The Fallen Tree

After a rather hectic week, I took the first opportunity to wander through the Albany Rural Cemetery on an unseasonably warm day (there were butterflies and bees out and about in mid-December).  Research and the quest for an "ancient" white oak identified on a late 19th-century map were cut short by a nearly dead camera battery, but I did manage to find the lot owned by the old Church of the Holy Innocents just beyond this massive fallen tree.

To give an idea of how big that tree is, I could've walked beneath it without grazing the top of my green cap.

This is a fairly remote back corner of the Rural;  down a grassy path where, in the summer, you'll find milkweeds, monarch butterflies, and a bit of mid.  There are several church and charity plots back here, unmarked, but interesting.

P.S. If you'd like to support the Cemetery's Annual Fund, click here.

Clinging

A diminutive and dramatic statue based on the hymn, "Rock of Ages," at the Albany Rural Cemetery.  It's one of two such statues on the Cemetery's South Ridge; the other is almost life-size.

For those of you with an interest in the Albany Rural Cemetery, I've added a dedicated Facebook page to my existing blog.  Please, visit and like it!

Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves

A Soldier's Gravestone

 

I spent at least part of Memorial Day weekend in one of my favorite places, the Albany Rural Cemetery.  It was a rewarding walk (despite ending up with my foot ankle-deep in the rotted stump of a tree).  Among the headstones found on this outing, a fallen Civil War soldier's marker high on the old North Ridge.  Though the name and dates are difficult to read, it is easy to recognize it as a Civil War soldier's resting place; the design includes a soldier's kepi-style cap and a shield overlapping a crossed sword and scabbard.

A Wreath For The President

A memorial wreath on the grave of President Chester A. Arthur in the Albany Rural Cemetery.  The wreath-laying ceremony is held every year on his birthday.  Considering how much time I spend exploring and researching the Cemetery, I'm embarrassed to admit this is the very first time that I have attended the ceremony.  I won't miss it next year.

A Bench For Souls

The Pond at the Albany Rural Cemetery (also known as Cypress Waters) is surrounded by benches which give visitors a nice place to relax.  The benches were made possible by donations and there are plaques affixed to each.  This one is particularly interesting.

Given by William D. Dearstyne, Jr. and Peter R Kermani, classmates and lifelong friends, in honor of their families buried at Albany Rural Cemetery, October 1, 2007. This bench is for visitors to use to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of this place overlooking The Pond. When the Cemetery is closed, this bench is reserved exclusively for the souls of the donors.

(Why not follow along as I digitally explore the Rural Cemetery at my other blog?)

A Spooky Gravestone For Halloween

 

I've featured this gravestone before on my Church Grounds blog, but it's so delightfully macabre that I had to use it for Halloween as well.  

It's one of the oldest stones I've encountered at the Albany Rural Cemetery and one of the distinctive.  It features a winged skull - a popular image of mortality in old New England and some downstate burial grounds, but not so common here in the Albany area.  The center tablet is framed with a wonderful carved border of vines and flowers. 

It's also one of a few stones featuring a Dutch inscription and marked the grave of Elsie Gansevoort Winne, wife of Frans Winne.  The grave was originally located in the churchyard of the Reformed Dutch Church at the intersection of State Street and Broadway, but was moved several times over the years (including to the Washington Park) before ultimately being laid in the Church Grounds lot at the Rural Cemetery.

Cemetery Butterfly

A lemony-yellow butterfly enjoys the red clover in Albany Rural Cemetery on a gorgeous autumn afternoon.

Happy Halloween

A spooky gravestone in the Albany Rural Cemetery. 

Stones like this - with winged skulls or soul effigies -aren't found in great number around here (they're much more common in New England), there are a few interesting examples.  This striking stone is one of the oldest in the Church Grounds section.

The Church Grounds Project

Ice between rows of graves in the Church Grounds section of Albany Rural Cemetery.

The Church Grounds were created when graves were relocated from the old State Street Burying Grounds (now Washington Park).

I've been posting about various gravestones found in this lot at my other blogs, Albany Rural Cemetery - History In Photos and Albany NY History. The more I explore this area of the Cemetery, the more I'm fascinated by its historic significance.

And I have decided to create a blog focusing on the Church Ground burials.

Many of the Church Grounds stones are broken or badly eroded so I know going into this project that I will not be able to transcribe every one, but I want to document as many as I can before time completely erases them.

The new blog can be found at:

The Albany Church Grounds

A Trick of The Light

I recently spent yet another day wandering the Albany Rural Cemetery. It's one of my favorite places to explore and I was doing some research for a book. This most recent trip took me back to one of my favorite sections, the old Church Grounds.

Of course, walking from one section to another always takes a long time because I am constantly veering off my intended path to examine some monument that catches my eye...and no matter how often I explore a given section, I always discover something new.

Walking back from the Church Grounds to the main Lodge, I noticed a few interesting headstones on the South Ridge...including this small Civil War monument. It's one of scores of such monuments that dot the Rural Cemetery and very typical with its sword, scabbard, and soldiers cap.

It was almost closing time so I just meant to take a quick photo, then quickly double back for a picture of the Van Rensselaer lot. To my eyes, there nothing odd about the light as I took the photo. But as I stepped away to the right after...out of the corner of my eye...I caught a brief glimpse of long, fine beams of sunlight slanting towards me. For a moment, I hesitated and considered taking a second picture. I wanted to capture those golden rays of light, but all the same, I knew that might not be possible. The chances of positioning my camera just at the perfect angle were slim and, to be honest, my humble little point-and-shoot camera isn't very good at capturing light effects. So I walked away and two more interesting old monuments distracted me.

It wasn't until I got home and uploaded all three hundred photos that I realized I had - by some chance - captured this glorious trick of the light after all!

(This monument marks the grave of Douglas Lodge, a Captain in the New York 43rd Infantry who was killed in May of 1863 at Salem Church, near Chancellorsville, Virginia. He was twenty years old.)

Happy Halloween

An old headstone in the Albany Rural Cemetery, one of my favorite "haunts."

The Albany Rural Cemetery

Sign outside the Albany Rural Cemetery along Broadway (Route 32) in Menands. Since my photos of the Rural Cemetery could easily take over this blog and Albany (NY) History, I've recently created a companion blog dedicated to one of my favorite places. Please take a look at the link below:

Albany Rural Cemetery - History In Photos

Thanks!

A Little Iron Angel

A petite angel atop a monument on the North Ridge of the Albany Rural Cemetery. She is missing one wing and no longer fastened to the stone, but someone must repaint her once in a while.

Eroded Grace

A badly weathered marble relief by Erastus Dow Palmer on the back of a monument in the Albany Rural Cemetery.

More on Palmer:

The Angel At The Sepulchre
The Sculptor's House

Sinister Grafitti

During the summer of 1998, the arrest of antiques thief and serial killer Gary Evans was big news. His escape from a moving police car and death leap from the Troy Menands Bridge was even bigger news.

The Albany Rural Cemetery figured in the sinister story of Evans and his many crimes. He famously stole a massive marble bench from one grave and hid the guns used to commit some of his murders in along the secluded streams (one of which is, rather appropriately named Moordenaerskill or Murderer's Creek).

A year or two after Evans' arrest and suicide, I came across his name scratched into the back of a 1936 monument not too far from one of the streams. This summer, I found it again.

For more on Gary Evans, take a look at his story on Wikipedia.

Contrasting Monuments

An elegant white marble columbarium forms the backdrop to a much small monument in Albany Rural Cemetery.

Designed by Marcus Reynolds, the columbarium was patterned after the ancient Roman tombs that lined the Via Appia. The interior features beautiful blue tiles which give its domed ceiling a bright sky-like feel.

The smaller monument in the foreground has eroded badly over the years. The carved face is almost featureless and the inscription is illegible. The main portion of the monument has shifted and seems balanced very precariously on its base.

Happy Halloween

In honor of one of my favorite holidays, I've shared some ghostly stories at my other blog:

A Handful of Hauntings @ Albany (NY) History

The photo above is a casket-like monument (completely with sculpted floral arrangements) in the Albany Rural Cemetery.

Fallen Tree

Monuments in the shape of trees aren't uncommon in the Albany Rural Cemetery. The cut trunk represents the end of a life and the lack of branches often means there were no direct descendants. Carved ivy, a symbol of fidelity and faith, is often seen winding around the stone trunk.

This sandstone monument to Anna Armsby, which has sadly tipped over, is one of the more distinctive examples. Not only does it feature the usual symbols mentioned above, it also featured a hole cut into its flat top where real vines were to grow.

Broken Fences

A number of plots in the Albany Rural Cemetery are surrounded by fences as ornamental as the monuments themselves. This badly deteriorated cast iron fence encloses a family plot on the crest of a hill not far from the Cemetery's main entrance. The railing includes the popular mourning motif of inverted - but not extinguished - torches. Similar torches are found on monuments throughout the Cemetery. This family plot also includes a marble portrait medallion by Erastus Dow Palmer and the grave of Colonel Lewis Benedict, killed at the Battle of Pleasant Hill in 1864.

Detailed Door Knob

It's not hard to find artistic gems in the Albany Rural Cemetery, as I know I've mentioned before. But some of them are small surprises. A tiny, graceful statue along an overgrown path, a poetic inscription on a worn headstone. This doorknob is one of those little discoveries. Featuring a classic head that would be well-suited to an antique cameo, it's an elegant touch on an otherwise austere and weathered old mausoleum on a hill not far from the Cemetery's main entrance.