St. George's Church Hempstead

St. George’s Church was founded in 1704 and was supported by the wealthy farmers in the surrounding countryside. The church’s early members included names are well known on Long Island: the Conklins and Carmans; Hewletts and Seamans. 

St. George’s consists of the church building itself, which was built in 1822. Across Front Street is the rectory, which dates from 1793. The church was first occupied by the Yankees early in 1776, then by the redcoats from mid-1776 until 1783. For much of the war, Hempstead was occupied by the British who apparently didn’t treat it well. A story told is that the church’s weather vane was used for target practice by Hessian soldiers. After the war, St. George’s changed both their name -from Anglican to Episcopalian and their service (for example, not having prayers for the King). 

Many of the most important figures in the history of Nassau County were members of the church and they were buried under it or on the grounds starting in 1724. Amy Vacchio, working at Rock Hall Museum became frustrated at the lack of knowledge of who was buried in the cemetery. Working with the Rev. Ajung Sojwal and Matt Longo, a part-time archivist at Rock Hall, Vacchio has established Friends of Historic St. George Cemetery. The church records were all digitized and placed online.

Vacchio and Longo are searching the archives of the church to identify many of the 700 people believed to have been interred in the cemetery and to decipher where they were buried; a task made difficult because of gravestones that are missing or severely damaged. From that, a map was being created of the cemetery and also placed online.

The current building contains oak interior columns that were dragged across the Hempstead Plains by horse, then hewn and installed in the sanctuary. More than one of the beautiful stained glass windows was designed by Tiffany Studios.

Sources:

Bleyer, Bill. “Volunteers, Church Work to Restore St. George’s Cemetery.” Newsday, 31 May 2022, www.newsday.com/long-island/li-life/efforts-revitalize-historic-st-georges-cemetery-r8hnpr9a

Hanc, John. “History and Time Flip the Script at Hempstead Church.” Newsday, 28 Jan. 2018, www.newsday.com/long-island/li-life/hempstead-st-george-s-church-n73143

“St. George’s Episcopal Church (Hempstead, New York).” Wikipedia, 12 Aug. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Hempstead,_New_York)