A Proud History
Dale Cemetery Association was formed in 1851 by a group of twelve prominent
Ossining residents as a service to the community. The cemetery was dedicated
on October 29th of that year.
The area of the cemetery covers nearly forty acres and includes the graves of many early residents, among them five revolutionary war veterans, whose remains were removed to Dale Cemetery from original burial grounds in the area.
Among the people buried at Dale Cemetery are:
Samuel Youngs, a Revolutionary War veteran and the first person buried at Dale. A schoolteacher and a lawyer, he is believed to have been the model for Washington Irving's character Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
John T. Hoffman, a Sing Sing native active in Tammany Hall, who served as Mayor of New York City and Governor of New York State.
Franz Boas, Columbia University's first Professor of Anthropology and curator of Anthropology for the American Museum of Natural History from 1901 to 1905. Famed as a scholar and writer, he was Margaret Mead's teacher and mentor.
Benjamin Brandreth, manufacturer of the famous patent medicine, the laxative Brandreth Pills. The company he founded is still in operation today as the manufacturer of Havahart Animal Traps. Dr. Brandreth's funeral was the largest ever held in the Village of Ossining. The funeral procession stretched for over two miles, comprised of one hundred and fifty horse-drawn carriages.