Our History Rests Here
About Woodland
Founded in 1847
In 1813 General Henry Leavenworth purchased a square rod of land from George Fisher for the purpose of burying his wife. Others were invited to use this site for interment of deceased relatives. The graveyard was deeded to the Village Trustees in 1830 (in part) by Erastus Root and the remainder in 1849 by G.H. Edgerton. This Cemetery was located at the present day Court Street and High Street adjacent to the Penfield Estate.
The rapid growth and importance of Delhi demanded a more fitting cemetery and in June 1849 citizens of Delhi organized the Woodland Cemetery Association with the following officers: Richard Titus (Pres.); H.D. Gould (V.P.); Charles Marvin (Sect.); Horace Griswold (Tres.) The land on Whig Road (Meredith Street) was purchased and lots were laid out. In 1857 lots were $8.
Notable Residents
Below you’ll find some of the founders and early leaders in Delhi, NY, and also some individuals who helped shape our state and our nation.
Toliver Holmes
Union Army Solider
1840-1920
Toliver Holmes was a young black man born into slavery in Virginia who escaped to New York, changed his name to avoid capture, and mustered into the Union Army’s 26th Regiment of Colored Troops (NY), later settling in Delhi, NY.
Holmes’ Civil War experience was dramatized in the play Toliver and Wakeman by Kyle Bass, and premiered at Franklin Stage Company in August 2023
John Womack Vandercook
Writer, Actor
1902-1963
John Womack Vandercook was an NBC radio news commentator, actor, and writer. Vandercook wrote for the Atlantic Monthly and The Saturday Evening Post. He was also a novelist whose works were turned into screenplays for Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939), Murder in Trinidad (1934) and The Caribbean Mystery (1945).
Henry Leavenworth
General
1783-1834
Henry Leavenworth was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians. He established Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and named after him is the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, and the Leavenworth Penitentiary.
Ferris Jacobs, Jr.
Civil War Union Army Brevet Brigadier General, US Congressman
1836-1886
During the American Civil War Jacobs served in the Union Army as a commissioned captain in the 3rd New York Cavalry as lieutenant colonel of the 26th New York Cavalry. He also served as brevetted brigadier general of Volunteers.He delegated at the Republican National Convention in 1880, and was elected as a Republican in the Forty-seventh Congress.
Osman N. Steele
Undersheriff
1810-1845
Undersheriff Steele was slain by anti-renters during the Anti-Rent War, a tenants' revolt in upstate New York from 1839–1845. The Anti-Renters declared their independence from the manor system run by patroons, resisting tax collectors and successfully demanding land reform.
Samuel Gordon
U.S. Congressman
1802-1873
Gordon served as a member of the NYS Assembly, as district attorney of Delaware County, and served as town supervisor of the town of Delhi. In 1840 he was elected as a Democrat to represent New York's 20th District in the 27th Congress. In 1844 he was elected to represent New York's 10th District in the 29th Congress.
Herman Day Gould
U.S. Congressman
1799-1852
Gould was elected as a Whig to represent New York's 10th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. A Connecticut native, Gould spent most of his life in Delhi, New York, where from 1819 he was active as a merchant. He co-founded the Delhi National Bank and was its first President, and was also a member of the town's Board of Supervisors in 1842 and 1843.
Erastus Root
Congressman
1773-1846
Root was a member of the New York State Assembly (Delaware Co.) in 1798–99, 1800–01 and 1802. Root was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the 8th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1803, to March 3, 1805.
James Harper Graham
US Congressman
1812-1881
Graham was town supervisor of Delhi, New York, chairman of the board of supervisors of Delaware County and engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1859, he was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-sixth Congress, serving until 1861. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1871 and served in the New York State Senate. [from Find A Grave]
Margaret Vandercook
Author
1877-1958
Margaret Womack Vandercook has been described as the queen of Camp Fire writers, writing 21 Camp Fire novels under her own name as well as the pseudonym “Margaret Love Sanderson.” In addition to the Camp Fire Girls series, Margaret is also known for her other girls series books which include the Ranch Girls series, Red Cross Girls series, and Girl Scouts series. Additional works include stories, articles and poems for Harper’s Bazar, Delineator, Pearson’s Magazine, Book News Monthly, Paris Modes, and many other publications.
Visit
Hours
Woodland Cemetery is open 365 days a year.
From May 1 to October 31: 7 am - 8 pm
From November 1 to April 30: 7 am - 5 pm
Location
1 1/2 Orchard Street
Delhi, NY 13753
Contact
Phone
(607) 746-6663
Mailing Address
Woodland Cemetery Assoc.
P.O. Box 183
Delhi, NY 13753