General News: Patriot's Gravesite to be Honored
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| Van Duzer's new gravestone. |
May 13, 2009
A revolutionary war patriot and one of Cornwall’s first settlers will be honored this Sunday at a ceremony at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Mountainville.
Isaac Van Duzer settled in Cornwall in 1748, buying 1,000 acres in west Cornwall, where he raised three sons. During the American Revolution, Van Duzer served as a member of the 1st Regiment of the Orange County Militia but his simple gravestone never reflected his service in the ranks of the patriots.
When Barbara Devitt, who is a descendant of Van Duzer, saw the fieldstone marker on his gravesite, she knew that he deserved better. “I know every veteran is entitled to a government-supplied stone,” Devitt said in a recent phone interview, “and it worked on me that he didn’t have one.”
Devitt, who had discovered her ties to Van Duzer while researching her ancestral roots, knew how to successfully dig up information. She contacted Tony Zippo, head of Veterans Affairs in Orange County and he got her started on the process of applying for a new stone. The new marble headstone was installed earlier this year by a team from the Cornwall Historical Society (see photos of their work here) and will be officially unveiled this Sunday.
Jim Kline, head of the American Legion Post No. 353, will be the master of ceremonies at 2 p.m. in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery on Pleasant Hill Road in Mountainville. Revolutionary War re-enactors and an honor guard will be in attendance. Cornwall-on-Hudson historian Colette Fulton will talk about the Orange County Militia, Mountainville Methodist Church pastor Darlene Resling will offer a prayer and Abbey Mayer will play taps.
The ceremony will continue at 3 p.m. at the Mountainville Methodist Church on Angola Road where Barbara Devitt will share her personal story about Van Duzer, his life and legacy.
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