The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is a non-profit organization for women directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolution. The mission of the DAR is to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. The Queens-based Increase Carpenter Chapter fulfilled this mission when they organized the clean-up of the Remsen Family Cemetery on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Situated in Forest Hills, the Remsen Family Cemetery is an historic landmark where Revolutionary soldiers are buried. People came from all over Queens to pick up debris and plant flowers and flags. The DAR taught people how to clean and restore the military tombstones. The Chapter thanks the Juniper Park Civic Association for sponsoring the event.

To better understand the importance of the cemetery, the chapter conducted extensive research of the Remsen
family’s contributions to the American Revolution. They used primary sources, 19th and early 20th century histories, as well as visiting the archives of the Queens Public Library in Jamaica. Colonial Patriots by Barbara Stuchinski says Rem Jansen Vanderbeeck left Germany in 1643 for the growing colonies of the New World. Vanderbeeck settled in Brooklyn, married, and raised a family of fifteen children. His sons changed the family name from Vanderbeeck to Remsen, meaning son of Rem. One of Rem Jansen’s sons, Abraham, bought a 250-acre farm in an area known as Hempstead Swamp in Newtown, Queens County in 1699.

The Hempstead Swamp included sections of present-day Forest Hills and Rego Park. This area was settled in the 1620s by the Dutch and later by English farmers who called the area “White Pot.” The land was good for growing tobacco, hay, rye, corn, straw, oats, and green vegetables. In 1735 Abraham sold the farm to two of his sons, Rem and Jeromus Sr.

During the French and Indian War (1754 to 1763), the British were determined to curtail French expansion and the colonists wanted to secure the safety of the colonies from the Indians. Rem’s son, Abraham, and Jeromus Sr.’s son, Jeromus Jr., became officers in the British militia and fought with distinction. Problems arose following the war. Great Britain intended to make the colonies pay for their defense and return revenue to the mother country. When taxes were imposed on sugar in 1764 and the Stamp Act followed in 1765, colonists began to rebel under the new mantra, “no taxation without representation.” As the British were attempting to suppress the growing unrest in New England, the Remsen family were voicing their Whig political views, publicly denouncing the crown and joining the local and provisional government of the colonial Continental Congress.

Great Britain soon occupied Long Island creating a base of operations to take control of Manhattan. On August 21, 1776, General Lord Howe led troops from the British encampment on Staten Island landing at Gravesend, ooklyn, and began a movement that would encircle colonial troops. This was the first major battle for the colonial militia. They faced a formidable enemy force that was well trained and well armed. British and allied troops totaled over 20,000 in the encampment overwhelming the Continental Army by a ratio of two-to-one. During the Battle of Brooklyn, formerly known as the Battle of Long Island, Colonel Jeromus Remsen Jr. led the First Regiment of the Kings and Queens County Militia. His cousin Major Abraham served in the second regiment.

On the day after the colonists’ defeat, August 28, 1776, British loyalists approached the house of Jeromus Remsen Sr. at Hempstead Swamp in search of rebels. They threatened to return and plunder the house if any were found. On that same day, Colonel Jeromus Remsen was ordered by the Continental Congress to destroy all stock and grain in Queens and western Long Island that could not be removed to a place of safety. Thereafter, Colonel Remsen escaped to New Jersey and Major Abraham Remsen escaped to Rockland County remaining in exile for seven years while the British occupied Long Island.

In his book, The Remsen Family in America, Alfred Hunt Remsen written in 1938 describes Abraham’s brothers Aert and Luke. “In the decade prior to the Revolution, they were so outspoken in favor of colonial independence that they were frequently threatened with prosecution for treason. Even before the outbreak of hostilities, they had supplied themselves with a full military equipment, and Aert and Luke, who were machinists and wheelwrights by trade, started the repair of firearms for patriotic neighbors and friends.”
Because of their technical knowledge, Luke and Aert were made masters of ordinance, specializing in artillery, weapons, and supplies. After the Battle of Brooklyn, the two brothers retreated after destroying anything in their homes likely to be of value to the British which they could not carry away. Luke and Aert were in high command in the Continental workshops in Peekskill, New York during the British occupation of Long Island. At the conclusion of the war, the four Remsen exiles returned to their farms in White Pot.

Per newspaper clippings from the early twentieth century, the Remsen family farm was demolished in 1925. The owners of the Remsen property could not be found to claim the land.

According to the list of the inscriptions in the Remsen Cemetery, there were seven tombstones dating from 1790 until 1819 that belonged to Colonel Jeromus Remsen Jr., his wife, and four of his children as well as an eighth person named Bridget Remsen. Major Abraham Remsen was also buried in the cemetery in an unmarked grave.

In 1935 the Forest Hills Homeowners’ Association converted the neglected cemetery into a memorial park with the assistance of the Works Progress Administration. In 1978 the Remsen Park Coalition was incorporated
for the purpose of maintaining and landmarking this family burial ground. The Remsen Park Coalition placed four military headstones in the park to memorialize Jeromus, Abraham, Luke, and Aert Remsen. The Coalition beautified the park by planting eleven dogwood trees. The Dutch government donated 1,000 daffodils that were also planted near the tombstones. The cemetery was designated an historic landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1981. The Continental Post of the American Legion took responsibility, with the help of the Boy Scouts, for the maintenance of the cemetery. Since 2003, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has monitored the park and keeps the cemetery and adjacent Thomas X. Winberry Garden in beautiful condition.

After the cemetery clean up and restoration of the tombstones, Increase Carpenter Chapter member Leslie Wickham reflected on the work saying, “It was a rewarding experience to see the drastic improvement in the appearance of the stones. It’s important to upkeep these tombstones to honor the memory of these men who fought valiantly in the creation of our country.”