Rye cemetery final resting place for veterans of color

The gravestone of Samuel Bell is like something you might find in Arlington National Cemetery. Except until recently, it wouldn't be nearly as easy to visit.

Bell was a soldier in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first black military units of the Union Army during the Civil War — the one chronicled in the 1989 Denzel Washington movie, "Glory."

Bell is buried near one the more prominent monuments in the Rye African American Cemetery, a slice of American history not easy to find, but worth uncovering. It offers a glimpse into the history of some Westchester inhabitants who lived, worked and served their country during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The land, located inside the Greenwood Union Cemetery, is adjacent to Interstate 95 and was donated to the Town of Rye in 1860 by Underhill and Elizabeth Halstead as a burial place for black residents.

The cemetery had fallen into disrepair in the last half of the 20th century, but an effort to restore and upkeep the cemetery has brought it back into the spotlight. An event commemorating the 379 grave sites recognized by Rye town — including 30 veterans of the U.S. Civil War, Spanish-American War and both World Wars — will be held at 10 a.m. on Memorial Day.

“We decided to honor the people here,” said Port Chester Village Clerk David Thomas, who has led the effort to restore the historic site. Descendants and others wanting to pay their respects also gather at the site on Veterans Day.

“Every year we get another piece of history,” said Thomas, who expected relatives from New York City, Long Island and Maryland to pay their respects at a Memorial Day ceremony. “We don’t have a lot of information about the African-American life from 1865 to the 1900's.”

The first known burial in the cemetery — which includes the graves of former slaves, servants, laborers, landowners and merchants of color — took place in 1840. The last was in 1964.

There’s a sign at the entrance and a path leading to the cemetery, which is the size of a football field. A mix of oak, ash and maple trees, most likely planted by the descendants of those who passed on, said Thomas, add to the serene setting.

Walking through the cemetery, Thomas points out handmade headstones. He notes the resting place of William Voris, a landowner and store merchant who operated an ice cream stand at Rye Beach in the 1860's.

Headstones of veterans are dotted with small flags. Thomas told the story of one, Edwin Purdy, who sent a letter to his wife about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He also explains the significance of the small animal statues placed beside bigger headstones: they signify the death of a child under 12 years old.

Robinette Robinson of Mamaroneck will be here on Memorial Day to honor her family, just as she's done for years.

Robinson is grateful that she has access to family and historic records about her lineage, tracing her family roots back three generations. She has at least five family members buried here, including her great-great grandfather, Robert Purdy, an escaped slave from the South, whose final resting place is marked with a prominent marble headstone. “I didn’t even know he was buried here,” she said of Purdy.

She remembers going to the cemetery as a little girl; the overgrown weeds were up to her waist when her family visited the site. And she can recall stories of family members like uncle James W. Allen, nicknamed “Hip,” and his connection to the Mamaroneck community and love of motorcycles through photographs. “Because of the community they lived in, the pictures tell you so much about the history.”

The Purdy family buried three daughters in the African-American Cemetery and Purdy Sr. had twin granddaughters who have a headstone here. Robinson said Robert Purdy owned over 12 acres of land, including farm land, on Saxon Woods Road; each daughter was given a plot of land and a house when she married.

In 1852, Purdy was one of the founders of Barry Avenue AME Zion Church in Mamaroneck.

“My grandmother was (also) a founder of the AME Zion Church,” said Robinson.

RELATED: Uncovering a painful past for African Americans

David Thomas has been a vital part of researching, restoring and bringing awareness to the Rye cemetery.

“In the 1970s it was bad,” he said, mentioning the cemetery has been revived a few times over the years, when it went into disarray with stolen and fallen headstones. “We really needed to do something to restore the property,” he said.

Thomas started Friends of the African-American Cemetery, (FOAC) which was granted 501-c3 nonprofit designation this year. The cemetery has local landmark status and since 2003 has New York State and National Historic Landmark status.

It’s part of FOAC’s mission to do regular maintenance of the 80 headstones.  Thomas has personally cleaned headstones — like that of Samuel Bell — and encourages groups, like the Links of Woodland Hills High School, to help refurbish the headstones.

“We found 15 to 20 headstones and burial spots when we cut back the brush,” said Thomas.

Thomas encourages local residents to visit the cemetery not just on Memorial Day, but year-round, and to contact him if they believe they may have family buried here. He maintains a Facebook page that includes images from some of the people buried in Rye.

He said the FOAC nonprofit designation could mean more attention for the Rye landmark.

“This allows us to accept donations, advertise more and formalize our development of the site,” said Thomas. “It creates this organization to keep the cemetery alive and moving forward.”

And to keep headstones like Samuel Bell's — white marble, like something you might see in an Arlington Virginia national cemetery — around for another hundred years.

If you go

What: Friends of the African American Cemetery 
When: May 28 at 10 a.m. 
Where: Greenwood Union Cemetery, 215 North St., Rye 
Info: 914-886-5710 or afamcemetery@gmail.com

Twitter: @krhudsonvalley