Founded in 1860 by residents with African American and often Native American ancestry, the Salem AME Church is recognized as the oldest church in the Roslyn community. For nearly 40 years, the church's burying grounds were located nearby on 2 ½ acres of property on Harbor Hill. It is estimated that over 200 congregants were buried on this site.
In 1899, Harbor Hill was purchased by Comstock silver baron John Mackay as a wedding gift for his new daughter-in-law, Katherine Alexander Duer, upon her marriage to his son, Clarence. However, before construction could begin on the estate, the cemetery had to be moved. A recent article published by The Bryant Library Local History Collection on their Bryant Room Blog. etails the circumstances surrounding this removal (excerpt below):
In 1899, amidst some controversy, the Mackay's agreed to purchase land for a new cemetery for Salem A.M.E. Church and to pay the costs of removing and re-interring the bodies in the new location. According to an article in the August 31,1899 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper, “The future burial ground of the colored people of North Hempstead will be in the new Greenlawn Cemetery at Pine Lawn, Long Island.”
For more than a century, relatively little was known about Mt. Zion Cemetery, including its exact location in Roslyn. In 2020, Local History staff discovered a 1902 clipping entitled “Poultry Yard in Cemetery.” According to the New York Herald article, “There was a cemetery on the spot where [Clarence Mackay] wanted the poultry farm to be located.” Descriptions of the Mackay’s Harbor Hill estate revealed that the estate’s short-lived poultry farm encompassed several acres and was situated on a site north of Harbor Hill Road.
Quoted from Bryant Library Local History blogpost "We found you! The Salem A.ME. Cemetery".
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 31, 1899
Location of the Mt. Zion Cemetery of Harbor Hill
Based on information in the post, Greg Oreiro, a member of the Roslyn Landmark Society, set out to determine the location of the original burying grounds near Harbor Hill Road, now in East Hills.
After studying the Harbor Hill Reminiscences of Stewart Donaldson (the son of Clarence Mackay’s chauffeur, William Donaldson, who grew up on the Harbor Hill estate) previously published in the Bryant Library Newsletter, Greg analyzed clues found within Donaldson’s hand-drawn map of the estate, also provided by The Bryant Library Local History Collection. The "chicken farm" can be seen adjacent to a pond at the southern end of the property, north of Harbor Hill Road and west of "Chicken Farm Road”. This was compared to a 1926 aerial of the Harbor Hill Estate showing the location of "Chicken Farm Road" and the abandoned poultry farm. Note: The array of maple trees on the border of the Harbor Hill Estate.
Based on this newly gathered information, alongside knowledge of the poultry farm’s proximity to the pond and the topography of Harbor Hill Road, Greg estimated that the Mt. Zion Cemetery's former site was the current location of the water basin, north of Harbor Hill Road and west of Chestnut Drive, the entrance to the road originally known as Chicken Farm Road.
5 Comments
Carolyn, congratulations on your amazing research!
Great article. I started this journey in the 1990's when I first found out about it. I am creating a documentary and presentation about this. My Grandpa and Great Grandpa were from Roslyn. I have found them.
Fantastic research, Greg. Keep ‘‘em coming!
Another Great article. Thank you Greg for your research, analysis
and estimations.
I’ve been living here since 1976. Immediately loved all the Gold Coast History. THIS is all so exciting! Thank you!
Fascinating mystery and very interesting map of Harbor Hill. Has anyone been to Pine Lawn Cemetery to see if the burials were moved there? Do members of the Salem A E. Church recognize it--on their website or visit? How many were buried in the original cemetery?