green-Wood Cemetery. Since that time, I've learned more about the sad backstory behind the striking statuary. The young woman was indeed a bride who died from a cerebral hemorrhage on her honeymoon, just days after her wedding.The statue was commissioned by her father, who wanted the memorial to be a carbon copy of how his daughter looked on her wedding day. The artisans worked from photographs from the famed Marcy studios. For two years, the statue was a work in progress; sketches were done before it was sent to Italy to be carved. Here is one of the early sketches.
Gardens of Stone
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Friday, February 1, 2019
Remembering Mayor Edward I. Koch 1924-2013
Edward I. Koch, New York City's beloved mayor (and my favorite) died six years ago today. It was a privilege to attend his funeral, and write about it for 'American Funeral Director.' Of the thousands of funerals I've been at over the years, Mayor Koch's remains my favorite. It incorporated all the elements of a good funeral, and the memory of his casket being shouldered out of Temple Emanu-El to the tune of New York New York is indelible.
Mayor Koch is buried in Trinity Cemetery (uptown).
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
I've long admired the work of journalist Lisa Colangelo, so I was thrilled to give her a tour of these two fabulous cemeteries.
Explore the secrets and hidden history of Queens' Calvary and Saint John cemeteries
Alexandra Mosca, author and funeral director, takes amNewYork on a tour of the sprawling cemeteries.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Stubenbord - Sutherland Families
Green-Wood Cemetery's Stubenbord-Sutherland monument features a seated mourning figure holding a sprig of ivy. The granite monument is rose-colored and semi-circle in design. The Sutherland family was active in Brooklyn politics, while the Stubenbords owned a popular Coney Island hotel.
Monday, April 2, 2018
The Proudest Yankee
In honor of opening day at Yankee Stadium.
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin had a distinguished career in baseball. The second baseman for the Yankees was a contemporary of Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and Yogi Berra, and later became the team's manager. In that role, he led the team to a number of victories. The outspoken Martin's public feuds, most notably with team owner, George Steinbrenner, were legendary. Martin was killed in a car accident on Christmas day in 1989. After a funeral Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral, attended by many former teammates, he was buried in New York's Gate of Heaven Cemetery, nearby the grave of Babe Ruth. These words are etched upon his monument: "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Archibald Gracie IV: A Titanic Hero
Archibald Gracie IV was instrumental in saving
the lives of a number of fellow RMS Titanic passengers. Gracie, too, survived
and began work on a book about that tragic night. Sadly, Gracie died eight
months later from the effects of his ordeal in the sea. His book, titled
"Titanic: A Survivor's Story" was published posthumously. Gracie is
buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, surrounded by many family graves. The
Gracie ancestral home serves as the New York City mayoral residence
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Green-Wood's "Bride"
Way back when, the first significant monument I was introduced to at Green-Wood was the "bride." So significant was this that I ...

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Hungarian-born journalist and newspaper publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, was born Jozsef Politzer in 1847. Several years after the death of his ...
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At the 1972 funeral of Jackie Robinson, 2,500 people packed Riverside Church in New York City. New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, NY C...
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One of the most ornate monuments in Green-Wood is that of Charlotte Canda, who died in 1845, on her 17th birthday. Canda’s death was th...
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One of the most unique mausoleums to be found in Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery is that of successful Atlanta businessman, Jasper Newton Smith. ...
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This monument is to the DeFeo family, who were all murdered in their Amityville, LI home in November of 1974. Ronald DeFeo Sr., his wife L...
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The parents of famed film director Martin Scorsese, whose hit films include Goodfellas and Gangs of New York, are entombed in a...
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This G othic Revival mausoleum was built for Edwin W. Marsh in 1890. At the time, Marsh was the most successful retail dry goods merchant ...
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Archibald Gracie IV was instrumental in saving the lives of a number of fellow RMS Titanic passengers. Gracie, too, survived and began...
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Green-Wood Cemetery's Stubenbord-Sutherland monument features a seated mourning figure holding a sprig of ivy. The granite monument...
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Designer Vera Wang's family rests in style in Westchester County's Kensico Cemetery. The Wang family memorial overlooks the Coh...
