St. George Cemetery, Hempstead, NY

Final Resting Place

For more information visit: https://www.historicstgeorgecemetery.org/

Josiah (1699-1778) and Mary Martin (d.1805) Josiah Martin was born into one of the leading English planter families on the island of Antigua. Martin left his plantation in the care of a manager and brought his family to live in North America. In 1767, he built "a good gentleman's house," Rock Hall in present day Lawrence, aa a visible symbol to the community of the status he had achieved in the world. It is believed the same architect created both Rock Hall and the rectory of St. George’s Church. With the onset of the American Revolution, the house was occupied by rebel forces in 1776. Josiah Martin's eldest son, Dr. Samuel Martin, was imprisoned briefly during this time in Philadelphia for his association with other loyalists, but was allowed to post bond and was set free. After Josiah's death in 1778, at the age of 79, Rock Hall was inherited by Samuel. Josiah Martin served as a vestry man at St. George for many years and was buried under the altar of the Church. His entire family was later buried at the graveyard as well, including his son, Samuel, daughters Alice Martin (d. 1815) and Rachel Martin Banister (1750-18170). Unfortunately, no tombstones remain except for that of his granddaughter Alice Banister McNeill. Location: No headstone, buried under original church altar.

Dr. Samuel Martin (1740-1806) A pupil of Reverend Seabury at St. George’s Church. At eleven he attended the Academy in Philadelphia, (later to become the College of Philadelphia, and then University of PA). By fourteen, he attended King’s College (today Columbia) and by 1765 had earned a medical degree from the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh. He soon returned to Rock Hall where he “doctored the countryside.” He served as a vestryman of the church for decades and often represented St. George at church conventions. During the American Revolution, he was part of a committee that protested the use of the church as a granary and storage house for weapons. His British sympathies led to his arrest in December, 1775. He was taken to the Provincial Congress in Philadelphia but was released on a bond and a promise of nonintervention. He returned to his home at Rock Hall where he spent the remainder of his life. Location: No headstone, buried under original church altar

Above: Amy Vacchio, Director of Rock Hall Museum, at gravesite of Alice Hermione Pelham Banister Mcneill, the last Martin to live at Rock Hall circa 1767 .