The Van Patten Cemetery
Town of Tully
This old private cemetery on Vesper Hill is about 4 miles west-northwest
of Tully south of the junction of Strong and Curtain Roads (see map). The
site is in a wooded area about 300 feet behind the first house on the right
side of Strong Road just past the stream.
The fenced burial lot is about 30 x 50 feet and contains the two marked
headstones of John Van Patten and his wife, Margaret. There are two other
stones, one marked J.P. which may be a foot stone, but the other is unmarked.
John’s grave also has a marker designating him as a Revolutionary War soldier.
According to Lois Patterson’s 1958 book, “Van Patten Family History,” the
marker was placed there by the Onondaga County Historical Society when
the grave site was cleared in 1953. John and Margaret were the parents
of Ryer Van Patten (see Van Patten
Family History).
Location of the Van Patten Cemetery near Tully, N.Y.
John Van Patten
died Jan. 27, 1825
AE 75 Ys.
Death is a debt to nature due
Which I have paid and so must you
Margaret, wife of John Van Patten
died Oct. 1851 99
Farewell my friend
All is well, all is well
The “99” was scratched on sometime after the inscriptions were
cut,
and refers to her age at death
Location of the two headstones relative to each other, the
Revolutionary War marker, and the two smaller stones
Submitted 26 September 1998
Updated 27 September 1998