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Cemetery record

Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York

Transcribed inscriptions of 10 people in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie

1 photograph. Both — a vintage postcard of the cemetery entrance, with transcribed inscriptions on this page.

Located on the east bank of the majestic Hudson River, Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is over 200 acres of gently rolling hills, tranquil waters and stately trees creating a park-like sanctuary of abiding dignity and natural splendor. Where historic figures such as Thomas McKean, Continental Congress Member and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Matthew Vassar, founder of Vassar College, which opened in 1861, are buried. It was also, for a short time, the resting place of General Armstrong Custer, legendary figure of the June 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn River. He was buried later at West Point. Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, P. O. Box 977, Poughkeepsie, New York 12602-0977, (845) 454-6020. The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is open every day from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Inscription transcription

As transcribed by the original contributor.

Poughkeepise Rural Cemetery

The Poughkeepise Rural Cemetery is open everyday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

The following is a list of historic figures buried in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York that I got from the biographical directory of the United States congress.

Indexed names

Transcribed names
Details
Bailey, TheodorusOctober 12, 1758 - September 6, 1828BAILEY, Theodorus, a Representative and a Senator from New York; born near Fishkill, Dutchess County, N.Y., October 12, 1758; attended the rural schools; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1778 and commenced practice in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; served with the New York Militia during the Revolutionary War; served in the State militia 1786-1805 and attained the rank of brigadier general; elected to the Third and Fourth Congresses (March 4, 1793-March 3, 1797); elected to the Sixth Congress (March 4, 1799-March 3, 1801); elected to the Seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Thomas Tillotson and served from October 6, 1801, to March 3, 1803; simultaneously served in the New York State assembly in 1802; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1803, to January 16, 1804, when he resigned to accept the position of postmaster of the city of New York, which he held until his death on September 6, 1828; interment in the Dutch Burying Ground; reinterment in the Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., January 8, 1864.
Baker, StephenAugust 12, 1819 - June 9, 1875BAKER, Stephen, a Representative from New York; born in New York City, August 12, 1819; attended the common schools; engaged as importer and jobber in woolen goods; moved to Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, N.Y., in 1850; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861-March 3, 1863); abandoned active business pursuits and lived in retirement until his death, while en route to California for his health, on a train near Ogden, Utah, June 9, 1875; interment in the Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Brooks, David1756 - August 30, 1838BROOKS, David, a Representative from New York; born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1756; attended the public schools; during the Revolutionary War entered the Continental Army as a lieutenant in the Pennsylvania Battalion of the Flying Camp in 1776; was captured at Fort Washington, November 16, 1776, and exchanged in January 1780; appointed assistant clothier general; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; after the war settled in New York County, N.Y.; member of the State assembly 1787 and 1788; moved to Dutchess County, N.Y.; member of the State assembly 1794-1796 and 1810; judge of Dutchess County, 1795-1807; elected as a Federalist to the Fifth Congress (March 4, 1797-March 3, 1799); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1798 to the Sixth Congress and in 1800 to the Seventh Congress; appointed commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Seneca Indians; clerk of Dutchess County, June 5, 1807, to January 25, 1809 and from February 9, 1810, to February 14, 1811, and again from February 23, 1813, to February 13, 1815; appointed an officer in the United States Customs Service; an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati; died in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, N.Y., August 30, 1838; interment probably in the Old Rural Cemetery.
Emott, JamesMarch 9, 1771 - April 7, 1850EMOTT, James, a Representative from New York; born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., March 9, 1771; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1790 and commenced practice in Ballson Center, N.Y.; land commissioner to settle disputes of titles to military reservations in Onondaga County in 1797; moved to Albany, N.Y., in 1800; member of the State assembly from Albany County in 1804, and served as speaker; elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh and Twelfth Congresses (March 4, 1809-March 3, 1813); member of the State assembly from Dutchess County 1814-1817, and served as speaker the first year; judge of the court of common pleas of Dutchess County from April 8, 1817, to February 3, 1823; appointed judge for the second judicial circuit February 21, 1827, and held that office until February 1831, when he retired; died in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, N.Y., April 7, 1850; interment in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.
Johnston, CharlesFebruary 14, 1793 - September 1, 1845JOHNSTON, Charles, a Representative from New York; born in Salisbury, Conn., on February 14, 1793; attended the common schools; moved to Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1841); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1840 to the Twenty-seventh Congress; engaged in the practice of law until his death in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., September 1, 1845; interment in the burying ground of Christ Episcopal Church; reinterment in 1861 in the Rural Cemetery.
Kindred, John JosephJuly 15, 1864 - October 23, 1937KINDRED, John Joseph, a Representative from New York; born near Courtland, Southampton County, Va., July 15, 1864; attended the local schools, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Va., and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville; taught school in Virginia in 1886 and 1887; was graduated from the Hospital College of Medicine, Louisville, Ky., in 1889 and commenced the practice of his profession in New York City the same year; was graduated in mental diseases from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1892; established several mental hospitals in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey; was graduated in law in 1919 and admitted to the bar in 1926; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-second Congress (March 4, 1911-March 3, 1913); was not a candidate for renomination in 1912; became interested in agricultural pursuits and in the construction of houses; elected to the Sixty-seventh and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921-March 3, 1929); was not a candidate for renomination in 1928; resumed his medical profession in New York City 1930-1937 and also served as professor of medical jurisprudence at John B. Stetson University, De Land, Fla., 1933 to 1937; died October 23, 1937, at Astoria, N.Y.; interment in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Nelson, Homer AugustusAugust 31, 1829 - April 25, 1891NELSON, Homer Augustus, a Representative from New York; born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, N.Y., August 31, 1829; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; judge of Dutchess County 1855-1862; colonel of the One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War; resigned in 1863; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867; secretary of state of New York 1867-1870; member of the State senate in 1882 and 1883; appointed a member of the commission to report a revision of the judiciary article of the State constitution in 1890; died in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., April 25, 1891; interment in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.
Platt, EdmundFebruary 2, 1865 - August 7, 1939PLATT, Edmund, a Representative from New York; born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., February 2, 1865; attended a private school and Riverview Academy; was graduated from Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; learned the printer's trade; was graduated from Harvard University in 1888; taught school and studied law; moved to Wisconsin and edited the Superior (Wis.) Evening Telegram in 1890 and 1891; returned to Poughkeepsie in 1891 and engaged in editing and publishing the Poughkeepsie Eagle; member of the board of water commissioners of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; elected as a Republican to the Sixty-third and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1913, to June 7, 1920, when he resigned to accept appointment by President Wilson to the Federal Reserve Board; chairman, Committee on Banking and Currency (Sixty-sixth Congress); became vice governor of the board in August 1920 and served until 1930 when he resigned; returned to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and engaged in an extensive banking business; died in Chazy, Clinton County, N.Y., while on a visit, August 7, 1939; interment in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Schuyler, Philip JeremiahJanuary 21, 1768 - February 21, 1835SCHUYLER, Philip Jeremiah, (son of Philip John Schuyler), a Representative from New York; born in Albany, N.Y., January 21, 1768; received a limited schooling under private tutors; engaged in agriculture in Dutchess County; member of the State assembly in 1798; elected as a Federalist to the Fifteenth Congress (March 4, 1817-March 3, 1819); was not a candidate for reelection in 1818; resumed agricultural pursuits; died in New York City February 21, 1835; interment on the Schuyler estate near Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, N.Y.; reinterment in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie.
Thompson, JohnJuly 4, 1809 - June 1, 1890THOMPSON, John, a Representative from New York; born in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, N.Y., July 4, 1809; was graduated from Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., and later from Yale College; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859); resumed the practice of law; died in New Hamburg, Dutchess County, N.Y., June 1, 1890; interment in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Inscriptions transcribed by the original Ancestors at Rest contributor. Individual names were extracted into the searchable index below; the verbatim inscription is shown alongside each.

More from the archive

Matched automatically from the archive’s name and place indexes — research leads, not confirmed relations.

Attribution

Headstone inscription transcription preserved from the Ancestors at Rest archive; the original contributor is not recorded. If you transcribed this cemetery, please contact us so credit can be restored.

Ancestors at Rest archive — original contributor not recorded.

Source & Citation

Transcribed headstone inscriptions of Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York. 10 names preserved in the Ancestors at Rest archive.

Last verified: 2026-07-01

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