To the Editor:

On Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m., a historic marker to commemorate the graves of the 14 American Revolutionary War Patriots buried in the New Scotland Cemetery will be dedicated. The marker has been funded by a grant by the Pomeroy Foundation awarded to the Sons of the American Revolution. We thank both these organizations.

The cemetery where these patriots are buried was established in 1791 when the Presbyterian Church set aside a half-acre around the church as a burying ground. It was extended beyond the church grounds, and in 1866 the New Scotland Cemetery Association was formed to manage the expanded New Scotland Cemetery.

The first internment was Jacob Moak in 1795. He is one of the patriots we are honoring. Several patriots are buried in the expanded part of the cemetery, and the marker we are dedicating recognizes patriots buried in both the church and the New Scotland Cemetery.

The men we are honoring did not all come from New Scotland, but they all lived part of their lives here and died here. Lest we forget that they were all once ordinary New Scots who did extraordinary things, the New Scotland Historical Association’s president, Alan Kowlowitz, will mention them by name and say a bit about each one.

He will also mention the names of their wives who had to suffer their absence during the conflict that saw the birth of our nation, helped their husbands deal with any impact of their military service, and built lives and raised their families in the new country.

The New Scotland Historical Association invites the public to attend the dedication of this historical marker honoring the 14 American Revolutionary War Patriots buried in this single location.

The New Scotland Presbyterian Church and the New Scotland Cemetery are located at 2010 New Scotland Road in Slingerlands.

Judith Kimes

Publicist

New Scotland

Historical Association