Cemetery
St. Peter’s Cemetery
OVERVIEW
St. Peter’s Cemetery is located near the church on the northwest corner of the Shunpike and Route 44 in Lithgow, New York.
David Johnston, of Lithgow, donated land for the cemetery in 1806 and burials began shortly thereafter. The oldest surviving marker dates to 1811. The cemetery has expanded over the years due to generous donations of additional land and it is now approximately six acres in size. Many locally-important individuals from Lithgow and Millbrook have been buried there. Among those buried in the cemetery are forty-seven military veterans, the earliest of whom served in the Civil War. The cemetery provides an important genealogical, social and biographical record of the hamlet of Lithgow and of the broader community.
MEMORIAL DAY
St. Peter’s Church holds a Memorial Day service in the cemetery each year at the end of May on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. This special service is always well attended. Residents of the Millbrook community and visitors join with the congregation of St. Peter’s parishioners to commemorate those who have died in a service that stirs the hearts and souls of many.
PRESERVATION AND MAINTENANCE
The Cemetery Committee aims to preserve the rural character of the cemetery, surrounded by farmland, and to maintain the property’s contextual serenity for generations ahead.
CEMETERY OPERATING FUND AND THE CEMETERY ENDOWMENT FUND
St. Peter’s Cemetery depends on friends and supporters for donations to both the Cemetery Operating Fund and the Cemetery Endowment Fund.
Cemetery Operating Fund:
Cemetery Operating Fund is used for routine maintenance of the cemetery and for certain improvement projects, subject to availability of funds. Improvement projects include the repair of fallen or tilting tombstones and periodic tree maintenance. In addition, other projects in recent years have included the construction of a stonewall and the planting of evergreens, birches and forsythia along the edge of the cemetery; installation of granite posts along the drive to protect grave sites from automobiles; the installation of three rock gardens; and surveys delineating the boundaries of plots within the cemetery.
Cemetery Endowment Fund:
The Cemetery Endowment Fund was created in 2008 to provide for the long-term maintenance, improvement and expansion of the cemetery and, as needed for routine operations. The Vestry has adopted a policy that purchasers of burial rights are to be strongly encouraged to make a voluntary contribution to the Cemetery Endowment Fund at the time of purchase. In addition, the Vestry encourages potential donors to the cemetery to make both current contributions and testamentary bequests to the Cemetery Endowment Fund.
If you are interested in purchasing cemetery plots please contact either David Parshall at 212-750-7132 or email him at dparshall@peifunds.com or Betsey Battistoni at 914-489-3528 or email her at bbatti01@gmail.com. They would be pleased to help you.
