The Daughters of John and Sarah Prentice

Last week's walk through the North Ridge on the way to Dianna Mingo's grave yielded quite a few wonderful surprises, especially in areas explored many times before.

Marble headstones with sleeping infants are fairly common, but usually they are quite tiny with the reclining figures being no large than small dolls.  So, this peaceful child was almost startling as it is nearly life-sized.  Beside it, a small headstone depicts a young child kneeling.

Located just beyond the fenced Hallenbeek lot where the hillside slopes down towards the Kromme Kill ravine and an old path called Dell Side Avenue, the lot features two poignant headstones marking the graves of Sarah and Jane Ann Prentice.

Sarah died April 13, 1860.  She was just twenty-nine days old.  Her monument is the reclining infant.  Beautifully detailed, it shows the sleeping child dressed in a thin nightdress that is almost invisible due to erosion of the stone.  Beneath her blanket, there is a cushion with tassels.  One end of the headstone reads "Gone Home."

Jane Ann died on September 5, 1857 at the age of one year, four months, and seven days.  Her headstone shows a child kneeling amid what appear to be cushions.  Her face is eroded, but one tiny hand points toward Heaven.  The top of the stone is decorated with carved flowers.

 As with many early burial records, there is no cause of death given on their index cards. 

John F. Prentice, identified in census records as a schoolteacher, died only a few years after his little girls.  He passed away on April 30, 1862.  He was only thirty-two.  His widow, Sarah Lansing Prentice, survived him for many years.  She died of asthma on November 10, 1904 at the age of seventy-six.  Both John and Sarah are buried in the same lot as their children, but their gray granite headstone has toppled from its base.

Both Sarah and Jane Ann's gravestones are signed by their maker, Tuckerman & McClelland located on Lydius Street (now Madison Avenue)  Below is an advertisement for the Marble Works from Albany Argus in 1860.

James N. Clarkson

Standing on the first rise of the Middle Ridge opposite the Cemetery's chapel, this pretty white headstone features a lyre surrounded by a somewhat eroded, but rich garland of flowers.  This marble funerary wreath has a variety of flowers, including roses, lilies, and bleeding hearts.  Like the harp on the headstone of Samuel and Helen Pruyn, the lyre has a broken string.  On the pedestal, it reads, "Peacefully Asleep."  The base is signed by the carver, J.J. Young of Troy, N.Y.

This stone marks the grave of James N. Clarkson who died on May 23, 1863 at the age of 39.  As with some of the older records, the burial card gives little information.  Census records show he was born in England and, as of 1860, lived in Troy with his wife, Sarah, and two children (Sarah, aged 9, and James, age 6).  His wife is buried in the adjacent plot where the headstone has fallen.  Her burial records indicate that she was born in England and, at the time of her death in 1881, resided at 331 Clinton Avenue in Albany.

James Gray

The grave of James Archibald Gray of Boardman & Gray, one of Albany's best known manufacturers of pianos.  Albany, at one time, was home to a number of piano makers.

All Over Albany - The Piano City

Gray's two wives and son are also buried here.  The monument was made by Young & Son in Troy as can be seen by a small inscription on the right side of the base.

Made By Dickerman

While photographing an adjacent headstone, the upside-down text on this one caught my eye.  Located near the bottom of the headstone, it reads Dickerman Albany.  This portion of the stone would've been most likely hidden by the earth when the stone stood upright.

A search of contemporary city directories shows that a stone-cutter by the name of Joel R. Dickerman had a shop at the corner of Westerlo and Green Streets.  His home was at 208 Lydius Street (now a block of Madison Avenue occupied by the New York State Museum).

I've found little information about this Andrew Briare, except that other members of his family were in the confectionery business.  In fact, a Mrs. Pearl S. Briare is listed as a confectioner at 124 Greene Street, just a few doors away from Dickerman's stone-cutting shop.