Email Updates

You can now get news and updates from Albany Rural Cemetery via e-mail.  In addition to our expanded social media presence and printed newsletter, we now have an email newsletter.  Click the link to read our first issue and to subscribe.

Albany Rural Cemetery E-mail Newsletter - August 2018

Concert At Cypress Pond

Albany Rural Cemetery will be hosting the Colonie Town Band for a concert on Monday, August 6.  The concert will be held at the historic Cypress Pond and is free.  Please bring your own chairs and feel free to pack a small picnic.

It's also a chance to see the new fountain that was installed in the historic pond which was featured in the current issue of our Friends newsletter (if you aren't a member of the Friends of Albany Rural Cemetery yet and would like to join, we will have an information table where you can pick up a membership form).

Also, if you'd like to volunteer for this or any other Cemetery events, please email me at albanyrural1@gmail.com

ARC on TV

In case you missed it - last week, CBS6 visited the Cemetery to chat with us about our history and how we're sharing it with tours and events.

The segment is now online and can be see here:

CBS6 Positively Upstate - The History of Albany Rural Cemetery

Our current events can be found on our Facebook page, but I'll add a full list here soon (we're still adding to the list).

And we are now on Twitter - follow us at @AlbanyRural

Women' History Tour (And More)

There is still time to register for the June 16 Women's History Tour!  This walk along the Cemetery' old Middle Ridge and South Ridge will visit the graves of Revolutionary War poets, Quaker abolitionists, the first woman to be admitted to the New York State Bar, and more. It will start from the Chapel and is this year's NYS Path Through History event.

Registration Information:

Because the walk will include hills and unpaved paths, attendees are asked to wear sensible shoes and bring bug spray.  The tour will begin at the Chapel.

The tour is Saturday, June 16 at 10:30 am. Tickets are $15 and space is limited. Email albanyrural1@gmail.com or call the office a 518-463-7017 to register.

There are quite a few tours and events scheduled this year - a full calendar will be posted here soon.  Also, restoration work continues at Cypress Pond. 

If you are a member of the Friends of Albany Rural Cemetery, you will have noticed that our newsletter is now being published monthly.  If you are not a member, please join - we are working very hard to bring you interesting content.  A printable copy of the membership form is available here or just stop by our office.

And, because of increased events, we are looking for volunteers.  If you are interested, you can pick up a volunteer application form at the office or download one here.  Or just email albanyrural1@gmail.com with "Volunteer" in the subject line.

There is much more news, but that's for the next post.

P.S.  - I am now a full time member of the office staff at Albany Rural.  If you stop by the office Monday through Friday, please say hello! - Paula

An Historic Tour of The Cemetery

On May 18th, the Albany Rural Cemetery and the Historical Society of the Town of Colonie will hold a special evening tour featuring first person presentations of a dozen of the Cemetery's "permanent residents." 

Details about the tour can be found on our Facebook Event page and registration information will be be posted very soon.

Other tours are in the planning stages so, please, keep an eye on Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves for dates and information.   The annual Audubon Bird Walk will be held on April 21s - details can be found here. 

Also, there is a new Instagram for the Cemetery - please follow historicalbanyruralcemetery

The latest issue of the newsletter is arriving in mailboxes now.  If you'd like to receive it, please join the Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery.  You can print a membership form here to mail or drop off at the Cemetery office during business hours.  It will be changing to a monthly format and there is information on changes to Friends membership. 

Announcement Time

Those of you who follow Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves or my personal profile on Facebook will have already read this, but for those of you who haven't not yet seen the news, I'm very happy to announce that I am now working as a consulting historian for the Cemetery.

This is something I've wanted to do for quite some time now (it's almost a cliche to call it a "dream job," but that's exactly what it is) and I'm so glad that it's now official.

Posts will continue here and on Facebook and on a new Instagram - historicalbanyruralcemetery (if you use IG, please feel free to follow this new account as well as my regular account since I do post about A.R.C. and Albany history at the latter, too).

I already have several projects lined up which I'll share as they fall into place, including tours and other events.

Also, if you haven't seen the current issue of the Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery newsletter, stop by the office and pick up a copy for my article on the Van Rensselaer tomb (and, don't forget to join the Friends - a printable form is here)

Restoration Work Needed on Cypress Pond

“At the west, a short distance below, is a pear-shaped bit of silver, known as Cypress Water, in which is  a miniature island.”

(from "The Albany Hand-book for 1881" by Henry Pitt Phelps)

One of the most recognizable features of the Cemetery landscape, Cypress Pond (or Cypress Waters, as it was more commonly known in the past) turns 148 years old this year.  Among the monuments that overlook this pretty "bit of silver" are the bronze statue of "Contemplation" by Charles Calverley atop the grave of Dr. Jephta Bouleware, the pensive maiden marking the family plot of author Charles Fort, and one of the most photographed statues at Albany Rural - the John G. Myers angel.  Seven of the Cemetery's many roads and paths converge here.

The centerpiece of the South Ridge, if not the entire Rural Cemetery, Cypress Pond was created from a swampy patch of land dotted with natural springs.  A large stone slab covering the outlet at the north end of the pond bears the date of its creation, 1869.  The work was undertaken during the tenure of Superintendent J.P. Thomas who was known for numerous changes and improvements to the Cemetery, including the extension of the grounds to the South Gate.  While a small pond does appear on Cemetery maps from the late 1850s, this area of the Cemetery was, for the most part, a swampy area dotted with natural springs.

 And what's in a name? The cypress is a tree long associated with cemeteries and can be found growing in many burying grounds. It has been a symbol of mourning since ancient times because, if cut back too much, the tree will not regrow. Its branches were gifted to grieving families in Athens and it was burned to clear the harsh odors of cremations. The trees have also been planted in great numbers in Turkish cemeteries for centuries

Early photos of Cypress Waters show the little island which formerly occupied the middle of the pond.  Some of the earliest views even show a little canoe near the island.  The wooded island was later replaced with a classically-styled fountain installed in 1950.

Unfortunately, Cypress Pond is now in urgent need of repair.  The fountain which replaced the little island has not functioned in several years.  Several sinkholes near the newly repaired shelter at the northeast corner of the pond required work.  The pond walls are unstable and tilting inward towards the water.

Work is being done in phases and, to date, the Cemetery has financed $21,115 towards these much needed repairs.  The final two phases of the project - replacement and reactivation of the fountain and the stabilization of the pond walls will require additional funds.

The fountain runs on water pressure from a gravity-fed reservoir.  It will be converted to an electrical source with a new floating aerating fountain similar to those seen in Washington Park, Buckingham Pond, and The Crossings in Colonie.  The work will included electricity and working water outlets in the areas around the pond.  The engineering work and design are completed and the project is now awaiting funding.

The buckling pond walls are hazardous, especially since the area immediately around the pond is a popular place for visitors to park and walk.

A more detailed illustrated report on the work to be done and funds needed can be downloaded here:  Cypress Pond Restoration Report PDF

If you would like to make a donation of any size to help complete the badly-needed repairs to the fountain and pond walls, please make a check or money order out to:

Albany Rural Cemetery
Cemetery Avenue
Menands, New York 12204

Please include a memo that the donation is for "Restoration of The Cypress Pond Area."  Or contact the Cemetery directly at  518-463-7017 or albanyruralcemetery@biznycap.rr.com with questions or to discuss other donation options.  You can also stop by the office during business hours.  Donations are tax-deductible.

And, please, share and spread the word.  This post (with additional historic images of the pond) will also be available on Facebook at Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond Graves (it will be pinned to make it easy to find) and on Twitter.

All The Latest

 For those of you who have been following either my personal Facebook page, my Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves Facebook page, or my recent GoFundMe campaign, you know that, James, my boyfriend of nine years (and the best cemetery exploring partner) had been fighting cancer since last fall and passed away suddenly on April 2.

Despite this, I've been keeping up with my Cemetery research, both on Facebook and on my personal web site.  Here's a quick rundown of some recent highlights:

Rediscovering Sibbie - The Last Documented Slave At The Schuyler Flatts

From the Single Grave Books - Civil War Bounty Jumpers

The English Graveyard

Carlyle Harris and The Epitaph That Never Was

The Lost Ravine Bridge

Celtic Crosses

The Burying Places - Albany's old Dutch graveyards

And, most recently, the grim tale behind the Van Rensselaer tomb.

Also, the latest issue of the Friends of The Albany Rural Cemetery newsletter is out this week.  If you'd like to read it, pick up a copy at the Cemetery's main Office (Route 32 entrance) or join (you can print a form here)

Last, but definitely not least, consider following The Friends of Albany History on Facebook.  You won't regret it!

Grief and The Elusive Daniel Campbell.

I first came across this monument - both in person and in Henry P. Phelp's The Albany Rural Cemetery - Its Beauties, Its Memories - while still in high school.  Works by Erastus Dow Palmer had already become a favorite "find" at Albany Rural by then.  But information on the Daniel Campbell buried here was elusive until recently when I came across a tattered copy of a sermon preached by the Reverend William B. Sprague at an 1851 funeral.

The following is crossposted from my Facebook page, Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves.  Additional photos are posted there.

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Located in Lot 4, Section 18, this monument is quite well documented in early written histories of the Albany Rural Cemetery, but the story behind it is a little more elusive.

In Edward Fitzgerald's 1871 “A Handbook For The Albany Rural Cemetery,” it's described as “a marble obelisk...erected by the young men of Albany” and that its inscription provides “an enduring record of that deed.” In his 1893 “Albany Rural Cemetery – Its Beauties, Its Memories,” Henry P. Phelps goes into a bit more detail and hints at a romance cut short, writing “The monument is of Italian marble and, on the reverse side will be found a bas-relief by Palmer, representing Grief, a bowed female figure, suggestive of the betrothed one whose heart was broken forty years ago.”

The inscription on the south face of the monument reads:

“The young men of the City of Albany, in their grief for his too Early Removal, have erected this Monument to the memory of Daniel Campbell; a man who loved humanity as most love their nearest kindred, and who, as his only riches, the blessings of the needy.”

The north face contains the relief of Grief by Erastus Dow Palmer. It depicts a young woman in a kneeling pose with her head bent and resting on one hand.

The monument, however, gives no further information on the identity of Daniel Campbell. He was obviously much loved, but no date of birth or death is given on the beautiful tombstone.

The lot was deeded to Archibald Campbell, the Scottish immigrant who had served as Acting Secretary of State of New York in the early 1840s and who died in 1856. The Cemetery's burial records list a Daniel D. Campbell in this lot. His index card states that this person died of consumption at the age of 22 on September 3, 1863. This, however, cannot be the same Daniel Campbell honored with the Palmer monument described above.

The Daniel Campbell so beautifully eulogized in marble must have died before 1858 as an engraving of the monument and a copy of the epitaph were included in the second edition Henry W. Churchill's “Guide Through The Albany Rural Cemetery” which was published that year. Erastus Dow Palmer's records indicate that he worked on “Grief” in 1852.

No other Daniel Campbells are recorded in the Cemetery's burial cards so information on his life must be gleaned from other sources. A pamphlet, “Sermon, Address, &c., Occasioned By The Death of Daniel Campbell,” contains both a sermon by the Reverend William Buell Sprague on the Sunday following Daniel Campbell's death. Also printed in the pamphlet is the sermon given by Ray Palmer, Minister of the Congregational Church in Albany.

The funeral's date was October 8, 1851. The newspapers indicate that Campbell died on the morning of October 6 at his father's home. His cause of death was not stated, but an illness is implied.

The fragile booklet also reprints several death notices published in the Albany Argus.

“We discharge a very painful duty in announcing the death of Daniel Campbell, a young gentleman in whose character all the better ingredients of our nature were harmoniously blended, and whose life has been devoted, assiduously, to works of unostentatious goodness and mercy....The deceased was a son of Archibald Campbell. He was born, educated, and has always resided in Albany. His impulses and sympathies, ever warm and generous, were ever prompting him and leading him to do good. He was known in the Schools, at the Asylums, in the Benevolent Societies, at the Young Men's Association and was seen, with his beaming countenance and affectionate manner, wherever aid could be extended to the unfortunate, wherever aid could be extended to the unfortunate or relief administered to the suffering.”

Another notice, from the Albany Express, reported, “On Sunday evening, at the close of a pure and noble life, there passed away from among us one of the choicest spirits of our city – Daniel Campbell. From an easy, natural sleep, he seemed to glide away into the deeper sleep of the good and true who rest from their labors....He was not widely known, but how well and earnestly esteemed, can be learned best among the poor, who he has served for years with a ceaseless and unwearying devotion. Occupying no public office and living so quietly among us that we seemed scarcely so much conscious of his presence as of the works he performed, all unambitious, he was in fact a public benefactor.”

Among the many institutions and charities mentioned in these various printed tributes were the Orphan Asylum, the St. Andrew's Society, the Mission Home, and the Young Men's Association.
Census records and city directories provide a few practical details of his life.

He was the son of Archibald and Mary Campbell. The 1850 census identifies him as a merchant, aged 40, and a member of his father's household (which included three siblings and two servants). The family home was at 60 Chapel Street (near the corner with Pine Street). The 1851 city directory lists him as a coal merchant, a partner in the firm of Belknap, McKercher & Campbell. The business was located at the corner of Broadway and Spencer Street.

There is, however, no hint of just who “the betrothed one” alluded to by Phelps might have been. Her identity remains a mystery.

James' Cancer Fight

As those of you who follow either my personal Facebook profile, my Albany Rural Cemetery Facebook page, or Twitter account might know, my partner of eight years has recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and, last week, underwent a temporary tracheostomy to relieve serious breathing problems that occurred as a side effect of the radiation treatments.

I affectionately refer to James as my research assistant though his assistance generally consists of carrying my backpack full of maps and notes, asking if it's time to go home for lunch, or making sure I don't tumble down various hills while taking photos at Albany Rural.

His cancer is in the early stages and, even with setback due to the breathing complications, his prognosis is good.  But this is still an incredibly difficult time for us.  I am acting as his full-time caregiver until he completes his treatments and completely recovers.

More can be read at our GoFundMe page.  If you can contribute or even just share the link, it would be truly appreciated.

James' Cancer Fight on GoFundMe

Thank you and Happy Holidays.

Paula

Repairs To A Van Rensselaer Gravestone

 The following article is from the Times Union.  If you are not a Times Union Plus subscriber, link around by Googling the phrase "patroon van rensselaer plot at albany rural to be repaired times union" and the first result will take you to the article.

Times Union - Patroon Van Rensselaer plot at Albany Rural to be repaired.

The photo above shows the headstone to be repaired and was taken in late March. 

The Kneeling Child

 The Anderson monument at Albany Rural Cemetery

When I unexpectedly came across the Anderson plot last spring, the badly weathered little statue atop the monument was already a familiar sight.  I had previously seen the figure atop a monument in Schenectady's Vale Cemetery.  The same figure also appeared as stock artwork in several 19th-century city directory advertisements for local stone cutters, including James Gazeley, William Manson, and Edward Remond (all of whom created monuments for Albany Rural).

 The Anderson lot viewed from one of the old ravine paths.

Variations on the statue also appeared in Facebook groups for cemetery enthusiasts;  there were examples in cemeteries such Brooklyn's vast Green-Wood, and Union Grove in Canal Winchester, Ohio, Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Forest Hill in Boston, Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, and Mount Auburn (the original "rural" cemetery).  Examples also appear in Ireland and England. Some of these figures were marble, one was white zinc. 

Vale Cemetery, Schenectady

The little figure was originally the work of Florentine sculptor Luigi Pampaloni (1791-1847).  Created around 1826, the figure was originally one of a plaster pair;  a sleeping girl and a kneeling boy beside her.  On a visit to Pampaloni's studio, Countess Anna Potocka commissioned a marble copy of the boy for the grave of her young daughter Julia in Krakow.

 1870 Albany city directory advertisement

The statue, which shows a child kneeling with one knee raised and one foot tucked behind, clasped hands, an upturned face, and long curls, became quite popular and copies some appeared in gardens and cemeteries.  Appealing to popular sentimental taste, plaster, alabaster, and porcelain examples could be found in parlors and drawing rooms.  Some examples include wings.  In some versions, the child kneels on a cushion, other omit the cushion.

Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

The figure is known by several names;  "The Praying Child," "Kneeling Samuel" or "Little Samuel," and "The Orphan."  Some claimed it was meant to represent the son of the late Emperor Napoleon.  It is also called "The Prayer of Pampaloni."

There is even a Flickr group of images of the various versions found around the world.

A Few Favorites

Thanks to AOA for asking me to do a second article on the Rural Cemetery.

A tour of (a few) favorites

(You can just imagine how hard it is to pick favorites!)

On All Over Albany

In case you haven't read it yet, please stop by All Over Albany for my piece on African-American history and the Rural.

Eight short stories recalling the lives of African-Americans at the Albany Rural Cemetery

Rediscovering A Soul Effigy

 

A recent research walk on the Rural Cemetery's Middle Ridge revealed a few interesting surprises, including only the second marble section marker I've seen intact.  Stopping near the wonderfully eclectic monument to Ozias Hall to retrieve a lot map from my backpack, I happened to look back down the hill toward a corner lot I'd visited several years ago.  

There's a cache of older headstones there, mostly transferred from the State Street Burying Grounds and laid flush to the earth in a large family plot.  I'd photographed a few of them back in 2013, but gave up because several of them were positioned at the very edge of a short, but very steep slope.  Since I was using a cane as I recovered from a badly dislocated knee, I didn't want to risk a tumble! 

As I looked down from the Ozias Hall lot, I noticed about two or three headstones in that corner lot.  These had not been visible on that previous visit.  They looked quite old so I retraced my steps back down from the Hall lot for a closer look.  One was fairly plain;  the inscription was partially obscured, but I could make out a partial date of 17--.  The stone next to it was heavily embedded in the earth.  Only a couple of inches were visible with most of the slab covered in very thick moss and the upper portion overlapped by a tree root.

But there was something interesting on that upper portion.  A row of tiny parallel lines was just visible under a layer of thick dirt and moss.  It hinted some sort of carving, perhaps the bottom edge of wings.  It might even be a soul effigy - the winged faces popular on 18th-century tombstones.  They were not particularly common in Albany compared to New England and the lower Hudson Valley, but there are some interesting examples in the Church Grounds and the Schuyler lot.  Many, though not all, of the Cemetery's soul effigies are documented in Experiencing Albany:  Perspectives On A Grand City's Past.

I keep a few "tools" in my backpack when I'm at the Cemetery, including a soft brush which I used it to sweep the dirt from the upper part.  And, yes, there was a soul effigy complete with a fashionable wig atop on oval face.  There is even a hint of a heavenly crown peeking out from under the turf.

The inscription was much harder to reveal with just the brush.  But I was able to clear just enough to reveal some elegant flourishes and enough letters to copy for identification.

The headstone belongs to Jacob Ten C. Eyck who died on September 8, 1793.  Born in Albany in 1705 to silversmith Coenradt Ten Eyck and Gerritje Van Schaick Ten Eyck, he followed in his father's line of work.  As a young man, he apprenticed to Charles Le Roux in New York City.  He returned to Albany around 1736 where he practiced his trade as a smith - an example of his work is currently on display as part of the Albany Institute of History & Art's excellent exhibit, Masterworks - 225 Years of Collecting.  He also served as constable and city firemaster and, eventually, as sheriff of Albany County.  From 1748 to 1750, he served as Mayor.

In 1736, he married Catharina Cuyler.  They had four children.  Catharina died in 1790.

Jacob C. Ten Eyck was eighty-eight at the time of his death.  He was buried in the Dutch Reformed Church's section of the municipal burial ground which closed in 1868 to allow the land to be redeveloped into Washington Park.  While most graves were relocated to the Rural Cemetery's Church Grounds, Jacob C. Ten Eyck's was moved to this large plot in Section 60.  Records indicate that Catharina was also moved here and her headstone is likely nearby, waiting to be cleared, too.

 AIHA - a silver bowl by Jacob C. Ten Eyck

Flags and Wreaths, 1965

This silent compilation of video of War-time Albany includes some excellent footage of flags being placed on the graves of soldiers in May, 1965.  The Civil War Soldiers Lot is included in the video, along with an impressive wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of President Arthur.

Cemetery Lane, 1907

A rather clever postcard was printed to look like birch bark that was peeled back to reveal an image of Cemetery Lane (now Cemetery Avenue).  It is, of course, the approach to the Albany Rural Cemetery (and St. Agnes Cemetery) from the main gate on Broadway. 

Postmarked 1907, it shows the Avenue before the installation of the current fence which lines both sides and before disease wiped out the rows of elm trees.

The card was mailed from Albany on July 2 and address to a Miss Lila C. Ritter in Alder Creek, Oneida County.  A little research shows that Miss Ritter graduated from Boonville High School two years later and became a teacher until she married Loren Yerdon in 1915  The Yerdons lived on a farm in Steuben County, but later moved back to Alder Creek.  She passed away on September 10, 1971 at the age of 82.

There is no note on the card and the sender didn't sign his or her name, though there are two sets of initials inked on the lower edge and "Cemetery Lane, Albany" is written in pencil on the reverse. 

Lost At Sea

The burial card and monument for Jacob F. Benjamin lists his date of death as Christmas Day, 1853 and it includes an intriguing notation - LOST AT SEA.  

It was December 25, 1853 when a vessel from the Pacific Mail Steamship Company encountered a terrible gale and foundered near Charleston.  The ship had left New York and was bound for Panama. Aboard were both soldiers (the ship was transporting the Third Regiment of the United States Artillery) and civilian passengers, including women and children. The decks were swept with wind and water, the smokestacks toppled, the boats lost.  Reports of the total casualties vary;  some contemporary newspapers reported about 300 casualties and 150 saved. First hand accounts of the disaster can be read here.

Among those reported dead that night was "The barber, colored, washed overboard."  This barber's name was not given in any accounts of the tragedy, but it was most certainly the same Jacob F. Benjamin; he Albany city directory for the same year lists him as a barber residing at 111 Knox Street.

His body was not recovered, but his name was carved on the marble shaft in a family plot deeded to his wife, Abigail.  At the time of his death, they had five children who ranged in age from an infant (his father's namesake) to eleven years old.  Jacob was thirty-five when he was lost to the waves.

The Benjamin plot is Lot 94, Section 100.  It is adjacent to the Arsenal Burial Ground and the grave of Dr. Thomas Elkins.

The Death of Judge Clinton

On September 7, 1885, the body of an older gentleman in a black suit was found about a quarter mile beyond this bridge in the ravine between the Rural Cemetery's Middle and North Ridges.  A little boy made the discovery and quickly ran to tell an undertaker who had just finished an interment nearby.  The Cemetery's superintendent was also summoned. The man was found with several roots and herbs in his pockets, along with a small notebook and pocket-knife.  A clover was still held in one hand.  He had evidently been collecting botanical specimens somewhere along the Cemetery's Dellwood Avenue.  His pockets also contained a fine gold watch which had stopped at 3:30.  A closer examination of the notebook revealed the gentleman's name - Judge George W. Clinton.

The son of Governor DeWitt Clinton, he was born in New York City on April 21, 1807, but was raised in Albany where he attended the Albany Academy.  After graduating from Hamilton College and Norwich University, he attended Litchfield Law School in Connecticut and admitted to the bar in 1831.  The following year, he married Laura Catherine Spencer, the daughter of John Canfield Spencer (under whom he'd completed his legal studies).  The couple had nine children.

Relocating to Canandaigua, New York, he served as District Attorney for Ontario County before settling in Buffalo.  In 1842, he was elected Mayor of Buffalo.  His long political and public career included service as United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York and Judge of the Buffalo Supreme Court.  At the time of his death, he was also Vice-Chancellor of the Regents of the State University.

In 1882, he moved back to Albany to edit a collection of Clinton family papers.  A founding member and first president of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, Judge Clinton took a special interest in botany and had published a catalog of both native and natural plants of the Buffalo area.  After his move to Albany, he would frequently walk the Rural Cemetery in search of interesting plant specimens.

The Albany Express reported:

The death of Judge Clinton, at the Rural cemetery, was a shock to his Buffalo friends, but the Commercial of that city says, "It was a happy ending for such a life as his, after all.  The good man, whom all Buffalonians  loved to claim as their first and best citizen, while enjoying one of the botanizing strolls in which he delighted, fell back in the lap of Nature and quietly gave up his spirit.  That was all."  At a dinner of the bar of Buffalo some years since, Mr. James O. Putnam, after speaking of Judge Clinton's eminent professional career, said:  "Nature's own child, he has unfolded to us her mysteries as she has revealed them to him from tree and shrub and flower and her myriad schools of life; for to him nature unveils her face, and fills his ear with her music, and his soul with her all-pervading beauty."  It thus appears that the end of his career was peculiarly in harmony with the tastes and characteristics that marked his life."

Judge Clinton's body was returned to Buffalo where he was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Judge George W. Clinton on Find A Grave

Appropriately, he was laid to rest holding in his hands the clover he had picked in the Rural Cemetery moments before his death.

P.S.  Don't forget, you can still contribute to the Cemetery's annual fund and, if you enjoy these stories, be sure to like our Facebook page.

Support the Rural Cemetery

If you missed the post a few days ago with the link to the Cemetery's Annual Fund, you can find more ways to support the Cemetery at the link below.

How to support the Albany Rural Cemetery

You can make a donation, join the Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery, volunteer, or support the Albany Cemetery project (of which this blog is a part of).