Might any listmembers know if the photographs at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=89262006 are really of the mausoleum where New York Governor, Union College founding trustee, Schenectady mayor Joseph Christopher Yates (1768-1837) is interred?

One can't rule out the possibility that the photograph is of something other than Yates' resting place (the things one reads on the Internet…).  Sadly, it would not surprise me in the least if it's no mistake or hoax.  I had read elsewhere that Yates' old family vault in Schenectady had indeed been demolished, the spot being used in 1937 for "garages":

"The human skull and bones found Sunday by Richard Heize six feet under ground, in his garden, at 134 Front street, are from an old cemetery once located on the spot, according to Alonzo Walton of 26 Front street.  Mr. Walton, an officer of the Schenectady County Historical Society, said the cemetery was that of the old first Reformed Church.  The land was sold in 1879 and the bodies moved to Vale cemetery, he added.
"The bone fragments and skull found by Heinze were apparently overlooked when the graves were moved.
"The old cemetery was located between Green and Front streets and extended west from College street to a point about half way between College and Ferry streets.
"Two vaults were located on the cemetery property, Mr. Walton said.  One belonged to the First Reformed Church and was used to house the church's hearse as well as for interment purposes.  The second vault was owned by the late Governor Joseph C. Yates and had a private drive leading to it.  The Yates vault was on the Front street side of the cemetery, while the other vault was on Green street, opposite North street.
"The site of Governor Yates vault is now used for garages.  On the Green street side of the old cemetery are several houses.  The old Home for the Friendless, the predecessor of the present Old Ladies' Home, was located on Green street near the cemetery, said Albert Van Der Bogart, of 837 De Camp avenue, who lived on Front street when a boy."
"Walton Explains Origin of Bones; Human Skull Found in Front St. Garden Traced to Former Cemetery Site." Schenectady Gazette. December 7, 1937: 28 col 6.

I wrote the findagrave.com contributor for details today.  I also note that Schenectady County Historian Don Rittner's April 19, 2010 blog posting "The Susan Watkins Mystery? Solved?" http://blog.timesunion.com/rittner/the-susan-atkins-mystery/704/  touches upon Yates and his reinterment in the course of addressing a mystery surrounding a dollhouse and a supposed "boyhood love" of playwright Clyde Fitch for Yates' granddaughter.

Regardless of whether the photo is indeed Yates' resting place, possibly former governors' gravesites (among others) should be adopted by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, regardless of where they may be, with a corresponding increase in funding to cover the responsibility?  Overseen by the NYS Department of State Division of Cemeteries, even when in cemeteries not ordinarily under the oversight of that agency?  Even beyond former governors, for the sake of anyone interred in New York, one wishes the Division of Cemeteries' jurisdiction could be expanded to include religious, municipal, private, national and family cemeteries.  At present, they're not within it: http://www.dos.ny.gov/cmty/cemfaqs.html

Christopher K. Philippo
Glenmont, New York

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"For those who stay curious, there are always new frontiers." — Jello Biafra