History and Fonda connection
Fonda Cemetery, also known as Fonda–Lansing Cemetery, is a small nineteenth-century family burial ground on Loudon Road (U.S. Route 9), near Crescent Terrace Road, in the Town of Colonie, Albany County, New York. It commemorates early settlers of the Boght and Crescent communities and the close connections between the Fonda and Lansing families. Identified burials include Henry I. Fonda (1771–1835), Cornelius I. Fonda (1775–1827), Isaac C. Fonda (1796–1863), Susannah C. (Vandenberg) Fonda (1748–1824), Abraham A. Lansing (1779–1849), and Ann (Fonda) Lansing (1786–1850). Some stones are missing or fragmentary, so the original number of interments remains uncertain.
The Fonda and Lansing families were among the founders of the Reformed Dutch Church of the Boght, organized on February 22, 1784. Arthur H. Masten's 1877 history identifies Isaac Fonda as one of the church's first elders and Abraham D. Fonda and Gerret I. Lansing as two of its first deacons. A Town of Colonie historical marker at the cemetery recalls this shared community history and states that nearby Fonda Road was named for the family.
Town Historian Kevin Franklin reported in 2009 that the cemetery originally stood a short distance north of its present location and was moved when Route 9 was widened during the 1930s. Gravestones had been documented by R. Arthur Johnson in 1977, but the site later deteriorated. From late August through October 18, 2009, Latham Boy Scout Troop 279, supported by the Town of Colonie, its historical society, and other local partners, cleared overgrowth, repaired and reset broken stones, and installed a new fence. Some damaged stones could not be fully reconstructed. This burial ground should not be confused with Caughnawaga Cemetery in the Village of Fonda, Montgomery County.
Sources and references
- The Fonda Blog, “Colonie Cemetery” (5 August 2009, with 25 October 2009 correspondence from Town Historian Kevin Franklin).: Primary firsthand documentation of Rt 9 location, 1930s reported relocation, 1977 R. Arthur Johnson stone survey, 2009 restoration, grave/footstone inventory; several IDs remain tentative.
- The Fonda Blog, “Cemetery Hopping” (8 October 2009), Fonda Cemetery in Colonie entries.: Records the family historian's September 2009 field photography and the named burials, with dates; the cemetery's photographed stones are distinct from other cemeteries in the article.
- Fonda family archive, “Historical Marker.jpg,” photograph of the Town of Colonie Fonda Cemetery marker (2009).: User-supplied archival photograph of the marker before installation, documented in the linked Fonda Blog article, “Colonie Cemetery” (5 August 2009). The previously selected 2009 image has been superseded on the Places page by the 2019 HMdb onsite photographs; this entry preserves the original marker documentation.
- Historical Marker Database, “Fonda Cemetery” (Cohoes/Loudon Road), marker and site photos submitted 6 February 2019.: Correct Colonie cemetery marker, location on Route 9 and coordinates 42°48.714′ N 73°43.924′ W. Selected HMdb photo #2 / Photo463306.jpg shows installed marker and fence; photo #3 / Photo463307.jpg shows gravestones. Both by Steve Stoessel, photographed 6 Feb 2019, 800 × 600. HMdb noncommercial-use requirements and photographer credit: https://www.hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Distinct from Caughnawaga/Fonda village marker m=131373.
- Arthur H. Masten, The History of Cohoes, New York (Albany: Joel Munsell, 1877), pp. 32–33.: Early account of 1784 Boght Reformed Dutch Church founding; Isaac Fonda first elder; Abraham D. Fonda and Gerret I. Lansing first deacons. These roles do not identify site interments.
- Spindle City Historic Society, “The Lansing Legacy,” Spindle City Historic, vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 2007), p. 2.: Corroborates Fonda/Lansing families' connection to early Boght settlement and their role in establishing the 1784 Reformed Church.
- Fonda Family History, “Fonda Cemeteries” cemetery summary (updated March 2012).: Lists Fonda Cemetery, Colonie, Albany County, with eleven Fonda entries as of the historical compilation; number is not a comprehensive count of all family burials.
- New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Albany County Cemetery Records; “Inscriptions from Burying Grounds in the Town of Colonie, Albany County, NY.”: Research lead only: transcriptions separately label a Fonda Burial Plot and Lansing Burial Plot. Do not assume either is identical to the Route 9 Fonda–Lansing Cemetery without comparing original locations and names.