The Evergreens Cemetery - History and Famous People

History of The Cemetery of "The Evergreens"

Early Days of The Evergreens "The Evergreens" Cemetery has the advantage of being one of the most picturesque and historic places in all of New York City. Set atop high hills with commanding views of New York City to the north and Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, more than half a million people have been interred amid its landscaped grounds in the 150 years since "The Evergreens" was incorporated as a non-sectarian cemetery. A stroll through the leafy lanes that wind their way through the grounds - some designed by landscape architect Calvert Vaux, who planned Central Park and Prospect Park - will show a visitor a history, written in stone of time-honored neighbors their accomlishments on earth and their hopes for the world to come.

The original cemetery grounds consisted of 183.54 acres of land purchased from the families of Kimball, Suydam, Quiller, Howard, Remsen, Meserole, Schenck and Ditmas. On the evening of October 3, 1849 the original trustees met at the home of the Honorable Samuel E. Johnson and on October 6, 1849 The Cemetery of the Evergreens was incorporated in Kings County at 9:00 A.M. and in Queens County at 2:25 P.M. Earlier that year the Reverend John D. Wells of the South 3rd Street Presbyterian Church together with A.P. Cumminings journeyed to the Catskill Mountains and returned with several thousand of evergreen trees which were planted in the Cemetery of the Evergreens. It is not certain whether the name of the burying ground was decided upon first and the trees brought there afterwards for the purpose of making a distinction between this Cemetery and Cypress Hills (opened in 1848) or else the cemetery was named for these trees after they had arrived. The green hills upon which both cemeteries are located were covered mainly with cypress trees.

During the 1860's the Cemetery of the Evergreens ran into financial problems and in 1866 the cemetery was put into receivership and a court appointed lawyer took control of the day to day operations. During the 1850's Sylvester Beard, a wealthy tea merchant, became involved in the cemetery and with William A. Cummings, his business partner, set the groundwork for reorganization. In 1870 a law was passed in the New York legislature allowing the Cemetery of the Evergreens to be re-incorporated as "The Evergreens" under new ownership and a new set of bylaws. Soon afterwards, Sylvester Beard purchased the 207 acres of the cemetery land for $130,000. On March 12, 1872, "The Evergreens" was officially re-incorporated with William A. Cummings as President. The first trustees included William A. Cummings (founder of the Seamens Bank and Trust), Sylvester Beard, William R. Grace (Mayor of New York City), Joseph J. O'Donoghue, Robert T. French, Judge Demas Barnes and Charles Goodwin. For the next 125 years, seven generations of the Goodwin family were directly involved in the operation of the cemetery, including six presidents and a chairman of the board.

For many years, the cemetery was the busiest in New York City and a peak of activity was reached in 1929 when a total of 4,673 interments were made, an average of more than 15 a day (with no burials on Sunday or holidays). Prices for graves were increased by a third in 1930, which resulted in a 25-year slump in burials, but the total yearly interments reached another peak of 4,670 in 1957.

In April of 1947 twenty acres of land was sold to the Knollwood Park Association for $1,000,000, made in payments spread over a five year period. The monies from the sale formed the basis of the perpetual care fund which would provide a secure income for the cemetery. In 1952 "The Evergreens" reorganized as a not-for-profit corporation. Present day, "The Evergreens" is controlled by a board of seven trustees, including a president and a chairman of the board, who oversee the day to day operations and the prudent investment of the cemetery's trust funds.