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

Replete with photos, this recent article highlights 10 popular US cemeteries. Cemeteries of the Rich, Famous and Notorious.

Green-Wood Cemetery will once again participate in openhousenewyork. As they did last year, the cemetery will be opening several noted mausoleums to the public. For more details, click on the link below. This Weekend at Green-Wood Cemetery

In 1920, a parcel of land in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, was gifted by Cardinal Hayes to the Catholic Actors Guild. But, it was not until 1937 that a monument was erected at the site. The 10 foot high and 8 feet wide monument bears the names of the performers, as well as a line from Hamlet: Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest. Gene Buck -- president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers-- presided over the November, 1937, dedication, telling the crowd that “They made life richer for a million people.” Over time, the guild purchased additional land and to date more than 200 of its members have been buried here.

This sandstone castle-like mausoleum contains the remains of Rev. Dr. Charles W. Roeder, the longtime pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Roeder, a member of an old Dutch family, was also chaplain of both a local army and navy post.

  This stately mausoleum, with Egyptian overtones, houses the remains of Richard Kyle Fox in Woodlawn cemetery.   Fox , who was born in Belfast Ireland , published the popular National Police Gazette From 1877-1922. In its heyday the publication --which sold for a dime --had a circulation of 500,000 and a readership in the millions.

Grosvenor Atterbury is one of several prominent architects --along with James Fenwick and Richard Upjohn--buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. While during the course of his long career Atterbury was responsible for the design of many prominent structures, he is most remembered for designing the stately Tudor and Colonial style homes which comprise the exclusive enclave known as Forest Hills Gardens. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (son of the co-designer of Central Park and Prospect Park) was the landscape architect on this 1908 project of one of America’s oldest planned communities. Residents have included Jimmy Breslin, Geraldine Ferraro, Branch Rickey (the baseball executive who signed Jackie Robinson) and CSI actor David Caruso. Atterbury died in 1956 at the age of 87 in Southampton Hospital. He is buried beneath a simple stone --which notes that he was an inventor architect--in a shady and secluded family plot. His father was a lawyer who became the general counsel for the Erie R...

Dr. Lottie Cort practiced medicine for 55 years, after graduating --in 1883--from Women’s Homeopathic Medical College in Pennsylvania. During her career she held a number of positions, including secretary of Memorial Hospital and president of the hospital’s dispensary-a position she held until 1912. An early advocate for women’s issues, Dr. Cort was a prominent suffragist and a founder of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Equality League. She was also a member of the Chiropean, a club for women which served Brooklyn’s Eastern District. The Chiropean --whose name invited much curiosity--was founded in 1896 and its 250 original members included many prominent women, including the wife of Brooklyn Mayor Frederick Wurster. An early NY Times article stated their mission as:” …to give full scope and an enlarged field to the prerogatives of the twentieth century woman, and to make her in all respects not only the co-equal, but the admitted superior of the twentieth century man.” Dr. Cort died su...

 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.