After spotting an abandoned cemetery at the corner of Grant Avenue and Rose Street in the heart of downtown Farmingdale, resident Vicki Gruber became inspired to trace the lineage of the Van Cott family—some of the earliest settlers in the Farmingdale community. Gruber, a corporate and securities attorney, said that after approaching the village about the history of the cemetery, she took it upon herself to do the research. Compiling three or four years worth of newfound information, Gruber discovered that each of the 16 plots in the cemetery are direct descendants of Claes Cornelissen Van Cats, a Dutch settler and firm believer in democracy, home rule and civil liberty.
Although Van Cats died in 1692, more than 75 years before the start of the American Revolution, he lived on through his family, some of whom are buried in the cemetery downtown. In 1759, one of Van Cats’ two grandsons purchased 115 acres of land adjoining the Bethpage Purchase, which was acquired nearly a century prior by Thomas Powell.
Eight of the people buried in the cemetery are decedents of the Van Cats family, who later changed their surname to Van Cott. The deaths and burials of the people at the Van Cott
Cemetery occurred from 1849 to 1891, spanning 42 years. Many of the deaths occurred in 1864, during the Civil War period. About half of the deaths occurred before the age of 14 and only five of the people buried made it past the age of 50.
All of the headstones date back more than 165 years and are severely damaged. In addition, the grave markers are virtually unnoticeable in the fall and winter seasons, because they were laying flat on the ground.
“This all started from my belief that there ought to be a sign,” Gruber said. “You can’t see that it’s a cemetery… it looks like someone’s backyard.”
To try and preserve the community’s rich history, Gruber approached members of the Farmingdale- Bethpage Historical Society last February about funding a marker that would be erected in the cemetery to commemorate the history and purpose of the historic site.
According to Eric Goldschrafe, president of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society, after meeting with Gruber, the organization set aside funds to help finance the stone marker.
“Vicky [Gruber] did a lot of work on this,” Goldschrafe said. “We went ahead and let her design it… It’s an attractive piece.”
On Nov. 16, Gruber finally witnessed the fruition of all her hard work, as public officials gathered at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Rose Street to unveil the memorial stone marker with a bronze plaque, which reads: “The Van Cotts of Farmingdale, NY were descended from Claes Cornelissen Van Cats, who arrived in New Amsterdam from Holland in 1662.
He settled in Brooklyn, and his grandsons Johannes and Tunis migrated east to Oyster Bay. In 1759, Tunis purchased 115 acres just north of the Bethpage Purchase. The Van Cotts buried here are descended from both Johannes and Tunis. Another branch of the family migrated west and became prominent in the early history of the Mormon Church and the settlement of Utah.”
At the unveiling, Gruber was joined by members of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society, who were presented with a citation from Nassau County Legislators Rose Marie Walker and Michael Venditto, Farmingdale Village Mayor Ralph Ekstrand and Oyster Bay Town Councilman Anthony Macagnone.
“I feel good about it,” Gruber said. “I am glad there is something there.”
