 In the year 1890, Edwin B. Young, a descendant of United Empire Royalists and a colonel in the King's Royal, was made superintendent of the grounds. A particular wealthy family, the Gardners, had large granite vaults built very visibly to pedestrians along then Bergenwood Road. It was reported by the New York Sun that grave robbers had broken into various vaults at Grove Church. The Gardner vault had been found opened, which required the vandal to smash locks as well as break the iron railing, which was believed to be achieved by the use of hammers and chisels stolen from on adjoined marble yard. Robert Gardner's metallic coffin was found opened, removed from the shelf upon which it sat. The investigation, led by Superintendent Young, left those involved unsure of why the perpetrators would have broken in, and with no apparent objective or reason, they concluded that it may have been done simply to desecrate the resting place of the dead. Young held that position of superintendent until 1899, for the pursuit of real estate.
