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Hopper Farm Family Cemetery Lexington Lane Oakland, NJ 07436

Hopper Farm Family Cemetery Lexington Lane Oakland, NJ 07436

The Hopper Family Farm Cemetery

Lexington Lane

Oakland, NJ 07436

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2247921/hopper-farm-family-cemetery

https://ldsgenealogy.com/NJ/Bergen-County-Cemetery-Records.htm

Open: Dawn to Dusk

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Hopper Farm Family Cemetery is a reminder of what happens when time passes you by and the world changes around you. I went in search for the grave of Andrew Hopper, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. I could not find it.

This historic cemetery is hidden from the road behind two large homes on a tiny hill in the back woods. The only way to access the cemetery is to walk down the utility road off the main road, walk through the woods and walk up through the bush to back of two families back yards.

You can tell by the rotting fallen fence that this cemetery was once enclosed but the fence has since fallen and the cemetery in disarray. Still there is a quiet elegance to it.

The cemetery is in desperate need of clean up and repair as tombstones are broken, fallen and discolored.

Some of the family tombstones have fallen. Still you can see members of the Hopper and Demarest families buried here.

Members of the Vanderbryck family Maryann and Rachel

The grave of David Hopper

The grave of Susan Storms, wife of one of the family members buried here.

The grave of Peter Bogart, a member of the extended family

One of the broken tombstones that I could not read

Another tombstone in loving memory of a name I could not read

The broken stone of Fredrick Storms grave

The family cemetery sits quiet and neglected in the woods. Most of the tombstones broken and discolored and hard to read.

I took one last look as I walked down the hill and said a prayer to these forgotten people. One what must have once been the family farm sits a development of extremely large and well maintained McMansions. This is the irony of this once prominent family.

The family buried at this cemetery:

(Bergen County Genealogical Society website)

Copied July 4, 1913, By John Neafie New York City.

    1.  Abraham Verbryck, d. Jan. 8, 1843 ae. 63-11-8.
    2.  John P. Ackerman, d. Feb. 24-1829 ae. 34-1-4.
    3.  Rachel, wife of John P. Ackerman, d. Oct. 4,1844
        ae. 49-11-22.
    4.  Martha Ann, d. Apr. 6, 1835 ae. 1 yr. 8 da.
    5.  Martha Ann, d. Feb. 5, 1837 ae. 2 mos. 7 da.
    6.  Rachel Ann, d. July 12,1838 ae. 6 mos.
    Children of
    Abraham and
    Susan Hopper.
    7.  Peter G. Bogert d. 5 Dec. 1859 ae. 76-6-16.
    8.  Mary his wife d. 5 April 1866 ae. 72-6-21.
    9.  David Berthoif d. 8 Jan. 1851 ae. 85-2-29.
    10. Catharine Storms his wife d. 19 June 1864 ae. 87-2-5.
    11. Peter, son of Stephen D. and Eliza Berthoif, d. 19 Nov.1843
        ae. 1-7-2.
    12. Elizer L. Ramsey (My Mother), wife of Stephen D. Bertholf
        d. 18 Dec. 1876 ae. 56-7-5.
    13. Stephen S. Berthoif (Brother), d. 28 Oct. 1875
        ae. 21-11-17.(same stone as above.)
    14. Frederick Storms d. 20 Feb. 1826 in 54th yr.
    15. Alice, widow of above, d. 6 Jan. 1859, ae. 81-6-25.
    16. John, son of Frederick and Alice Storms d. 29 Apr. 1852
        ae. 37-7-10.
    17. Susan B. Storms, wf. of Stites Miller d. at San Francisco,
        Cal. 16 Dec. 1863 ae. 60 y.
    18. Eliza, wf. of Philip Vantassel d. 10 Sept. 1830
        ae. 29 y.21 d.
    19. Samuel V. Codington b. 19 Jan. 1824 d. 30 Oct. 1834.
    20. Mary Ann Verbryck, wf. of William Codington b. 9 Sept.1802
        d. 17 Feb. 1835.
    21. Samuel Verbryck b. 15 Nov. 1780 d. 16 June 1847.
    22. Rachel his wife b. 5 Aug. 1778 d. 13 Dec. 1864.
    23. Conrod Lines d. 20 Dec. 1839 ae. 66-2-8 (footstone C. L.)
    24. Garret G., son of Philip and Jane Hopper, d. 17 Apr. 1833
        ae. 15 mos.
    25. Rachel Bogert d. 22 Oct. 1793 ae. 70 y. 22 d.
        widow of Lucas Bogert.
    26. Rachel dau. of Lucas Bogert d. 21 Feb. 1791 ae. 30-10-4.
    27. Lucas Bogert d. 2 Sept. 1777 ae. 57 y. 4 m.
    28. Maria Mandevil, wf. of Steven Bartolf, b. 26 May 1736
        d.22 Feb. 1813 ae. 76-8-27.
    29. Aaron G. son of Patrick and Sarah M. Cronk d. 25 Nov.1861
       ae. 6 m. 29 d.
Crooked Pond Cemetery 1115 Franklin Lakes Road Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

Crooked Pond Cemetery 1115 Franklin Lakes Road Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

Crooked Pond Cemetery

1115 Franklin Lakes Road

Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

https://www.franklinlakes.org/crookedpondcemetery

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1769184/crooked-pond-cemetery

https://www.namesinstone.com/ViewMap.aspx?cemeteryId=399006

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/13620090?m=19905

This mysterious little cemetery sits on a bluff overlooking Crooked Pond in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Unless you are looking for it, it is difficult to find as there are no markers or historical signs to guide you to the path.

You have to park the car across the street, walk across a dangerous road and you come across this small set of stairs that leads to the cemetery. In the pictures online it always looks so well maintained but the afternoon I was there, it had been over grown.

This set of stairs is hidden by the trees and bushes. This leads to the cemetery

This is another example of a small family cemetery

The History of the Cemetery:

(From the Borough of Franklin Lakes, NJ website-Written by Colin Knight)

Generations of Ackerman, Van Winkle, Romaine and other Dutch families are interred on top of the steep hill overlooking the serene body of water originally known as Hopper’s Pond. Owing to the geography, the local Dutch Reformed congregation assumed the name Ponds Reformed Church and established themselves in the Ramapo Valley in 1710. The early history of the Church recalls several changes in location and according to oral tradition services were held in a log cabin on the north side of the pond not far from the burial ground. 

The other end of this small plot

The resting spot sits on a bluff overlooking Crooks pond

The view of the cemetery to the pond below

Among the tombstones are the graves of many members of troops that served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

We owe a lot to these Veterans who put their lives on the line for us in the War years. These men and their families helped shape not just the foundation of Bergen County but of the Country as well. These tombstones are of some of the men who fought in the Revolutionary War.

The grave of Gerrit Van Cleve

The grave of Joseph Van Cleve

The grave of Veteran Simeon Van Winkle

These brave soldiers fought in the Revolutionary War with some of their tombstones marker as veterans as others are not.

The graves face Crooks Pond

The tombstone of Veteran Samuel Romine

Samuel Romine’s original tombstone

The Veterans of the Crooked Pond Cemetery:

(From the Borough of Franklin Lakes website-Written by Colin Knight)

The Daughters of the American Revolution stepped up and have been working to restore the cemetery to it’s rightful state. 20 headstones have been restored, and recently, the Veteran’s Administration installed two new headstones for Revolutionary War veteran Samuel Romine and another for War of 1812 veteran Ralph Benjamin Romaine. Crooked Pond Cemetery has fourteen Veterans interred within its bounds, ten from the Revolutionary War, two from the War of 1812, and two who served in the Civil War.

An incomplete list of veterans buried here are John Ackerman; John Folley and Elias Folley; Samuel Romine, Benjamin Romine, and Ralph Romaine; Gerrit Van Cleve and Joseph Van Cleve; Corniess Van Houten, Hendrick Van Houten, and Roeloff Van Houten; and Simeon Van Winkle and Epson Van Winkel.

Frelinghuysen Arboretum 53 East Hanover Avenue Morristown, NJ 07962

Frelinghuysen Arboretum 53 East Hanover Avenue Morristown, NJ 07962

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

53 East Hanover Avenue

Morristown, NJ. 07962

(973) 326-7600

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-Sunset

Admission: Free

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60906-d183697-r1011332193-The_Frelinghuysen_Arboretum-Morristown_Morris_County_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

I had never been to the Frelinghuysen-Ballentine estate before and in the peak of the Spring and after all the rain we have had, the gardens were in full bloom. The gardens were broken down into different sections that surrounded the main mansion and the stables.

The entrance to Frelinghuysen Arboretum with the Home Demonstration Gardens

The gardens spread out along the edges of the estate. The main gardens sit between the mansion and the stables, which now serves as the Visitors Center. The lawns and the gardens are so beautifully maintained. Many of the flowers were in full bloom and it made a colorful display of Mother Nature.

The entrance to the gardens

The History of the Frelinghuysen Estate:

(from the Friends blog post)

George G. Frelinghuysen, a patent attorney and son of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State under president Chester A. Arthur, was married in 1881 to Sara Ballantine of Newark. She was the granddaughter of the founder of the P. Ballantine Brewing Company.

In 1891 the couple commissioned the Boston architectural firm of Rotch & Tilden to construct a summer home and carriage house on property they named Whippany Farm for the river nearby. The Colonial Revival style is evident in such details as the Federal urns and swags, Ionic columns on the porte-cochere and the large Palladian window on the second floor landing.

The family only lived here during the summer months. In the winter they resided at 1 Sutton Place in New York City. The property was a working farm. Vegetables and flowers were grown for the family’s consumption and sent to them in New York City via train. There were greenhouses, several barns and some smaller houses on the property. Some servants lived on the property year around.

George Frelinghuysen died in 1936 and Sara Frelinghuysen died in 1940. This property was left to their only daughter, Matilda. Miss Frelinghuysen had an interest in gardening and was a member of the Garden Club of Morristown. In 1964, she began plans for turning the estate into an arboretum. Upon her death the land and house was bequeathed to the people of Morris County for the use as a public arboretum. The Frelinghuysen Arboretum was dedicated in 1971.

The Haggerty Education Center was opened in 1989. It contains a multi-purpose auditorium and two classrooms. Its purpose is to provide continuing horticultural educational programs for the public. It is also home for various regional plant societies.

The gardens in bloom in the Spring of 2025

The flowers on the beds in full bloom

The pathways around the gift shop and Education Center.

The statuary around the gardens

The flowers around the old stables area

The gardens around the old stables

Walking to the family mansion (which was closed for a wedding)

The Frelinghuysen Mansion

The mansion was closed for a wedding but I was able to walk around the front gardens and the extensive lawn. The clouds kept moving in and out of the sky but when the sun peaked out, the gardens showed off their beautiful colors.

The lawn in front of the mansion

Off to the side of the house between the old stables and the parking lot, there were a series of paths in a natural preserve garden just off the lawn.

The pathways through the garden

The pathways with landscaping

Walking along the pathways by the stables

The gardens just south of the house with a pathway into the woods

Walking the pathway into the woods. There was not much to see but it was cooler in the woods

After I had visited the mansion grounds and the gardens that surrounded the house (the mansion was closed for a private wedding), I walked through the parking lot to the gardens to the north of the house. This was the Marsh Meadow Garden.

The Marsh Meadow Garden was a catch bastion on the property and with this grows the reeds and water vegetation that makes up the garden.

All the rain had made these gardens very lush

The catch bastion was filled with reeds and flowers

The flowers by the parking lot were in full bloom

I walked all along the pathways admiring the flower beds

The garden tour just east of the mansion

Map of the Gardens of the Four Seasons

Just south of the main off the main lawn in front of the house are the Gardens of the Four Seasons, which is a pathway through a small landscaped woods.

Maybe this was a patch of the woods when the mansion was being built but it was like a natural preserve to just relax and walk around when the family lived here. I could this as a place of refuge after a long day at work just to unwind.

The pathways of the natural garden off the main lawn

The gardens just south of the mansion just off the main lawn

The reflective pool just off the paths

The gardens next to the mansion

The view of the mansion from the gardens south of the home

The end of the pathway through the gardens

It was a nice visit to the gardens and I will have to visit again when the mansion is open and visit the landscaped gardens behind the house.

Walking through the gardens is so relaxing and enjoyable on a sunny afternoon.

Voorhis-Lozier-Demarest Family Burial Ground Genther Avenue Oradell, NJ 07649

Voorhis-Lozier-Demarest Family Burial Ground Genther Avenue Oradell, NJ 07649

Voorhis-Lozier-Demarest Burial Ground

Genther Avenue

Oradell, NJ 07649

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1875079/voorhis-lozier-demarest-cemetery

Click to access historic_preservation_plan_element-jan_12-2010.pdf

Open: Sunday-Saturday Dawn through Dusk

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g46706-d33246110-r1011336224-Voorhis_Family_Burial_Grounds-Oradell_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Voorhis Family Burying Ground was once part of the extensive farm owned by Henry Van Voorhis. This small burial plot houses this branch of the family and sits in what used to be the southeastern section of the farm. Now it sits behind a small house in need of a good lawn cutting.

The historic sign of the Voorhis Burying Ground

The inside of the Voorhis Burial Ground

What is sad about these small family cemeteries is that I am sure that the families never thought to the future when the land would be sold off and the family would move on. The Voorhis and Demarest names still dot the landscape of Bergen County but these tiny plots are lost to the current generations.

The gravesite of Lucas Van Voorhis

The grave of Mary Demarest, who was the wife of James

The one thing that I like about this particular cemetery is that someone in town had done their research on this cemetery and each grave marker was tastefully recreated in separate historic signs right next to the graves as the tombstones have worn out over the years.

The grave of Hannah Voorhis

The grave of Henry Van Voorhis, the first person buried in the site.

This was the first person buried here and the former owner of the farm, Henry Van Voorhis, whose line of the family had once owned this farm of several hundred acres.

The grave of Ouselche Voorhis

The grave of Cornelius Voorhis. I could not believe how many small children were buried in these cemeteries.

I was impressed by how organized and well researched this cemetery was with all the markers. I just needs a good lawn cutting.

The grave of Albert Voorhis, son of the Revolutionary veteran, Albert Voorhis

The grave of Henry Voorhis Sr,

The full view of the cemetery as I was leaving

This quiet and respectful looking cemetery now sits in the back of someone’s home looking lost and forgotten but when you really look at all the historical signs and read them to yourself, their memories still linger on. The family will never truly be forgotten.