Gardens of Stone --- A Cemetery Blog by Alexandra Kathryn Mosca

For this month's American Cemetery & Cremation magazine, I wrote about some of the cemetery monuments I've come across bearing song lyrics. Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind, and Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, are among them. Here's a bonus find from  Westchester County’s Sharon Gardens Cemetery. The words to the song “One Boy” from the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie are etched into a small grave marker. With lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse, the song became a hit when it was performed by Ann-Margret in the 1963 film adaptation of the musical. Kim McAfee, played by Margret, assures her boyfriend, Hugo Peabody, that rock star Conrad Birdie has not stolen her affection. Have you seen any? If so, where? And what was the song?

  In 1817, brothers James and John Harper founded J. & J. Harper in New York. They were later joined by their younger brothers Wesley and Fletcher, and the company was renamed Harper & Brothers. It became the leading book publisher in the United States during most of the 19th century. Harper & Brothers played a major role in the early industrialization of book publishing. In the 1850s, they shaped American culture by creating and distributing Harper's New Monthly Magazine and Harper's Weekly. The company had its most significant influence during the three decades following the Civil War. Harper textbooks educated students, Harper trade books were found on family shelves, and Harper periodicals illustrated current affairs and guided national thought. However, as the literary marketplace evolved, Harper was increasingly viewed an old-fashioned "family" publisher by the century's end. This compelled its corporate reorganization. In 1962, Harper & Brot...

  When President Ulysses S. Grant died on July 23, 1885, two undertakers were called to prepare his remains. At the suggestion of Grant's physician, Dr. John Douglas Ebenezer Holmes was contacted. Holmes brought his patented invention, the “Corpse Cooler Casket,” to preserve the body in the summer heat until the embalming process could be carried out. Later, Reverend Stephen Merritt Jr. arrived to handle the embalming process with associates Daniel Harrigan, Felix Sullivan, and a small group of assistants. Sullivan was an expert in embalming who had previously worked on President Garfield and had recently opened the New York School of Embalming. Meanwhile, Merritt had taken over his family's undertaking business in the 1870s and was one of the most well-known and respected undertakers in New York City. Harrigan handled the funeral arrangements for Albany, while Merritt took care of those in New York City.However, conflict arose between Merritt and Holmes over payments and libel...