Thorn Family Update

 

You may remember Stephen Thorn, the shoemaker who is buried in the cemetery along with his second wife and six of his twelve children. In fact, seven of Stephen Thorn's children were buried in the cemetery, but there are only six there now.

I found these documents at the local historical society last week. The first is a 1907 letter written by Charles Thorn's wife, Lucy, to the Board of Health requesting that the remains of her husband, who died in 1878, be removed from the Episcopal Cemetery and transferred to Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla.

The second is an application for the disinterment of Charles Thorn from the New York City Department of Health, indicating that his remains were transferred via the New York and Hudson Railroad for reburial.

Why did Lucy Thorn choose to have her husband's remains reburied? I can't say for sure, but a descendant of Stephen Thorn recently told me that a different Thorn relative wrote in a letter that she was considering moving her mother's remains out of the Episcopal Cemetery because it was "practically abandoned." Perhaps the neglect of the cemetery had already begun by 1907. Many thanks to this descendant for providing me with that information and to the historical society for giving me access to these documents.