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

One of my favorite monuments in Calvary Cemetery is that of 25-year-old Rose, who died in 1927.

  A cenotaph in Staten island's Moravian Cemetery memorializes Eberhard Faber. Although Faber is buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood, graves of many of Faber's family members, including his brother and his sons, are here. Faber was born into a family making pencils since 1761. In 1848, he moved to New York City, where he opened his first pencil factory on 42nd Street near the East River. Unfortunately, the factory was destroyed in a fire in 1872. The businessman built a larger factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He was the first pencil manufacturer to put rubber erasers on his pencils. Although there is a cenotaph monument in his memory, his burial place is at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

In the 1980s, Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was the boss of the Genovese crime family.He died in prison, in 1992, six years into a life sentence. Salerno is entombed in a private mausoleum in St. Raymond's Cemetery.  

    The parents of famed film director Martin Scorsese, whose hit films include Goodfellas and Gangs of New York, are entombed in a private mausoleum in Staten Island's Moravian Cemetery. Both parents, Catherine and Charles, had small roles in Goodfellas.   

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra had a successful career in Major League Baseball for 19 years. He played mostly for the Yankees but also briefly for the Mets. In addition to playing, Berra also coached and managed both teams. He is considered one of the greatest catchers in baseball history and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Berra died at the age of 90 and was laid to rest at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in New Jersey.

May Singhi Breen was known as the “The Ukulele Lady.” For three decades --the 1920s to the 1950s -- she wrote ukulele arrangements for piano sheet music. And in 1931, she was responsible for the ukulele being included in the New York Musicians’ list of musical instruments. Singhi-Breen was inducted in the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum (yes, there is one) in 2000. She was married to composer Peter DeRose a pianist and composer, with whom she often collaborated.  

Designer Vera Wang's family rests in style in Westchester County's Kensico Cemetery.   The  Wang family memorial overlooks the Cohasset Plot, a seven acre hillside expanse which contains an abundance of decorative laser-etched monuments bearing Asian surnames. At dusk the ivory granite structure takes on a greyish hue.

J ohn L. Goldwater, the creator of Archie Comics, is buried beneath in Kensico Cemetery. His 2019 New York Times obituary noted that "He is survived by Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica in Riverdale, U.S.A."

The Mercedes-Benz monument which marks the gravesite of Ray Tse is not to be missed.

The gravesite of journalist Henry Villard is a perennial favorite for Sleepy Hollow visitors. It looks all the more vivid in the late afternoon light, surrounded by foliage. A brief biography of Villard, who served as a Civil War correspondent, can be found on the rear of the monument.

Frank Vance Storrs created Playbill, much to the appreciation of theater-goers everywhere. His whimsical monument in Valhalla's Kensico Cemetery reads: Life is a Book-A Different Page is Turned Each Day-The Happiness of the Next None Dare Say.

Along with partner Edmund Teller, German-born Paul Bonwit established Bonwit Teller on Manhattan's tony 5th Avenue. Bonwit Teller was noted for its fashion conscious female clientele, and had branches in Southhampton, Palm Beach and Bar Harbor. When Bonwit died in 1939, hundreds of friends and business associates attended his funeral service in temple Emanu-El where Rev. Dr. Nathan A Perilman spoke of Bonwit's leadership role in American retailing and his philantrophy. Bonwit is entombed in the family mausoleum in Valhalla New York's Kensico Cemetery. Today, Trump Tower stands on the site of the former Bonwit Teller building .

Producer and promoter, Sidney Simcha Bernstein, helped bring the Beatles to America. Sid Bernstein, Who Helped Import the Beatles, Dies at 95 .

  Nestled amidst the bustling streets of Upper Manhattan lies the only active cemetery remaining in Manhattan -- historic Trinity Cemetery. A hidden gem of tranquility and serenity, this beautifully landscaped burial ground comprises four city blocks and offers visitors a chance to discover the rich history of New York City, its notable figures and architectural gems that has stood the test of time.  As I wandered beneath a canopy of trees, the landscape transformed into a majestic tapestry of history. Among the graves I encountered was the final resting place of   Clement Clarke Moore . The author of the Christmas classic,   A Visit From St. Nicholas , his tombstone stands as a testament to his cherished contribution to literature.  Moore is in good literary company with novelist Ralph Ellison, publisher E.P. Dutton, and Alfred Tennyson Dickens, son of Charles Dickens, all buried on the grounds. Another notable grave is that of John James Au...

Irving Berlin, is buried in Wood Cemetery in the Bronx beside his wife Ellin Mackay Berlin. The legendary, and beloved lyricist died in 1989 at the age of 101.

 In 1861, Colonel Abraham S. Vosburgh died from noncombat causes. Following a well-attended military funeral, he was buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. This is the base of his monument, which features an obelisk topped by an eagle. The monument was commissioned by Vosburgh's regiment and designed by noted sculptor Patrizio Piatti, who is also buried in Green-Wood. The scene in Washington, D.C. as Col. Vosburgh's casket was borne to the railroad station for its journey to New York.

  The grave of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday (nicknamed Lady Day) is well visited, as evidenced by the memorabilia and stones left atop her grave in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Diana Ross portrayed Billie Holiday in the 1972 movie 'Lady Sings the Blues' for which she won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination.

I am always looking for a new angle from which to photograph Green-Wood's John Matthews (Soda Fountain King) monument. Here's my latest effort.

  Ebinger's Bakery was a fixture in many Brooklyn neighborhoods, beginning in the late 19th century. Perhaps their most famous creation was Ebinger's Blackout cake. Invented during World War II, it was named for the mandatory blackouts that protected the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Ebinger's locations ceased operation in the 1970s, but their famous Blackout Cake lives on. A number of bakeries offer their version, and recipes can be found online. The company's founder, George Ebinger (1859-1935) is buried in Green-Wood along with his wife, Katherine, and other familymembers. The couple died within months of one another.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, to a Jewish family, Anna Held often headlined the Folies-Bergere. Later, Held claimed Paris as her birthplace, shaved a few years off her age, and converted to Catholicism upon marrying a Uruguayan playboy, Maximo Carrera. With Carrera, Held had a daughter named Liane. In 1896, Held met Florenz Ziegfeld when he hired her to be in one of his productions.     By 1897, the two were in love despite being unable to marry legally (her first husband would not grant her a divorce). However, after seven years, they were considered husband and wife by New York’s common law. It was Held who inspired the ‘Ziegfeld Follies.’ Sadly, Held died at the age of 46 in 1918 from multiple myeloma, a rare disease at the time.  Her funeral was held at Campbell’s in NYC and was well attended by stars of the era, except for Ziegfeld, who disliked funerals. Held’s “Empire-Style” burial site boasts a stone arch and two benches. It was purchased for her by actr...