Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
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Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about ...
, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including
Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
, whose 1820 short story " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. Incorporated in 1849 as Tarrytown Cemetery, the site posthumously honored Irving's request that it change its name to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2009.


History

The cemetery is a non-profit, non-sectarian burying ground of about . It is contiguous with, but separate from, the churchyard of the Old Dutch Church, the colonial-era church that was a setting for " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...
estate ( Kykuit), whose grounds abut Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, contains the private Rockefeller cemetery. In 1894 under the leadership of Marcius D. Raymond, publisher of the local ''Tarrytown Argus'' newspaper, funds were raised to build a granite monument honoring the soldiers of the American Revolutionary War buried in the cemetery.


Notable monuments

The Helmsley mausoleum, final resting place of Harry and Leona Helmsley, features a window showing the skyline of Manhattan in stained glass. It was built by Mrs. Helmsley at a cost of $1.4 million in 2007. She had her husband's body moved from its resting place in
Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and a designated National Historic Landmark. Located south of Woodlawn Heights, Bronx, New York City, it has the character of a rural cemetery. Woodlawn Cemetery opened durin ...
to the new mausoleum.


Notable burials

Numerous notable people are interred at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, including: * Viola Allen (1867–1948), actress * John Dustin Archbold (1848–1916), a director of the Standard Oil Company * Elizabeth Arden (1878–1966), businesswoman who built a cosmetics empire * Brooke Astor (1902–2007), philanthropist and socialite * Vincent Astor (1891–1959), philanthropist; member of the
Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...
*
Leo Baekeland Leo Hendrik Baekeland ( , ; November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian chemist. Educated in Belgium and Germany, he spent most of his career in the United States. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper ...
(1863–1944), the father of plastic; namesake of
Bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...
* Robert Livingston Beeckman (1866–1935), American politician and Governor of
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
* Marty Bergen (1869–1906), American National Champion Thoroughbred racing jockey * Holbrook Blinn (1872–1928), American actor * Henry E. Bliss (1870–1955), devised the Bliss library classification system * Artur Bodanzky (1877–1939), conductor at New York
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
* Major Edward Bowes (1874–1946), early radio star, he hosted '' Major Bowes' Amateur Hour'' * Alice Brady (1892–1939), American actress *
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
(1835–1919), businessman and philanthropist; monument by Scots sculptor George Henry Paulin * Louise Whitfield Carnegie (1857–1946), wife of Andrew Carnegie *
Walter Chrysler Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, automotive industry executive, and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation. Childhood Chrysler ...
(1875–1940), businessman, commissioned the Chrysler Building and founded the Chrysler Corporation * Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906), editor at ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...
'' who penned the editorial " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" * William Conant Church (1836–1917), co-founder of Armed Forces Journal and the National Rifle Association of America * Henry Sloane Coffin (1877–1954), teacher, minister, and author * William Sloane Coffin, Sr. (1879–1933), businessman * Kent Cooper (1880–1965), influential head of the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
from 1925 to 1948 * Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823–1900), landscape painter and architect; designed the now-demolished
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Sixth Avenue elevated railroad stations * Floyd Crosby (1899–1985),
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning cinematographer, father of musician
David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...
* Daniel Draper (1841–1931), meteorologist * Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (1882–1973), heiress and patron of the arts * William H. Douglas (1853–1944), U.S. Representative from New York from 1901 to 1905. * Maud Earl (1864–1943), British-American painter of canines *
Parker Fennelly Parker W. Fennelly (October 22, 1891 – January 22, 1988) was an American character actor who appeared in ten films, numerous television episodes and hundreds of radio programs. Early life The son of gardener Nathan Fennelly and Estelle Doll ...
(1891–1988), American actor * Malcolm Webster Ford (1862–1902), champion amateur athlete and journalist; brother of Paul, he took his own life after slaying his brother. * Paul Leicester Ford (1865–1902), editor, bibliographer, novelist, and biographer; brother of Malcolm Webster Ford by whose hand he died * Dixon Ryan Fox (1887–1945), educator and president of Union College, New York * Herman Frasch (1851–1914), engineer, the ''Sulphur King'' * Samuel Gompers (1850–1924), founder of the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...
* Madison Grant (1865–1937), eugenicist and conservationist, author of '' The Passing of the Great Race'' * Moses Hicks Grinnell (1803–1877), congressman and Central Park Commissioner * Walter S. Gurnee (1805–1903), mayor of Chicago * Angelica Hamilton (1784–1857), the older of two daughters of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
* James Alexander Hamilton (1788–1878), third son of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
* Robert Havell, Jr. (1793–1878), British-American engraver who printed and colored John James Audubon's monumental Birds of America series, also painter in the style of the Hudson River School * Mark Hellinger (1903–1947), primarily known as a journalist of New York theatre; producer of '' The Naked City'', a 1948
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
and namesake of the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York City * Harry Helmsley (1909–1997), real estate mogul who built a company that became one of the biggest property holders in the United States, and his wife Leona Helmsley (1920–2007), in a mausoleum with a stained-glass panorama of the Manhattan skyline. Leona famously bequeathed $12 million to her dog. * John Warne Herbert Jr. (1852-1934), played in the first collegiate football game for Rutgers, VP/Treasurer of Helme Tobacco Company, and mayor of Helmetta, New Jersey * Eliza Hamilton Holly (1799–1859), younger daughter of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
* Raymond Mathewson Hood (1881–1934), architect * William Howard Hoople (1868–1922), a leader of the nineteenth-century American Holiness movement; the co-founder of the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, and one of the early leaders of the Church of the Nazarene *
Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
(1783–1859), author of " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and " Rip Van Winkle" * William Irving (1766–1821), U.S. Congressman from New York *
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
(1811–1891), co-founder of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' *
Albert Lasker Albert Davis Lasker (May 1, 1880 – May 30, 1952) was an American businessman who played a major role in shaping modern advertising. He was raised in Galveston, Texas, where his father was the president of several banks. Moving to Chicago, he b ...
(1880–1952), pioneer of the American advertising industry, part owner of baseball team the Chicago Cubs, and wife Mary Lasker (1900–1994), an American health activist and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal * Walter W. Law, Jr. (1871–1958), lawyer and politician, son of Briarcliff Manor founder Walter W. Law * Lewis Edward Lawes (1883–1947), reformist warden of
Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...
prison * William E. Le Roy (1818–1888), United States Navy rear admiral * Ann Lohman (1812–1878), Madame Restell, 19th century purveyor of
patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...
and abortions * Charles D. Millard (1873–1944), member of U.S. House of Representatives from New York * Darius Ogden Mills (1825–1910), made a fortune during California's gold rush and expanded his wealth further through New York City real estate * Belle Moskowitz (1877–1933), political advisor and social activist * Robertson Kirtland Mygatt (1861–1919), noted American landscape painter, part of the Tonalist movement in Impressionism * N. Holmes Odell (1828–1904), U.S. Representative from New York * George Washington Olvany (1876–1952), New York General Sessions Court judge and leader of
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...
* William Orton (1826–1878), President of Western Union * Peter A. Peyser (1921–2014), served as a Member of Congress from New York from 1971 to 1977 as a Republican and from 1979 to 1983 as a Democrat * Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912), journalist and editor of the '' New-York Tribune'', vice-presidential candidate with Benjamin Harrison in 1892, defeated by Adlai E. Stevenson I; son-in-law of D.O. Mills * William Rockefeller (1841–1922), New York head of the
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
Company * Edgar Evertson Saltus (1855–1921), American novelist * Francis Saltus Saltus (1849–1889), American decadent poet & bohemian * Carl Schurz (1820–1906), senator, secretary of the interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes and namesake of Carl Schurz Park in New York City *
Charles Sheeler Charles Sheeler (July 16, 1883 – May 7, 1965) was an American artist known for his Precisionism, Precisionist paintings, commercial photographer, commercial photography, and the 1921 avant-garde film, ''Manhatta'', which he made in collaboratio ...
(1883–1965), painter and photographer, and his wife Musya (1908–1981), photographer, are buried together. * William G. Stahlnecker (1849–1902), U.S. Representative from New York * Egerton Swartwout (1870–1943), New York architect * William Boyce Thompson (1869–1930), founder of Newmont Mining Corporation and financier * Joseph Urban (1872–1933), architect and theatre set designer * Henry Villard (1835–1900), railroad baron whose monument was created by Karl Bitter. *
Oswald Garrison Villard Oswald Garrison Villard (March 13, 1872 – October 1, 1949) was an American journalist and editor of the ''New York Evening Post.'' He was a civil rights activist, and along with his mother, Fanny Villard, a founding member of the NAACP. In ...
(1872–1949), son of Henry Villard and grandson of
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...
; one of the founders of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
* William A. Walker (1805–1861), U.S. Representative from New York * Paul Warburg (1868–1932), German-American banker and early advocate of the U.S. Federal Reserve system. * Worcester Reed Warner (1846–1929), mechanical engineer and manufacturer of telescopes * Thomas J. Watson (1874–1956), transformed a small manufacturer of adding machines into
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
* Theodore Whitmarsh (1869–1936), administrator of the United States Food Administration, director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York * Hans Zinsser (1878–1940), microbiologist and a prolific author


In popular culture

Several outdoor scenes from the feature film '' House of Dark Shadows'' (1970) were filmed at the cemetery's receiving vault. The cemetery also served as a location for the Ramones' 1989 music video " Pet Sematary".


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

* * * * {{National Register of Historic Places in New York 1849 establishments in New York (state) Buildings and structures completed in 1849 Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Cemeteries in Westchester County, New York Historic districts in Westchester County, New York Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York U.S. Route 9 Mount Pleasant, New York American Revolutionary War sites Monuments and memorials in New York (state) Cemeteries established in the 1840s