Gardens of Stone --- A Cemetery Blog by Alexandra Kathryn Mosca

Little has been written about Long Island's many historically rich cemeteries. So, I was most pleased to write about ten of them for Newsday . My story is the cover for today's Long Island Life section. The history of us: Tombstone tourism connects visitors to Long Island's past

  Alvah Davison was president of the Davison Publishing Company, a firm which published textile blue books. A Brooklyn resident, he was a regular contributor to various charities. Crafted by Valhalla's renowned Presbrey-Leland monument company, Davison's memorial contains a center sarcophagus with room for two entombments. Surrounded by circular colonnades, in the Greek Doric style, the structure's base is supported by three steps.

 Green-Wood Cemetery continues to be a treasure trove for story ideas. My latest is in this month's American Cemetery & Cremation magazine. Even though all four of the monuments featured in the article appear in my cemetery books, I've since learned even more about them, and their back stories. 

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.

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).

Pro basketball star Dwayne Alonzo "Pearl" Washington got his nickname from Hall of Famer Earl "the Pearl" Monroe. At the age of eight, Washington was already a NYC  playground legend. Not surprisingly, while in high school he became the most highly recruited basketball player in the country. Ultimately, he chose Syracuse, at which he was named Big East rookie of the year. Washington also played for the NJ Nets. He died from a brain tumor at the age of 53. He is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Queens, New York.

I've long admired the work of journalist Lisa Colangelo, so I was thrilled  to give her a tour of these two fabulous Queens 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. 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.

The grave of Leonard Bernstein is one of the most visited in Green-Wood Cemetery.

  In mid June, I spent an enjoyable afternoon giving friends a long-awaited tour of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. With so much to see, I did my best to hit the high points: DeWitt Clinton, Leonard Bernstein, Elias Howe and his dog Fannie, Henry Steinway, Civil War Soldiers' Monument, VanNess-Parsons....and many more. We drove to some sites and walked to others (lots of Fitbit steps for me) stopping to get a closer look at random monuments, and to read a number of poignant inscriptions. Over the years, I've traversed Green-Wood's 478 acres countless times, researching my book about the cemetery, giving public and private tours, as well as serving in my capacity as a funeral director. Yet, each and every time, I make a new find or learn of one before my visit that I must see. The Badger monument was one such grave site.   On Christmas Eve, in 2011, hearts broke across the country as we watched the awful news about a  Connecticut house fire  which claimed the liv...

  Graves of both survivors and casualties of the tragic 1912 sinking of the Titanic can be seen in a number of New York Cemeteries. Woodlawn in the Bronx and Green-Wood in Brooklyn contain the most. The grave of William Augustus Spencer is one of them. Buried beneath a slab that notes he: "Bravely Met Death At Sea," his grave is one of a number of family graves arrayed around a central family m onument. Over in Woodlawn Cemetery, the first grave I wanted to see was Archibald Gracie's. Known as a "Hero of the Titanic," Gracie was instrumental in helping other passengers into lifeboats, effectively saving their lives. The end result of my research was the April cover story for American Cemetery magazine.