You Can Visit The Grave Of Uncle Sam In Upstate New York Cemetery

New York is one of the oldest places in the United States. Native Americans had been here long before European settlers started to explore North America as far back as the 16th century. We've got a lot of history here and one of the biggest legends to come out of New York would be Uncle Sam. While most would know him as that guy on the "I Want You" posters he was a real life person who came to Troy, NY in the late 1700s.
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I am sure many of you have seen those signs when driving into Troy bragging about it being the home of Uncle Sam. That's all true. The legend came to life right from the Capital Region.

Who was the real Uncle Sam?

I am talking about Samuel Wilson, who became knows as Uncle Sam after being a meat packer along with his brother in Troy, NY. They would send barrels of pork to the United States Army and with the "US" stamp on it they would begin to say it was from Uncle Sam. The rest is history.

While Wilson was born in Massachusetts, Troy will forever be his home and his final resting place. You can even go to see his grave, where he is buried along side of his wife, Betsy. This is found in Troy's Oakwood Cemetery.

BJ/TSM

I love to get out and explore around the area. I've visited many of our Capital Region cemeteries but had never ventured over to Oakwood before. I knew that it had within it several local legends, including Uncle Sam. I decided that it was a bit of a rainy day, so what perfect weather to go check out some graves. I love local history, and cemeteries are full of them. They're also full of gorgeous artwork. Older grave markers really were tributes to those who had passed on.

Where is Oakwood Cemetery located?

You can visit Oakwood cemetery at 50 101st St, Troy, NY 12180. It is about 280 acres and features not only the grave of Uncle Same but also the founders of both Troy and Lansingburgh are also here for you to visit. They're names are Jacob D. Vanderheyden and Abraham Jacob Lansing. Amos Eaton is also buried there. He was the founder of RPI.

Oakwood is easily one of the most historic cemeteries in Upstate, NY. I would encourage everyone to go out and see how beautiful it is.