Lakeside Avenue
Lakeside Avenue
Pine Grove Avenue
Pine Grove Avenue
Chestnut Hill Avenue
Chestnut Hill Avenue
Maple Road
Maple Road
Walnut Avenue
Prospect Avenue
N
Roads
Walking Paths
Cemetery Entrances
Caretaker’s House
Cemetery Office
Notable Sites & Graves
Description on reverse
Otsego County Route 31
To Main Street
Lakewood Cemetery
S
Approximately 0.25 miles
Cemetery Etiquette
Don't go after hours.
Silence your cell phone.
Don't let your kids run free.
Keep voices at a low volume.
Avoid walking on the graves.
Respect the privacy of others.
Please leave your pet at home.
Don't sit, touch,lean on the monuments.
Never remove anything from a grave site.
Stranger, stop and cast an eye; As you are now, so once was I, As I am now, so you shall be. Prepare for death and follow me. Jonathan Hutchinson died in 1717
Lakewood History
Under the leadership of Frederick A. Lee, a number of “gentlemen of the village” convened to address the need for a place for interment of the dead. The Cemetery was incorporated July 26, 1857. The site selected was on the hillside overlooking Otsego Lake, in Middlefield, just outside of Cooperstown. Using hand tools, a horse and wagon the employees cleared trees and terraced and graded the hillside. Roadways, and walkways made their serpentine routes up the hill, providing access to the lots.
A more detailed history of the Cemetery is available on the website.
Scan this QR code to use this map on
your phone or device or to obtain more information about these sites and the Lakewood Cemetery.
CM
Some areas
were designated
for the poor or paupers.
Some areas
were designated
for the poor or paupers.
Otsego Lake
Symbolic Flowers
Calla lily: faith, purity, holiness Carnation: love, affection
Daisy: innocence, purity, happiness Fern: sincerity, humility
Hydrangea: honesty & gratitude, amends & understanding
Lily: purity & beauty Red rose: love and affection
Tulip: confidence, affection, and enduring love
Yellow rose: friendship and gratitude
Zinnia: friendship, remembrance, and goodness
Caution:
This Cemetery has many older staircases, paths and roads. Please avoid trip hazards and walking on unsteady ground or stairs. Please try to stay on the clear grass paths and the paved roads. Explore and walk at your own risk. Avoid wet and slippery conditions. Exercise Caution!
Lakewood Cemetery
182 County Highway 31
P.O. Box 1314
Cooperstown, NY 13326
Cooper Monument
Map of Notable Sites and Graves
This map was made as an Eagle Scout Project
by Tara diLorenzo of Cooperstown Troop 1254.
The Cooper Monument was erected in 1860 in memory of James Fenimore Cooper. The monument is made of white Italian marble on a granite base, It was sculpted by Robert E. Launitz. The monument was cleaned in 2024.
Henry Joseph Nicols (August 9, 1973 – May 8, 2000) born with the genetic disease hemophilia acquired AIDS from one of the more than 400 blood transfusions he received. His was the first planned disclosure of a student with AIDS.
The Hofmann plot is one of the most beautiful locations in Lakewood Cemetery. Please respect the family’s memorial space. Stay outside of fenced areas. Enjoy the view from the public area above the family plot. Thank You
Miss Grace Scott Bowen was born in Cooperstown on March 9, 1867 and was employed by the wealthy Ryerson family as a governess to their son Jack. She was onboard the Titanic but escaped in Lifeboat #4
Stephen Carlton Clark Sr. “SC”
1882-1960 American art collector, businessman, newspaper publisher and philanthropist. He founded the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
In 1837 at the age of seventeen, William Ruggles taught in the Town of Hartwick, attending the Otsego Academy in Cooperstown in the summer. The Cooperstown School “Ruggle’s Essay” award is named after this educator.
Walter was an American financier and politician. NY Senator 1933 - 1952. The family country home was "Woodside Hall". He married Hannah Lee Sherman, a grand-niece of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. a photographic model, famous as "Miss Chesterfield” She is buried in the adjoining plot.
Betsey Stockton was born into slavery as a child and lived in the Princeton NJ household of the Stockton family and later lived with the Reverend Ashbel Green family. She was then freed but stayed with the family as a servant. She traveled as a missionary and became the first African American woman to travel overseas being a missionary.
Dorr ran a store in Burlington, NY for 11 years. He moved to Cooperstown, where he organized the Bank of C’town. He was cashier for 12 years, and dealt in wool & hops. He moved to NYC, and was a bank VP and organizer. With Frederick A. Lee Dorr founded this Cemetery in 1856
A First Lieutenant in the Civil war and eventually achieving the rank of Colonel Andrew served in Company H of the 30th United States Colored Infantry Regiment, which was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers.
The Grand Army of the Republic was a national fraternal organization of honorably discharged Union veterans who served in the Civil War.
In 1912, Arthur and Emily were dealt the hardest blow a parent can face, the death of their son Arthur, Jr., in a fatal car crash. Rushing home for his funeral, the Ryerson family Arthur, Emily, and three of their children booked the first transatlantic passage they could, on the Titanic.
Dr. Mary Imogene Bassett was born in Mount Vision, New York to the parents Doctors Wilson and Mary A. Bassett. The family moved in 1874 to Cooperstown, NY due to their medical practices. The family treated patients for $6-$12 a week in their house, that still stands on lower Fair Street.
Samuel Nelson was an American attorney and appointed as judge of New York State courts. He was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1872. He concurred on the 1857 Dred Scott decision, for reasons different from Chief Justice Taney's.
On September 29, 1918 Corporal Cobbett was declared a casualty of World War I. He served with honor in the United States Army.
The Clark Family is instrumental in the development of Cooperstown. Family members are well known for their generosity and many contributions to the community.
Titus D. Savage enlisted in the Union Army on August 9, 1862. Savage was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness in Spotsylvania, Virginia on May 10, 1864. He died a month later on June 3 in the Campbell Hospital in Washington, D.C.
This lot was designated for deceased children from the Orphan House of the Holy Saviour in Cooperstown, NY
How to use this map.
In addition to being a traditional map, the online version of this map (available by following the link or the QR Code found on this map) includes links to the GPS pin locations of the marked sites. Additional information about each of these sites is available online. https://cooperstownlakewoodcemetery.com/
I would like to thank the people and groups that helped with this map and Eagle Scout Project.
Especially:
The Scouts and Leaders of Troop 1254 The Board of Trustees of Lakewood Cemetery
William Truax, Superintendent
Please consider supporting Lakewood Cemetery by making a donation.
Tara diLorenzo, Troop 1254 Fall 2024
Emmett Littleton Ashford, nicknamed Ash, was the first African American umpire in Major League Baseball, working in the American League from 1966 to 1970.
Kenneth D. Smith & Emilie B. Smith “KS & ES”
Kenneth D. was a Sports Writer and served as a Director of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Interred with him is his wife Emilie Bolin Smith. They married in 1932.
Scan this QR code to use this map on
your phone or device or to obtain more information about these sites and the Lakewood Cemetery.
Andrew Davidson
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Andrew Davidson “AD”
Andrew davidson was born February 12, 1840, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Medal of Honor
In the Civil War he was a First Lieutenant in the Army and eventually achieved the rank of Colonel. He was a commanding officer of Company H of the 30th United States Colored Infantry Regiment, which was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers.
Andrew, described in army records as five feet ten and one half inches tall, with gray eyes, brown hair, and sandy complexion, enlisted at Middlefield, NY on August 11,1862 . On August 23rd at Mohawk, NY he was mustered in as a sergeant. His regiment, made up of men from Otsego and Herkimer Counties, was formed in response to an urgent call for new regiments to defend Washington.
He received the award for his actions on July 30, 1864 during the Crater Mine Battle in Petersburg, Virginia. A group of Union soldiers, who were also Pennsylvania miners, had tunneled underground to a position underneath a Confederate position. They filled the mine with explosives and detonated them. Union soldiers, many of them U.S. Colored Troops, then charged into and around the mine. However, Confederate soldiers quickly launched a counterattack, and the Union side suffered terrible casualties.
He died on November 10, 1902, in Bath, NY
Betsey Stockton
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Betsey Stockton “BS”
Born 1798, DIED 1865 Oct. 24
Betsey Stockton was born into slavery as a child and lived the Princeton New Jersey household of the Stockton family and later lived with the Reverend Ashbel Green family. She was then freed but stayed with the family as a servant.
In 1822, Betsey traveled to Hawaii with the Stewart family, that at the time were friends with the Green Family, on a missionary trip. She traveled as a missionary and became the first African American woman to travel overseas being a missionary.
Betsey started to teach at schools in Hawaii and later moved onto teaching in Philadelphia and Princeton.
Betsey remained with the Stockton family at least until 1830 and then was buried with the Stewart family at the Lakewood Cemetery in Cooperstown New York.
Betsey Stockton | Lakewood Cemetery (cooperstownlakewoodcemetery.com)
Clark Family Plot “CF”
For over 130 years the Clark Family has supported the educational pursuits of local students. In the early 1880s, Alfred Corning Clark established The Edward C. Clark Punctuality Prize for students at Cooperstown schools with perfect scholastic attendance over a term. The students were allowed to select a book from a local bookstore. These prizes were awarded until 1961.
In the 1960s, The Scriven Foundation, named in honor of Elizabeth Scriven Clark, established The Scriven Scholarship Program to replace the Punctuality Prize. Scholarships of $1,000 went to the top two graduates of Cooperstown Central School. Gradually, the number and dollar amounts of scholarships increased.
The current Clark Foundation Scholarship Program was established in 1973 and absorbed The Scriven Scholarship Program. The Clark Foundation Scholarship has expanded to include nine additional school districts: Cherry Valley-Springfield, Edmeston, Laurens, Milford, Mount Markham, Owen D. Young, Richfield Springs, Schenevus, and Worcester plus the O.A.O.C. BOCES in Milford. In 2014 Gilbertsville-Mount Upton and Morris schools were added.
Under the leadership of President Jane Forbes Clark, The Clark Foundation, founded in 1931, is one of the largest charitable foundations in the United States. The Foundation supports programs and provides grants to various charitable causes in New York City and Cooperstown.
In Cooperstown, The Foundation provides assistance to a variety of non-profit, educational, community and environmental organizations, and supports major cultural institutions, such as the New York State Historical Association, the Fenimore Art Museum, The Farmers’ Museum, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Glimmerglass Festival. The Foundation also supports significant operating programs including Mohican Farm, the Clark Sports Center and the Cooperstown Beautification Program.
In New York City, The Foundation provides grants to organizations that help people out of poverty, and helps them lead independent and productive lives, and in the issue areas of education, employment, and social services.
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/books/chapters/0520-1st-webe.html
Cooper Monument
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Cooper Monument “CM”
The Cooper Monument was erected in 1860 in memory of James Fenimore Cooper. The monument is made of white Italian marble on a granite base, with a 25-foot shaft topped by a four and a half foot statue. It was sculpted by Robert E. Launitz.
The shaft of the monument is topped by a beautifully carved Corinthian capital. Atop that, Leatherstocking, also known as Natty Bumppo, loads his rifle as his dog Hector looks on.
The four sides of the base are beautifully sculpted and detailed. The front shows the name Fenimore Cooper, surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves and laurel branches.
The north side of the base shows naval devices - an anchor, crossed oars, a commander's sword, and a spy glass. Cooper served as a midshipman in the Navy from 1808 to 1811.
The south side shows Indian emblems, including a bow and arrows, a quiver, a lance with scalp locks attached, a tomahawk, and a necklace of bear claws.
The east side shows literary emblems, including books and a manuscript, an inkwell, and an oil lamp with a snake handle. Smoke rings swirl from the extinguished lamp, and an eagle holds a quill pen in its talons.
The monument was cleaned in May 2024 by Humphrey Memorials of Herkimer NY. They worked with great care and expertise. Many thanks to Matt (that's him in the crane) and his crew!
Lakewood Cemetery wishes to thank all the donors who made this project possible, especially members of the Cooper family, members of the James Fenimore Cooper Society, and Lakewood lot owners.
Additional photos and Information about the Cooper Monument is available here.
https://cooperstownlakewoodcemetery.com/the-cooper-monument
Dorr Russell
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Dorr Russell “DR”
Dorr Russell, an old and well known resident of this village, died at his late residence here at five o'clock Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Russell had been in failing health for more than a year, but his final illness began Sunday morning.
He was in the 73d year of his age. His business life was begun in the village of Burlington, where he conducted a store for eleven years. From the Biographical Review we take the following facts: 'In 1855 Mr. Russell sold out and removed to Cooperstown, where he organized the Bank of Cooperstown, was cashier of that institution for twelve years, and at the same time dealt in wool and hops as a silent partner.
He then moved to New York city, and was vice president of the American National bank for three years, when he organized the New York Loaners' bank, which he managed for several years ...
He and Frederick A. Lee originated the beautiful cemetery, "Lakewood," at Cooperstown, in 1856.' He is survived by one son, Arthur D. of New York, and two daughters, Miss Lucie and Miss Minnie, all of whom were about his bedside when the end came.
The funeral services will be held from the late residence of the deceased, this Friday afternoon at three o'clock. The Rev. Dr. Shreve will officiate, and the remains will be laid to rest in the family lot in Lakewood."
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110637692/dorr-russell
Emmett Ashford “EA”
Emmett Ashford
Emmett Littleton Ashford (November 23, 1914 – March 1, 1980), nicknamed Ash, was the first African American umpire in Major League Baseball, working in the American League from 1966 to 1970.
In 1951, Ashford took a leave of absence from his Santa Ana, California post office job, where he moonlighted as a Santa Ana municipal league softball and National Night Ball League of Southern California umpire. His colorful style included a personal trademark: when a batter received a base-on-balls, instead of simply calling "Ball Four," Ashford would grandly intone, "Ball Fo-uh, you may proceed to first base." He left Santa Ana to umpire in the Southwestern International League, becoming the first black umpire in the traditionally white professional baseball system. When he was offered a full-season umpiring job, Ashford resigned from the postal service.
By the early 1960s, many West Coast sports writers began to suggest that Ashford be promoted to the major leagues. In September 1965, Ashford's contract was sold to the American League. Ashford made his debut at DC Stadium on April 11, 1966. He quickly became a sensation, becoming known for sprinting around the infield after foul balls or plays on the bases. Ashford also brought a new style to being an umpire. He wore jewelry, including flashy cuff links, and wore polished shoes and freshly-pressed suits. While some observers believed that his race prevented him from working in the majors earlier than he did, others maintained that his flashy style actually delayed his major league debut due to general disdain for umpires to draw attention to themselves. The Sporting News stated that "For the first time in the history of the grand old American game, baseball fans may buy a ticket to watch an umpire perform."[1]
Ashford was the left field umpire in the 1967 All-Star Game, and worked all five games of the 1970 World Series, but did not work home plate.
Ashford was one of the only umpires fiery Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver was ever nice to during a game. During a doubleheader against Washington on April 13, 1969, Ashford ruled that a ball hit by Ken McMullen had landed fair in left field, when in actuality Don Buford had caught it just before it hit the ground. Weaver went up to Ashford and politely asked him, "Can you change your call? Just ask the other umpires, because I understand you couldn't see it where you were running from." The other umpires all said Buford had made the catch, so Ashford reversed the call.
Ashford reached the American League's retirement age of 55 in December 1969, but still umpired one additional season in 1970 before retiring.
Ashford died of a heart attack at age 65 in Marina del Rey, California. Upon his death, Bowie Kuhn issued a statement, saying, "As the first black umpire in the major leagues, his magnanimous nature was sternly tested, but he was unshaken and uncomplaining, remaining the colorful, lively personality he was all his life." At his funeral, Ashford was eulogized by Kuhn and former USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux. Ashford was cremated, and his ashes were interred in Cooperstown, New York.
Grace Scott Bowen
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Grace Scott Bowen “GB”
Miss Grace Scott Bowen was born in Cooperstown on March 9, 1867 and eventually was employed by the wealthy Ryerson family, who owned a summer home in Cooperstown. She was a governess to their young son Jack.
She accompanied the Ryersons when they traveled to Europe, and returned with them in 1912 when they began their voyage home to America. She traveled first class when they set sail from Cherbourg, France on April 10, 1912 -- on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. She held Ticket No. PC 17608.��Miss Bowen escaped aboard Lifeboat 4
with Mrs. Emily Ryerson, her two daughters, and Jack.�
Jack had been initially denied entry into the boat by Second Officer Lightoller, but his father, Arthur Ryerson, protested that he should go as he was only 13. Lightoller relented.�
Grace Scott Bowen went on to become the principal of the St. Christina School of the Susan Fenimore Cooper Foundation. She later headed the Latin Department at the Knox School for Girls in Cooperstown.�
She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown on May 3, 1945 at age 78, and is buried in Lakewood Cemetery.
Henry Joseph Nicols
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Henry Joseph Nicols “HN”
Henry Joseph Nicols (August 9, 1973 – May 8, 2000) the son of Henry and Joan Nicols was born with the genetic disease haemophilia and later acquired HIV and AIDS from some of the more than 400 blood transfusions he received as a child.
When in 1984 Nicols' family discovered that Henry had been infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The family did not disclose Nicols’ infection. Instead they went for treatment in New York City, where a child with AIDS might attract less attention. In 1991, when Nicols was diagnosed with "full blown" AIDS and was told he had less than two years to live, he decided he should not keep his condition a secret any longer.
In the first ever planned disclosure of an American school student with AIDS, Nicols, made plans to reveal his illness to the Cooperstown community. On March 8, 1991, Nicols went public, holding a press conference at which he discussed his condition and announced that he would use his illness as a leadership project to earn the Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America.
Nicols was embraced and protected by his hometown of Cooperstown, New York. Nicols went from being an unknown and secret AIDS patient to becoming a local hero and an international AIDS advocate. He was featured on the cover of Parade Magazine, had stories written about him in People Magazine and numerous other news journals. He was a featured guest on Good Morning America and other national news broadcasts and was interviewed by CBS news anchor Peter Jennings during a National TV special on AIDS. Nicols used his notoriety to advocate for compassion and understanding for all those afflicted with AIDS. Nicols was awarded the Eagle Scout Badge in July 1991. He was awarded the first ever Ryan White Award by the National Hemophilia Association, testified before Congress and met with New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Arnold Schwarzenegger, then Presidential Physical Fitness Advisor to George H. Bush. Nicols also met with Presidents George H. Bush, and William Jefferson Clinton to discuss AIDS related issues. Nicols was awarded an honorary Bachelors degree from The University of Scranton in 1992. He was awarded the Caring award in 1992 by the Heart of America foundation and Nicols and his family were featured in the 1993 HBO documentary Eagle Scout: The Story of Henry Nicols. Nicols, his sisters Jennifer and Diana and his parents traveled around the United States and the world to set up AIDS support groups. They worked in Ireland, Canada and Japan and met with university students in 42 states in the United States to educate and support those with AIDS.
As Nicols' illness progressed and his health began to fail he traveled less and less and, in the Spring of 2000 on his way to a Boy Scout weekend, Nicols had a one car accident, striking a tree. He died 11 days later at the age of 26.
Additional Information and Photos are available here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62968658/henry-joseph-nicols
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Nicols
Hoffman Family Plot
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Hoffman Family Plot “HF”
The Hofmann family plot is one of the most beautiful locations to enjoy the beauty of Lakewood Cemetery. Please respect the family’s memorial space and stay outside of the fenced areas.. Enjoy the view from the top of the family Plot. Thank You.
Kenneth D. & Emilie B. Smith
Kenneth was a Sports Writer and served as a Director of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Interred with him is his wife Emilie Bolin Smith. They married in 1932.
Born in Danbury, Conn., in 1902, Ken Smith started in baseball as a bat boy for Danbury in the New York-New Jersey League in 1913.
He began covering major league baseball for the New York Graphic in 1925, and switched to the New York Mirror two years later.
He covered the New York Giants for 30 years before the team left for San Francisco.
Short of stature but long on friends, Smith's gentle disposition, gracious personality and knowledge of the game won him the admiration of his readers and the respect of his peers.
He was secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) for 19 years and was the director of the legendary annual dinner extravaganza on 15 occasions.
Upon the Mirror's demise in 1963, Smith became the director of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He was the Museum's public relations director from 1976 until his retirement in 1979 and was the author of "Baseball's Hall of Fame", a baseball classic that saw numerous editions.
Smith passed away on March 1, 1991.
Kenneth D. & Emilie B. Smith
Mary Imogene Bassett
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Dr. Mary Imogene Bassett “MB”
Born 1856, Died 1922 Oct. 21
Mary Imogene Bassett was born in Mount Vision New York to the parents Doctors Wilson and Mary A. Bassett. The family moved in 1874 to Cooperstown New York due to their medical practices. The family treated patients for $6-$12 a week in their house that still stands on lower Fair Street.
At the time not many women found themselves taking practice in medical fields but Mary graduated from the college of Pennsylvania and moved on to get further training in medicine. Mary wrote many articles about her field and was subsequently elected delegate to the Philadelphia County Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
After her mother passed in 1893, Mary turned to rural medical practice in Cooperstown. Shortly after her father died in 1905 she was to continue alone. She started to be beloved by the people of Cooperstown and became quite popular in the small area. One of her patients was Edward Severin Clark who wanted to provide Mary with a laboratory and a 100 bed hospital building named after Mary Imogene Bassett.
The building was finally completed in June, 1922 but sadly Mary passed due to a stroke in October of that year.
While Mary passed her ideas and dreams stayed to reflect and show that she was truly invested in her ideas of a working hospital to care for the town she loved so much.
Orphans Lot
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Orphans Lot “OL”
A simple monument to mark the orphans graves in the lakewood cemetery.�https://jfcoopersociety.org/content/03-life/susan/orphanage.htm
Orphan House of the Holy Saviour (1875)
Report with extensive quotations from Susan Fenimore Cooper
Originally published in State of New York, Ninth Annual Report of the State Board of Charities, transmitted to the Legislature January 14, 1876 . Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, Printers, 1876. pp. 386-391.
[May be reproduced for instructional use by individuals or institutions; commercial use prohibited.]
Annual Report of the Orphan House of the Holy Saviour
Cooperstown.
{p. 386} In a spacious family dwelling-house, by the shore of the beautiful lake of Otsego, are gathered, from the county poor-house and desolate homes, a band of twenty-eight little children. Most of them, on their arrival here, presented all the traits of children whose early years had been neglected. Some had become soured and apathetic……
Robert G. Cobbett
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Robert G. Cobbett “RC”
The plaque reads:
IN LOVING MEMORY
ROBERT GUILDFORD COBBETT
Corp. Co. G,107th Infantry, 27th Div.
KILLED IN ACTION
DEFENDING LIBERTY AT
CAMBRAI, FRANCE
June 12, 1898 - Sept. 29, 1918
***
Corporal Cobbett died in one of the final battles of World War I.
He was just 20 years old.
Read more at this website: Battle of Cambrai
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Cambrai-1918
https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/148605/
Ryerson Family Plot
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Ryerson Family Plot “RF”
In Feb.1912, the Ryerson family left the United States for an extended vacation in Europe. Arthur Ryerson, a prominent Chicago lawyer and magnate of the Ryerson Steel Company, had homes in Chicago; Haverford, Pa., and at “Ringwood,” a family estate in Springfield Center. He, his wife Emily Borie Ryerson, and three of their children, Susan, Emily and Jack, sailed to Europe on the liner Olympic. Since the trip was an extended one and the children needed to keep up with their studies, a governess was hired to accompany them. Grace Scott Bowen of Cooperstown, daughter of County Judge Samuel Bowen, went along as a teacher. On April 8, 1912, their eldest son, Arthur, Jr., on a break from Yale University where he was studying, was killed in an automobile accident. In Europe, the Ryersons received a cable telling them of their son’s death.They made plans to return to the United States and took passage on an ocean liner leaving from London – the White Star Line’s spectacular new vessel – the Titanic, on its maiden voyage. Emily Ryerson, when she heard that all passengers were told to come to the deck, woke her husband and told the children to put coats on over their nightclothes and hurry outside. When they reached the deck, they waited while the crews readied the lifeboats and organized the passengers. A ship’s officer helping passengers into the lifeboats announced, “No men are allowed until the women are loaded first.” Mrs. Ryerson, Susan, Emily and Bowen were helped into the lifeboat. According to the release, as Jack climbed the steps to the lifeboat, the officer held him up saying “That boy can’t go. It is women and children first.” Arthur Ryerson, determined that another son would not be put into jeopardy, said firmly, “Of course that boy goes with his mother. He is only 13 years old.” The officer allowed Jack to get into the lifeboat, but said, “No more boys.”The lifeboats pulled away from the ship, which was now listing badly. The Ryersons waved goodbye to their father. For Arthur Ryerson and many other passengers there were no lifeboats.
Arthur Ryerson eldest relative in lakewood cemetery:
Samuel Nelson
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Samuel Nelson (Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court) “SN”
Born Nov. 10, 1792, Hebron, N.Y.
Nelson was the son of farmers John Rogers Nelson and Jean McArthur Nelson. He initially planned to become a minister but instead studied law at Middlebury College (Vermont), from which he graduated in 1813. Upon graduation, he became a law clerk in Salem, N.Y., but after the law firm dissolved two years later, he followed one of the former partners to Madison county, N.Y., to form a new law firm.
In 1817 Nelson was admitted to the bar and moved to Cortland, N.Y., to begin private practice. His political aspirations grew along with the success of his practice, and in 1820 Nelson was appointed Cortland’s postmaster, served as a presidential elector for James Monroe, and became a delegate to the New York constitutional convention of 1821, in which he advocated the abolition of property requirements for male suffrage.
He was appointed in 1823 judge of New York’s sixth circuit court and in 1831 associate justice of the state Supreme Court. In 1837 Nelson was promoted to chief justice of the New York Supreme Court. Despite the ordinary limitation of state court precedents, his decisions began to gain recognition in other states. In February 1845, after an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate, Nelson was nominated by Pres. John Tyler to replace Smith Thompson on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Having earlier attempted reconciliation efforts to avoid civil war, Nelson came under intense public scrutiny because of several decisions that led some of his critics to question his patriotism during the American Civil War.In 1871 Pres. Ulysses S. Grant appointed Nelson to serve on the Joint High Commission that met at Geneva to settle the Alabama claims (i.e., claims resulting from damage caused by a vessel manufactured in England and sold to the Confederacy); the commission awarded the United States $15.5 million in reparations from Britain, maintaining that countries were required to use “due diligence” in preventing the sale of military weapons to an enemy of a country with which it is at peace. Nelson retired from the court in November 1872 and died the following year.
Died Dec. 13, 1873, Cooperstown, N.Y.
Soldiers Plot
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Soldiers Plot “SP”
Some Honorable recognitions:
The Grand Army of the Republic was a national fraternal organization of honorably discharged Union veterans who served in the Civil War.
The L.C. Turner Post was organized and and put into the Department of New York on May 26,1878. The post was named after Judge Levi C. Turner who had a law practice in cooperstown and also served as a Judge in Otsego County. During the Civil War he rose the the rank Major and was then appointed Judge Advocate under Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. He passed in Washington in 1867 and is buried in the Soldiers Plot.
The Honorable Andrew Davidson was chosen Commander of the Post. He enlisted in Cooperstown in July 1862 and served, rising to rank of Captain. After serving he returned to Cooperstown and then studied law and was admitted to Bar. He was the editor of The Otsego Republican and also served as a New York state senator. Davidson was Commandant of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Bath, New York, where he happened to pass in 1902. He was awarded a Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor in 1892 and buried in the Soldiers Plot.
The Plot was used in past Memorial Days and was frequently decorated and fitted for a impressive ritual service of the Grand Army but in 1915 a Civil War monument was erected by L.C. Turner Post at the Courthouse Grounds.
Soldiers Plot - Civil War | Lakewood Cemetery (cooperstownlakewoodcemetery.com)
Stephen C. Clark
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Stephen Carlton Clark Sr. “SC”
1882-1960 American art collector, businessman, newspaper publisher and philanthropist. He founded the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
Stephen Carlton Clark Sr. established cultural institutions in his home town of Cooperstown. He founded the Baseball Hall of Fame and paid for construction of its building, which opened in 1939.[5] He offered his late brother Edward's country estate to the New York State Historical Association, which moved its headquarters to Cooperstown in 1939.[6] The estate's mansion houses the Fenimore Art Museum, whose collection of American paintings and folk art Clark greatly expanded in the 1940s and 1950s.[6] He founded the Farmers' Museum in 1942, which features a large collection of farm tools and equipment housed in Edward's former dairy barn. Its attractions include a village of relocated 19th-century buildings staffed by interpreters in vintage costume, including a blacksmith's forge and a working carousel. The museums are across New York State Route 80 from each other, on land once owned by James Fenimore Cooper.[6]
Clark's brother Edward founded Cooperstown's Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in 1918. Named for a local physician, Edward paid for construction of its 100-bed building.[7] The hospital housed wounded World War I veterans for several years, before opening to the public on June 1, 1922.[8] The largest cash bequest made by Stephen C. Clark in his will was to Bassett Hospital: $6,000,000.[1]
Clark was a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1932 to 1945, and from 1950 to his death in 1960. He served as the Met's vice president from 1941 to 1945.[9] He was a founding trustee of the Museum of Modern Art in 1929, and served as chairman of its board of trustees from 1939 to 1946.[6] His chairmanship is remembered primarily for his unpopular 1943 firing of MoMA's founding director, Alfred H. Barr Jr.[10] He also served on the board of Roosevelt Hospital, and on numerous corporate boards.
Titus D. Savage
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Titus D. Savage “TS”
Titus D. Savage was a resident of Otsego County who enlisted in the Union Army on August 9, 1862. As a soldier in the Civil War, Savage was wounded in the chest and arm during the Battle of the Wilderness in Spotsylvania, Virginia on May 10, 1864. He died almost four weeks later on June 3 in the Campbell Hospital in Washington D.C.
Note: The gravestone lists Savage’s date of death as June 3, 1867, and his age at death as 21 years and 2 months. Other sources cite his date of death as June 3, 1864, and his age as 19 years, which appears to be more accurate, as the Civil War ended in April 1865. The The Battle of the Wilderness, at Fort Wilderness in Northern Virginia was fought from May 5-7 1864. It was the first battle in Ulysses S Grant’s Overland Campaign, when the Union army tried to drive Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army back through Virginia, in an attempt to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, VA. Although the battle was extremely bloody and mostly inconclusive, many scholars believe it set the stage for the Union army’s eventual success.
Walter W. Stokes
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
Senator Walter Watson Stokes “WS”
Walter Watson Stokes (August 10, 1880 – March 27, 1960) was an American financier and politician from New York
Walter was born on August 10, 1880, in Manchester, Vermont, the son of financier Walter C. Stokes (1852–1924) and Adele (Watson) Stokes (1852–1921).
In 1901, he became a member of the New York Stock Exchange.
On May 14, 1902, he married Mary L. Constable (born 1884). They they had one son: Walter Watson Stokes Jr. (born 1903). They lived in Manhattan and the Stokes family's country home "Woodside Hall" in Cooperstown. Walter and Mary were divorced in 1931.
On November 14, 1934, he married Hannah Lee Sherman (1905–2001), a grand-niece of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Hannah Sherman was a photographic model, famous at the time as "Miss Chesterfield".
Stokes was a member of the N.Y. State Senate from 1933 to 1952.
He died on March 27, 1960, in Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y. ; and is buried at the Lakewood Cemetery.
His wife, Hannah Lee Stokes, is buried in the adjoining plot.
William Ruggles
Lakewood Cemetery
Cooperstown, NY
William Ruggles “WR”
In 1837 at the age of seventeen, William Ruggles taught in a district school in the Town of Hartwick, teaching in the winter and attending the Otsego Academy in Cooperstown in the summer. After his marriage in 1841 to Sophia Niles, he taught in the Pioneer Street school, then Pine Street school, in Cooperstown for 12 years.
In 1854 he entered the firm of Ivison and Phinney, publishers in New York, as agent and traveled in their interest visiting schools and academies in the state. He formed a partnership with Elihu Phinney which continued until Phinney’s death, at which time he continued the business alone.
His dedicated interest in public schools brought him much credit for the progress and improvement in schools throughout Otsego County. He also served as a trustee and Board member of the Cooperstown Union School.
In 1877 the first recorded Ruggles Memorial Essay Contest in the Cooperstown Union School was recorded. Since the beginning of the contest, each member of the junior English classes is expected to write a 600-800 word essay which is judged for originality, grammar and vivid language use. Class finalists compete in two rounds of oral competition, then first- and second-place winners are chosen. The 146th annual contest was held in April 2023.
William H. and Sophia Ruggles are buried in Lakewood Cemetery along with son Willie who died in infancy, son William N. and his wife Martha, and daughter Mary.