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

 On May 8th, I'll be part of a book event at Brooklyn's venerable Old Stone House. For more details click on this link: The Old Stone House

The Charlotte Canda monument, commemorating a young woman who died in 1845 on her 17th birthday, stands as one of Green-Wood Cemetery's most ornate and unique memorials. Crafted in the style of a tabernacle, the Gothic-style monument features a life-sized marble figure of Canda wearing a flowing gown and standing atop a pedestal. Drafted by sketches made by Canda herself, the monument was initially intended as a memorial for Canda's late aunt. However, after Canda's tragic death, the design was personalized to reflect Charlotte's interests and personality. From its intricate details to its symbolic elements, reflecting the Victorian era's fascination with symbolism, it serves as a lasting testament to Charlotte's brief but impactful life. Buried nearby is Charles Albert Jarrett de la Marie, Canda's fiancé, who committed suicide a year after her death.  The monument has become an iconic symbol within Green-Wood Cemetery, attracting visitors who are dr...

Elias Howe, Jr. is often credited with inventing the sewing machine. Actually, he was granted a patent for the lockstitch (the basic stitch made by a sewing machine) in 1846. That patent expired in 1867 and—ironically-- so did Howe. Howe funeral service took place at the First Universalist Church in Cambridgeport, Mass. and the officiant was a Rev. Greenwood. He was then buried in Cambridge Cemetery. In 1890, the same year Howe’s wife, Rose, died, the Howe’s were buried together in Green-Wood. Their beloved dog, Fannie, is buried within the family plot, along with her own monument, on which a poem entitled “Only a Dog” is inscribed. The Howe gravesite is located at the prime intersection of Battle and Hemlock Avenues and is a most popular stop on my tour.

Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist who became famous for his ragtime compositions.Over the course of his career, Joplin composed more than forty ragtime pieces. The Maple Leaf Rag, which was one of his earliest compositions, is considered to be the most prominent work of the ragtime genre. Joplin died at age 49 and was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery in East Elmhurst, NY, on April 5, 1917. However, more than 50 years later, his music experienced a resurgence in popularity after the release of the movie "The Sting" in 1973. The film, which won several Academy Awards, featured a number of Joplin's compositions, including "The Entertainer," which was adapted by Marvin Hamlisch for the movie. The film's success and music helped introduce Joplin's work to a new generation of fans. For the past few years, St. Michael's Cemetery has been hosting an annual Scott Joplin Memorial Concert. This year's concert date is Satur...

Florence Scannell was a New York City Councilman and opponent of Tammany Hall politics. In December of 1869, he was shot in a barroom brawl by Thomas Donahue, a day before being elected Alderman, a position he never assumed. From the time of the shooting until he died on July 10, 1870, Scanell lay “hovering on the edge of life.” At Scannell’s funeral mass, which took place at St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan, Rev. Father Henry told the congregants that they should not mourn for his departure, for there was reason to believe he was now “in a better world.” At the conclusion of the religious service, Scannell’s wood casket was opened and several hundred mourners passed by to say a final goodbye. The casket was then loaded onto a funeral coach, borne by six gray horses, for the ride to Calvary Cemetery in Queens. This exquisite statue, which marks Scannell’s grave was dedicated by his brother, John J. Scannell, as is noted on the stone. Several months after his broth...

Yesterday, I attended a wonderful lecture about Louis Comfort Tiffany at the Cold Spring Harbor Library in Long Island. Although I researched Louis Comfort and his father, Charles Lewis, the famed jeweler, I learned a number of things about the family and took a new look at their modest gravestones in Green-Wood Cemetery. It seems that Louis C. Tiffany was quite the party animal, throwing lavish parties—sometimes for 1,000 people—-at Laurelton Hall, his 100-room estate set on 580 acres in Oyster Bay, LI. The invitations were proffered by scrolls, often written in hieroglyphics, and guests were—-more often than not—-requested to attend in costume. Louis Comfort Tiffany died in 1933, but Laurelton Hall lived on, serving as a haven for artists per Tiffany’s wishes. Sadly, in 1957, the mansion burned down in a mysterious fire, the origin of which has never been discovered. Much of the contents of Tiffany’s home were destroyed. One of these, (seen above) was Tiffany's prized work ...

Johnny Torrio, who was once considered to be America's top public enemy, died in 1957. However, his death went largely unnoticed by the media and the public. Torrio suffered a heart attack while sitting in a barber's chair on April 15th and later died in Brooklyn's now-defunct Cumberland Hospital.   It wasn't until three weeks after his death that a small news item was published in the New York Times, referring to Torrio as "the man who put Al Capone in business." Later that year, Albert Anastasia, a rival mobster, was also killed while getting a shave in a barber's chair.

When I’m in a cemetery --be it for work or leisure --a monument or mausoleum will catch my eye and I’ll want to learn more about the story behind the family name. Such was the case with the Charles Engert mausoleum in St. John Cemetery. I’ve seen this mausoleum numerous times as it is prominently located across the road from Charles Lucania, and on the way to the Cloister. This week, I stopped to really look. From the look of the structure I felt fairly certain that the family was prominent and one of means. These assumptions were borne out, along with the tragedy which prompted the construction of this mausoleum. Here’s what I learned: Charles Engert was a Brooklyn-born builder and realtor. Prosperous and well-known, he was a founding member of the Hanover Club. In April of 1899, his only child,16 year old daughter M.J. Henrietta (known as Hattie) died at her school-- Mt. St. Vincent Academy on the Hudson --from spinal meningitis. Hattie had recently returned to school after Easter ...

The Wagner name was well-known in New York politics. Three generations of Wagner men –-all named Robert Ferdinand--served the state and city. The family patriarch, Robert F. Wagner, Sr., served as U.S. Senator from 1927 to 1949. He died in 1953. Wagner’s son, Robert F. Wagner, Jr., was New York City’s 102nd mayor and one of the city’s most popular. Elected to three terms –his tenure was from 1954 to 1965---as mayor, the Yale graduate previously served as Manhattan’s Borough President before winning the mayoral race at 43.  Wagner died at the age of 80, on February 12, 1991, from bladder cancer. His funeral took place four days later. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 700 mourners, including Governor Mario Cuomo, Mayor David Dinkins, and former Mayors Lindsay and Koch, listened to a sermon by Cardinal O’Connor. Opera singer Robert Merrill serenaded the congregation with his rendition of Ave Maria, and Wagner’s son, Robert F. Wagner III, gave a eulogy. In it, he shared with the audience so...

The Johnston family mausoleum in Calvary Cemetery is not to be missed. In fact, one would be hard pressed to do so as the structure is massive and prominently situated. Fans of The Godfather may recall seeing it in the funeral scene of Don Corleone. In the 19th Century, the Johnston brothers --John, Charles & Robert – were the proprietors of the J & C Johnston Dry Goods Store on Broadway in Manhattan. An 1874 article in the New York Times, entitled ‘The Christmas Holidays: At The Dry-Goods Store’ encapsulated the various offerings from NYC merchants. The entry for the J & C Johnston Co. noted that it had “…one of the most extensive silk departments in the city.”