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Lost in Brooklyn has been snapping winter photos of his favorite stomping grounds—Green-Wood Cemetery. We’ve got a few here. Click here for the entire series.


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  1. This article appears in today’s Staten Island Advance. If you love Green-Wood and want to see more great photos this is the book for you.
    —————————————————–
    Author peeks into past with book about cemetery
    Sunday, January 11, 2009
    By ANDREA BOYARSKY
    ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
    STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There are many ways to learn about history. You could read a textbook, visit a museum or chat with an old-timer. Or, perhaps, you could visit a cemetery.

    The latter would be Alexandra Kathryn Mosca’s suggestion. In her new book, “Green-Wood Cemetery,” part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, the writer and funeral director delves into the history and famous names buried in the Brooklyn cemetery.

    The cemetery also is the resting place of many Staten Islanders and their family members, some of whom made the move over the bridge from Brooklyn.

    “What I hope is that it reacquaints people with the history of the city and with America,” said Ms. Mosca, a Sea Cliff, L.I., resident who directs a funeral home in Queens. “The people [buried there] are so compelling and interesting, they have given so much to society.”

    The famous names buried within the 478-acre cemetery established in 1838 include former Gov. DeWitt Clinton; William Magear “Boss” Tweed, a corrupt New York state senator who died in jail; George Tilyou, founder of Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park, and Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum, a Civil War veteran who represented New York in the House of Representatives.

    There also are titans of industries buried within: William Colgate, who started what is now Colgate-Palmolive; Juan Trippe, founder of Pan American World Airways; Frederick August Otto Schwarz, founder of toy store FAO Schwarz; German chemist Charles Pfizer, who started the pharmaceutical company, and Henry Steinway, the piano maker.

    “I love history and I think many people do and it’s a fun way to learn about it,” Ms. Mosca said of the cemetery.

    The book, which features numerous historical photos, was published in September and took Ms. Mosca about nine months to complete. During that time, she made countless visits to Green-Wood and did much research. “Once I got through reading about it, the subject matter was so compelling, I just kept reading,” she said.

    This is Ms. Mosca’s second book. Her first, “Grave Undertakings” (New Horizon Press), chronicles her career as a woman in the funeral industry. She is currently working on her next untitled book, a fiction piece about a reluctant funeral director who finds herself involved in a murder mystery. There’s scene set at Green-Wood and the murder victim is from Staten Island.

    She also contributes to American Cemetery and American Funeral Director magazines and has written articles on funerals of the famous, including Margaret Mitchell, Eva Peron, Marilyn Monroe and John Gotti.

    Alexandra Mosca will sign copies of the book at the Barnes and Nobles in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 267 Seventh Ave., on Thursday at 7 p.m.

  2. This article appears in today’s Staten Island Advance. If you love Green-Wood and want to see more great photos this is the book for you.
    —————————————————–
    Author peeks into past with book about cemetery
    Sunday, January 11, 2009
    By ANDREA BOYARSKY
    ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
    STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There are many ways to learn about history. You could read a textbook, visit a museum or chat with an old-timer. Or, perhaps, you could visit a cemetery.

    The latter would be Alexandra Kathryn Mosca’s suggestion. In her new book, “Green-Wood Cemetery,” part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, the writer and funeral director delves into the history and famous names buried in the Brooklyn cemetery.

    The cemetery also is the resting place of many Staten Islanders and their family members, some of whom made the move over the bridge from Brooklyn.

    “What I hope is that it reacquaints people with the history of the city and with America,” said Ms. Mosca, a Sea Cliff, L.I., resident who directs a funeral home in Queens. “The people [buried there] are so compelling and interesting, they have given so much to society.”

    The famous names buried within the 478-acre cemetery established in 1838 include former Gov. DeWitt Clinton; William Magear “Boss” Tweed, a corrupt New York state senator who died in jail; George Tilyou, founder of Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park, and Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum, a Civil War veteran who represented New York in the House of Representatives.

    There also are titans of industries buried within: William Colgate, who started what is now Colgate-Palmolive; Juan Trippe, founder of Pan American World Airways; Frederick August Otto Schwarz, founder of toy store FAO Schwarz; German chemist Charles Pfizer, who started the pharmaceutical company, and Henry Steinway, the piano maker.

    “I love history and I think many people do and it’s a fun way to learn about it,” Ms. Mosca said of the cemetery.

    The book, which features numerous historical photos, was published in September and took Ms. Mosca about nine months to complete. During that time, she made countless visits to Green-Wood and did much research. “Once I got through reading about it, the subject matter was so compelling, I just kept reading,” she said.

    This is Ms. Mosca’s second book. Her first, “Grave Undertakings” (New Horizon Press), chronicles her career as a woman in the funeral industry. She is currently working on her next untitled book, a fiction piece about a reluctant funeral director who finds herself involved in a murder mystery. There’s scene set at Green-Wood and the murder victim is from Staten Island.

    She also contributes to American Cemetery and American Funeral Director magazines and has written articles on funerals of the famous, including Margaret Mitchell, Eva Peron, Marilyn Monroe and John Gotti.

    Alexandra Mosca will sign copies of the book at the Barnes and Nobles in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 267 Seventh Ave., on Thursday at 7 p.m.