Ackermanns Repository of the Arts - Mourning Dresses, 1809, The Strand London - The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Mrs. J. McAllister was the wife of James McAllister. When James first entered Sailors Snug Harbor in 1858, he informed the Harbor that his wife was at the Old Lady’s Home Seaman Retreat (James McAllister Registration Page). The Old Lady’s Home was a part of the Seamen’s Retreat located at the Corner of Vanderbilt Ave and Bay Street in Clifton, New York (Salmon).
"Established in 1831, the Seaman’s Retreat was located near the waterfront, at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and Bay Street in Clifton" - Pat Salmon
The Old Ladies part of the retreat was a building between Stapleton and Vanderbilt’s Landing. “The asylum provided quarters for aged widows, wives, sisters, and daughters of mariners who worked for the port of New York” (Mariners’ Family Asylum). When the ladies passed away, they were buried in a cemetery close to their part of the Sailor Retreat. Today, the Old Ladies Home and the Cemetery associated with it were demolished to make way for a medical center in the 1930s. The women’s remains were moved to the Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island. Today, it is thought that some bodies of these women remain buried where the cemetery used to be at the Sailors' retreat. An archaeological study was conducted in the 1990s to determine this (Hom).
Moravian Monument to the Women of the Seamen Retreat - Moravian Cemetery
Mrs. J McAlister probably passed away sometime between 1858 and 1872, because James McAllister had her gold watch, which he left to their daughter upon his death. Since James' body was not moved from Snug Harbor, it is more likely that his wife was buried at the cemetery carved out for Seaman’s wives at the Seaman's Retreat (James McAllison Registration Page).