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

I am always asked what it's like to work as a funeral director. To help answer that question, I wrote the following article for AOL Jobs. Confessions of a Mortician (Funeral Director)

Egyptian Revival architecture was a popular style of memorialization during the mid-19th Century. This fashionable trend resurgence occurred in the 1920s,1920's presumably because of the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb. Albert Ross Parsons (1847-1933), a composer, musician, author, and pyramid expert, published The New Light from the Pyramids in 1893. Fittingly, this Egyptologist is entombed along with several family members in this pyramid-shaped mausoleum, which combines Christian religious statuary and Egyptian symbolism, My book Green-Wood Cemetery ( Arcadia Publishing, 2008) includes an archival shot of this Egyptian Revival mausoleum.

The “Angel of Death” marks the graves of Charles Schieren, the next-to-last mayor of Brooklyn , and his wife Mary Louise. The Schierens died from pneumonia within 24 hours of one another in 1915.

On Saturday, January 15, 2011, the Brooklyn Historical Society hosted a New York Cemeteries Panel. Joining me were the authors of Cypress Hills Cemetery. We enjoyed speaking about our respective books and answering questions posed by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience. Thanks to all who attended!

  Stephen Whitney was the second richest man in the world when he died, second only to Jacob Astor.  Whitney amassed his fortune as a merchant cotton speculator—and real estate investor. Though known for his frugality, he is reported to have left behind more than $12 million, more than enough to have Whitney Chapel, as his octagonal mausoleum is known, built in his memory. The mausoleum is situated atop Ocean Hill and resembles a stone cottage. It is surrounded by tall trees, which keep the area shaded and give it a woodsy feel. It has thick steel doors that give way to Whitney’s name engraved in large letters in the arch over the door. The roof is steep, and at the top is a cross. Of particular interest are the lancet windows -- a specific style of construction, also known as Lancet Gothic; the most distinguishing characteristic of the lancet window is the pointed arch. These particular arches are also found in an arcade area of Westminster Abbey in London. Inside t...

 In 1902, C. Augustus Haviland wrote a book of poems called "A Lawyer's Idle Hours" and published it under the name Frank Myrtle. One of the poems in the book, titled "Colloquy On Death," is inscribed on a bronze plaque that can be found on the front of the Haviland monument in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. Another poem by Haviland, called "Reveries at Four Score," was written ten years later and is inscribed on the back of the memorial.

Join me I return to Green-Wood for my fourth trolley tour honoring Green-Wood's "who's who" of 19th- and early 20th-century New York. Visit the monuments and learn about the fascinating lives of Henry Bergh (founder of the A.S.P.C.A.), Henry Chadwick ("The Father of Baseball"), DeWitt Clinton (New York governor and main proponent of construction of the Erie Canal), Charles Feltman (inventor of the hot dog) and more. A question and answer session and author book signing follow the tour at The Historic Chapel at Green-Wood. Refreshments will be served. The trolley tour is $20 / $10 for Historic Fund members. Space is limited. Make your online reservation today through the link below or call 718.768.7300. http://www.green-wood.com/store.php/store/category/2/tour/119

 The Kampfe brothers --Frederick, Richard, and Otto-- credited with creating the safety razor in their New York City shop, are entombed in a domelike mausoleum with a ball on top in a prominent location, the modern Hillside Mausoleum. They began marketing the product, known as the Star safety razor, in 1875, applying for a patent in 1880. The metal door bears a bronze bas-relief sculpture of a robed woman bearing a lit oil lamp, presumably to light her way to the hereafter. The mausoleum contains eight crypts (niches), one of which holds the remains of three children. At the rear is a stained glass window that depicts an angel and a robed woman. An altar, upon which is an empty vase, is beneath the window.

I was among the many New Yorkers who were stunned and saddened to hear of the sudden death, on March 19th, of venerable and popular NY Daily News reporter Joyce Shelby. Her death is a great loss to the media. A seasoned reporter, with a most impressive body of work, Ms. Shelby was also a real lady and easy to talk to. I know this first hand, because she interviewed me back in November about my new Green-Wood Cemetery book, regarding it as a natural for the Brooklyn section. Joyce, a fan of Green-Wood, had written about the cemetery before and regaled me with a funny story about photographing the parrots which have taken up residency there. Naturally, I was looking forward to seeing the article about my book run, but that was not to be. After a couple of postponements, the piece was killed by the Brooklyn bureau chief. Joyce called me with the news - we were both disappointed - and said she would repitch it in the spring. We spoke again in early March, for the last time. Over the years...

A relatively new addition (2006) to Green-Wood is the Tranquility Garden area which contains over 8,000 niches for cremated remains. Cozy rooms offer seating arrangements where one can reflect. A friend of mine told me he could "sit there for hours". Outside, a large koi pond filled with beautiful fish, calms the senses. This entire area makes one think of cremation in an entirely different way.