Van Wagenen Ground

CLASSIFICATION: Family ground.
LOCATION: Not far from Rhinecliff station on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad; on the west side of the old road from Rhinecliff to the village of Rhinebeck, on the former Hutton estate.
CONDITION: Overgrown and deserted.
INSCRIPTIONS: 22 in number. Copied October 17, 1915, by J. W. Poucher.
REMARKS: Van Wagenen ground, one of the oldest now remaining in the county. In 1686, Gerrit Artsen, Aria Roosa, and Jan Elton of Ulster county bought from the Indians land at this point in Dutchess county. Adjoining land was bought by Hendrick Kip immediately after. The purchasers all settled their families on their holdings and the locality was known for many years as Kipsbergen. In 1702 Artsen Roosa and Elton divided their land into six lots, each taking title to two. Gerrit Artsen (from Wagenen in Holland) received lots No. 3 and No. 6. His descendants bear the name Van Wagenen. This Burial ground is on lot No. 6. In later years it was included in the portion of the lot which passed to the Hutton family. Very recently a large tract in this neighborhood including the Hutton estate, was purchased by Mr.Vincent Astor in order to facilitate the opening of a new road from the railroad station at Rhinecliff to the village of Rhinebeck. The line of the new road runs near the burial ground. The inscriptions in the Van Wagenen ground were copied April 12, 1885, by Henry R. Van Vliet of Pleasant Plains, N.Y., and the list made by him includes six stones not found in 1915 by Dr. Poucher. The six are appended, below, to Dr. Poucher’s list.