For the past five years I knew of a hidden cemetery, the Couse Corners Cemetery in East Greenbush. However I did not know where it was located. Many times I drove by the area looking for it and also peered into the woods hoping to find it. It was a mystery.
This past Winter during one of my jaunts I saw a man working in his front yard so I stopped my truck and asked him if he was aware of this cemetery. He said "yes" and brought me to it. All of the gravestones were toppled and covered with dirt and leaves. I asked if he would mind if I restored the cemetery when the weather became warmer. He said that he would like that. The rest is history now and the cemetery is restored.
When this project began I was aware of four burials in this cemetery from data found in the
rensselaer.nygenweb.net website. The four gravestones were transcribed in November 1978 by a local historian. The area around the toppled gravestones was cleared and probed. Luckily an additional gravestone and a footstone were found.
All of the gravestones were cleaned with D2 Biological Solution and reset upright proximate to where they were unearthed. Three of the gravestones were broken and one of them was broken into six pieces that I could find. A sizable portion of the left side and top of the gravestone was missing. Those pieces could not be located; so those parts of the gravestone needed to be fabricated with a lime-based mortar.
Below are pictures of the project after the gravestones were uncovered.
As work progressed, Lany's and Jane Ann's gravestone in repair.
The gravestone of Dorrithy D. Pool was transcribed in November 1978. Today much of the left side of her gravestone was missing including the beginning of her name. Her stone was broken in numerous pieces.
[DO]RRITHY POOL
wife of
Daniel D. Lansing
died
June 13, 1841
aged 26 yrs. 3 mos.
& 8 days.
LANY C.
wife of
Stephen Ostrander
DIED
Jan. 8, 1846
aged 18 years
& 17 days.
 |
| Footstone of Lany C. Ostrander |
JANE ANN POOL
wife of
George Bishop
died
Sept. 30, 1838;
aged 31 y'rs & 22 days.
FREDERICK
ALBERT
son of Isaac &
Eliza C Birch
died
July 14, 1840
aged 11 m's
& 15 d's.
DAVID HENRY
son of
Isaac & Eliza
C. Birch died
Sept. 3, 1838
aged 1 yr.
2 ms. & 7 ds.
Below is an overall view of the finished cemetery.
