. . . of The Old Burying Ground 

William S Pelletreau in his History of Putnam County, New York published in 1886 wrote: ‘On Erskine’s military map [see header image], made about 1780, the Baptist meeting house is laid down near Fredericks­burg. This church, the date of whose building is unknown, stood on the north side of the road from Patterson to Carmel, about half a mile west of where the Mill Brook crosses it and about a mile and a half north of the present church at Towner’s Four Corners.’ (p662)  

An ancient journal now in the possession of the Northeast Baptist Church records the following information:

BaptistChurchOfPhillipsPattent_01detail

Fig 1–Baptist Church of ‘Phillips Pattent’ record–page 1 detail 

‘. . . book of records of the Church [o]f Christ on Phillips Pattant  [Th]is Church was Constituted in November about ye . . . [missing but a note added in a different hand reads–‘Nov. 6, Old Style, would now be Nov. 16 or 17′] . . .[A?]D 1751 and our noumber nine and our Elder [a]nd our Decken was ordained about this time’. (Pages are unnumbered and many detached from the binding, but this one is first contextually.) (See Fig 1.) 

 

1854NWPatterson_OldBGDetail

Fig 2–1854 map of Patterson, NY detail –vicinity of old burying ground 

Pelletreau continues, ‘Opposite the site of this old church, on the south side of the road, is an ancient burying ground , the surface of which is thickly studded with rough stones which mark graves, the names of whose occupants have long since passed into oblivion. This is beyond doubt the oldest burying ground in the town. It is on land now owned by Mr. Isaac P. Rogers, and it would be a credit to the village to have this spot enclosed with a suitable fence and protected from desecration.’ (p662) (See Fig 2.) 

1879Journal

Fig 3–1879 ‘Akin’ journal   (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

 

 

In the collections of the Historical Society is a Packet Ledger & Memorandum, T W Akin, Patterson, Putnam Co, NYork, which has many of the original pages cut out so it may have been reused; it contains the earliest list of inscribed gravestones for this old burying ground (see Fig 3 and Table I). 

Table I–Journal entries (corrected)

Last–  First–Name > <Relation to Death date Age
Lewis Sarah W Enoch Lewis Nov 22, 1787 40y
Fisher Eliza Jane D Moses & Betsey Fisher Apr 14, 1828 16y 3m 26d
Fisher Mary Jane D Nathaniel & Lydia Ann Fisher June 11, 1828 16y{K}/10{L,M,O} 7m{M}
Newbery Edey     May 12, 1818 78{K}/75{L,M,O}y
Newbery Ruth W Edey Newbery Apr 18, 1818 72y
Barrett Naomi Jane     Jan 8, 1850 31y 2m 3d
Barrett Brazil S Naomi Barrett Feb 20,1862 25y 10m 18d
Worden Susanna     1829 {K}/Oct 27, 1820{L,M,O} 4y
Watkins Patty{K}/Polly{L,M,O} H{M}/M{L,O} D Joseph & Abigail 1809{K}/Mar 15, 1821{L,M,O} 15y
Baker Henry     Aug 10, 1855 86y 6m 26d
Baker Hannah W Henry Baker Mar 22, 1850 76y ?{2—O}m 19d
Sturges Nathan     May 18, 1784 38y
Pell Mary W Philip Pell Jr [III] Aug 15, 1781 27y 2m 6{M,O}/9[?–OJ]d
Pell Margaret G. /C{K,L} D Phillip [II] & Gloriana Nov 22, 1779 21y
Squires Esther W Joseph/Jonathan Mar 22, 1814 51y
Griffeth Joshua     Aug 22, 1819 /1818{L} 56y
no name       1786  
[End  of Journal entries     for this   cemetery.  Other buried: ] 
Fisher Dakin/–(?){M}     Oct 10 1792 3y/37{M,O} 4m
White Elizabeth W Luman White Oct 4, 1848 48{/47–O}y 8m 16d
Willcox Jemima W Roswell Willcox  May/Aug 24/21, 1778/73  
Wilcox —(?) D —(?) Wilcox (?) 1812  

TO BE CONTINUED