Beneath the Mound
Photo: Mound at Rhinebeck Cemetery Courtesy of Beverly Kane, Local History Librarian.
Through the seemingly simple question “Why? Why is there a mound in the middle of rows of grave-stones in a cemetery?”, Local History Librarian Beverly Kane unearthed a mystery. After examining a Rhinebeck Cemetery map and Deaths, Marriages, and Much Miscellaneous From Rhinebeck, New York Newspapers 1846-1899 Volume 1, Deaths, Kane discovered that A H Schultz purchased two plots at that location and confirmed that Alexander Hamilton Shultz was buried in a family vault in the Methodist section of the cemetery.
The story begins. In the family history Christian Otto Schultz and his American Descendants compiled by Enid Dickinson Collins, Alexander Hamilton Shultz born on August 15, 1804, son of Lucas, grandson of Peter, great grandson of early Palatine settler Christian Otto Schultz, is called “Captain”. Collins’ source is Edward Harold Mott’s Between the Ocean and the Lakes; the Story of Erie.
"Capt. A. H. Shultz, the pioneer Erie steamboat Captain, was born at Rhinebeck. Before there were railroads in Central and Western New York, he ran stages between Rochester and Buffalo. Later he ran a steamboat between Amboy, N. J. and New York. He began in the Erie service January 1, 1841, having been harbormaster under Governor Seward, before the railroad was in operation, and continued until 1844."
Further evidence of Alexander Schultz’s business success is found in records dating from 1842 and 1843.
"The ‘Winter Arrangement’, made December 12, 1842, announced that the cars, on and after that date, would ‘run in connection with the steamboat ‘Arrow” (Capt. A. H. Shultz), daily except Sunday."
"The winter of 1843 was one of the hardest on record. Capt. Shultz made his two trips on the Hudson River daily between New York and Piermont, although the ice was twelve inches thick, missing but one trip. April 28, 1843, in recognition of this, the people of Piermont presented him with a solid silver snuffbox, lined with gold."
Throughout his many challenges, Capt. Schultz demonstrated that same pioneering spirit evident in his Great Grandfather Christian Otto Schultz’s 1743 voyage from Rotterdam aboard the ship “Hope”. While Christian Otto, trained as a civil engineer at university and employed as a teacher began his first days on American soil as a farm laborer, his descendant Alexander became one of the pioneers of transportation in America.
"In September, 1846, Capt. ‘Alec’ Shultz, who owned the Hudson River steamboats that ran in connection with the trains at Piermont, and who seems to have been a man with no inconsiderable ‘pull’ in Erie transportation affairs, con-ceived the idea of an excursion over the railroad, and down the river and bay to Coney Island, then a sand barren, ex-cept at its northern extremity, where famous clam bakes were served. The idea meeting with the approval of Super-intendent H. C. Seymour and his lieutenant, S. S. Post, the event was announced."
The excursion was not a success for several reasons not the least of which was a train accident considered the “first serious accident in the history of the railroad” only about six weeks earlier.
Although it is uncertain when Alexander began his position as “Alderman from the Fifth Ward of New York”, it is known that he was in “Government service for many years” before his death at Philadelphia on the 30th of April in 1867.
Photo: Lucas Schultz’s gravestone; Courtesy of Bonnie Wood.
Over a century later, interns under the direction of Beverly Kane discovered the headstone of Lucas Shultz, Alexander’s father, buried near the mound. It is unknown how many years ago the headstone was buried, but it was preserved beneath the ground and is in remarkable condition. Nearby, beneath the mound, Alexander Hamilton Shultz’s vault remains…?
Marking the Moment in Transportation History: Rhinebeck’s native son Captain Alexander Hamilton Schultz August 15, 1804 - April 30, 1867.
Sources:
Collins, Enid Dickinson. Christian Otto Schultz, 1712-1785 and His American Descendants. E.D. Collins, 1943.
Kelly, Arthur C. M. Deaths (Vol. 1), Marriages (Vol. 2) and Much Miscellaneous from Rhinebeck, New York Newspapers, 1846-1899.
Mott, Edward Harold. Between the Ocean and the Lakes: the Story of Erie.
More to Explore:
To view Samuel Seward’s letter to Captain Alexander Hamilton Schultz and Schultz’s response , click the link and search "Schultz" at https://sewardproject.org/letters-by-recipient.
