Benjamin Feldman is one of Green-Wood’s most ardent enthusiasts. For many years, Ben spent a good deal of his free time cataloguing Green-Wood’s collections. Inspired by Green-Wood stories, he wrote Butchery on Bond Street: Sexual Politics and The Burdell-Cunningham Case in Antebellum New York (2007) (the story of the Dr. Harvey Burdell and Emma Cunningham, … Read more
The Green-Wood Historic Fund continues to collect–sometimes by donation, sometimes by purchase. We are approaching 10,000 items–paintings, books, photographs, newspapers, etc., in our collections. We recently heard from Linda Welsh, great great granddaughter of James Howell Jr. (1829-1897) and Annie Tunstall Howell (ca. 1832-1900). They are interred at Green-Wood in section 113, lot 16983. She … Read more
Last week, I was finishing up work on a book, “The Gallant Sims,” A Civil War Hero Rediscovered, to be published on November 1 by the Green-Wood Historic Fund (it should be for sale in Green-Wood’s online store right around that date), with funding from Furthermore Grants in Publishing, a program of the J.M. Kaplan … Read more
Marianne Hurley is a landmarks preservationist with New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. She recently did a stellar job of researching and writing the Landmarks Preservation Report which led to the designation of Green-Wood’s Chapel and its Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance as New York City landmarks. During the course of her research, Marianne came across … Read more
James Whyte Davis was a baseball pioneer. He began playing with the Knickerbockers Base Ball Club of New York City in 1845. He was a leading Knickerbocker player and then an officer of of the club, serving as the Knickerbockers’ president from 1858 to 1860. He wound up with the Knicks tattered early banner–it spent … Read more
I am always on the lookout to buy items pertaining to John Matthews, “The Soda Fountain King,” and other leading lights at Green-Wood. Matthews’s story is a fascinating one. And, equally fascinating is the story of his spectacular monument at Green-Wood. Over the years, The Green-Wood Historic Fund has been able to purchase metal souvenir … Read more
Imagine this: two men–father and son–both of whom spent their lives creating exquisite cemetery memorials—who have no cemetery monument marking their own graves. It happens. Green-Wood has many spectacular monuments. Perhaps the best: the monument to Jane Griffith. The Griffith Monument has a touching back story. Erected to “Jane, My Wife,” it memorializes Jane Griffith … Read more
The Green-Wood Historic Fund Collections have just acquired a wonderful pastel portrait of permanent Green-Wood resident Clarkson Crolius, through a donation by collector Ed King: In 2012, I blogged about Clarkson Crolius, one of Green-Wood’s most interesting permanent residents. At that time, The Green-Wood Historic Fund just had purchased one of his stoneware crocks: So … Read more
There is always more to be learned about Green-Wood. And one can never tell how the next discovery will occur. Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Lance Ingmire. I know Lance–he served on New York State’s Civil War Sesquicentenial Commission. He also served as president of the Friends of the New York State Military … Read more
Leonard Jerome (1817-1891), who is interred at Green-Wood, was tremendously wealthy–he spent most of his life speculating in and manipulating stocks on Wall Street, making and losing several huge fortunes. George Templeton Strong, New York City’s great 19th century diarist, described him disparagingly as “Jerome (Not the Saint But the Stockjobber).” One contemporary described him … Read more