Wiggins Family Cemetery

Wiggins Family Cemetery. . , Known as Duane's Bush in the late 18th Century, the Schenectady County Forest (in which you are standing) constitutes No. 92 of the 100 "Great Lots" formed by James Duane when he divided and sold his 50,000 Acres in 100-acre parcels. , According to history: "In the late 1700s, James Duane, a lawyer and judge, inherited and purchased much of the land in this area. In 1765, the town of Duanesburg was formed and Duane advertised his Great Lots for sale in the New York Mercury (newspaper).", Great Lot 92 was leased to Elkanoah Rockwell. In 1810, Jacob Nathaniel and Daniel Wiggins leased adjoining Great Lot 93 to the south. "For reasons unknown the Wiggins family established their burying ground here on their neighbor's land, while Rockwells were buried in other area cemeteries. " The Wiggins Family Cemetery still stands in the county forest. In 1872, Daniel Wiggins, the son of the original tenant, acquired the lease to Great Lot 92 from the Rockwells, who had held the land for 80 years. "When Daniel Wiggins sold Great Lot 92 in 1872 he reserved the right to 'visit the burying ground and to bury therein such of his own family and his late father's immediate family as shall express the wish to be buried therein.' The earliest (grave)stone is that of Daniel Wiggins (the father and original tenant) who died in 1823," (p.213), Paraphrased from , Peak Experiences , Hiking the Highest Summits in New York County by County , by Gary Fallesen. , According to information supplied by the Schenectady County Historical Society, the burial grounds, once know as Fagan Park, contains 12 graves, two are presumed children, 7 are presumed adults and the ages of the remaining 3 fieldstone graves cannot be determined., This County Forest sign has been created and donated by , Crafty Club , Summer 2007 .