Paws of War volunteers to spruce up Burr family cemetery in Commack Home Depot parking lot
From left, Robert Misseri, Paws of War president, volunteer Tom Ronayne and Raymond Meyer of Bohemia at the Burr Family Cemetery in the Commack Home Depot parking lot. Credit: Rick Kopstein
An aging chain link fence dotted with miniature American flags surrounds the 19th-century Burr family cemetery in the Commack Home Depot parking lot. Gravestones, some cracked, lean over on the plot's brown grass and engravings on several of the tombstones — descendants and relatives of the Burrs — are barely legible these days. But the small cemetery will soon undergo a beautification project.
Paws of War, a Nesconset-based nonprofit, is embarking on the project after the recent discovery that two of the eight graves in the cemetery belong to veterans of the War of 1812. The facelift includes restoring the stones and the 0.05-acre plot, installing a flagpole and a plaque with the cemetery's history, and replacing the fence with something “that is more appropriate" for a historic burial ground, said Tom Ronayne, a volunteer with the group.
Paws of War said one of its mission is to honor and respect the memory of veterans and the history of the community.
“Making the cemetery aesthetically nicer is a way to honor those who helped shape not only Long Island history but the whole country,” said Robert Misseri, the nonprofit's president.
He said his organization will be working with vendors to get donations to provide $15,000 in materials for the improvements.
The nonprofit also pairs service dogs with first responders and veterans, and reunites animals in war-torn areas with American service members.
The cemetery is maintained by Huntington Town.
Huntington Town Historian Robert Hughes said the cemetery contains the remains of four generations of the family of Jacob Burr, whose father, Isaac Burr, was the first of the family to settle in Commack. Jacob Burr, a corporal, and his son-in-law, Pvt. Israel Scudder, who both served in the Second Regiment of the New York Militia during the War of 1812, are interred there.
About a year ago, Corey Geske, an independent historian and scholar based in Smithtown, said she uncovered information that led her to believe two veterans from the War of 1812 — Jacob Burr and Scudder — were buried in the cemetery. She gave her research to Hughes and his researchers confirmed her findings.
Further research showed Scudder married Jacob Burr’s daughter, Mary. She later remarried and is buried at the Huntington Rural Cemetery, according to Hughes.
Geske said the cemetery serves as a reminder that our veterans and their stories are closer to us than we realize.
“They have a small part of the parking lot and it’s a powerful reminder of how quietly our veterans are here and among us,” she said. “We can learn their stories if we look and ask.”
The Burr family owned extensive tracts of land in the area, Hughes said, and a nearby road still bears their name.
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain.
According to the USS Constitution Museum website, the two leading causes of the war were limits on American trade with Europe and Britain's practice of taking seamen from American merchant vessels to fill out the crews of its undermanned warships. It ended with a peace treaty.
In 1965, when the land, then a farm, was developed as a shopping center, department store founder Henry Modell agreed to move his new store back 50 feet to spare the cemetery.
In 1990, when The Home Depot asked about relocating the graves, the request was met with opposition and was “quickly dropped,” Hughes said.
Misseri said he expects the improvements to be in place before the end of the year.
An aging chain link fence dotted with miniature American flags surrounds the 19th-century Burr family cemetery in the Commack Home Depot parking lot. Gravestones, some cracked, lean over on the plot's brown grass and engravings on several of the tombstones — descendants and relatives of the Burrs — are barely legible these days. But the small cemetery will soon undergo a beautification project.
Paws of War, a Nesconset-based nonprofit, is embarking on the project after the recent discovery that two of the eight graves in the cemetery belong to veterans of the War of 1812. The facelift includes restoring the stones and the 0.05-acre plot, installing a flagpole and a plaque with the cemetery's history, and replacing the fence with something “that is more appropriate" for a historic burial ground, said Tom Ronayne, a volunteer with the group.
Paws of War said one of its mission is to honor and respect the memory of veterans and the history of the community.
“Making the cemetery aesthetically nicer is a way to honor those who helped shape not only Long Island history but the whole country,” said Robert Misseri, the nonprofit's president.
He said his organization will be working with vendors to get donations to provide $15,000 in materials for the improvements.
The nonprofit also pairs service dogs with first responders and veterans, and reunites animals in war-torn areas with American service members.
The cemetery is maintained by Huntington Town.
Huntington Town Historian Robert Hughes said the cemetery contains the remains of four generations of the family of Jacob Burr, whose father, Isaac Burr, was the first of the family to settle in Commack. Jacob Burr, a corporal, and his son-in-law, Pvt. Israel Scudder, who both served in the Second Regiment of the New York Militia during the War of 1812, are interred there.
About a year ago, Corey Geske, an independent historian and scholar based in Smithtown, said she uncovered information that led her to believe two veterans from the War of 1812 — Jacob Burr and Scudder — were buried in the cemetery. She gave her research to Hughes and his researchers confirmed her findings.
Further research showed Scudder married Jacob Burr’s daughter, Mary. She later remarried and is buried at the Huntington Rural Cemetery, according to Hughes.
Geske said the cemetery serves as a reminder that our veterans and their stories are closer to us than we realize.
“They have a small part of the parking lot and it’s a powerful reminder of how quietly our veterans are here and among us,” she said. “We can learn their stories if we look and ask.”
The Burr family owned extensive tracts of land in the area, Hughes said, and a nearby road still bears their name.
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain.
According to the USS Constitution Museum website, the two leading causes of the war were limits on American trade with Europe and Britain's practice of taking seamen from American merchant vessels to fill out the crews of its undermanned warships. It ended with a peace treaty.
In 1965, when the land, then a farm, was developed as a shopping center, department store founder Henry Modell agreed to move his new store back 50 feet to spare the cemetery.
In 1990, when The Home Depot asked about relocating the graves, the request was met with opposition and was “quickly dropped,” Hughes said.
Misseri said he expects the improvements to be in place before the end of the year.
Burr Family Cemetery
- A 19th-century cemetery in the Commack Home Depot parking lot is getting an upgrade.
- Nesconset-based Paws of Wars will fix the headstones and replace a fence at the cemetery, which is the final resting place of members of the Burr family including veterans Jacob Burr and his son-in-law Israel Scudder.
- The nonprofit will be working with vendors to donate $15,000 in materials for the improvements.
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