While some people avoid cemeteries in fear a lost soul is hanging around, those interested in the past know they are a goldmine of local history. Alice Dayton LaPointe (1908-1984), pictured here in 1956 at the South End Cemetery, was a local historian and genealogist who understood how vital tombstones are in preserving the past.
Working with Morton Pennypacker (1872-1956), the Long Island Collection founder, Alice began documenting tombstone inscriptions in the early 1930s. For more than 20 years, Alice continued her research, documenting the inscriptions for thousands of tombstones in 11 cemeteries across the East End. Her work is still used by researchers at the Long Island Collection today.
Alice's interest in genealogy likely stemmed from her own family history, since she was the daughter of Alexander Parsons Dayton (1882-1923), whose ancestors were some of East Hampton's first European settlers. In 1933, Alice set sail for England to further investigate this history and the history of East Hampton. While solo travel by a young woman was uncommon at the time, Alice's passion drove her to undertake the journey and return with photostatic copies of historical documents compiled during her trip.
By 1936, her knowledge of local history was so extensive that she was co-head of an antiques exhibition at East Hampton's Clinton Academy, held to commemorate Long Island's tercentenary celebration.
Alice married Lawrence LaPointe (1877-1962) in 1939, but that didn't hinder her volunteer work. While completing her tombstone inscription project, she also published her genealogy research in The East Hampton Star and assisted Jeannette Edwards Rattray (1893-1974) with her research for "East Hampton History," a book we reference in the Long Island Collection to this day.
Alice's research significantly helped the collection and led to her title as East Hampton's "unofficial" historian. The work of volunteers past and present has made the collection more accessible to researchers, allowing us, the librarians, to better share our town's rich history.
Megan Bardis is a librarian and archivist in the Long Island Collection.
