BURIAL PLACES.
For over a century the tract of land lying to the north of the Reformed church was used as a burying ground. The deeds of conveyance to the then trustees of the Presbyterian church, the predecessor of the Reformed church—Francis Baird, John Simson and George Nance, dated January 11, and April 23, 1793—recite that in still earlier conveyances from William Wickham and John Morin Scott, one of which was dated March 14, 1770, to William Wisner, of forty-five acres of land, "one acre thereof was excepted and reserved there-out for a burial ground for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church of Warwick." In 1889, at the time when the new stone church was built, there had been no interments here for perhaps twenty years, and accordingly a consent was obtained from at least three-fourths of the congregations of the Presbyterian and Reformed Dutch Churches for the removal of all the remains interred therein, as required by law. The Reformed Church purchased a lot in the Warwick Cemetery and received deed from the latter, dated June 15, 1889, to which lot the remains of all those interred in the church burying ground were removed, and also the headstones marking the graves. There are 116 of these stones; doubtless there were many buried there without any stones to mark them, and there were other burials there which were afterwards removed to family lots in the Warwick Cemetery when the latter was dedicated in 1867. The oldest stone is one erected to the memory of Anna, the wife of William Eagles, who departed this life July 8, 1771. There are interred there Revolutionary soldiers, members of consistory and many prominent citizens. To William Culver, a donor to the church, was erected by the church a monument, bearing this inscription: "Sacred to the memory of William Culver, who departed this life, at South Hampton, Long Island, October 27, 1822, aged 37 years, in hope of a blessed immortality."
The last interment of which there is a gravestone is that of Daniel Sinsabaugh, who died November 19, 1869, aged thirty-eight years. It is believed that there were later interments than this, but if so there are no stones marking the graves.
It is said that Jacob Gaul, a colored man, the sexton of the church for over twenty years, was one of the last burials in the old church graveyard.
The Old School Baptist burying ground, situated at the corner of Galloway road and Lake street, was first used for burial purposes in about 1774, when the meeting house was built there.
This plot of land was given to the Baptist Church by Elder James Benedict, by deed dated September 12, 1791. The trustees of the said church at that time were James Burt, John Morris Foght and John Sutton; consideration mentioned in deed, forty shillings current money; contains seventy-nine perches of land.
Elder James Benedict died September 9, 1792, aged seventy-two years, six months, eighteen days, and was buried in this plot of ground, but no stone marks the spot. This plot was used as a burial ground until 1795.
SCHOOLS.
The Warwick Institute continued as an academy until October 1, 1868, when the entire property was transferred to the board of education of Union Free School District No. 12. The district at that time consisted of the school districts Nos. 11 and 12. Since 1880 two other districts have been annexed, Nos. 10 and 23.