The Historic Monsey Cemetery (also called True Reformed Cemetery, Monsey Memorial Cemetery, Seceder Cemetery, Monsey Christian Reformed Cemetery, New Hope Christian Cemetery, or Monsey Rural Cemetery) belongs to the Monsey Church. It sits adjacent to the site of the original True Reformed Dutch Church building that had been donated by Judge Garret Serven, one of the elders of the Brick Church who seceded with the Rev. James D. Demarest to form the True Reformed Dutch Church of Monsey. A database of people buried in the Historic Monsey Cemetery is available from the Genealogical Society of Rockland County. Many early members of the church are buried there, including the founding pastor, James D. Demarest.

Israel Saffer of the Museum of Spring Valley and Countryside worked vigorously in the 1960s to enlist help from the government and community groups to maintain the cemetery. The cemetery is maintained by community groups such as the Monsey Lions Club and the Stony Point Battle chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 2011, Eagle Scout candidate Brian Negrin did significant restoration work on the cemetery as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Veterans Buried in the Historic Monsey Cemetery:
Dusenbury, Louis H. Civil War
Felter, Jacob War of 1812
Mackie, John War of 1812
Serven, Garret (Judge) Revolutionary War
Serven, John G. War of 1812
Taylor, Edward War of 1812
Van Houten, Peter C. War of 1812
Van Orden, Peter S. (General) Revolutionary War and War of 1812
Young, Charles Civil War

(Many thanks to Rev. Phillip Dennis. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsey_Church )

Excerpts from an article in the Rockland County Times:"Monsey Cemetery Flag-Raising Ceremony" posted October 31st, 2011 at http://www.rocklandtimes.com/2011/10/31/monsey-cemetery-flag-raising-ceremony/

Shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, November 5, a U.S. flag, which until recently flew over a hospital in Iraq, will be hoisted on a new flagpole to fly over the graves of American veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War buried at the Historic Monsey Cemetery. The cemetery, located at the corner of Maple Avenue and Saddle River Road, has been a Monsey landmark since the early 1800s. The flag and the flagpole, as well as many other improvements, are due to the efforts of Eagle Scout candidate Brian Negrin to restore and beautify the cemetery. Several community groups—Boy Scout Troop 78 of Nanuet, the Monsey/Ramapo Lions, American Legion Post 1682, and New Hope Christian Church—are joining together to witness the raising of the flag, to honor the memory of those buried there, and to recognize Mr. Negrin for his work and community spirit.
The cemetery belongs to New Hope Christian Church of 57 Main Street, Monsey, and many of those buried there are among its earliest members and leaders. The True Reformed Dutch Church of West New Hempstead, as it was named for more than a century, was established in 1824 when 68 people seceded from the Brick Church of New Hempstead and established themselves as a new congregation in Monsey.
According to data from the Genealogical Society of Rockland County, the earliest burial at the cemetery was Peter R. Van Houten in 1808. The latest was Minnie Young in 1955.

The following is an interview of Brian Negrin by WCBS880 by reporter Sean Adams:
For his Eagle Scout project, Brian Negrin adopted this piece of Rockland County history and set out to repair the damage caused by heavy equipment during a construction project next to the New Hope Christian Cemetery.

"When I heard about this and heard that there were veterans buried here and that they just drove their machinery straight through the cemetery destroying everything, I was appalled and I wanted to do something about it," says Negrin. "The original settlers of this area are buried here."

"Several rows of tombstones were taken down," he says. "Some of them [were] just pushed down flat. Some of them broken into six, seven pieces."

Some of those headstones stood for more than two centuries.

"There are nine war veterans buried here. They were from the Civil War, War of 1812, and the Revolutionary War," he tells WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams.

Boy Scout Troop 78 of Nanuet, the Monsey Lions Club, American Legion Post 1682, and New Hope Christian Church honored the accomplishments of Eagle Candidate Brian Negrin in renovating and beautifying the church's historic Monsey cemetery.

A U.S. flag brought back from Iraq was hoisted to fly over the cemetery where veterans of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War lie buried.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/07/11/stories-from-main-street-rockland-boy-restoring-historic-monsey-cemetery-as-part-of-eagle-scout-project/

To watch the video of the flag-raising ceremony see:

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=HaJNEyntJdU&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Many thanks to Brian Negrin, the Monsey Lions Club, and all those who continue to care for the cemetery,
With warmest regards & heartfelt gratitude,
The out-of-state descendents of those buried in the cemetery

Information given on this cemetery's memorials was gathered from the database of Genealogical Society of Rockland County, from photos taken of the headstones, and from information found on genealogical web sites. Many photos were taken in June 2011, before Brian Negrin's restoration project.