Part 1: Caledonia Hills Cemetery and the Bigelow Estate

The Caledonia Hills Cemetery is located on the west side of Dix Hills Road between Hunter and Livingston courts.  In the past it has been referred to as the “Nostrand- Bigelow Cemetery.” 

This name was given based on the previous owners' names of the property.  Interestingly, no one with either last name is actually buried in the cemetery.  The oldest known burial was in 1771, and the most recent, 1870. 

It is important to note that although records indicate there are 40 burials there, the names of only 23 people are recorded in the Town Historian’s office.  It is here that an open grave was found. More about that in a minute.

Daniel J. Nostrand died on November 11, 1926.  He passed away at his home in Greenlawn, but he previously lived on a farm in Dix Hills very close to the Charles Gould estate. 

According to the January 7, 1910 Long-Islander, Daniel Nostrand “sold 75 acres of his farm to W.N. Baylis. This land is on the east side of the road, and Mr. Nostrand has retained a large tract on the opposite side of the road upon which he will remove his dwelling.” 

A few months later the Long-Islander reported on April 22, 1910 that “Daniel Nostrand having sold the property upon which his residence stands is making preparations to move it shortly.”  He sold his property to Ernest A. Bigelow, a Manhattan lawyer.

Right near the Doscher and Gould estates, was what would become the Bigelow estate.  Ernest A, Bigelow, Sr. was a Manhattan lawyer who was married to Helen Talman Bigelow.  They were married on April 18, 1892, according to their marriage announcement in the New York Times the following day.  Though they already had a summer home on Long Island, the Bigelows began to purchase property in Dix Hills during the fall of 1916. 

The September 8, 1916 Long-Islander announced that “Ernest A. Bigelow, a Manhattan lawyer, with a summer home at Oyster Bay, has contracted to purchase the 75-acre farm of Henry E. Willetts at Dix Hills, near the Ivor Manor estate of Charles A. Gould.  There are one or two fine high sites on the property.  Mr. Bigelow, who has as a much smaller place at Oyster Bay, will fit up the Willets property for his summer home.” 

The real estate transactions continued and Bigelow land purchases were noted in the November 17, December 1, December 15, and December 22 1916 Long-Islanders. It was noted in the December 15, 1916 Long-Islander that “Frank Valentine, of South Dix Hills, has sold a corner plot of 3 3-4 acres of land, opposite his residence, to Ernest A. Bigelow, which will complete a square of some 200 acres he now holds, including the Henry and Eugene Willets, Butler and Carll properties.” 

Though residents of Huntington for 25 years, the Bigelows appeared very infrequently in the local newspaper.  One reference was on December 11, 1925 on the list of Huntingtonians assessed at $10,000 and over.  Ernest A. Bigelow is listed at $18,800.  The second reference was on November 20, 1931 when the Bigelows hosted the American Spaniel Club and the Long Island Springer Spaniel Association cocker and springer spaniel dog trial runs. 

The third and final reference is one of the strangest articles I have ever read and is where we return to the story of Caledonia Hills Cemetery.  Talman Bigelow, son of Ernest A. Bigelow, who owned the property the cemetery was on, was walking his father’s property when he stumbled upon the open grave of Francis Sands.  He was taking an exploratory walk in preparation for renovating the old Nostrand house for his own occupancy.

According to an account of the tale in the October 7, 1927 Long-Islander, the grave was first opened in late June or early July of that year.  Mr. and Mrs. Charles Martin, who resided on the Bigelow property in the old Henry Willetts farmhouse, and who served as secretary to Ernest Bigelow for many summers, had their friends the Burkes visiting from Brooklyn. 

The two couples were walking on the grounds one day, when according to Mrs. Martin (via the Long-Islander), Mr. Burke “remarked that he would like to dig up one of the graves to find what was in it.  Nothing more was though of the remark until the following evening when Mr. Burke announced at the supper table that he had dug down several feet in one of the graves.  To put it mildly Mr. Martin was mad from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, and he let Mr. Burke know it.  However, when Mr. Burke promised to fill in the grave the next morning, he calmed down to some extent.” 

They believed that he had done so, and the Martins were shocked when Talman Bigelow reported finding an open grave.  Upon discovering this report, Mr. Martin made a special trip to the cemetery and personally filled in the grave and covered in with green oak boughs. 

Mr. Burke was not asked to return, especially after Mrs. Abbie DeGray, a neighbor, corroborated Mrs. Martin’s story. She stated that she saw Mr. Burke and two boys passing her home with shovels and a spade.  Her two boys told her that they saw Mr. Burke digging up one of the graves.  It was unknown whether or not there were any descendents of Francis Sands in the area to press charges, and unfortunately I did not find a follow-up article, so I am not sure what happened next.

Francis Sands died on August 4, 1857 at 33 years of age, 6 months, and 7 days.  He was buried next to his wife Phebe Sands, who died on October 26, 1874.

This is not the first and only odd occurrence that occurred at this cemetery; tune in next week to find out who was excavated in the spring of 1911.