Colonel William Sterling Cogswell
(1840-1935) Not buried at Maple
Grove (Grace Episcopal in Jamaica)
Colonel William Sterling Cogswell
was the first President of Maple
Grove Cemetery from 1875-1935. His
tenure lasted for 60 years.
He was born in 1840 and lived in
Jamaica on 164th Street. William
joined the Civil War in 1861. He was
commissioned on June 22,1861 as
first Lieutenant in the Fifth
Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer
Infantry. He was credited with
devising a system during the war of
using flags as a way of
communicating between detachments.
He took part in the war of General
Sherman's "March to the Sea" and the
capture of Savannah. He was promoted
to Lieutenant Colonel and got to
meet President Abraham Lincoln two
times. When he came out of the war,
he returned to college and studied
law. He was admitted to the bar in
Poughkeepsie in 1868. He practiced
law in offices in both Jamaica and
Brooklyn for over 23 years.
He was president of the Soldiers
and Sailors Monument project in
Jamaica. He was responsible for it
being erected. There is an extensive
archive of all the paperwork and
maps for this project and others of
his in Maple Grove's Historical
Archive Collection. William was also
involved with many Civil War
Veteran's groups and fought for the
rights of the soldiers when they
returned home from duty.
Like his father,Judge William J.
Cogswell, he became a vestryman and
warden of Grace Episcopal Church in
Jamaica. He was one of the founders
of the Jamaica Rod and Rifle Club.
He was a delegate to the Republican
National Convention of 1880.
William's son George Cogswell
became the President of Maple Grove
after he passed on on July 18, 1935.
