Table of Contents
Seaman-Jones-Haentschke-Bedell Plot
Jones-Sinsabaugh-Simmons Plot
Seaman-Shaw Monument
Holland-Hughson-Smith Plot
Johnson Monument
SEAMAN-JONES-Haentschke-BEDELL Plot
Facing east
The Seaman-Jones-Haentschke-Bedell burial ground is a 16x16 foot plot located in Trinity churchyard at Range 9, Lot #104. Its original owner was Rowland J. Seaman, the second husband of Catherine A. Bedell. He purchased it on October 3, 1898 for $40.00.
After Rowland's death in 1903, Catherine sold the south half of the plot to her brother, Alfred Curtis Bedell. Alfred's daughter Araminta (Mint, Minnie) Haentschke was given burial rights in the south half as well, and paid $125 for its perpetual care when she assumed ownership after her father's death in 1932. Robert Ellsworth Jones, son of Catherine Bedell Seaman, became owner of the north half of the plot upon his mother's death in 1935. He authorized the burial of his grandnephew, Harold Seaman, in 1938. There are ten burials in all, the maximum allowable in the plot.
Seaman-Jones Monument
(north side of the plot)
The Seaman-Jones burials are:
Rowland J. Seaman, 1842-1903
Second husband of Catherine Bedell (see next).
He died in the Soldiers
and Sailors Home in Bath, New York after a long illness.
Catherine A. (Bedell) Seaman, 1856-1935
Great grandmother of Vivian Seaman Velardi by her first husband, Samuel Jones.
Harold Seaman, 1935-1938
Youngest brother of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Harold died at age 2 yrs, 10 months, 29 days. Cause of death
unknown at time of death pending the results of a "microscopic" autopsy.
A newspaper article published in
The Wave claimed the cause was milk poisoning.
Robert Ellsworth Jones, 1876-1954
Son of Catherine Bedell by her first husband, Samuel Jones;
Granduncle
of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
His paternal grandmother, Mary Jones, is buried in the
Jones-Sinsabaugh-Simmons
plot.
Anna (Martin) Jones, ABT 1875-1963
Wife of Robert Ellsworth Jones.
Hers was the final burial in the plot.
NOTE: Not yet located but presumably nearby is the grave site of another member of this family, Julia (Jones) Pinkham, 1874-1898, daughter of Catherine Bedell by her first husband, Samuel Jones, and the paternal grandmother of Vivian Seaman Velardi. Church records confirm she is buried in the cemetery but don't provide the location of the grave (most of the pre-1930s records don't). Julia is not interred in the Seaman-Jones plot, which was purchased by Rowland Seaman the day after her burial.
Read more about this family in The Descendants of Benjamin Bedell of Hempstead NY.
Haentschke Monument
(south side of the plot)
The Haentschke burials are:
Franz (Frank) E. Haentschke, ABT 1867-1934
First husband of Araminta Bedell (see below).
The birth year on the monument may be incorrect, i.e., 1867 rather than
1865
Frank Albert Haentschke, 1895-1938
Son of Araminta Bedell and Franz
Haentschke;
First cousin once removed of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
He served as in World War I as a corporal in the 305th
Infantry. Death year of 1939 on the monument is erroneous, as confirmed by death
certificate and church records. Frank died on March 9, 1938.
Araminta (Bedell-Haentschke) Otten, 1876-1966
A.k.a, "Minnie" or "Mint". Daughter of Alfred Curtis Bedell (see next monument);
Grandaunt of
Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Minnie was the last burial in this plot.
Read more about this family in The Descendants of Benjamin Bedell of Hempstead NY.
Bedell Monument
(south side of the plot, to the right of the Haentschke monument)
The Bedell burials are:
Georgianna (Shaw) Bedell, ABT 1855-1919
Wife of Alfred Curtis Bedell (see next);
Great grandmother of Vivian
Seaman Velardi.
Alfred Curtis Bedell, 1852-1932
Great grandfather of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Read more about this family in
The Descendants of Benjamin Bedell of Hempstead NY.
Located southwest of the Seaman-Jones-Haentschke-Bedell plot.
The burials in this plot are:
Mary Jane (Falkinburg) Jones, abt
1821-1899
Grandmother of Julia Jones Pinkham and Robert Ellsworth Jones (see Seaman-Jones
monument);
Great-great grandmother of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Actual date of death is December 14, 1899, not December 13 as
etched on the monument,
per her death certificate and church records.
Daughter of Samuel Falkinburg and Mary Cranmer of New Jersey, Mary Jane was born in
New Jersey or Ohio (sources disagree), and married Asa Jones of Westcreek, NJ about 1839.
They lived in Little Egg Harbor for about 30 years before moving to New
York City. Mary died on Second Avenue in Manhattan, attended
by her son-in-law, Dr. James A. Sinsabaugh (see below).. Her husband Asa
Jones, who died in Rockaway Beach in 1894, is buried a couple of miles west
in the now abandoned
Lawrence Cemetery.
George NELSON Jones, 1858-1914
Son of Mary Jane Falkinburg and Asa Jones;
Great granduncle of Vivian
Seaman Velardi.
He was born on March 13, 1858 in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. He died
on June 26, 1914 in Manhattan of tuberculosis. He was single and lived in
Chatham Square.
Julia R. (Jones) Sinsabaugh, ABT 1851-1925
Daughter of Mary Jane Falkinburg and Asa Jones;
Great grandaunt of
Vivian Seaman Velardi.
She
was born in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Married (1) Theodore F.
Simmons; (2) James A. Sinsabaugh (below). Inscription on the west side
of the monument records her death date as Jan. 9, 1925. She died in
Manhattan.
James A. Sinsabaugh, M.D., 1858-1926
Husband of Julia (Jones) Sinsabaugh.
Second husband of Julia R. Jones (above). Inscription on the west side of the monument records his
death date as Nov. 20, 1926. He died in Manhattan.
William O.
Simmons, ABT 1872-1921
Son of Julia (Jones) Sinsabaugh. and her first husband, Theodore R. Simmons.
First cousin once removed of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Inscription on the north side of the monument records his
death date as November 16 (or 18). Epitaph is "Our Darling"..
Helen G. Simmons, 1894-1897
Daughter of William O. Simmons (see above) and his wife, Madge Clore.
First cousin twice removed of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Inscription on the north side of the monument records her
dates as Jan. 9, 1894 - Jan. 8, 1897.
Lydia, wife of Allen Seaman of Hewlett (he was not related to us) was the former Lydia "Liddie" Shaw, daughter of Reuben Shaw and Phoebe Cornwell of Valley Stream. She was the aunt of Georgianna (Shaw) Bedell (see the Bedell monument) and the great-great grandaunt of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
These uniquely ugly monuments are located at Range 14, Lot # 11, off the easternmost path of the cemetery. Michael P. Holland Jr. of Rockaway Beach purchased the plot on Sept. 18, 1911 for $100. His daughter Fanny paid $350 for perpetual care on August 15, 1940.
We are preparing some materials on Holland-Hughson-Smith clan for future publication.
The burials in this plot are:
Michael Price Holland, Jr., 1849-1914
Son of Michael P. Holland Sr. and Fanny R. Brush, two of the earliest settlers of Rockaway Beach (1857), who gave their name to the Holland section of the Beach. Michael Jr. was a builder, a resort developer, and a real estate and insurance agent, as well as being the executor of the Holland Family Trust.
Julia Frances (Hughson) Holland, 1853-1920
Wife of Michael P. Holland, Jr.; daughter of Abraham Hughson and Fannie P. Williams of Poughkeepsie NY;
Great grandaunt of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Elsie Mary (Smith) Rosenberger, 1884-1941
Niece of Julia (Hughson) Holland; daughter of Mary Olivia Hughson and Leonard C. Smith of Beacon NY;
Grandaunt of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
She was known as "Ellie". In 1961, her husband, Charles Rosenberger of New York City, was given permission by the Church to be buried next to her in the Holland plot, but cemetery records confirm he's not interred here.
Fanny R. (Holland) Bamman, 1881-1961
Daughter of Michael and Julia (Hughson) Holland;
First cousin twice removed of Vivian Seaman Velardi.
Known as "Aunt Fanny", she lived on 131st Street in Belle Harbor. She was independently wealthy. Her (second) husband was Ferdinand Diedrich Bamman of New York City. They separated before 1920 and she never remarried. Although her gravestone is the most recent one in the plot, it's in the worst condition.
Located in Range 5, Lot #60 is the monument of Abram Johnson, a
"cousin" of the Bedells, and his wife Mary (Cornell?) Johnson.
Exactly how the Johnsons and Bedells were related has yet to be
ascertained Alfred Curtis Bedell (see the Bedell monument)
lived with the Johnsons and trained as a
carpenter/builder under Abram in the 1860s and early 1870s. Alfred's maternal grandmother and aunt,
Elizabeth and Mary Ann Foster, lived with the Johnson family circa 1850. Abram
Johnson was a longtime Vestryman of the Church and the namesake of Johnson Place in Woodmere.
The Johnson monument is part of a large (39x10 ft.) burial plot that includes several other gravestones memorializing Ann Eliza Johnson (d. 1896), Emma Luella Cornell (d. 1901), Nelson Cornell (d. 1907), Elizabeth Cornell (d. 1933), Elmer A. Cornell (d. 1943), Josephine Cornell (d. 1958), George B. Cornell (d. 1967) and Martha B. Cornell (d. 1972).
Although the monument doesn't look very old, the plot is among the very first ones purchased from the Church. Old Abram bought it on December 4, 1848 for the astronomical sum of $6.00.
The inscription reads:
Abram Johnson
Born March 13, 1819 - Died March 1, 1899
Mary Johnson
Born Dec. 25, 1824 - Died July 8, 1910
Hopefully, we'll get a better picture of this monument on our next visit to
the cemetery.