GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY | INDEX OF NAMES | INDEX OF SUBJECTS | CHAPTERS | AUTHOR'S NOTES

A Note From the Author

I've come full circle. Born in Brooklyn, I soon moved to Long Island and grew up there. Having lived my entire life in the New York metropolitan area, I've always been fascinated by New York City's history. That interest has led to my passion for Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery.

In the early 1970's, while studying at New York University, I was introduced by a fellow student to Jack Finney's classic book Time and Again. The story of one man's time travel back to nineteenth century New York City, it was illustrated with photographs of that time and place. Thereafter, I was hooked on nineteenth century New York.

It was a few years later that I began collecting stereoscopic views of New York City. Side by side photographs pasted on cardboard, they had their heyday in the nineteenth century, providing tours of the world to Victorians who didn't even have to leave their parlors. When viewed in a stereoscope, these views were miraculously transformed into three-dimensional scenes. The more I searched for New York views, the more I came across scenes of a place called Green-Wood Cemetery. No one seemed to be collecting these cemetery views and they were relatively inexpensive, so I started buying them.

By 1987, I had a pretty extensive collection of photographs of Green-Wood. Studying these views, I had a very good idea of what Green-Wood had looked like in the 1860's and even around 1900, but no idea whether it even existed anymore. That all changed that year when I joined a photographic tour of Green-Wood. I was amazed at this incredible place, its monuments, its vistas, its parklike setting in the midst of urban Brooklyn. I was enchanted.

And I've been fascinated by Green-Wood Cemetery ever since. I went into the cemetery office and convinced Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Vislocky that I couldn't live another day without my own pass to the cemetery. Superintendent Ken Taylor generously permitted me full access to the cemetery, its records, and archives. Theresa LaBianca was always there to help with my latest search and to explain the cemetery records' quirks. Mary Irizarry, then tour director of the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, gave me a chance to share my latest discoveries on walking tours. I am also grateful to John Muir and Toby Brandt of B.C.U.E. for their help and support. John Cashman, the dean of Green-Wood tour guides, enthusiastically shared his knowledge. I haunted book stores and shows, buying items that related to the cemetery or the people buried there. I began to write in earnest, and Adrienne Hale encouraged me and diligently edited several versions of my writing. Thanks also to Elizabeth Emmons and Karen Kalikow, who read the manuscript and made it better. Last, but certainly not least, my lovely wife Judy deserves special thanks for tolerating my Green-Wood obsession while stepping over those book piles and boxes without too many complaints.

Richard J. Moylan, president of Green-Wood Cemetery, wisely recognized the importance of preserving its history for posterity. The committee of trustees with whom I met, Malcolm Mackay (now Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees), C. Payson Coleman (now Chairman of the Board), and Ann Walker Gaffney encouraged me in this project with their love of history. Thanks are due former Chairman of the Board Richardson Pratt, Jr. (grandson of Charles Pratt, the founder of Pratt Institute) and all of the Green-Wood Cemetery trustees for their generous support for this project.

Just a few notes about this book. Names of individuals who are interred at Green-Wood Cemetery or who were, in a few instances, cremated there, appear in bold when they first appear in a story. Chapters are meant to give a sense of an era; the stories within each chapter are not (except for the last chapter) in chronological order. Recent photographs of the cemetery, unless otherwise attributed, are by the author.

It's now more than ten years since I first walked the glorious grounds of Green-Wood Cemetery. I've spent many days wandering the cemetery, leading tours, researching, and reading. I've typed more incarnations of this manuscript than I care to remember. Following in the footsteps of Nehemiah Cleaveland and Effie Brower, two nineteenth century Green-Wood historians, I dedicate this book to the famous, the infamous, and the obscure who deserve to be remembered, who form the unique mix that is Green-Wood Cemetery.

A good book devoted to Green-Wood Cemetery is long overdue. I have tried to make this book, published by Green-Wood Cemetery in honor of its 160th anniversary, that good book. I hope you enjoy it.

Jeffrey I. Richman

Jeff Richman is an attorney with The Legal Aid Society in New York City. He lives in Huntington, New York, with his wife, Judy, their two children, and their yellow labrador retriever.