#B039 Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery, South Haven Hamlet, Suffolk County, Brookhaven Town, NY, USA: Brookhaven & South Haven Hamlets, Suffolk County, NY

Notes:

The Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery is near the western edge of South Haven Hamlet on the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge just to the east of Little Neck Run, about 500 feet east of Old Stump Road, south of Montauk Highway. To visit, a permit is required from the National Fish and Wildlife Service, and the area is normally excluded from visitation between the end of March and October.

It is said that there were at least 11 interments here, including one said to be a Revolutionary War veteran -- Nathaniel Hawkins. One source records that Nathaniel Hawkins' father Zachariah Hawkins, was also interred in this cemetery; Zachariah was also a prominent Revolutionary War patriot.

In the past, the cemetery received occasional maintenance from local residents. While the site is encompassed by the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, it appears that the plot itself still belongs to the Town of Brookhaven -- its legal status needs to be further investigated. It apparently receives no maintenance by the Town of Brookhaven as required by NYS Town Law. It appears as if there is no maintenance provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service

I visited the cemetery in March, 2003, with Marty Van Lith, but I have not visited it since. It had been very badly vandalized in the 1980's. There are no stones which remain standing, and there were only five stones and stone fragments that were still readable. One stone, said to be still readable, was face down and still frozen in. It will have to be photographed in warmer weather.

Unless substantial conservation efforts are undertaken, this historic cemetery will likely be lost.

Most of the information on the burials in this cemetery are as recorded in the Town of Brookhaven Historian's c. 1939 cemetery inventory, and a transcription of the gravestones recorded about 1975 (see B Kress cemetery notes). Additional information was obtained from http://longislandgenealogy.com/NatHawkins.html. While not indicated in this source, I suspect that the referenced survey was by Elbert (Nate) Carter. It is undated.

A number of gravestones for interments known to have been in this cemetery have been moved:

David Carter's stone was moved to the old Brookfield Cemetery (#9A) in Manorville, by his family about 1997 and placed near his parents' monuments.
Samuel Hawkins, his wife Mehitable Tuthill Hawkins, and son David Tuthill Hawkins gravestones were moved to Baiting Hollow, Town of Riverhead, Suffolk Co. NY cemetery by family members.

This cemetery is #39 on the c. 1939 Town of Brookhaven Historian's Cemetery inventory, has Suffolk County Tax Map reference 200-933-03-1, and has Historic Site ID Br02. It has been assigned Brookhaven Town Department of Parks and Recreation ID 5195C39. Its global positioning coordinates are Latitude N40° 47.367' Longitude W72 54.683' as determined from USGS maps.

Page revised: 14 September 2008

Latitude: N40° 47.367', Longitude: W72 54.683'

Headstones

Description	Status	Name (Died/Buried)
#39.00 Zachariah Hawkins His gravestone has not been found and his burial in this cemetery is uncertain. Harry W. Huson in Revolutionary War Patriots Buried in the Town Of Brookhaven (1975) recorded that Zachariah Hawkins was interred in the "Fireplace Cemetery." By this I have assumed that he meant the "Nathaniel" Hawkins Cemetery, as this appears to be the oldest "Hawkins" cemetery in the hamlet. Huson does not source his information. No other indication of his burial site has been found. However, his son Nathaniel, after whom the cemetery is named, is documented as being interred in this cemetery.	Not yet located	Zachariah Hawkins, [Sr.] ^ (d. Abt 1800)
#39.01 Nathaniel Hawkins His headstone could not be found. From the Town of Brookhaven Historian's cemetery inventory (c. 1939): Death date: 31 Aug 1823 Age at death: 71-00-00	Missing	Nathaniel Hawkins, [i]^ (d. 31 Aug 1823)
#39.02 Dinah (Longbotham) Hawkins, wife of Nathaniel Hawkins Her gravestone could not be found. From the 1939 Town of Brookhaven Historian's cemetery inventory (c. 1939): Date of death: 26 Feb 1826 Age at death: 73-00-00	Missing	Dinah Longbotham, ^ (d. 26 Feb 1826)
#39.03 Phebe (Rose) Hawkins .. wife of Samuel Hawkins. After the cemetery vandalism of the 1980's, the gravestone of her husband, Samuel Hawkins, was moved to the Baiting Hollow cemetery, Riverhead, NY.	Located	Phebe Rose, ^ (d. 14 Jul 1811)
#39.04 Samuel Hawkins Samuel was a son of Nathaniel Hawkins and Dinah Longbotham. He was first interred in the Nathaniel Hawkins cemetery (#B039), in Brookhaven Hamlet, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, NY. After this cemetery experienced vandalism in the 1980's, his gravestone was moved to the Baiting Hollow Cemetery, Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County, NY. The gravestone of his first wife, Phebe (#39.03), remained here.	Moved	Samuel Hawkins, †^ (d. 1 Oct 1870)
#39.05 Nancy Hawkins She was wife of Walter Hawkins (#39.06)	Located	Nancy Hawkins, ^ (d. 25 Mar 1890)
#39.06 Walter Hawkins He was a son of Samuel Hawkins and Phebe Rose	Located	Walter Hawkins, ^ (d. 16 Jan 1888)
#39.07 Richard Terry He was the first husband of Frances Hawkins, a daughter of Nathaniel Hawkins (#39.01) and Dinah Longbotham (#39.02). Frances had two subsequent husbands.	Located	Richard Terry, ^ (d. 13 Jul 1814)
#39.08 Mehetable (Tuthill) Hawkins Mehetable was the second wife of Samuel Hawkins (#39.04). She was first interred in the Nathaniel Hawkins cemetery (#B039), in Brookhaven Hamlet, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, NY. After this cemetery experienced vandalism in the 1980's, her gravestone was moved to the Baiting Hollow Cemetery, Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County, NY.	Moved	Mehitable Tuthill, ^ (d. 29 Jan 1870)
#39.09 David Tuthill Hawkins David Tuthill Hawkins was a son of Samuel Hawkins and Mehitable Tuthill. He was originally interred in the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery (#B039). Following severe vandalism at this cemetery in the 1980's, his gravestone was moved to the Baiting Hollow Cemetery, Riverhead, NY, along with his father's and mother's gravestones.	Moved	David Tuthill Hawkins, ^ (d. 21 Mar 1875)
#39.10 David Carter David was the first husband to Elizabeth Hawkins, a daughter of Nathaniel Hawkins and Dinah Longbotham. He was originally interred in the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery (#B039) in Brookhaven Hamlet, NY. This cemetery experienced severe vandalism in the 1980's, and his gravestone was moved in about 1997 to the old Brookfield Cemetery in Manorville, NY and placed near his parents.	Moved	David Carter, Jr. ^ (d. 15 Nov 1816)
#39.11 William Smith Hawkins William Smith Hawkins was a son of Nathaniel Hawkins and Dinah Longbotham. It is uncertain that he was interred in this cemetery; no gravestone has been found, nor is one recorded in resources examined to date. Ralph Clymer Hawkins in A Hawkins Genealogy (1939) records that William Smith Hawkins was "buried in his family plot in South Haven." While there are two "Hawkins" cemeteries in what, at the time, might be considered South Haven, NY, Hawkins also indicated "he lived on the south side of South Country Road (Montauk Highway) in the first house east of Snow's Corner [Montauk Highway and Yaphank Avenue]" -- this would place the house just to the north of the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery (B039). It is reasonable that he be buried with his parents. However, the Town of Brookhaven Historian's inventory (c. 1939) does not record a William Hawkins.	Not yet located	William Smith Hawkins, ^ (d. Abt 1867)
#39.12 Richard Corwin, son of Richard and Dency Corwin His gravestone has not been found. In 1975, his gravestone was recorded as being in the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery (B039) (see B. Kress documentation). The Town of Brookhaven Historian's cemetery inventory (c. 1939) recorded his gravestone as being in the Corwin Family Cemetery (B033), but it is missing from this cemetery. There is no modern evidence of the gravestone at either cemetery. While their are some family connections, there is no obvious reason for the gravestone being moved sometime between 1939 and 1975 -- except perhaps that of pranksters. From the Town of Brookhaven's cemetery inventory (c. 1939): Date of death: 5 Nov 1850 Age at death: 06-01-18 This entry is in agreement with the Kress transcription (c. 1975): Richard Corwin Son of Richard & Dency Corwin Died Nov 13, 1850 Aged 6 yrs 1 mo 18 days.	Not yet located	Richard Corwin, (iii) ^ (d. 3 Nov 1850)
#39.13 Frances Woodhull Frances was the first wife of the Rev. Nathaniel Hawkins, a son of Nathaniel Hawkins and Dinah Longbotham. Ralph Clymer Hawkins in A Hawkins Genealogy (1939) recorded that she was buried "in the cemetery at Fireplace," meaning the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery (#B039). A gravestone for her has not been found at the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery. Her gravestone was not recorded in the Town of Brookhaven Historian's cemetery inventory (c. 1939) as being in the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery. A memorial to her can be found on a monument at the Yaphank Village Cemetery, Yaphank, NY (#B022). Yaphank is the hamlet immediately north of the Brookhaven/South Haven Hamlets.	Moved	Frances (Fannie) Woodhull, ^ (d. 23 Oct 1838)

	Thumb	Description
1		#39. B. Kress Cemetery Notes A local resident's notes on the gravestones in the Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery, written about 1975.