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

Wealthy industrialists William Robertson and Mary "Mai" Rogers Coe,  are entombed within a stately mausoleum in a leafy alcove toward the eastern end of Memorial Cemetery of St. John's Church on Long Island's north shore.  Their former Oyster Bay homestead has served as a state park—Planting Fields Arboretum—since 1949, are entombed within a stately mausoleum in a leafy alcove toward the eastern end of the cemetery.

  One of the most unusual mausoleums I’ve encountered is in Brooklyn’s Cemetery of the Evergreens. Cylindrical in shape, and made of cast iron, it resembles a boiler tank, and for good reason. It is the final resting place of W.H. Guild, whose firm, Guild and Garrison, manufactured pumping material.

  Capt. Alexander Joseph Swift was the son of Brigadier-General Joseph G. Swift, West Point's first graduate. During the Mexican-American War, Capt. Alexander Swift trained U.S. Military Academy officers for deployment to Mexico. It was there, during the Battle of Vera Cruz, a 20-day siege of the Mexican seaport, that Swift contracted dysentery. He died less than a month after the battle ended and is buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery.

Harry James Luke Foale, a Brooklyn resident for most of his life, ran a successful interior decorating business. His name often appeared on the Brooklyn Society pages, a testament to his thriving eneterprise. However, one newspaper mentioned that Foale could have done without was his arrest in 1890 for -unknowingly- buying a stolen horse. Foale died in 1928 at his home, Irisdale, in Northport, Long Island. His funeral service took place at the Fairchild Funeral Home's Brooklyn branch. A year later, the family mausoleum was completed. Foale is entombed with his wife, Emily, in Brooklyn's Cemetery of the Evergreens.

Situated prominently near the main entrance of the Cemetery of the Evergreen's, in Brooklyn, t he impressive mausoleum of Philip Steingotter, a builder from Brooklyn, also holds the remains of his wife, Elizabeth, as well as their daughter, Lillian Reichers, and her husband, Herman, who died at the age of 33. When Philip died in 1932, he left behind an estate worth over $200,000, a substantial sum for that period.

  It's been some time since I've photographed the Roeder mausoleum. After Saturday morning's funeral, I took a walk through the cemetery grounds, revisiting --and photographing-- some of my favorite sites. It was a misty (even rainy at times) and cloudy day, which made for optimal photography. also got a decent shot of the interior. The sandstone mausoleum resembles a castle and it holds the remains of Rev. Dr. Charles W. Roeder, who served as the longtime pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Roeder, who belonged to an old Dutch family, also served as the chaplain of a local army and navy post.

It took me three determined attempts to locate the grave of author Mario Puzo, buried in North Babylon Cemetery (not to be confused with Babylon Rural Cemetery) on Long Island. The third time was the charm, and I finally found it. On Sunday evening, after dinner, my cousin joined me in the search. We split up and walked through the rows of the cemetery.  Despite coming across many noteworthy monuments, I still couldn't find Puzo's grave. Suddenly, it occurred to me that he might be buried in the small --and less occupied-- graveyard across the street.  It turned out that it was another section of the cemetery, and I spotted Puzo's grave nestled within some bushes as soon as I entered. He is buried with his wife Erika who died in 1978. Surprisingly, the rose granite monument makes no mention of his fame as a writer.  Standing before the grave, I couldn't help but recall the day long ago when, as a teenager, I and some friends eagerly made our way into the city to see the...

  The catacombs beneath old   St. Patrick’s Cathedral, are a unique historical site, and among the few remaining catacombs in the  U.S. A network of underground tombs and passageways, these catacombs hold a rich history that is closely connected with the early history of Catholics in New York City. They were used for burials and religious ceremonies, and some of the earliest Catholic settlers in New York found their final resting place here.   While St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue gets the lion’s share of attention as the center of Roman Catholicism in New York City, the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in lower Manhattan was the focal point of the church in the city for decades. Located at the intersection of Mott and Prince Streets, Old St. Patrick’s was the first cathedral for the Diocese of New York when it was completed in 1815. The building was also the largest Catholic church in the United States at that time. Many Catholics began to gain promine...

  Cemeteries can be great resources for genealogical research. Here are some tips to get you started,

  A bronze angel, holding a hammer and chisel, perches on the monument of Benjamin Franklin Romaine, a NYC merchant, appearing to rest after completing the memorial. Romaine was a Trustee of both the Bowery savings Bank and the Church of the Divine Paternity, where his funeral service was held. Romaine's father, Jacob, who is also buried in the plot, headed the Romaine Academy for Young Ladies, a private school in New York City.