The focal point of Island Cemetery is the Belmont Memorial Chapel. The chapel was built in 1886-1888 by August Belmont, a wealthy banker who secured his place in society when he wed Newport socialite Caroline Slidell Perry, daughter of Commodore Matthew Galbraith Perry. The Richardsonian-Romanesque chapel, the work of George Chaplin Mason and Son, was built as a memorial to their deceased 19 year old daughter Jane Pauline.  “Patience” is inscribed in many locations in the interior of the chapel. The chapel’s original purpose was to serve as a site to hold committal services for those being buried at the Island Cemetery. The chapel, which was deeded after completion to the Island Cemetery, is a 1-1/2 story, late Victorian-style building constructed of rock-faced brownstone; its picturesque massing of tall dormers, entrance portico and belfry make it a focal point of the cemetery. No bodies are entombed in the chapel, but some are buried in the large front burial circle, including August and Caroline, who reside in sarcophagi, as well as their son August II and Commodore Matthew Perry, who is credited with opening up trade with Japan in 1884.