We discovered our family cemetery in Norwood, NJ over 20 years ago. In the 1702 division of the Tappan Patent, the four Haring brothers were confirmed in large parcels of land on Tappan Road, which runs from Tappan through Northvale and then into Norwood. In the 4th generation (in 1785) John Jans Haring, the brother of our direct ancestor Abraham Jans Haring, sold a farm "exclusive of the burial ground" to his sister Elizabeth and her husband Leendert DeGrauw. When John Jans Haring died, his will did not mention the burial ground - it is one square chain, 66 x 66 feet. When George Budke read the stones in the early 20th century he noted a stone for Abraham Jans Haring, dated 1801, and said that there was a broken stone next to it - presumably his wife's - Elizabeth Mabie, the sister of the Casparus Mabie who built the '76 House in Tappan. There is no evidence of Elizabeth's stone now, and Abraham's was completely silted over when we discovered the cemetery, and all of the other stones had been lain flat as well. Through a grant and private donations the stones have been expertly restored by Bob Carpenter, and are now upright. The boro had set aside an easement for access to the cemetery, and the burial ground did appear on an earlier tax map as boro property. There are seven stones now - Abraham's, his grandson and wife (David Peter Haring and Lydia Zabriskie) and gr-grandson and wife (Peter David Haring and Betsey Bogert). There are also two very nice stones for children - a Ruth and a Bessie Hering, whose parents we have not identified. Fast forward to a few years ago and the peace of the little burial ground in a grove of trees on a little rise was shattered. The four 1950s houses which surrounded the site of the burial ground were torn down and replaced with McMansions on very small pieces of property. After a lot of time and effort on the part of the Norwood Preservation Committee and the Norwood Historical Society who attended town meetings and worked for the preservation of the cemetery, the town did officially take over the ownership of the site, re-affirming what the older tax map had indicated. However the brand-new people in the houses on too-small lots cannot stop coveting the little .1 acre bit of property - one adjacent owner removed a marker post and installed an ornamental pond where it had been, which the town made him remove. Another planted a line of evergreens which curved across a large corner of the burial site (and they all died...). Since it was already referred to as a cemetery in 1785 (I have the original deed) we know there are earlier interments there. We knew of the little girls' stones from the Budke list but they were not in place when we discovered the site - inquiry revealed that a neighbor had put them in his basement for safety. So when we returned them to the site, we of course had no idea of where in the plot they were supposed to be. Their burial does show that the plot was used by non-family members. Abraham's son Peter Abraham was married three times. It would only make sense that his first two wives would have been buried in his father's burial ground - and that his third wife - who outlived him by many years and is buried in Park Ridge - would have buried him there as well. Betsey and Peter lost a son Newton, who must be there, and David Peter, our direct ancestor, is undoubtedly there along with his two sons who died the year after he himself died. There are bones if not stones, and we do not know where in that 66 x 66 feet they were lain. There is controversy over how to protect the cemetery. The committees were willing to accept just a low stone wall to establish the boundary clearly, but then the town and the adjacent owners came to an agreement that would set the wall in from the true border by five feet on two sides, and three and ten feet on the others. The committees feel that they would rather not have a wall at all than have one that made it look as though the homes were on larger lots than they are at the expense of making the cemetery look smaller, which would open a wide door for encroachment upon ground where there may indeed be remains. This is all still up in the air at this writing, and there have been frequent articles in the Bergen newspaper regarding the controversy. The Bergen County Historical Society is having a Harvest Homecoming on Saturday, October 30, with a photographic exhibit titled "Hier Ligt Begraven: Historic Cemeteries and Family Burying Grounds of Bergen County," and I'm going to speak about our beleaguered burial ground and its inhabitants as one part of the program. The marvelous album quilt made by Betsey Bogert which the Society owns will be on display,as well as the 1785 deed, and the blue and white coverlet woven for Betsey Bogert. Regina Haring Nanuet, NY

Great post, Regina! I'll try to make it on Oct. 30. Is it daytime or evening? -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Regina Haring Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 1:29 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [DUTCH-COLONIES] family burial grounds We discovered our family cemetery in Norwood, NJ over 20 years ago. In the 1702 division of the Tappan Patent, the four Haring brothers were confirmed in large parcels of land on Tappan Road, which runs from Tappan through Northvale and then into Norwood. In the 4th generation (in 1785) John Jans Haring, the brother of our direct ancestor Abraham Jans Haring, sold a farm "exclusive of the burial ground" to his sister Elizabeth and her husband Leendert DeGrauw. When John Jans Haring died, his will did not mention the burial ground - it is one square chain, 66 x 66 feet. When George Budke read the stones in the early 20th century he noted a stone for Abraham Jans Haring, dated 1801, and said that there was a broken stone next to it - presumably his wife's - Elizabeth Mabie, the sister of the Casparus Mabie who built the '76 House in Tappan. There is no evidence of Elizabeth's stone now, and Abraham's was completely silted over when we discovered the cemetery, and all of the other stones had been lain flat as well. Through a grant and private donations the stones have been expertly restored by Bob Carpenter, and are now upright. The boro had set aside an easement for access to the cemetery, and the burial ground did appear on an earlier tax map as boro property. There are seven stones now - Abraham's, his grandson and wife (David Peter Haring and Lydia Zabriskie) and gr-grandson and wife (Peter David Haring and Betsey Bogert). There are also two very nice stones for children - a Ruth and a Bessie Hering, whose parents we have not identified. Fast forward to a few years ago and the peace of the little burial ground in a grove of trees on a little rise was shattered. The four 1950s houses which surrounded the site of the burial ground were torn down and replaced with McMansions on very small pieces of property. After a lot of time and effort on the part of the Norwood Preservation Committee and the Norwood Historical Society who attended town meetings and worked for the preservation of the cemetery, the town did officially take over the ownership of the site, re-affirming what the older tax map had indicated. However the brand-new people in the houses on too-small lots cannot stop coveting the little .1 acre bit of property - one adjacent owner removed a marker post and installed an ornamental pond where it had been, which the town made him remove. Another planted a line of evergreens which curved across a large corner of the burial site (and they all died...). Since it was already referred to as a cemetery in 1785 (I have the original deed) we know there are earlier interments there. We knew of the little girls' stones from the Budke list but they were not in place when we discovered the site - inquiry revealed that a neighbor had put them in his basement for safety. So when we returned them to the site, we of course had no idea of where in the plot they were supposed to be. Their burial does show that the plot was used by non-family members. Abraham's son Peter Abraham was married three times. It would only make sense that his first two wives would have been buried in his father's burial ground - and that his third wife - who outlived him by many years and is buried in Park Ridge - would have buried him there as well. Betsey and Peter lost a son Newton, who must be there, and David Peter, our direct ancestor, is undoubtedly there along with his two sons who died the year after he himself died. There are bones if not stones, and we do not know where in that 66 x 66 feet they were lain. There is controversy over how to protect the cemetery. The committees were willing to accept just a low stone wall to establish the boundary clearly, but then the town and the adjacent owners came to an agreement that would set the wall in from the true border by five feet on two sides, and three and ten feet on the others. The committees feel that they would rather not have a wall at all than have one that made it look as though the homes were on larger lots than they are at the expense of making the cemetery look smaller, which would open a wide door for encroachment upon ground where there may indeed be remains. This is all still up in the air at this writing, and there have been frequent articles in the Bergen newspaper regarding the controversy. The Bergen County Historical Society is having a Harvest Homecoming on Saturday, October 30, with a photographic exhibit titled "Hier Ligt Begraven: Historic Cemeteries and Family Burying Grounds of Bergen County," and I'm going to speak about our beleaguered burial ground and its inhabitants as one part of the program. The marvelous album quilt made by Betsey Bogert which the Society owns will be on display,as well as the 1785 deed, and the blue and white coverlet woven for Betsey Bogert. Regina Haring Nanuet, NY ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message