Restoration Work Needed At Albany Rural Cemetery

“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 any 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.

Help the Albany Rural Cemetery

 

The history of the Albany Rural Cemetery is closely interlaced with Albany's history.  If you'd like to support the Cemetery, please see the link below for a list of ways (including the Annual Fund, membership in the Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery, and volunteering).

Support Albany Rural Cemetery

"Over the years, many generous donors have made tax-deductible gifts to the cemetery and such support is needed now, more than ever. For the sake of “these exalted acres” and the many people who enjoy the parklike setting, a historic resource in the upper Hudson Valley, we hope to broaden our base of support." 

- from a letter to the Times Union by Frank Slingerland, President of the Board of Trustees.

And, if you enjoy the Cemetery's history, don't forget to like this page on Facebook:

Albany Rural Cemetery - Beyond The Graves

Historic African-American Burials In Albany

A essay from gardenalley.net:

A Brief Look At Historic African-American Burials In Albany

The Gravestone of Jeremiah Field - A Mystery Solved

An historic gravestone, long described as discarded, in fact rests in the Church Grounds lot of the Albany Rural Cemetery.

Jeremiah Field and The Headstone Believed To Be Lost.

Not The Right Stones

 

The Lake House is Washington Park has a series of panels which illustrate the Park's history.  They're generally excellent, include a number of vintage photos and maps, and are definitely worth stepping inside to view.

The panel which interests me the most is, not surprisingly, the one which notes the history of the Park's location as a municipal cemetery.  The State Street Burying Grounds served as the not-so-final resting place for thousands of local residents until it closed in 1868 and the remains moved to the Church Grounds section at the Albany Rural Cemetery.

The panel in question includes a detail of an antique map of Albany showing the position of the Burying Grounds and its divisions among various congregations.  Two headstones are included as representing the various graves at the Burying Grounds and therein lies an inaccuracy.

It is very unlikely that either gravestone shown on the panel was ever in the State Street Burying Grounds.

The upper stone shown on the right is one of the most distinctive gravestones in the Church Grounds.  Though it has eroded badly in recent years, it is an incredible example of a colonial headstone carved with a winged skull;  an "momento mori" intended to remind the living of their own eventual death.  The inscription is framed with heavy vines and the lettering is finely carved.  It was carved for the grave of Elyse Gansevoort Winne who died in 1728 and was laid to rest in the graveyard of the Dutch Reformed Church which was then on South Pearl Street near Hudson Avenue. When that graveyard was eventually removed, a number of its oldest stones and remains were placed in a special vault beneath the tower of the Middle Dutch Church which was erected nearby on South Pearl Street.  These same headstones and remains were later placed in a vault beneath the Madison Avenue Reformed Church, as noted in this article by John Walcott.  Those stones and remains  - including Elyse Winne's - were eventually placed in the Church Grounds at the Albany Rural Cemetery, but did not spend time in the State Street Burying Grounds and was therefore not included in the Common Council inventory of the Burying Grounds.

The lower stone depicted is a plain brown sandstone marker from the grave of Dick who is identified in the inscription as a slave of John F. Pruyn who died in 1799.  This stone now rests in the African Methodist Episcopal section of the Church Grounds.  Dick may or may not have been originally buried in the State Street Burying Grounds.  He does not appear in the massive list of graves inventoried by the Albany Common Council prior to the removal to the Rural Cemetery.  However, that list is not complete.  There are quite a few graves now in the Church Grounds that were not printed in the inventory, perhaps omitted by mistake as the stones were transcribed.  He may have originally been buried in the previous municipal cemetery which stood just off Eagle Street south of the State Capitol.  This cemetery received burials from around 1789 to 1799, the same year Dick died.  He may have been buried in one of the small graveyards identified on period maps as "Negro Burying Grounds".

Or it's very possible the young man was buried in the same graveyard as Elyse Winne.  Dick's master was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church and may have arranged for Dick to be interred in a family plot in the congregation's churchyard.  This would account for why Dick's name also does not appear on Common Council inventory.  Like Elyse Winne, Dick and his gravestone would have lain in the vault beneath the Madison Avenue Reformed Church before being eventually brought to the Rural Cemetery.

In that case, neither stone is representative of the graves cleared from the State Street Burying Grounds.  Also, the caption identifies the skull stone as belonging to Elyse Wenne Huys.  The word "huys" is not part of her surname, but part of the old phrase "huys vrouw" or "housewife."

See also:  Jeremiah Field and The Headstone That Was Not Lost, The Oldest Stones (includes a larger photo of the Elyse Winne stone),and Dick.

Schuyler Slave Reburial Update

There is some news today that $4,000 has been earmarked in the State Budget for the reburial of the skeletons found near the Schuyler Flatts.  See more at the Church Grounds Project blog.

Erastus Dow Palmer

Erastus Dow Palmer by Matthew Brady

On March 10, 1904, the New York Times published the obituary of Erastus Dow Palmer, referring to the long-time resident of Albany as "one of the pioneers of American sculpture."

He was born in Pompey, New York on April 2, 1817.  The son of a farmer, he learned to carve wood at an early age.  In addition to helping cut axe handles and other utilitarian tools, he also is said to have carved toy horses, windmills, and even made a little fiddle from a cigar box.

As a young man, he moved to East Aurora (near Buffalo) to work as a carpenter.  While living in East Aurora, he married, but illness claimed both his wife and infant son.  Shortly after this double loss, he relocated to Utica where he continued as a carpenter and woodcarver.  In 1843, he married Mary Jane Seaman.

Having seen illustrations of cameos in the home of a client, Palmer was inspired to cut a cameo of his wife using an oyster shell and the smallest of his carpentry tools.  He showed the finished piece to a local lawyer for whom Palmer had done work.  The lawyer was very impressed by Palmer's work and immediately lent him books with engravings of famous artwork, provided him with letters of recommendation to a number of prominent artists of the era, and strongly encouraged Palmer to pursue a career as a sculptor.

That career began with a series of portrait cameos, mainly of prominent Utica residents.  However, Palmer found that working on such a small scale was straining his eyesight.  He began producing larger reliefs in marble.  One early work is the allegory of Faith which hangs in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in downtown Albany and is shown below.

Faith at St. Peter's Episcopal Church

He would move from reliefs such as the Spirit's Flight (shown below) and a haunting image of the poet Sappho to busts (including likenesses of Washington Irving, Erastus Corning, and Henry Burden) and, eventually full length-statues such as the White Captive and The Indian Girl.  Later in his career, he produced sculptures in bronze such as the bust of Doctor James Armsby in Washington Park and the statue of Robert Livingston in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall (with a copy in New York State Capitol.)

Early his career, Palmer relocated to Albany, a larger city that would provide him with many opportunities for commissions.  His home and studio still stand just north of City Hall on Columbia Place.  He later moved to nearby Lafayette Street (since demolished to make way for the park of the same name) and to a farm in Glenmont which he named Appledale.  He maintained close friendships with a number of contemporary artists including Frederick Church (a pair of reliefs by Palmer hang at Church's Olana) and Asa Twitchell.  Palmer would often spend time with the latter at Lawson Annesley's gallery and art store on North Pearl Street.

Palmer died at the age of eighty-six on March 9, 1904 and was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery.

A number of Palmer's works are on display in a permanent gallery at the Albany Institute of History & Art.  This exhibit includes the previously mentioned Sappho, Peace In Bondage (an allegory created during the Civil War), First Sorrow (a full length-figure of a little girl holding an empty nest), as well as plaster casts of the Indian Girl and The White Captive (the original pair of marbles is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art).  The centerpiece of the AIHA exhibit is the plaster cast of his masterpiece, the Angel At The Sepulchre.  A vivid portrait of Palmer by Charles Loring Elliott is also on display, as well as a painting of Palmer at work in his studio, surrounded by apprentices (including Charles Caverley) and many recognizable works.

The Angel At The Sepulchre

The Angel is one of ten monuments Palmer created for the Albany Rural Cemetery, including Grief, Remembrance, portrait medallions of Thomas Olcott, Lewis Benedict, and Benjamin Knower, as well as the granite headstone of Governor William Marcy.  A pair of reliefs representing Morning and Evening were incorporated into Palmer's own monument by architect Marcus T. Reynolds.

Grave of Erastus Palmer at the Albany Rural Cemetery

The Old Halenbeek Burial Ground

Downtown Albany was once dotted with public, private, and church graveyards.  The earliest churchyard surrounded the First Dutch Church at what is now Broadway and State Street, a Lutheran graveyard stood on South Pearl Street just below State Street, small burying grounds for soldiers from Fort Frederick and for African-Americans were located just outside the stockade not far from today's City Hall.  Later, municipal burial grounds were established on Eagle Street (just south of modern East Capitol Park) and then at State Street (now the northeastern corner of Washington Park). 

There were also small family burial grounds on farms, estates, and privately owned or leased lots.  One such lot - complete with a private vault - was built by merchant David Vanderheyden around 1766 at what is now the northwest corner of Washington Avenue and Swan Street. 

Update On The Reburial of the Schuyler Flatts Slaves

This afternoon, an informational meeting was held at the Albany Public Library to discuss the reburial of skeletons discovered near the Schuyler Flatts. The remains are of fourteen people who were undoubtedly slaves owned by the Schuyler family from the early 18^th to early 19^th centuries. The speaker was Paul Stewart of the Underground Railroad History Project; representatives from the New York State Museum, St. Agnes' Roman Catholic Cemetery, and Albany Rural Cemetery were present, along with the Town of Colonie's historian.

Some background information on the discovery of the skeletons and proposals for reburial were discussed.

In the past, the need for a suitable burial container had been mentioned as a concern; some sort of casket that would preserve the remains in the event of a future exhumation (presumably for scientific or educational purposes). However, this is no longer considered an issue and, in my opinion, there should not be any future exhumation of these skeletons. Their next resting place should be their final resting place and they should be allowed to lie in peace there. I would assume that reasonable samples from the bones could and would be retained by the NYS Museum for additional research as technology in that field advances.

A suitable burial container is still an issue, though. The discussion included modern-style burial vaults, simple wooden boxes in a manner similar to the original white pine coffins, cardboard boxes which have been used in previous reburials of historic remains, or merely wrapping the bodies in muslin winding sheets and laying them to rest in the earth. The issue of burying the remains separately or in a mass grave was also mentioned. All of these options are, of course, dependent on cost and available funds.

On the subject of funding, while the expenses have not yet been determined, I would suggest that donations could be solicited from individuals, businesses, and organizations with an interest in assisting with the cost of reburial and the placement of a suitable memorial or marker.

Several locations for reburial were mentioned. One early proposal put forward not long after the bones were discovered was to rebury them at the same privately owned site where they were discovered, along with an appropriate marker. There are at least two more undisturbed burials there and it is believed there may be others. However, there would be little protection for the remains if, in the future, construction or development affects the property. The parcel would have to be rezoned as a cemetery to be protected under the New York State Cemetery Laws and this, no doubt, would involve quite a bit of legal paperwork. Also, St. Agnes' Roman Catholic Cemetery – which is located just south of the original grave site and adjacent to the Albany Rural Cemetery – has offered to donate a suitable plot in a section called Founder's Hill, not far from the remains which were transferred to St. Agnes' from the Catholic lot in the State Street Burying Grounds during the mass removal of graves in 1868.

Another proposed site was the Church Grounds of Albany Rural Cemetery. It is my opinion, based on the history of the Church Grounds and the information presented at this meeting, that this is the most appropriate place for the reburial of the Schuyler Flatts skeletons.

First, there is strong precedent for such a reburial. In the past, when historic graves have been uncovered by construction or development, they have often been re-interred at the Church Grounds or other suitable areas of the Rural Cemetery. These reburials include the graves exhumed from the Alms House site along New Scotland Avenue, children from the Albany Orphanage, and Pearl (the name give to a woman whose grave was discovered along South Pearl Street, formerly the site of an early Lutheran burial ground). Also, the Rural Cemetery is closest to the place that these people knew as home, though not by choice, and where they were laid to rest without the expectation of future generations disturbing their graves.

Second, as the religious beliefs of these Schuyler slaves are unknown to modern scholars and historians, it would be appropriate to bury them in a secular cemetery – such as the Rural Cemetery – which has allowed for the burial of people of any race or religion. Also, the Church Grounds includes the African Methodist Episcopal burials moved from the State Street Burying Grounds. While this church did not exist during the lives of the Schuyler Flatts slaves, it is not impossible (thought completely unprovable) some of the individuals could possibly be direct descendents or other kin.

Today's meeting was, of course, very preliminary. There will be future meetings to further address the subject and to form a committee to handle the arrangements. A town hall meeting will also be held to get further input from the public. It is hoped that a reburial – with a fitting ceremony – can be held sometime in the warmer months.

The Reburial of Schuyler Slaves

Above: Marker in the historic Church Grounds section of Albany Rural Cemetery

Today's Times Union has a very interesting article on the issues surrounding the reburial of the skeletal remains of slaves discovered close tothe Schuyler Flatts site.

Input Sought On Schuyler Slaves Reburial

One of the proposed reburial sites mentioned in the article is the subject of my latest blog, the Albany Church Grounds and I will try to follow this story closely.

For those unfamiliar with the Church Grounds, it is a section of Albany Rural Cemetery where graves were relocated from older churchyards and the State Street Burying Grounds (now Washington Park). It contains some of the oldest gravestones in the Cemetery and includes two rows of stones from the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In the past, it has been fairly common for older remains discovered in local construction sites (such as the Alms House burial ground off New Scotland Avenue) to be reburied here.

The Schuyler Flatts site, now a park, is located almost across the road from the Cemetery's main entrance on Broadway in Menands.

The Church Grounds Project

A number of posts here in recent months have featured gravestones found in the Church Grounds section. The more I explore and research this section, the more I am impressed 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

Albany Rural Cemetery & The Civil War

I've spent quite a bit of time in the Albany Rural Cemetery in recent months. Partly to do research for a book about this wonderful Cemetery, partly for my companion blog about it, and partly because it's just a beautiful place that I love to explore.

There are hundreds of Civil War burials at the Rural Cemetery. At almost every turn, one can find a monument embellished with swords, carved flags, caps, and other such soldierly emblems.

Video editing is not my favorite task, but I wanted to share the photos I've taken so far of these monuments, including the Soldiers Lot. So I've put together a simple video of Civil War monuments.



Many of these monuments have stories to be shared in future blog posts, but for now, they are gathered together in this slideshow.

The State Street Burying Grounds

Above - An engraving from Joel Munsell's "Annals of Albany" showing monuments in the State Street Burying Grounds.






Click here for a more in-depth exploration of the State Street Burying Grounds and the Church Grounds.
Before the Albany Rural Cemetery was established, the City's primary burial ground was located at the present site of Washington Park.

The State Street Burying Ground, founded in 1800 as an alternative to the overcrowded churchyards and private family graveyards, was located at the present park's northeast corner. Enclosed by a ten-foot high wooden fence, the grounds were divided into four large section for various churches, as well as an area set aside for strangers, African-Americans, and deceased persons not associated with any religious congregations. Graves from a number of smaller burial grounds were relocated here as progress encroached on downtown churchyards, raising the real estate value of land previously dedicated to the dead.

Within a few decades, however, the State Street Burying Ground was already in serious decline. The high mortality rate of the early 19th-century, combined with epidemics such as an 1832 cholera outbreak, had resulted in a badly overcrowded graveyard. The fence had suffered from neglect and vandalism, livestock wandered freely among graves, headstones were stolen or damaged, and immigrant gangs used the forlorn spot for violent brawls.

After the opening of the Rural Cemetery in 1844, the State Street Burying Grounds' condition became so pitiful that it was deemed "in the highest decree discreditable to the city authorities and the churches interested." A future Superintendent of Albany's parks later recalled that there was "a mouldy and neglected air about the place."

In 1866, Albany's Common Council addressed the matter of the Burying Grounds and passed a resolution to close it. All graves in it would be removed to the Rural Cemetery and reburied in a special lot set aside for that purpose. Before removal, "competent persons" would be engaged to copy all inscriptions from the monuments. A complete list of these inscriptions - which range from merely initials or first names to short epitaphs - would later be published along with a complete copy of the Common Council's resolution.

Permission was sought from and granted by the various congregations with sections in the State Street Burying Grounds for the transfer of the graves at the City's expense. The total cost to copy the inscriptions, exhume the remains, provide new coffins, remove all headstones, and transport the coffins and monuments out to the Rural Cemetery was about $45,000.

Above: A rows of headstones in the Church Grounds section of the Albany Rural Cemetery
The graves were moved to a section of the Rural Cemetery now known as the Church Grounds. Because it was difficult to match each headstone with its original coffin (and because some graves lacked headstones entirely), the markers were laid out in flat rows over the field. These monuments range from simple slabs bearing only names and dates to more elaborately carved stones featuring willow trees, angels bearing trumpets, to winged cherubs heads or skulls.

Above: An old headstone with a folksy carved angel in the Church Grounds at the Rural Cemetery.
In 1868, the land formerly occupied by the State Street Burying Ground became part of the newly created Washington Park, which remains one of Albany's most popular outdoor spaces.

The Church Grounds remain one of the most fascinating sections of the Rural Cemetery. Notable burials there include several of Albany's earliest mayors, an Oneida sachem, and an African-American veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Located deep within the Cemetery just beyond the western end of the Middle Ridge, The Church Grounds can be easily missed since, from a distance, it looks like an empty field. But it is well worth a visit and appears on Cemetery maps as Section 49.

Above: Modern Washington Park near the old location of the State Street Burying Grounds.

New Blog - The Albany Rural Cemetery

A new companion to this blog and Albany (NY) Daily Photo focusing on the historic Albany Rural Cemetery:

Albany Rural Cemetery - History In Photos

The Angel At The Sepulchre

Perhaps the most famous monument in the historic Albany Rural Cemetery – and certainly one of the most written of - is Erastus Dow Palmer's heroic Angel at The Sepulchre.

Commissioned by Robert Lenox Banks, a Treasurer for the New York Central Railroad and, later Secretary to the Board of Directors of the Cemetery, for the grave of his first wife, Emma Rathbone Turner, the Angel sits alone in a circular plot atop a hill near the Cemetery's ornamental pond. A strikingly beautiful monument, it quickly became a draw for lovers of art who ranked the Angel as one of the world's great masterpieces.

Not that the contemporary praise for Palmer's Angel was unanimous. One critic regarded the both the face and figure as “a very fleshy and unangelic type.” In short, the Angel was too human and even "too American." On the other hand, at least one religious publication praised the Angel enthusiastically as “a royal herald” and the work of “an original and poetic mind.”

As early as 1894, concerns were raised about the damaging effect of the elements on the white marble Angel. The New York Times addressed the issue in an article, “Monuments At Albany.”

Art critics are much concerned over the future of Palmer's masterpiece, “The Angel at the Sepulchre,” which is one of the finest pieces of monumental art in Northern New-York. It is on the burial plot of Gen. Robert Lenox Banks in the Albany Rural Cemetery, and is of large proportions, being 7 feet in height. The figure is deceptive, appearing larger at a distance than when close to it. Chiseled out of one piece of stone, it stands a monument to the sublime creation of a master mind. What the critics fear is that, being of marble and exposed to the severe changes of this climate, scaling of the stone may set in and degeneration certainly take place. Already a part of one of the toes has disappeared, and this fact has caused the lovers of art to renew their entreaties that this work of art be placed under cover and preserved.

Those concerns were well-founded. Today, the elements have softened and worn the Angel's clear features and the white marble is crusted with scaly gray lichen.

Born in Pompey, New York in 1817, Erastus Palmer was one of America's finest 19th-century artists. Entirely self-taught, he began his artistic career carving small cameo portraits before moving on to marble. His works include The White Captive in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Robert Livingston in Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol. The Albany Institute of History & Art in his adopted city includes an excellent gallery of his work, including the plaster cast of the Angel. His son, Walter Launt Palmer, was a respected painter best known for his snowy scenes and detailed interiors.

Palmer himself, lies in the Rural Cemetery in a family plot with a Roman-style marble monument just steps downhill from his magnificent Angel.

More on the Angel At The Sepulchre

Wacheka Albanya (Sophie High Dog)

The little girl's grave lies among the elegant monuments of Albany's elite and wealthy. The white marble headstone has toppled and lies propped against its base. The inscription is beginning to weather away and tall grass often half-hides the grave.

The child who was known as Sophie High Dog or Wacheka Albanya was Sioux born in South Dakota around 1890. Too little information is known about her early childhood or family, but she was brought to Albany at the age of five as an orphan. It was later claimed that she had been "thrown away," simply abandoned by her parents.

Wacheka had initially been sent to the Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Carlisle school's purpose was to assimilate Native American children in white society and its history is one of abuse and tragedy. Wacheka, however, came to the attention of the Albany Indian Association and was termed "too delicate" for a boarding school where hundreds of children died of disease and harsh treatment. The Association, which was founded in 1883 to aid in solving the so-called "Indian problem" through eduction, had the child brought to Albany and placed her in St. Christina's Home. St. Christina's, which operated under the auspices of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, was located in Saratoga Springs and served as a summer home for the Child's Hospital.

Described as a "bright and earnest" child, she soon became a favorite of caretakers who referred to her in the sentimental language of the era, as a "sweet flower out of rough forest soil" even as they sought to erase all traces of her Sioux heritage with a white Christian education.

Meanwhile, the delicate health that had first won the sympathy of her guardians worsened. Her body was weakened by measles and tuberculosis and she passed away on February 13, 1900. Four days later, William C. Doane, the popular Episcopal Bishop of Albany, presided over her funeral at the Cathedral of All Saints.

Her obituary is a sad one which reflects the prejudices and misconceptions of the day, describing her parents as a "drunken" Sioux father and a "dissolute half-breed" mother. It was accompanied by a picture of Wacheka in fashionable child's coat and bonnet.

She was laid to rest in the Rural Cemetery, her grave paid for by the Albany Indian Association.

The people who arranged for her care, those who paid for her education and, later, mourned her with a lavish funeral acted no doubt believed they did right for Wacheka. They probably meant well and their actions were the product of their era and its cultural values.

Albany Rural Cemetery - Elsie's Grave

The Albany Rural Cemetery is filled with monuments to young children. 19th-century infant and child mortality rates were high and, even among affluent families, it wasn't uncommon for children to die of illness well before adolescence. Their monuments are usually small and often decorated with lambs or doves or likenesses of sleeping infants.

This poignant monument, which bears the name Elsie, stands on a hill not far from the Cemetery's main entrance on Broadway and features a little girl's boots and a straw hat complete with carved ribbons. The hat is propped at the base of a branchless tree trunk, a popular Victorian symbol of a youth cut short by death.

Alfred B. Street, Albany's Forgotten Poet

Poet Alfred Billings Street was born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1811 and raised in the Sullivan County town of Monticello where he studied law in his father's office.

At the age of twenty-eight, he moved to Albany and, at the same time, gave up legal work for a literary career. His works were frequently published in local newspapers and he was often called upon to write verses for civic events such as the dedication of the Albany Rural Cemetery. His work was especially popular during the Civil War with many patriotic verses in honor of the Union and Lincoln. He also wrote a number of historic pieces such as The Burning of Schenectady and Frontenac.

But he was best known for his love of nature. He wrote two books about expeditions into the Adirondack Mountains, Woods and Waters and The Indian Pass. Though rather wordy, both are invaluable firsthand accounts of the Adirondacks in an era before tourism and mass transportation. And nature provided the inspiration for many, many poems which were collected and published in two volumes as The Poems of Alfred B. Street.

Street also served as the director of the New York State Library from 1842 until 1868 and, until 1868, as law librarian.

Perhaps because of its flowery over-sentimentality, Street's works are hardly known today. But, despite such a flaw, they deserve a better fate. They are are a reflection of their era, but at the same time, they are luminous portraits of still-pristine landscapes...some of which no longer exist or are greatly altered.

We leave the shadowy woods; a lovely glade Opens upon us, and a deep-toned sound Shakes on the ear; it is the organ-voice Of the hurl'd waters scatter'd o'er their rocks In streaks of plunging foam, while high above The twisted fir-tree slants as though to pitch Headlong beneath...

- from A Walk To The Tivoli

I first "discovered" Alfred B. Street about twelve years ago - give or take a couple of years. At the time, I had begun to explore the vast and fascinating Albany Rural Cemetery. Not content to just wander through the 400+ acres of historic graves, I got my hands on a copy of Henry Phelps' book The Albany Rural Cemetery - Its Beauties, Its Memories through inter-library loam. The book included a poem by Street. At the time, I occasionally wrote and published poetry myself so I was immediately attracted to the idea of a local poet. It took quite a bit of effort to find his grave at the Rural Cemetery. After quite a few failed attempts and two or three inquiries at the Cemetery office, I was finally able to locate his grave by finding the grave of his wife, Elizabeth Weed Street. The poet, who died in 1881, lies in an unmarked grave next to her.

A pearly ray steeped a portion of the hemlock couch...and selecting this as the nearest approach to the light of heaven, I was soon asleep.

- from The Indian Pass

See also:  Alfred B. Street's poem for the dedication of the Albany Rural Cemetery