The Moravian Cemetery is a cemetery in the New Dorp neighborhood of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Location

Located at 2205 Richmond Road, the Moravian Cemetery is the largest and oldest active

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

on Staten Island, having opened in 1740. The cemetery encompasses and is the property of the local

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

congregation of Staten Island. To the cemetery's southwest is High Rock Park, one of the constituent parks of the Staten Island Greenbelt.

History

In what was a purely farming community, the cemetery was originally made available as a free cemetery for the public in order to discourage families from using farm burial plots. The Moravian Cemetery is the burial place for a number of famous Staten Islanders, including members of the

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...

. After the closure in the 1880s of the South Reformed Dutch Church in

Richmondtown Richmondtown is a neighborhood in the Mid-Island section of Staten Island, New York City. It is bounded by Arthur Kill Road on the northwest, Richmond Road on the north, Amboy Road on the east and southeast, and the United Hebrew and Ocean ...

the graves of that church's graveyard were reinterred at Moravian. A monument to Robert Gould Shaw, a Union soldier who led the first all-

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

regiment in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and died in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, was erected here by his family. The director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

also has a burial plot here.

Notable burials

Vanderbilt Family Cemetery

In the 19th century,

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

gave the Moravian Church . Later, his son William Henry Vanderbilt gave a further and constructed the residence for the cemetery superintendent. The Vanderbilt Mausoleum, designed by

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

and constructed in 1885–1886, is part of the family's privately owned cemetery. The Vanderbilt Mausoleum is a replica of a Romanesque church in

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Vanderbilt Cemetery landscape was designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

. The cemetery is not open to the public. The Vanderbilt Mausoleum and portions of the cemetery were designated a

New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 2016.

Italian-American Catholics

The cemetery is the burial place for a great many Italian-American Catholics even though it is a Protestant cemetery. This is due to the efforts of Father Ettore Barletta who was in charge of the Italian Mission congregation at the nearby Moravian Church in the early 1900s, Catholic mafia families who had been refused a Catholic burial were offered burials in this cemetery.

Famous names

* Mark W. Allen (1877–1958), businessman and New York state senator. *

Alice Austen Elizabeth Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 – June 9, 1952) was an American photographer working in Staten Island. Biography Alice Austen was born in 1866 to Alice Cornell Austen and Edward Stopford Munn. Austen's father abandoned the family ...

(1886–1952), notable 20th-century photographer. *

Thomas Bilotti Thomas "Tommy" Bilotti (March 23, 1940 – December 16, 1985) was an American mobster with the Gambino crime family who served as underboss for two weeks. It was this promotion that helped trigger the 1985 assassination of Gambino boss Paul Caste ...

(1940–1985), mobster and underboss in the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as th ...

Alfred Thompson Bricher Alfred Thompson Bricher (April 10, 1837 – September 30, 1908) was a painter associated with White Mountain art and the Hudson River School. Life and work Bricher was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was educated in an academy at Newburyp ...

(1837-1908), painter associated with White Mountain art and the Hudson River School *

Frank Cali Francesco Paolo Augusto "Frank" Cali (, ; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019), also known as "Franky Boy", was an American mobster and the eventual acting boss of the Gambino crime family. Law enforcement considered Cali to have been the Gambin ...

(1965–2019), former reputed boss of the Gambino crime family. *

John Merven Carrère John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1858–1911), partner in notable

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpo ...

firm. *

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...

(1915–1985), former boss of the Gambino crime family. * John Celardo (1918-2012), comic strip and comic book artist * Charles P. Clinch, playwright and government official who served as

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

* Frank DeCicco (1935–1986), former

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The under ...

of the Gambino crime family. *

John Eberhard Faber John Eberhard Faber (sometimes Johann Eberhard Faber; December 6, 1822 – March 2, 1879) was a German-born American manufacturer of pencils in New York. Biography Johann Eberhard Faber was born on December 6, 1822 in the village of Stein, near t ...

(1822–1879), German-born American manufacturer of pencils. * Frank J. LeFevre (1874–1941), Congressman. * John A. Lynch (1882–1954), New York state senator and Staten Island borough president. *

Jim Mutrie James J. Mutrie (June 13, 1851 – January 24, 1938) was an American baseball pioneer who was the co-founder and first manager of both the original New York Metropolitans and the New York Giants. He had a winning percentage of .611, the highest f ...

(1851-1938), baseball pioneer. * John L. O'Sullivan (1813–1895), journalist who first utilized in print the phrase ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special virtues of the American people and th ...

'' to embody American expansionist ambitions. * William Page (1811-1885), painter and portrait artist *

Anning Smith Prall Anning Smith Prall (September 17, 1870 – July 23, 1937) was a 6-term U.S. Representative from New York from 1923 to 1935. He was born in Port Richmond, Staten Island and the first chief commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC ...

(1870–1937), Congressman and Chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

. *

Bradhurst Schieffelin Bradhurst Schieffelin (New York City, 21 September 1824 – Staten Island, 9 March 1909) was a United States druggist and activist. He was the son of Henry Hamilton Schieffelin and Maria Teresa (Bradhurst) Schieffelin, and was educated in New Y ...

(1821–1909), 19th Century social activist. *

Charles Scorsese Luciano Charles Scorsese (May 8, 1913August 23, 1993) was an American film actor. He was the father of filmmaker Martin Scorsese . Biography Scorsese was born in New York City, the son of Teresa and Francesco Scorsese, Sicilian immigrants fro ...

(1913–1993) and

Catherine Scorsese Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa; April 16, 1912 – January 6, 1997) was an American actress. She began acting when her son Martin Scorsese cast her in his short film '' It's Not Just You, Murray!''. Scorsese was of Italian descent and frequ ...

(1912–1997), father and mother of director

Stephen H. Weed Stephen Hinsdale Weed (November 17, 1831 – July 2, 1863) was a career military officer in the United States Army. He was killed defending Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. Early life and career Weed ...

(1831–1863), Union general who died in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...

. * Paul Zindel (1936–2003), notable playwright and young adult novelist.

In popular culture

In the novel ''It's Superman: A Novel'', the mother of the character

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

is buried in the Moravian Cemetery.De Haven, Tom. It's Superman. Random House, 2011, page 116

References

{{Coord, 40, 34, 48, N, 74, 7, 00, W, display=title 1740 establishments in the Province of New York Cemeteries in Staten Island History of the America (North) Province of the Moravian Church Moravian Church cemeteries Vanderbilt family Rural cemeteries New Dorp, Staten Island