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. 

Restoration Work

Today's Times Union has a story about work being done by Joe Ferrannini of Grave Stone Maters to restore damaged stones at the Cemetery.

Restoring historic gravestones in Albany Rural

There is also a brief follow-up on the story of the boy who was injured last year by a falling headstone.

Restoration

 In a lovely contrast to the recent vandalism of a mausoleum and headstone, the broken wings of an angel have been restored.

This pretty monument is hard to see from the main roads and paths;  it's tucked in a very quiet and shady corner of the South Ridge near Moordanaers Kill.  Still, it's a popular subject for photos and it's not unusual to see flowers tucked in the hands of the statue or in the two little urns on the pedestal.

The wings have been detached for many years.  Twenty years ago, when I first saw this monument, one wing was resting upside down on the base (and reminded me of a giant shell) and the other was propped up behind the monument.

December 2012

Sometime during the last month, someone refitted the wings back into their slots on the angel's shoulders.  A closer look shows how they've been secured with thin bits of stone and what look like coins.  The tips are long since broken and missing, but with the wings back in place, the pretty figure is now quite stunning.

This monument marks a single grave;  Elizabeth "Libbie" Lathrop.  Born in Albany in 1852, she was the daughter of Francis and Alida Griswold.  Her father was a gold beater whose home was 307 Hamilton Street (his place of business is listed in city directories as 23 Beaver Street.  She married Charles Lathrop, brother of Jane Lathrop who, with her husband Leland Stanford, founded Stanford University.  Charles served as the school's first treasurer.

Libbie died the same year the University was founded;  she passed away of heart disease in San Francisco on July 3.  She was thirty-three years old.  Her remains were returned to Albany and interred in this peaceful nook of the Cemetery on July 19.

Restoration of The Soldiers Lot

The restoration of the Soldiers Lot, which was begun last year, is showing fine results.  Over one hundred white marble headstones have been cleaned and reset on new concrete foundations. 

Click here for photos of the work during earlier stages

Located on the North Ridge, the Soldiers Lot was established in 1862 and also includes a bronze monument with the names of over six hundred additional local men who died in the conflict.  By Memorial Day, these white rows will be brightened by the placement of small American flags at each grave.

Hopefully, the same sort of restoration can eventually be done at the G.A.R. lot on the far end of the North Ridge.  Many of the stones there are illegible and overgrown.

Click here to see the headstone of Orange Peck prior to restoration.

More on the Soldiers Lot