Cemetery & Burials
Saint Ann's Garden of the Unforgotten
Garden of the Unforgotten
Saint Ann's Cemetery is a non-denominational cemetery that was established in 1874. The consecrated land owned by Saint Ann’s Episcopal Church holds prominence in the community with its natural beauty and local history.
The cemetery works closely with local funeral homes and directors when coordinating burials and interments. Raynor & D’Andrea Funeral Homes is a prominent local funeral home with whom we have worked closely for many years. We also work directly with individuals and our cemetery can provide grave plots, ash plots, and niches. Saint Ann’s Cemetery will only allow human remains to be interred.
Saint Ann's Cemetery is located behind Saint Ann's Church. Enter through the church driveway and parking lot to cemetery gate.
To inquire about burials and interments at Saint Ann's Cemetery, contact Timothy Laffin, the cemetery manager at cemetery@saint-anns.org.
To inquire about funerals, church services, graveside services, contact the church office at office@saint-anns.org.
Cemetery
This picturesque cemetery contains the graves of many notable local people. Among those interred here are members of the Suydam, Roosevelt, Post and Smith families, including General (Baron) Philippe de Trobriand, a French aristocrat who married into the Post family and served both in the American Civil War and in the American West.
Lych Gate and 14 Stations of Cross are both are recent additions to grounds. England has long had a tradition of Lych gates which sheltered mourners from the elements while they awaited a burial. This one was designed by William Colson, a well-known local artist who is also buried in the cemetery. The Stations of the Cross are on a walkway to the right beyond the Lych gate.
Walking the Labyrinth is a form of mediation and prayer.
The History of Saint Ann's Cemetery
Saint Ann's Cemetery was organized at the suggestion of John Suydam. At that time, a portion of the church property was set aside for the burial of the dead. The Suydams and other original communicants reserved plots along the main road through the cemetery. The year 1877 is marked on the posts of the Suydam plot.
The Smiths, who lived on North Main Street, owned several large parcels of land in Sayville at the time Saint Ann's was organized. They owned the land from their home to the western border of what is now Saint Ann's Cemetery. Foster Avenue was later extended through their property. Two burials - L. Smith, 3/5/1852, and M. Smith, 3/5/1868 - are probably theirs. The 1852 burial is the only pre-Civil War interment.
In September, 1895, the grounds between Saint Ann's Cemetery and the older Union Cemetery were purchased by the Vestry, and the two cemeteries virtually became one. It was the Reverend John H. Prescott's plan to create a lake as part of the creek area.
The creek area of the cemetery grounds and the church land that borders Brown's River are now a Suffolk County Nature Preserve and Watershed. The county park, Meadowcroft, previously the John Ellis Roosevelt estate, forms the eastern border of Brown's River. This assures the integrity of the wetlands in this particular area.
By January, 1932, the Vestry of Saint Ann's had awarded contracts to open up all the roads from the Suydam Memorial Gateway, to the exit road on the east side of the cemetery. The road at the entrance was to have a bead of oystershells overlaid with cinders, and the trees south of the south avenue were to be thinned out sufficiently to make lots salable in that section.
Saint Ann's Cemetery is the final resting place of many denominations. Episcopalians account for a good percentage of the burials, particularly the earliest. There are wealthy and poor alike. A Civil War general, a United States diplomat, and a noted East Coast architect lie next to physicians, lawyers, musicians, sea folk, clergy, and just plain people.
Saint Ann's Garden of the Unforgotten, is a non-denominational cemetery and only human remains will be interred.
by Connie Currie