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Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Hempstead, Nassau County, New York

From the 1873 Map of Hempstead, NY published by Beers, Comstock & Cline

GPS: 40.709137, -73.623603

Fulton Ave (between Main St. & Washington St.)
Hempstead, NY 11550

Published: December 26, 2020
Total records: 370

Presbyterian Church and Cemetery no longer exists. It technically lies beneath Denton Green Park today.

Cemetery History

The "Old Town Cemetery" or "Old Town Burying Ground" had been the primary cemetery in the Village of Hempstead going back to the 1600's when the village was first settled.

A Meeting House was created sometime shortly after 1644. Next to the meeting house (on its east side) was located the Old Town Burying Ground. The meeting house was used to conduct village affairs and on Sundays was used as a church. At some point, the meeting house became known as the Presbyterian Church.

At the church's west side was the town Inn, operated by Smith and Sammis.

By a deed dated April 22, 1766, Nehemiah Sammis, the Inn-keeper, conveyed to the "Deacon's & Elders of the Presbyterian Church", a plot of: land fronting on the Northerly side of Fulton Avenue. Mr. Sammis had commenced selling plots in the rear thereof for burial purposes. This would be the "Cemetery Inscriptions from the Back of Presbyterian Church" that Josephine C. Frost transcribed below.

Two more additions were made on the westerly side, when in 1837, and again in 1844, the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church purchased from Henry Sammis, the son of Nehemiah, additional land extending to the present tracks & terminal of the Long Island Railroad. Ninety plots were laid out & sold for burial purposes.

Josephine C. Frost Transcription

In 1904, Josephine C. Frost visited the plots located directly behind the Presbyterian Church and made a record of every tombstone that was still visible and readable. She produced a transcription entitled, "Cemetery Inscriptions from Hempstead Long Island New York" consisting of transcriptions from four cemeteries, including this one.

The document linked below are pages from that transcription, of just New Cemetery...

• Back of Presbyterian Church, Cemetery Inscriptions from Hempstead Long Island New York, 1904, (1.34 MB)