HVHH 2010 Montrepose, History Alliance of Kingston

Hudson Valley History Hunt:
October-November 2020
Historical Cemetery Hunt: Montrepose Cemetery

HVHH Cemetery Hunt logo

In the spirit of Halloween, this History Hunt takes place in famous cemeteries of the Hudson Valley.

RULES: Visit: Montrepose Cemetery: 75 Montrepose Avenue, Kingston New York 12401

Find the gravesites of the person mentioned in each clue and document your discovery with a photo, which should then be uploaded to Instagram and tagged #hvhistoryhunt. If you cannot make it there in person, you can search online and document your discovery with a screen shot. You might also want to print out this form and take it with you on your hunt!

Find at least five gravesites to qualify for a History Hunt Certificate and be entered into the monthly raffle for other prizes. As you make your discoveries, check off the clues where the people are listed. Then click “I Found Them!” to get your certificate and be entered in the raffle.

Please remember that you are visiting an active cemetery — a place of reflection. You are encouraged to explore the cemetery and walk on the grass to find grave sites in the hunt. However, running and shouting, climbing on graves or monuments, or taking selfies is discouraged.

You can also try the Old Dutch Church History Hunt!

Map of Montrepose Cemetery

Find these gravesites: Montrepose Cemetery.

Maj George Francis Von Beck (1798-1870) In addition to being a military man, Von Beck also owned a brick making yard and owned the Mansion House. He worked for the D&H Canal Company and was made weighmaster in 1835, shipping clerk in 1837, bookkeeper in 1840, and, in 1851, worked his way up to paymaster. Can you find his grave?
Can you find the grave of Louis Hoysradt (1869-1950)?

Watch this video to learn more about him:.
Chief Engineer George Weber (1834-1882)

One of the first chief engineers in the Village of Rondout. After the villages of Rondout and Kingston merged to form the city of Kingston he would go on to become the third chief engineer of the City of Kingston in 1875. Weber Hose Company was formed in 1869 and named in his honor by the firefighters.
I Know This Much Is Fake

 
Over in the corner of Montrepose facing the Mary's Avenue Campus of HealthAlliance Hospital (historically known as Benedictine Hospital), you can find the gravestone for the Birdsey family, who never lived in Kingston. In fact they never lived at all, except as characters in a miniseries on HBO. It's a prop left there after filming scenes for "I Know This Much Is True", starring two Mark Ruffalos and others, including local actor Melissa Leo. To find it, look for two mausoleums uphill to the right and the left of it.
Thomas Chambers (circa 1620-1694) was one of the first European settlers of this area. His 1652 land deed is considered the oldest deed in Ulster County. He was moved to Montrepose shortly after its opening in 1850, over 150 years after his death.

Thomas Chambers is named on the earliest European deed in what was to become Ulster County (referred then as “Espous”) and was likely the first European settler of the area. Chambers was also one of the wealthier residents as he eventually built a manor house that was practically considered its own town based on the old Tax assessment records held by the Ulster County Clerk’s office. Unlike most of the village residents, Chambers was not Dutch and came from England. He also appears in the Old Dutch records books as a constant visitor to the Dutch Court.

Document mentioning Thomas Chambers.
Can you find all 10 of the Reher family’s graves in the older section of Montrepose, which is dedicated to Agudas Achim, the Orthodox Jewish Congregation?

Frank Reher was a Jewish immigrant who immigrated from Krakow to New York City, where he married his first wife, Rachel and had two daughters, Jennie and Yetta. The young family moved to Kingston in 1899 and had one more daughter, Minnie, before Rachel passed away. In 1900, Frank remarried and his wife Ada Adushefsky purchased the buildings at 99-101 Broadway. The Rehers operated a bread bakery downstairs and moved their growing family into the second floor apartment. Frank and Ada had six children of their own: Willie, Mollie, Sadie, Gertie, Elsie, and Hyman Reher. Everyone except for Jennie and Yetta are buried in this section of Montrepose.

Directions: Go through gates and park on the right. To find this fenced-off section of the cemetery, make the first right off of the main cemetery road and head toward the hospital at the top of Webster Avenue

 

According to the 1915 Census, ten Reher family members lived at 3 Spring Street, and three members of the Russian immigrant Morris family rented out the third floor apartment.
Can you find the grave of Jennie Lindhorst (1891-1993), wife of Louis A. Crosby (His name is bigger on one the stone)?

The daughter of German immigrants, Jennie Lindhorst was born in Kingston in 1891 and became one of hundreds of young women to find work in the city’s garment industry in the early twentieth century. In the 1910s she worked as a sewing machine operator at F. Jacobson and Son’s Shirt Factory on Cornell Street and eventually became a floor lady. (You can visit the building today at 77 Cornell Street; it’s called The Shirt Factory, and houses artist’s lofts and studios.) In 1932, Jennie married Louis A. Crosby, a house painter. She died just seven months after her wedding, in March of 1933, leaving no children behind.

 Directions: Go through gates and park on the right. Start walking on main path and stay to the right. You'll come to the Coykendall landmark, admire and either stay to the right or go thru it. Look for the Emmanuel blocks right past the "Gade" monument. Look to the right of Emmanuel blocks 1-6.
Can you find the grave of William Brown (1873-1945)

Willliam Brown was an African American man who worked for John D. Schoonmaker. He was the driver for Mr. Schoonmaker and caretaker for their home at 124 West Chestnut Street. He is buried in the Schoonmaker family plot at Montrepose Cemetery.
Who was Julia McEntee Dillon (1834-1919), and where is she buried?
Julia McEntee Dillon is buried in Montrepose Cemetery. She courageously defied the constraints for women of her time. She committed her life to being an artist. At 38, married, but childless, she went to Paris to study her specialty-floral still-live painting. Unexpectedly, widowed one year later, she became a partner in her husband John’s machine shop and foundry, earning income that allowed her to continue painting. Her cousin, Hudson River School artist Jervis McEntee, accorded her the use of his studios both in Kingston and New York City. Becoming one of the best- known floral painters of her time, she exhibited widely, including shows at the National Academy of Design in New York City, Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Brooklyn Art Association. A community leader as well, she helped establish the Kingston City Hospital, Kingston Library and Ulster Garden Club. In 2005, the Friends of Historic Kingston exhibited 29 works of Dillon, who attained recognition at a time when women artists were rare.
Thomas C Cornell (1814-1890) left behind quite a legacy in the Hudson Valley. He was involved with the Cornell Steamboat Company, had boats on the D&H Canal, and for a time operated the famous boat the Mary Powell. He is buried in a large family plot, along with his son-in-law Samuel Decker Coykendall. Can you find his grave?
Thomas Cornell (1/17/1814-3/30/1890) was a jack of all trades. He incorporated the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, ran a successful steamboat company, and served in the US House of Representatives twice. He also founded banks in the area including Rondout Savings. Cornell is well represented within the Ulster County Clerk’s archives with documents such as judgement rolls and incorporation records.
Samuel Decker Coykendall (1837-1913) was the son-in-law of Thomas C Cornell. He took over the Cornell Steamboat Company in 1890, was involved with Rosendale Cement, bought the Ulster and Delaware railroad, and brought trolleys to Kingston. He bought the D&H Canal in 1898 for $10,000 and cement was moved on the NE part of it until at least 1916. He is buried in a large family plot, along with his father-in-law Thomas C Cornell. Can you find his grave?
James S McEntee (1800-1887) worked on both the Erie Canal and the D&H Canal. He ran boats for the D&H Company, built Island Dock for them in 1845, built the first lighthouse in the Rondout Creek in 1837, built the Mansion House in Kingston, developed East Chestnut Street, and, in 1865, surveyed what became the Ulster & Delaware Railroad. He died in 1887 as the oldest man in Rondout. Can you find his grave?

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Hudson Valley History Hunt: October-November 2020 Historical Cemetery Hunt: Montrepose Cemetery

Hudson Valley History Hunt:
October-November 2020
Historical Cemetery Hunt: Montrepose Cemetery