New York Marble Cemetery

Wall Tablets

The Marble Cemetery has no individual headstones.  The north and south portions of the aboveground walls surrounding the half-acre vault area hold plaques of Tuckahoe marble engraved with the names of the early  19th century vault owners (who in many cases are buried elsewhere) and the vault numbers.  The names of the persons buried in the 156 vaults are NOT inscribed anywhere except in the written registers.

In the center of the East Wall is a large, completely illegible marble plaque (see image below.) This large tablet was partially illegible by 1900 and is now totally obliterated. The frequently-quoted phrase about “gentlemen” refers to demeanor and social standing, not sex. Not only were half the burials girls and women, of course, but among the original vault purchasers were Rachel Coskry, a widow continuing her husband’s business, and Mary Lagear, an unmarried woman.

The trustees listed were the trustees during incorporation.

By the time the tablet was carved in 1833, John Hone had died.
This is the likely wording.

The New York
Marble Cemetery
Incorporated
February 4th, 1831

Trustees
John Hone, President
Benjamin Strong
Robert Center
Benjamin L. Swan
Nathaniel Richards

Founded By
Perkins Nichols

________________

A Place of Interment for Gentlemen

(Image: c. 1915 © Museum of the City of New York)

The West Wall, which is gone, once held a large, pure white Index Stone with the original owners’ names in alphabetical order.  The stone fell long ago and cracked into a number of small pieces, several of which can still be clearly read.  As the Cemetery is restored, it is hoped that more missing pieces will be found.

The position of each plaque on the wall indicates the location of each corresponding vault.  The walls are deteriorating and many of the family plaques are fallen, broken, or missing.  Many of the fallen stones are stored on site.  As a rule, the south wall plaques are in better shape than the north wall ones.  About a dozen stones are in near-perfect condition.  It is known what was probably engraved on each plaque, so some plaques can be “read” that otherwise would be illegible.  The stones are listed here in numeric vault order, which is different from their geographic arrangement.  Slashes indicate separate lines of engraving.  Dashes indicate illegible portions of lines.  The V-cut Roman lettering is uniform:  the top line(s) is the purchaser’s name, in the center is Vault in large letters, and at the bottom is No followed by the numeral.

1. Missing
2. Missing
3. — HOW/
4. Missing
5. —-MARSH/
6. ANTHONY LAMB/VAULT/No 6
7. DAVID ANDREWS/ VAULT/No 7
8. GEORGE BOWEN/ RICHARD B. BROWN/ VAULT/No 8
9. JOHN MORRRISON/ VAULT/N—
10. URIAH SCRIBNER/ VAULT/No 10
11. PETER OGILVIE/ VAULT/ No 11
12. ASA H. CENTER/ VAULT/ No 12
13. WILLIAM OSBORN/ VAULT/
14. WILLIAM MCINTOSH/ VAULT/ No 14
15. THOMAS LORD/ VAULT/ No 15
16. VAULT/ No 16
17. —ROBBINS/VAULT/No 17
18. Missing
19. DAVID B. OGDEN/ VAULT/ No 19
20. SAMUEL JONES/ VAULT/ No 20
21. ASAPH STONE/ VAULT/ No 21
22. BENJAMIN BAILEY/ VAULT/ No 22
23. Missing
24. — MANY/ VAULT/
25. JAMES KENT/ VAULT/ No 25
26. GEORGE GORDON/ VAULT/ No 26
27. GEORGE CURTIS/ VAULT/ No 27
28. DANIEL FANSHAW/ VAULT/ No 28
29. WILLIAM —/ VAULT/
30. GEORGE GRIFFIN/ VAULT/ No 30
31. DAVID JO—/ VAULT/ No 31
32. CHARLES WARDELL/ BENJAMIN R. ROBSON/ VAULT/ No 32
33. ELISHA PECK/ VAULT/ No 33
34. JOHN W. WOOD/ JOHN B. BROWER/ VAULT/
35. ELISHA RIGGS/ VAULT/ No —
36. EDWARD BANKER/ VAULT/ No 36
37. DAVID LEE/ VAULT/ No 37
38. PAUL SPOFFORD/ THOMAS TILESTON/ VAULT/ No 38
39. JOHN W. LEAVITT/ VAULT/ No 39
40. JOHN NEILSON/ VAULT/ No 40
41. RALPH OLMSTED/ VAULT/ No 41
42. HEMAN AVERILL/ HENRY COIT/ JOSEPH OTIS/ AUGUSTIN AVERILL/ VAULT/ No 42
43. ROBERT MCJIMSEY/ VAULT/ No 43
44. BOONEN GRAVES/
45. VAULT/ No 45
46. Illegible
47. Missing
48. ANDREW C. ZABRISKIE/ VAULT/ No 48 (In position for No. 99)
49. JOHN COOK HALSEY/ VAULT/ No 49
50. ELIS—/OF/HUDSON/
51. No 51/ PERKINS NICHOLS/and/ MRS. SARAH F. CADLE
52. DAVID HOSACK/
53. Missing
54. Missing
55. SAMUEL M. THOMPSON/VAULT/No 55
56. VAULT/ No. 56
57. Missing
58. JOSEPH V. VARICK/ VAULT/ No 58
59. VAULT/No 59
60. ABIJAH FISHER/ VAULT/ No 60
61. — ROSE/ —MASON ROSE/
62. WILLIAM NEWCOMB/ VAULT
63. HENRY MARVIN/ GILBERT DEVOE/ VAULT/ No 63
64. Missing
65. PETER VAN ZANDT/
66. HENRY FANNING/ JOHN STEARNS/ ADOLPHUS LANE/
67. Illegible
68. MOSES H. GRINNELL/ VAULT/
69. Missing
70. —SON/VAULT/No 70
71. Missing
72. JOHN SAMPSON/ SAMUEL TISDALE/ VAULT/
73. — WILLIAMS/ RICHARD WILLIAMS/ THOMAS WILLIAMS/
74. Illegible
75. HENRY TROWBRIDGE/ — COMSTOCK/
76. THADDEUS PHELPS/ VERDINE ELSWORTH/ VAULT/
77. DANIEL BOARDMAN/ VAULT/ No 77
78. Illegible

79. ABRAHAM FARDON/ VAULT/ No 79
80. Illegible
81. JAMES —/ VAULT/ No —
82. Missing
83. Missing
84. Missing
85. Illegible
86. Missing
87. AUGUSTUS WYNKOOP/ VAULT/
88. Missing
89. AARON CLARK/ VAULT/ No 89
90. Illegible
91. Illegible
92. Missing, possibly stored
93. —N BUCK/ VAULT/
94. Missing
95. Missing
96. Missing
97. WILLIAM GREEN/AP—/VAULT/
98. Missing
99. JOHN — SHEPARD/ NATHANIEL COSKRYS/ VAULT/ No 99 (In position for No. 48)
100. Missing
101. — F. RANDOLPH/
102. GEORGE D. PHELPS/— RANDOLPH
103. Missing
104. Missing, possibly stored
105. WILLIAM CRUIK—/ VAULT/ No 105
106. ROBERT CENTER/ SETH GROSVENOR/ VAULT/ No 106
107. ALLISON POST/ VAULT/
108. Illegible
109. Illegible
110. —ER-/ VAULT/
111. Illegible
112. Illegible
113. VAULT/
114. PETER VANDERVOORT/ VAULT/No 114
115. OB—/ (in position for No. 116)
116. /VAULT/ (in position for No. 115)
117. Illegible
118. Illegible
119. —ALL/ VAULT/
120. GEOR –LASS/
121. Missing
122. Missing
123. Illegible
124. Illegible
125. Illegible
126. Illegible
127. BENJAMIN DEFOREST/CHARLES DEFOREST/
128. Illegible
129. Illegible
130. Illegible
131. —GSLEY/
132. Illegible
133. —BROWN/VAULT/No 133
134. Illegible
135. Missing
136. Missing
137. Missing, possibly stored
138. Missing, possibly stored
139. Missing
140. Missing, possibly stored
141. Illegible
142. Missing, possibly stored
143. Missing
144. Missing
145. — STRONG/
146. Missing
147. Illegible
148. Missing
149. —M VAN—/
150. —ARD-/
151. Missing
152. Missing, possibly stored
153. Missing
154. Missing
155. Missing, possibly stored
156. Illegible