Litts Cemetery in Monticello, New York
MONTICELLO – A forgotten graveyard has gotten a long-overdue cleanup. The Litts cemetery, on the boundary of Sleepy Hollow Apartments and Monticello High School, is the resting place of the remains of some of the area’s first European pioneers.
The stone of Daniel Litts lies flat on the ground, barely legible. He was christened 7 January 1772 in Shawangunk. Another stone memorializes Metje (Martha) Masten Litz of Wawarsing. They married 5 October 1795. She was christened 7 April 1776 in Shawangunk, making her 82 at her death. Their children were: Lea Litz, christened 26 January 1796; Johannis Litz, christened 6 August 1798, both in Wawarsing; and Isaac Litz, christened 11 February 1815 in Wurtsboro.
The ancestors of the Litz family were Huguenots, said Tom Rue, historian for the Sullivan Masonic District, who posted an article on the web at the end of March calling on Monticello village officials to take action to save the cemetery from destruction. Rue’s headline asked, “Who cares about an old cemetery?”
The village never responded. Rue said Thompson highway superintendent Rich Benjamin e-mailed a pledge to assist. By mid-July, trees and brush were cleared, laying bare several headstones. Mr. Benjamin said he plans further action later this summer, carefully laying each stone in a bed of sand.
Rue said Doug Gurkin, a principal officer of Edgewater Associates of Spicewood, Texas, the prospective buyer for Sleepy Hollow Apartments, called him in March asking for details about the pioneers buried in the lot, promising to fully restore and maintain the graveyard once his company purchases Sleepy Hollow and other renovations are made.
More history on the Litz family and their times, and photos of the cemetery, can be found on the web at tomrue.net.
- Related story: Who Cares About An Old Cemetery?, March 31, 2008