The Maass Kids Visit Tarrytown

My last weekend in NYC was spent hanging out with my cousin Paul. Per my odd request, Paul and I drove upstate a bit to Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, NY to see the Old Dutch Church and its burial grounds where our Revolutionary War patriots are buried and where a monument to all Revolutionary War Veterans from Tarrytown is displayed. 

It was nearly impossible to get a good picture of the church itself, so a shot of the sign will have to suffice.

This is a picture from inside of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, which is adjacent to the Old Dutch Church Cemetery. The grounds were really beautiful and starting to bloom. 

Across from the church is the Headless Horseman Bridge from the Washington Irving story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving is from Tarrytown and in one of the stories he wrote about the area mentioned one of my ancestors by the name of Gabriel Requa. Gabriel was captain of a supplies boat that went up and down the Hudson River to get supplies between New York City and Tarrytown. 

Paul and my grandmother's maiden name is Requa. She is directly descended from Lieut. Joseph Requa, who fought along side George Washington in the Battle of White Plains. Joseph is listed on a monument in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery along with several other Requa veterans, many more than I had expected to find listed there.

Paul and I sitting in front of the monument. 

While prowling around the grounds near the church, Paul and I met the caretaker who knew a great deal about our family history. The caretaker was also kind enough to show us his ledger with all of the names of our family members buried in the cemetery. I wrote down the names on a scrap of paper for later on. I also discovered that our family is related to the Mead family by marriage and a relative of the Mead who married into the Requa family was called Emily. It was nice to learn that I can now claim my name is from a distant relative rather than having been named after Bob Newhart's television wife, Emily. 

The Daughters of the American Revolution Tarrytown Chapter placed these medals in front of the graves of Revolutionary War Veterans throughout both cemeteries. Other local groups also place small American flags, which are replaced as they fade or are lost.