This week has been hot! No rain, well at least nothing to talk about. But, on the upside, I was privileged to meet with a group of descendants of the Belknap family. For those of you unfamiliar with our Town and its beginnings, the Belknaps were instrumental in settling this area. They erected many stone houses during the colonial era, some of which are still standing, for example the veterinarian’s stone building over on State Route 17K. And some, like the Isaac Belknap house in New Windsor, succumbed to disrepair and fire. If you didn’t notice, did I mention it’s hot?

There was some concern over the maintenance of the old Belknap Cemetery (ID# 63947) on Route 17K and correspondence went around this past month, but when the family arrived on Sunday, the grounds had been trimmed and looked presentable. If you’re wondering where it’s located, it’s directly across the highway from the Kia dealership, behind a retaining wall. It’s a bit difficult to walk, or climb, into but it is worth it. The stone fences which denote the boundaries of the cemetery are for the most part in good condition, though a few sections could stand a bit of repair. The entire location is surrounded by security fencing for the Air National Guard Base, except for the side facing the highway.

The Belknaps came to our area from Massachusetts. The family flourished. The original Jonathan Belknap farm was two hundred acres with additional land, totaling five hundred acres. His home was called Sycamore Place. It’s thought it was built around 1760. Jonathan served valiantly as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War. In later years, he fell on hard times, and was forced to sell off his holdings in 1788. His son, Jonathan Jr. was able to buy back the farm of two hundred acres and it remained in the Belknap family into the 20th Century when the government purchased it for the expansion of Stewart Field. The last family member to reside on the hereditary parcel was Phebe Catherine Belknap who passed away in 1935.

This stone house was demolished and the location buried beneath Stewart Field. There were 79 graves on the property which had to be properly honored and respected. Reading through older documents and histories, it appears the stone fences surrounding the cemetery were constructed from the stones taken from Jonathan Belknap’s home when it was torn down. For those interested, most of the grave markers have been photographed and are listed on the Find A Grave website. I’m providing a summary of these individuals for easy reference along with this article.

I’m not going into an extend history of the family and the individuals who make up the tree, but I am going to invite everyone to join in this fall in a celebration of the Belknaps interred here. The four family members who traveled to honor their ancestors and help tidy up the grounds this past weekend are interested in cleaning up the grave markers. I’ve agreed to join in this effort and host a grave marker cleaning workshop in the cemetery sometime this fall, the date to be announced. The enthusiastic descendants I met are contacting additional family members and determining what the best date would be for those traveling to be here.

So, are you related? Would you care to join in? Perhaps meet some extended family members previously personally unknown? Well this is your opportunity! Obviously we will need to limit the number of people attending, but will do our utmost best to ensure everyone who is interested can be there. We may also may include with it a family picnic outing to allow people time to chat and mingle and reconnect while honoring a family instrumental in settling our community.

I will be putting together a list of everyone coming. If you wish to be included, email or message me (don’t post it under comments on the Town of Newburgh Historian’s page) with your contact information. This will not be shared with anyone without your prior approval. When the date is decided, I will both post the event as well as send you a confirming message. Hope to see you there!