Sautjes Tave's Begraven Ground Cemetery
Bogert Rd. and Everett Rd.
Map / Directions to the Sautjes Tave's Begraven Ground Cemetery
The Sautjes Tave's Begraven Ground is an interesting cemetery that sits on an island within Everett Road. Since it is mostly surrounded by trees and hedges, it is very easy to miss if you don't know it's there.
Amongst the old gravestones is a marker that reads,
"Here lies the remains of Douwe Talema, who died on the 11th day of May 1779 in his Ninetieth Year. This aged Man at his Residence near this Place was wilfully and barbarously murdered by a Party of Tories. Traitors to their country who had taken refuge with the Troops of Britain then in New York and came thence to murder and plunder.
To pay a Tribute of Respect to his memory and also to commemorate the manner of his death, several of his relatives have erected this Stone." [1]
At the time of his death, Douwe Talema (his last name is sometimes spelled 'Tallman') was 89 years old and a great-grandfather. His death was the result of a Tory raid that occurred in this area on May 9, 1779. (Tories were Americans who remained loyal to the British during the Revolutionary War.) About 100 raiders crossed the Hudson River from British-occupied New York City and landed at Lower Closter Landing. and traveled inland on Lower Closter Landing Road, and then on the County Road to present-day Demarest. The raid was extremely violent and destructive, and many houses and barns were burned. The raiders took some of the local men prisoner; others were bayonetted and left to die. Among those bayonetted was Douwe Talema, who died of his wounds two days later on May 11. [2]
1. ^ Modern plaque at the gravesite, which sits in front of the original gravestone. The modern plaque reproduces the text which appears on the original gravestone, but has worn to the point that it is difficult to read.
2. ^ Eric Nelsen, "The 1779 Closter Landing Raids," in Barbara Z. Marchant, ed., Revolutionary Bergen County - The Road to Independence (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2009), 77-85.
Mr. Nelsen's article is recommended to those who would like to read a much more in-depth, detailed account of the raid.