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Cornell University Library 1993.BUFFALO CEMETERIES
READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 4, 1879.
BY WILLIAM HODGE.
The formation of a burial place is generally one of the later
things attended to in a new settlement, inasmuch as the utmost
effort is needed to support the living and carry on the neces-
sary improvements; and unless there should be death from
accidental causes, there are no particular reasons to induce the
pioneers to bear in mind the fact that any of them will be cut
off from their labors, and become the silent tenants of the tomb,
Like other settlements in Western New York, Buffalo was
lax in attending to the necessity of providing a resting place
for the dead; and churches were organized and school houses
erected ere it seemed to be noticed that death was as likely to
invade here as elsewhere. But, as was even then so certain
to be the case, the time for this duly arrived.
THE JOHNSTON BURYING GROUND.
Captain William Johnston, a British officer, retired on half-
pay, once owned a tract of about forty acres of land in what is
now the business center of Buffalo. It was bounded on the
north by Seneca street; west by Washington street; south by
Little Buffalo creek, and east by a line which would include
the forty acres; the said line running parallel with Washington
street. As this place, even then, was the center of business at-5°
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
traction, residents meeting there for conversation, very naturally .
the settlement increased about Johnston’s; and finally he laid
out a small burial ground a few rods square on his homestead,
at the corner of Crow (now Exchange) and Washington streets.
The place was afterwards owned by the late General Lucius
Storrs, and since known as the “ Sheldon place;” and when the
Washington block was built in 1873-4, several skeletons were
dug up by the laborers excavating for cellars. The street is
now a number of feet below the original surface of the soil;
and the removal of the earth for cellars rendered it necessary
to excavate below the bottom of the deepest graves.
As these skeletons were found on the east side of the Shel-
don lot, there is every reason to believe (and tradition deepens
the impression) that more are interred on the *next lot east,
which is now occupied by the paint shop of J.‘Josephs.
The house was built by Mr. J.oseph D. Hoyt, and afterwards
passed into the hands of Mr. Waters, formerly of the firm of
Kimberly & Waters, ship chandlers, &c. But there has been
an ever-changing tide of occupants in the house. People of
every color and nationality have lived there; and some of such
bad repute that it would not be surprising in the least if the
original tenants of this ossuary had had their numbers increased
by the sudden taking off of unsuspecting persons decoyed there
for purposes of plunder and murder. When the building is
removed, and the lot excavated for larger cellars, it will not be
unexpected if a dozen or more skeletons of different sizes are
found on the north end of that and the adjacent lot, now occu-
pied by the old cabinet shop of Oliver Pomeroy, which was
erected in 1832.
It is understood that Captain Johnston was buried in his own
cemetery in 1807. The first tenant was an infant son of the
Captain; and burials did not cease there till several years after
the establishment of a village burial place on lots 108, 109, in,
112, since called Franklin Square, where now stands the mas-
sive City and County Hall.BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
5*
THE FRANKLIN SQUARE CEMETERY.
The change to this burial place was made at a very early
day. In fact, Captain Pratt went, the first year of his arrival
here (1804), with Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, to Batavia, and obtained
by “land contract” from the Holland Land Company, the
Franklin Square lot for a village burying ground. The rea-
sons for this change were, first: the title to the Johnston place
was yet in the dower, and if it was not deeded to the vil-
lage, there might be trouble in after years from a change of
owners. This proved to be the case; for John (or Jack) John-
ston (son of the old Captain), who inherited the property, en-
cumbered it by a mortgage to Jasper Parrish as agent .and
trustee of the Cayuga Nation; and this mortgage not being
paid, was duly foreclosed, and the place sold in 1811. And
second: this site was deemed to be too near the center of a
population numbering but a few score.
This Franklin Square lot was a central portion of the then
beautiful Terrace, on whose grassy surface the Indians used
to recline, and view the lake in all its pristine beauty; a scene
which Judge Peacock described when he first came on the
spot (being then nineteen years of age), saying, “It is one of
the most beautiful views I ever put my eyes upon.”
In the new cemetery the first interment was that of John
Cochrane, a traveler from Connecticut, who died at Barker’s
tavern, a log house facing south, standing on the Terrace near
the corner and west of Main street. As a verbal consent had
been given by Mr. Ellicott to use the lots, which must have
been considerably prior to 1804, the man from “the land of
steady habits” was there buried; and from that time most, if
not all, burials ceased in the Washington street place, except
those of Johnston’s family or relatives thereof. Tradition says
that a very tall Indian, from his altitude termed “The Infant,”'
was the second silent inhabitant of the village cemetery. Here
in March, 1815, the noble and estimable Indian chief, Farmer’s
Brother, was buried with military honors. When the bodies52
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
were removed to Forest Lawn, a tablet, with his initials formed
by brass nails, was found; but like Job Hoysington’s skull
(p. 53) it disappeared in the process of removal.
Though this lot so early became the recognized place for
burials, with the usual carelessness of early settlers, the title to
it was not obtained from the Holland Land Company until 1821.
This can easily be accounted for, as there was no village cor-
poration to hold the gift; and after it had been in use some
years, it was believed that the village had a right by possession.
There was no individual ownership of the lots; but persons, on
application, had family or single lots assigned them by the
trustees, until 1832, when burials as a general thing were dis-
continued there. The last was in 1836, being that of the wife
of Hon. Samuel Wilkeson, a daughter of Gamaliel St. John;
and a special permit was granted for this purpose.
The old burying ground was remote from the village proper,
and was covered with a growth of bushes and scrub oak, with
a few larger trees. A part of it was used at one time as a site
for a small wooden building, in which was kept an infant school.
In addition to the villagers, those who resided even as far
out as the Plains (with the exception of a few families who
buried on their own premises) brought their dead to the gen-
eral gathering place. This irregular proceeding was stopped,
as far as the city authority extended, in 1832, when the advent
of the cholera caused very stringent sanitary measures to be
taken.
THE COLD SPRING BURYING GROUND.
Long prior to that time, on the hill opposite “Cold Spring,”
on farm lot No. 59, now the southwest corner of Delaware
and Ferry streets, there was a grave-yard like that of Captain
Johnston. I well remember being present at burials there
when a boy. One was that of a child of Mr. Seth Granger,
who lived on the farm; another a child of a Mr. Caskey.
These took place before the war of 1812. Hither, afterwards,
gallant Job Hoysington’s mutilated remains were brought, whenBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
53
the fervid suns of the spring after the burning of Buffalo melted
the snowy shroud by which he was first covered.
The death of Hoysington occurred as follows: On the morn-
ing of December 30th, 1813, he took his rifle and went to meet
the British as they came marching up the river near the Grand
Battery. He, with Captain Hull’s Buffalonians, stood their
ground well; but the three thousand and odd of new levies fled
precipitately and left a few hundred to face as many Indians,
and over a thousand disciplined British regulars. For a brief
period they contested the field; but, seeing they were flanked,
they retreated. Hoysington lingered, withdrew a little, stopped,
and said, “I will have one more shot at them;” and that was
the last that was known of him till, the following spring, when
his remains wTere found beside a log not far from the late Fred-
erick Gridley’s residence on North street, one or two blocks
west of the Normal school building. A bullet had perforated,
and a tomahawk had cleft, his skull; while his scalp was torn
from his bleeding head as a trophy of savage conquest, and
token of British inhumanity. His faithful rifle lay empty by
his side, and no doubt his death was avenged ere it occurred.
His remains were interred in this rural cemetery, and there
they remained till 1850, when most of the bones of the nearly
one hundred persons buried there, were exhumed, placed in
boxes, and removed to a secluded place in “ Forest Lawn.”
Among these relics, the skull of the mighty marksman was at
once recognized by the injuries it had received, and many
noticed it; but during the confusion incident to a removal,
some one surreptitiously carried off this relic of Job Hoysing-
ton. It is doubtless in the possession of some curiosity monger
of the city, but, uW'ho has it?” has often been asked in vain.
This ground was never formally granted for a cemetery, but
by the consent of the owner was used for that purpose by the
few families residing in the neighborhood.
In the grading and widening of Ferry street, in 1876, at the
corner we are speaking of, there were some bones, but no en-54
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
tire skeletons, plowed up. Having learned that there was no
one appointed by the proper authorities of our city to look
after these relics of early settlers and soldiers, who seem to
have had none on the face of the earth to care for them, I took
pains to collect, from time to time, all that were found, carried
them to Forest Lawn, and had them buried with the others
that had been taken there.
DELAWARE AND NORTH STREET JURYING GROUND.
About the year 1830, Hon. Lewis F. Allen bought of Judge
Ebenezer Walden, on his own account, five acres, situated on
the south-west corner of Delaware and North streets, and east
of Bowery street.* He then formed an association, consisting
of the following persons, viz.: Lewis F. Allen, George B. Web-
ster, Russell H. Heywood, Heman B. Potter and Hiram Pratt,
as trustees, and had it surveyed into lots by Joseph Clary, Esq.
A considerable number of lots were sold; but the smallness of
the plot, and the fact that the southern part was full of springs,
prevented many improvements; and most of the bodies depos-
ited there have been removed to Forest Lawn, and the property
is now held by the Forest Lawn Association. It is not at all
likely that any more burials will ever take place there, as they
are prohibited by a law of the State, and the lots around are
occupied by beautiful residences.
THE POTTER’S FIELD.
In 1832, in anticipation of the cholera visiting Buffalo, which
had just put on “ city airs,” burials in the old village (Franklin
Square) cemetery, having been prohibited, except by special
permission of the Council, it was deemed desirable to obtain
another and more remote situation to be ready in case any
sudden pestilence should demand increased room for the dead.
Accordingly, I sold to the city five acres of farm lot No. 30,
lying between North and Best streets, and west of Prospect
street, for a “Potter’s Field,” or common burial place; and a
*Now Irving Place.BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
55
portion of it was set apart for the Roman Catholics, so that it
could be consecrated according to their belief and form.
THE BLACK ROCK BURYING GROUND.
When the lands comprising the south village of Black Rock
were surveyed in 1804 or 1805, there were two blocks, Nos. 41
and 42, appropriated by the State for burial purposes. These,
however, were found to be too low, and hence not suita-
ble; many, therefore, carried their dead even to the Franklin
Square ground; and when Black Rock village was incorpo-
rated, Col. William A. Bird, in behalf of the corporation, pro-
cured the exchange of those two lots for one situated on higher
ground; being lot No. 88 on North street, since known as the
Black Rock burying ground. This lot was bounded by Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Fourteenth streets, and the Mile Strip, or
what is now “The Avenue.”
When the “Guide Board Road” (now North street) was
worked through, this lot was cut in twain, and a small triangle
was left on the south side, in the old limits of Buffalo City.
This small lot, by an arrangement with the Black Rock author-
ities, was used as a Potter’s Field for the unfortunates who died
at the poor-house; this building being a little to the west of it,
next to the church of the Holy Angels, and now used for the
parish school. In this little spot of ground have been, doubt-
less, laid, without a pitying eye to weep over their wreck, or a
friendly hand to raise a tablet to their memory, as noble per-
sons as have ever existed; but poverty and misfortune blighted
their prospects, and they became dependents on the bounty of
their fellow-creatures.
Many a time have I pondered over the unmarked hillocks
here, and thought what tales could be revealed were the history
of the unknown and unnoted dead under my feet made up into
a living record. But they were not permitted to rest in peace.
The City of Buffalo, a few years since, fenced in the lot, and
desecrated the spot by using it as a public pound. Could no
other vacant place be found, that even a pauper might not be56
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
allowed to test here, without having his last hold on earth made
the stamping-place for vagrant cattle ?
The main lot was used for years by the inhabitants of Black
Rock; but burials having been discontinued for some time, the
land was conveyed to that noble institution, the Charity Foun-
dation of the Episcopal Church. As in the Franklin Square
and North street public cemeteries there were no private lots
here, but places were assigned by the authorities.
‘ When the Forest Lawn cemetery was established, in 1850,
many families bought lots and removed their dead from this
ground. Since then, in grading Rogers street, many graves
were dug up, and the bones collected and removed to Forest
Lawn. And within the last few years, in grading “ The Circle/'
which takes in most of this old burying ground, many more
have been dug out and deposited there. More still remain,
which should be properly taken care of. Although I ever dis-
approve of the practice of our city rulers in disturbing and re-
moving the bones from our old burying grounds, yet, in this
case, it seems to be a matter of public necessity; and as part
have been removed, they may as well all be.
One grave in this spot was that of Capt. James Rough, a man
of some note in early days, but now nearly forgotten, who was
buried here in 1828. This noble-hearted man was one of the
captains who early sailed on our lakes. I believe he had no
relatives in this country, but many true-hearted friends, who,
after his checkered life was ended, buried his body with becom-
ing honor and respect. One, a countryman of his, a Scotch-
man, the eccentric Major Donald Frazer, to express the esteem
in which he was held by all, placed a stone at the head of his
grave, on which was cut the inscription and quaint epitaph'
printed below.
Capt. Rough’s remains were removed by our honored towns-
man, John T. Lacy, April 26th, 1869, to the lot in Forest Lawn,
where those from the old burying ground of Franklin Square
were placed. They now lie near the large monument in theBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
57
center of this lot, by the side of Capt. Dox, an officer in the
United States army during the war of 1812, and who was some
years after (in 1822,1 believe) appointed Collector of the Port
of Buffalo.
EPITAPH.
Here lies the body of
CAPT. JAMES ROUGH,
A Son of Auld Scotia, who died
Dec. 4th, 1828, aged 60.
A Highland man’s son placed this stone in
Remembrance of his Friend.
Here, moored beneath this willow tree,
Lies Honor, Worth, and Integrity,
More I might add, but ’t is enough;
’T was centered all in Honest Rough.
With such as he where’er he be,
May I be saved or damned.*
The exact time when burials began in this Black Rock bury-
ing ground, on North street, is not now certainly known. There
were two families, at least, at Black Rock, who buried on their
own premises; those of Gen. Peter B. Porter and Ethan Lud-
low. The bodies of Gen. Porter’s family were subsequently
removed to Niagara Falls. The bodies of the family of Mr.
Ludlow were removed to the “ Mathews and Wilcox ” burying
ground on the hill (see below, page 58), and subsequently to
Forest Lawn. By some it is thought that burials began there
soon after the war of 1812-15; others as late as 1826. But
from what I can learn, the most reasonable conclusion is, that
there were some burials there as early as 1820, or soon after.
Col. William A. Bird says, “ probably as early as 1825 at least.”
Cyrus H. De Forest says, “I helped to bury a friend there in
1827, and there were quite a large number of graves there be-
fore that time.”
THE BIDWELL FARM BURYING GROUND.
There was a place on what was known as the “Bidweli
Farm,” where the dead were buried before the “ Guide Board
*The last two lines of this are from Burns’ epitaph on Gavin Hamilton.58
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
Road” (or North street) ground above mentioned was opened.
It will be of interest to say, just here, that the “ Guide Board
Road,” spoken of above and on page 55, was, in the early days,
the only wagon approach to Black Rock from the eastward;
communication with Buffalo being mostly by the way of the
beach of the lake, until Niagara street was opened, about the
year 1809; a guide-post stood for many years at the southwest
corner of Main street and this roaxl, pointing the traveler’s way
to the aspiring village of Black Rock; hence the name of the
road. The Bidwell farm was situated on the old “ Gulf Road,”
answering to what is now Delevan avenue. This road crossed
Main street just south of the bridge over Conjockety creek,
and passing east, in a few rods crossed the creek bed, while,
westward, it crossed a deep ravine or gulf, formed by a stream
flowing from the “ Jubilee Spring;” and from this circumstance
obtained its name. The farm lay quite a distance west of Main
street, back of the village of Black Rock; and in the burial
place here set apart, interments were made from 1811 to 1825.
THE MATHEWS AND WILCOX GROUNDS.
Another private cemetery enterprise was set on foot by Gen-
eral Sylvester Mathews and Birdseye Wilcox, about 1833 or
1834. They laid out twelve acres for the purpose, on farm lot
No. 30, next to the five acres which the city had purchased in
1832 for the Potter’s Field. This twelve acre field was im-
proved, and lots sold to different individuals; and as the land
was more desirable than that on the corner of Delaware and
North streets, there was considerable attention paid to decora-
tions and monuments, until Forest Lawn was formally estab-
lished; and then for a time but little interest appeared to be
taken in this. I am happy, however, to state that a better feel-
ing now prevails; that the grounds are carefully tended, and do
not look so deserted and comfortless as they did a score of
years ago.
The Hodge family purchased two lots in this place, and paid
for them by furnishing and planting yellow locust trees alongBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
59
the outer edge of the whole, and on each side of the walks and
carriage ways. Before that, this burying ground having been
originally used for agricultural purposes, was of a barren
appearance, being entirely destitute of trees and shrubbery.
Those locust trees were therefore at that time thought to be a
very desirable acquisition, as they grew quickly. They yet re-
main as specimens of the taste of a former generation; yet we
cannot but think what a magnificent grove the place would now
have been, if graceful elms had been chosen for planting.
In 1853, the lot owners, finding that Mathews and Wilcox
neglected to care for the property, opened negotiations for the
purchase of the remaining rights, which was duly effected by
the lot owners raising a subscription therefor; and in 1854, an
association was incorporated under the name of the “ Buffalo
Cemetery Association.” The new company paid the old pro-
prietors the sum of $5,000 for all their interest therein, and
since that a steady improvement, as has been mentioned, has
been noticeable.
FOREST LAWN CEMETERY.
Forest Lawn Cemetery is unquestionably the finest in this
section of the state, and under the new organization will doubt-
less always be a permanent one. It was first laid out under the
name above given, by Charles E. Clarke, Esq., in 1849, who
purchased, for the purpose, of Rev. James N. Granger and his
brother Warren Granger, about eighty acres of land at $150 per
acre. The grounds were planned by Mr. Clarke on a most lib-
eral scale, and with all modern improvements.
But it having been deemed desirable that the citizens should
more generally be interested in it, and that its many interests
and rights should not be committed to the care of one individ-
ual, no matter how trustworthy, an organization was effected in
1855, as a private corporation, under the title of the “Forest
Lawn Cemetery Association of the City of Buffalo,” receiving
from Mr. Clarke the possession and management of his grounds.
This company conducted the enterprise in a most creditable6o
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
and faithful manner. Numerous elegant monuments were
erected, and valuable improvements made by individual owners
of lots. Yet there grew up a desire for a cemetery more broadly
planned, and more positively interesting and attractive; withal,
a feeling that not even a private corporation could suitably
hold and manage such a cemetery as was required for the pro-
spective growth of a city like Buffalo. Accordingly on the
nineteenth of November, 1864, a new organization was formed
under the title of the “Buffalo City Cemetery Association,”
which was declared legally complete November 21st, and at
once entered upon its great work. From “Forest Lawn Asso-
ciation” all their unsold lots were purchased, with the fran-
chise; and then and subsequently, several adjoining tracts of
different quantities, which enlarged the grounds to its present
size, about two hundred and thirty acres, being all that will be
required for generations. The beautiful name “Forest Lawn ”
is therefore now not its legal, but its popular designation—
which, however, it will doubtless retain for all time to come.
It is right that attention should here be called to the fact
that this is a “mutual company without stockholders,” in which
all of the lot owners are equally interested; in which the trus-
tees receive no compensation or money benefit for their ser-
vices, the only salaried officers being the secretary and super-
intendent. It should also be expressly stated that by the laws
under which its managers act, they are absolutely forbidden to
apply any proceeds of sales of lots (after original land debts
were paid, and the expenses met of surveying and laying out
the grounds) to any other purpose than the improvement, em-
bellishment and preservation of the cemetery, for the benefit
of the lot owners.
The original land debt was $131,650. This was completely
paid, together with $51,630 and accrued interest for subsequent
purchases from Dr. Lord and Dr. Ransom, in several years
less time than was anticipated by the most hopeful. The en-
tire property is therefore now, and has been for years, unen-BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
61
cumbered. Thus the lot owners, small and large alike, have
an inalienable title, and a surety that their lots will be for all
time kept and cared for by the Association, except the few un-
commuted lots in the old park. These last, however, must even-
tually yield to the pressure of necessity, and come under the
general management so as to have uniform care with the rest.
A few figures will here be interesting and suggestive as to the
magnitude and importance of this enterprise. The original
cost of its real estate was about $185,000; expenditures to the
present time over $389,000; receipts in all ways over $373,000;
all of this being a permanent investment. Assets amount to
an additional $12,000, being money in the treasury, horses,
wagons, tools, implements, &c., &c. The lot-owners are up-
wards of two thousand five hundred in number, aside from sev-
eral thousand single graves. The individual proprietors of lots
have erected monuments, tombs and mausolea, to the value of
more than $1,000,000; so that nearly or quite $2,000,000 have
been already invested in Forest Lawn. Its funds are now, and
for all time will and must be, devoted, without the direction of
a dollar to private benefit of trustees or stockholders, of which
latter absorbent class there are none, to the increase and care
of the grounds for the sole benefit of the lot owners interested
in the cemetery.
As is well known, this cemetery is located on the Conjockety
creek about two and a half miles from the Court-house Square,
or the center of the business part of the city, and between Del-
aware and Main streets; each of which gives a noble approach.
The grounds are divided about equally into forest and lawn,
table and broken land, and a succession of knolls running par-
allel with the creek from southeast to northwest; giving a vari-
ety of approach that is not often found in similar places. It is
truly by nature a lovely spot, and is exceedingly beautiful since
laid out and occupied; and the extensive as well as costly im-
provements that have been and will be made in its vicinity,
have rendered its surroundings correspondingly beautiful. The62
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
great park adjoins it, and next are the extensive grounds of the
Insane Asylum; so that a large portion of the territory drained
by the Conjockety, from Main street to near the state dam
across the creek, is, and always will be, public ground.
The first interment in Forest Lawn was that of John Lay, Jr.,
who died on the tenth day of July, 1850, aged sixty years. He
was a most worthy citizen, who had been at one time distin-
guished for his great mercantile ability; but he went down in
the crash of fortunes of 1836, and ever after lived a retired life.
Early in the inception of the improvements at Forest Lawn, he
visited the place, and pointed out a certain knoll where he
wished to be interred when he should die; when that event oc-
curred, the liberal-hearted proprietor donated that spot to the
family. And so it came about that late one summer afternoon,
July 12th, 1850, the quiet of the place was broken by the entrance
of the first funereal train; and at the going down of the sun, as
the earth closed over the mortal remains of John Lay, Jr., began
the peopling of this new Necropolis of the Queen City of
the Lakes. On that occasion were heard for the first time in
this cemetery, the words of the lofty and impressive burial ser-
vice of the Episcopal Church, as Mr. Lay was consigned to his
final resting place, under the direction of him who had per-
formed this office for two generations of his fellow citizens; I
mean the late Mr. Loring Pierce, so many years our “city sex-
ton.” Since then, how rapidly has been fulfilled the saying of
the venerable and beloved rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral, who
officiated at that time, and, as he surveyed the place, bethinking
him of its intended purpose, exclaimed, “What a flood of grief
will here be poured out;” for a continual tide of departed cit-
izens has set thitherward.. It is worthy of remark that those
who first deemed it too remote and unfavorable a location, are
now foremost in beautifying it, and making it a place of at-
traction, rather than of dread. It is the cemetery of Buffalo;
and is especially so for all those who are not attached to the
Romish or Jewish faith. To this beautiful spot, the bodies ofBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
63
those interred in the village burying ground on Franklin street,
were removed; many by the hands of loving kindred were laid
beside others of their families; while those who were unrecog-
nized, and had none to care for them, were interred in a place
apart, and a suitable monument erected over them.
Some families have removed their dead from the Mathews-
and Wilcox and the Delaware and North street grounds, to
Forest Lawn; also some who buried on their own lands between
the city and the Plains. Of those who interred originally on
their own premises, and have had the bodies removed, I men-
tion Col. William W. Chapin, Judge Erastus Granger, John Col-
lins, William Hodge, Benjamin Hodge, Sr., Benjamin Hodge,
Jr., and Mrs. Ward Cotton. Neither the Sherwoods nor Mrs.
Rudolph Atkins’ family have removed their dead; those of the
latter rest at the “Old Homestead” on the Plains; of the for-
mer in a private burial ground on the Sherwood farm opposite,
from which all the bodies but those of the Sherwood family
have been removed.
Forest Lawn contains a number of public remembrancers of
the dead, as well as many private monuments and mausoleums.
Among the former is a plain obelisk, erected in the center of a
large square of ground containing those of the early dead who
were removed from Franklin Square. On it is a suitable in-
scription to their memory. A beautiful shaft has also been
erected to commemorate our firemen, in the new part of the
ground near the head of Linwood avenue. In the old part
there is a monument for Colonel Fay, an officer prominent in
military affairs some thirty years ago; and another to General
Bidwell, an officer killed during the civil war. Not far from
them there is a memorial erected by our patriotic townsman
Hon. Elbridge G. Spaulding, commemorating heroes of the
Revolutionary war. These various structures are rich in mate-
rial, and fine specimens of the elaborate work of the architect
and sculptor.64
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
THE MOUND-----A MYSTERY.
On the high ground of the Granger farm between Forest
Lawn proper, and the old homestead of that farm, there was
formerly a circular mound that contained many human bones.
Here, when a boy, sixty years ago, I used to pick up bits of
bones. There were then no entire ones, but a large quantity
of small pieces that had been plowed over again and again.
When buried, they must have had but a slight covering of earth.
Among the pieces were found some entire sound teeth. Tra-
dition said at that time that a battle had been fought near the
spot, by a race of people inhabiting this country, very many
years since, and long before the Senecas possessed it; as they
have no knowledge of that race of people, and know nothing
of how those bones came there.
soldiers’ burial places.
It is in the memory of some yet living that the American
bank of Niagara river at Black Rock and the banks of Conjockety
creek adjacent, were the grounds of several hard contested
battles in which many were killed and afterwards buried on the
battle-field. Many also were buried here who died of sickness
in the barracks of our Grand Battery and in the barracks on
the bank of Conjockety creek. There is no doubt that hun-
dreds of unknown soldiers are buried here, and as these grounds
have been plowed over again and again, it is impossible to detect
their individual resting places until excavations are made.
There ought certainly to be some provision for reinterring them
when found. The remains of many are also scattered along the
line of Main street from Flint Hill to the Terrace. All these
grounds are thickly strewn with the relics of a former war.
Bones of soldiers have been exhumed within the last few years
at the junction of Lafayette and Washington streets. They
have been found also on the Terrace near St. Joseph’s Col-
lege, on the bank of the river at Black Rock, and in various
places on Main street, and have been thrown about as play-BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
65
things for “ Peterkin and Wilhelmine ” as mentioned by Southey
in his poem, “ The Battle of Blenheim.” Time and the march of
improvement alone can bring to light the bones of the majority
of our dead soldiers, as the government was not so careful of
them formerly as now.
It would, of course, be impossible for me to identify all the
places in this region where our nation’s dead have been buried.
I may, however, point out some of the more prominent ones.
The Terrace.—During the war of 1812, or as it was for a long
time generally styled, the “ Last War,” there were many sol-
diers, and doubtless some military attaches of the army, buried
in and about the Terrace. There was a battery, erected on the
Terrace to defend the water approach by the channel of the
creek, near the opening about the foot of Genesee street. By
this approach, the wounded in the various contests of 1814 were
brought to the hospital on the Terrace, and the dead of the
hospital were buried near it.
I well remember, that when Church and Delaware streets
were graded, many skeletons were dug up during the progress
of the work; and one was in a coffin, and had military trap-
pings on, that indicated the wearer to have been a lieutenant irx
the army.
Sandy Town.—In 1814, when our army held Fort Erie, the
ferrying place across the river was near Sandy Town, which
was quite a noted spot. A number of wooden houses had
been built in rear of the beach, behind the immense sand hills
that existed in the early part of the century. Some of them
were used as hospitals for the sick and wounded as they were
brought from Canada; and the dead were buried in the sand
banks adjacent. Many bodies were washed out into the lake
in after years. I have .often seen them lying there exposed to
the gaze of the passer by, and human bones were even tossed
carelessly about with laugh and jest by those engaged in carting
sand to Buffalo.
As late as 1830, it was a common thing for the school boys66
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
to go there on a Saturday afternoon and dig for relics,—but-
tons, bullets, &c.; and often they exhumed the bones perhaps
of those to whom these belonged; and frequently portions of
muskets, grape-shot, and other war-like materials Were dug up.
But the great storm of October, 1844, washed away the sand
hills and then were plainly to be seen the traces of the- line of
huts, the foundations of the chimneys, officers’ quarters, &c.
All now is changed, and we doubt if a single relic of the war
could be found there.
Conjockety Creek.—While our Kentucky Riflemen were sta-
tioned on the south bank of Conjockety creek, in 1814, there
were many graves made near by for those who sickened and
died, and also for those who were killed in the battle that took
place there in that year; the firing of guns in which battle, I
distinctly remember hearing. There were some killed both of
the British and our own men, and their bodies were buried
there. Those soldier graves have all since been leveled. No
mark is left to designate them.
Black Rock.—Many graves were on or near the premises of
Col. William A. Bird, Sr. In the battle of July nth, 1813, at
Black Rock, in which Col. Bishop was killed, and Capt. Saun-
ders was wounded and taken prisoner by our men, there were
eight British and three American soldiers killed; and they were
buried on the brow of the river bank, back of Col. Bird’s house.
From his residence south as far as Albany street, there were
at the close of the war many grave-mounds, which since that
time have all been leveled. In fact, I am informed by those
who were there at the close of the war, that there were very few
vacant lots in Black Rock, between Conjockety creek and
what is now Fort Porter, that did not contain some soldiers’
graves.
The Grave in the uPark Meadow.”—Gen. Smyth’s Regulars
were encamped in the fall and winter of 1812, on “ Flint Hill.”
This hill, already mentioned (page 64), is a rise of ground over
which Main street passes, from the crossing of the ParkwayBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
67
north to Chapin street. Its name was derived from the fact
that the rock here and in the region round about comes very-
near to the surface, and even frequently crops out above it.
Including and beyond it north-eastward were the Buffalo Plains
mentioned herein (page 52 and elsewhere.) The troops of Gen-
eral Smyth remained at Flint Hill until the following spring.
During this time, there prevailed among them a typhoid epi
demic. Deprived as they were of comfortable hospitals, and a
sufficient supply of medical agents, it carried off about three
hundred of them. They were put into plain pine board coffins,
furnished by William Hodge, Sr., and temporarily buried near
the south line of the Chapin place; but the rock came so near
to the surface that their graves could not be more than about
a foot in depth. The ensuing spring they were removed some
distance, to the north side of the farm, where the ground was
a sandy loam and easily dug. Leave to bury them there being
given by the respective owners of the farms, Capt. Rowland
Cotton and Doctor Daniel Chapin, they were deposited directly
on the dividing line between these farms, in one common grave.
Doctor Chapin planted two yellow willows, one at each end of
the grave, which have become large trees, and are yet growing;
the grave itself remaining undisturbed to this day.
The Government ought to erect a handsome monument to
their memory; and while this would commemorate these un-
known soldiers, who gave up their lives in a more horrible
manner than on the ensanguined battle-field, it would ornament
the park, in which enclosure they are; the grave being about
eighty rods north-northwest from the park stone-quarry, not
far from the middle of the Park Meadow.
Dr. Chapin’s place was owned and occupied by the Chapin
family, from a very early day until not many years since, when
it was sold to the present owner, Elam R. Jewett, Esq. The
people of this city are much indebted to the Doctor, who was
one of the pioneers of Buffalo, for the good taste and judgment
exercised in clearing up his farm. Coming on to it in 1806,68
BUFFALO CEMETERIES*
and ever having an eye to the beauty of native scenery and
landscape, he left and always preserved with care, groups and
scattered trees of various sizes and kinds, where it would add
to its beauty; and we in our park enjoy the benefit of his sen-
timent and forbearance. He was imbued with the idea of the
poet who says, “ Woodman, spare that tree; ” and when he
could, he always had trees left untouched by the ruthless axe,
in order that man and beast should benefit by their shade, and
they with their primitive grace ornament his beautiful farm.
His son, the late Col. William W. Chapin, always protected and
preserved those trees with truly reverential and pious care, in
memory of and respect for his honored father, who left the in-
heritance of the whole farm to him on his decease. Without
that inherited taste, he, like most of the early settlers, would
have denuded the land of every tree; and that portion of our
park would have been a barren expanse of mere farming land;
for a large portion of this old farm now constitutes the most
interesting part of our beautiful park. As one rides through
it, especially that portion I speak of, he cannot help noticing
those groups of trees and scattered monarchs of the forest
within and on the borders of the extensive Park Meadow;
beautiful reminders of those thoughtful and tasteful former
proprietors.
In this connection it would not be right to omit a notice of
the soldiers’ burial place at
Williamsville.—About six thousand of our army raised dur-
ing the first year of the war of 1812-15, and sent on to protect
our frontier at Buffalo, went into winter quarters at Williams-
ville village, eleven miles north of Buffalo. Their encampment
at that place was just north of the main road, and contiguous
to the village, on the extensive premises then owned by the
enterprising milling and merchant firm of Juba Storrs & Co.
This ground continued to be occupied by our soldiers more or
less during the war. Sickness, as is usual in camp, prevailed
among them; and some two or three hundred died and wereBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
69
buried on the grounds adjacent. Since then the village has
spread, covering the ground where they were buried, and long
since not a vestige of a grave was left to be seen. There has
been no one to look after or care for their bones when exhumed,
as they often were, in excavating cellars or making improve-
ments such as are necessary in a growing village.
There were quite extensive barracks built on the bank of the
Eleven Mile creek, a very healthy, eligible place; it being re-
tired from the immediate scenes of conflict, and about one mile
above the village. It continued to be our general hospital for
sick and wounded soldiers during this war.
During the three years of the conflict, many of our soldiers
died, and were buried at the side of a field near by. The
ground that contains their remains comprises about half an
acre, lying on the southwesterly side of a public road; the
Eleven Mile creek running parallel and adjoining.
Two of our townsmen, Col. John Bliss and John B. Evans,
feeling an interest that this ground should never be disturbed
or encroached upon, procured the title by a warranty deed from
the owners, John Haskel and wife, to themselves, dated August
6th, 1851, and duly recorded. They have both since deceased,
leaving the title in their heirs. The number of our own sol-
diers buried on this ground is supposed to be three hundred or
more; and in one retired corner lie nearly one hundred of our
enemies who were wounded, taken prisoners and died. Many
of the latter were captured at the desperate sortie the British
made at Fort Erie, August 15 th, 1814, and the blowing up of
the magazine. There were several hundred prisoners taken at
this encounter; many of them were wounded most horribly,
having been blown up when the magazine exploded.
On the second day after the sortie, I saw a number of wagon
loads of those blackened and maimed British soldiers, as
they stopped in front of my father’s house on their way to
the hospital.
Recently with one of the oldest residents of the town, Hon.70
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
T. A. Hopkins, I visited this burying place. There was not a
slab or monument of any kind to be seen to designate the
graves. Only the uneven hillocks mark the spot that contains
the bones of our unhonored dead.
This ground is a little elevated from the surrounding land
and road adjoining. On the border of two sides stand ten
sugar maple trees, from one and one-fourth to two feet in diam-
eter; all but one in a fine healthy condition. I have no doubt
they were planted there by the comrades of those whose bones
now occupy this ground. The tenth tree is in a state of decay,
and like many of the human race is beginning to die at the top.
It is known only to a few living witnesses that this spot of
ground contains the graves of some of our dead soldiers. Our
Government ought to erect at this beautiful, retired place, a
suitable monument to their memory, and provide for removing
thither the skeletons of others, when found in excavating in
the village.
Fort Porter.—There is a burying ground here for United
States soldiers dying while stationed at Buffalo. The first in-
terment was made in 1867. Up to February, 1878, there had
been sixteen burials, all at the north corner of the ground.
It was my original intention to include in this account only
the burial places which belong to the early history of our city;
having especially in mind the spots where our dead soldiers
have been interred. I might therefore here conclude this
paper. But I have decided to make it answer more perfectly
to its title, by adding such information as I could gather con-
cerning all the burial places hitherto and now existing here,
and in the immediate neighborhood, even though I might be
able to give, little more, if anything, in some instances, than the
name. For the information thus embodied, I am in a large
measure indebted to our fellow citizen, Mr. Nicholas Ottenot,
the extremely painstaking and accurate Secretary of the Ger-BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
71
man and French Catholic Cemetery at Pine Hill, and to the
careful inquiries of Rev. Albert Bigelow.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERIES.
Of these there have been and are quite a number. I men-
tion these in order of the times of opening for use.
Old St. Louis.—This was situated in Edward street, near
Main. Burials commenced here in 1830, in ground given by
Mr. Lecouteulx for the purpose. But in 1832, the city author-
ities prohibited them, as they had done in other cases, and the
use of this ground was discontinued. The bodies were, so far
as they could be discovered, removed to the then new grounds
next below mentioned; and the place became the site of the
priest’s house.
New St. Louis-—Thus it is proper to distinguish the lot re-
ferred to (page 55 above) as set off from the city Potter’s Field.
It is situated between North and Best streets, having eighty-
eight feet front on each; being a strip taken from the west part
of the original five acres. It contains perhaps an acre of ground,
more or less. It was opened in 1832, and closed in 1859.
Old St. Mary s.—This is situated on the southeast corner of
Johnson and North streets. It was opened in 1845, and closed
in i860. It contains about one and one-half acres. Many
bodies have been removed to the new ground at Pine Hill;
though the place has not been devoted to any other purpose,
and bodies are yet lying there.
St. Francis Xavier.—This ground is at North Buffalo (Lower
Black Rock.) It was opened about 1850, and is still in use.
It is situated near the crossing of Bird street by the Falls
branch of the New York Central Railroad,, and contains about
two acres. St. John’s church, North Buffalo, has also use in
common of this ground.
St. Joseph's;—This ground is situated at Elysville on Buffalo
Plains, just south of the poor-house—about five miles from the
Buffalo post-office. It was opened in 1850, and is still used.
It contains about six acres.72
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
Holy Cross.—This cemetery is at Limestone Hill, South Buf-
falo, about four miles from the post-office. It was opened in
1855, and contains about eighty acres.
It is distinguished as being the Bishop’s cemetery, as the
title is solely in him. In this it is different from all the other
Roman Catholic grounds, which are either under the State law,
incorporated and held by trustees, or are owned by the various
parishes whose names they bear.
This cemetery is also peculiar in that it is used exclusively
for the burial of those of Irish birth.
United German and French.—This is used for the burial of
Roman Catholics of these two nationalities, as the Holy Cross
is for Irish persons. It is also a corporation under trustees, as
noted in the preceding article. Besides this, it should be spe-
cially stated that somewhat as Forest Lawn has become the
chief Protestant and general cemetery, into that just named
have been merged all the Roman Catholic cemeteries which
were within the city limits, except that at Limestone Hill. Of
it, the original fourteen acres purchased in 1858, and opened
in 1859 for burial purposes, are now entirely filled with graves,
and the twenty-eight acres purchased nine years ago are rapidly
filling up. The grounds are laid out with much skill and taste;
and by a system of records of great minuteness and accuracy,
followed for twenty years, the Secretary is able to give in a
moment the exact place of burial, and numerous chief descrip-
tive and identifying facts concerning every person buried within
this cemetery, in that time. It contains in all forty-two acres.
Pine Hill, where this and several other cemeteries below
mentioned are located, is on the direct Batavia road (New Gen-
esee street) about a mile beyond the present city limits. It is,
on the whole, a very favorable location for cemetery purposes.
JEWISH CEMETERIES.
Bethel Cemetery (Polish.)—The Bethel Society, organized in
1847, purchased in 1849 a burial place, fronting on what is now
Fillmore avenue, between Batavia and Sycamore streets. TheBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
73
whole lot contains three and one-half acres. They opened a
portion of it only for burials.
The Jacobson Society (German) had previously been formed,
*
though imperfectly organized; and had obtained the use of the
above-named lot, it being then private property, for burial pur-
poses. The first person interred here was Mrs. Elias Bern-
heimer, wife of the owner.
The Bethel Society, after the opening of the Pine Hill cem-
eteries, obtained a lot there, about two and one-half acres in ex-
tent, and in 1861 opened the ground which is now known by
their name, in close proximity to the German and French
cemetery.
The Jacobson Society was succeeded by the Beth Zion, which >
also purchased a burying ground at Pine Hill, and when after-
wards the Temple Society was formed, and united with Beth
Zion as Temple Beth Zion, this ground became the property of
the united societies and is known as
Temple Beth Zion Cemetery.—This contains an area bounded
by sixty feet front and four hundred and fifty feet deep, and
can hardly be deemed adequate to the wants and ability of our
Jewish population.
The old cemetery lot on Fillmore avenue has been sold to
private parties, with express provision that the burial places
shall always be kept well fenced and guarded, according to the
excellent Jewish saying, “ Let the dead rest.”
MISCELLANEOUS CEMETERIES.
Cemetery of St. John (Pine Hill.)—This ground belongs to
Lutherans. It is located on a corner of the Pine Hill and Pine
Ridge roads. It contains several acres, bought in 1858. The
first interment took place July 6th, 1859.
Holy Rest or Old German Lutheran Trinity Cemetery (Pine
Hill.)—This contains three acres, and was opened in 1859.
Zion Church Cemetery (Pine Hill.)—This belongs to the con-
gregation known as the German Evangelical Reformed Zion74
BUFFALO CEMETERIES.
Church. It contains four acres, and was opened about 1859.
The Salem Evangelical Mission, of Zion church, also occupies
a part of this ground.
Mount Hope Cemetery (Pine Hill.)—This ground is the prop-
erty of Mr. Rapin, and is appropriated to burials without re-
spect to nationality or form of religion.
Howard Free Cemetery (Pine Hill.)—This is a private ground,
devoted exclusively, however, to burials from the country be-
yond. It is not like the rest, a city burial place.
Concordia Cemetery.—This, as its name imports, is in fact a
union ground. It is situated on Genesee street, between the
New York Central and Erie Railway (Niagara Falls) crossings.
It comprises fifteen acres, bought in 1858, and opened for use
in 1859. The grounds are appropriated as follows:
1.	The German Evangelical St. Peter s congregation use five
acres.
2.	The German Evangelical St. Stephen s congregation, five
acres.
3.	The First German Lutheran Trinity congregation, three
acres.
4.	The keeper’s premises occupy the remaining two acres.
St. Matthew's United Church Cemetery.—This is located on
Clinton street, near the Sulphur Springs Orphan Asylum. It
is pleasantly situated, having a creek on its northern side, di-
versifying the view; and the ground is well laid out and kept,
being planted with fir and shade trees. It contains ten acres,
and was opened in 1875.
German Methodist Cemetery.—This belongs to the Black Rock
German Evangelical M. E. Church, North Buffalo. It is situ-
ated on Bird street, and contains about five and one-quarter
acres. It was opened in 1870.
Reservation Cemetery.—This is the old Indian church bury-
ing ground, on the continuation of Seneca street, and has with-
in the general enclosure, of which it forms a part, the grave of
the celebrated Indian Chief, Red Jacket. This chief, contraryBUFFALO CEMETERIES.
75
to his own decidedly expressed will, was buried with Christian
rites; his wife being a Christian woman. Only his grave, how-
ever, is now in this cemetery, for his remains were removed to
the Cattaraugus Reservation, in 1852, and the exact place
where they lie is known only to his own descendants. It is to
be hoped that before long, as all objections on the part of his
people have been removed, a suitable place will be furnished
for their reception in Forest Lawn. His grave-stone, erected
by the actor, Henry Placide, is now among the relics possessed
by the Buffalo Historical Society.
As now, in conclusion, we glance over the past seventy-five
years, and sweep the eye around our present city, within the
circuit of five or six miles from the post-office, what strange
thought^ are awakened ! In that time nearly three generations
have passed away; and while now one hundred and fifty thous-
and people dwell upon the surface, we may almost literally say
that the ground occupied by these busy multitudes is, or has
been, well nigh everywhere, a burial place for the dead. How
true become to us the words of Solomon, and how impressive
the lessons which they suggest:
“ One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh,
but the earth abideth forever.”
And as we turn from our visit to the great City of the Dead, let
us the more reverently cherish their memory, and, emulating
their virtues, while avoiding their errors, seek to be ready, so
that when “our summons comes,” we may each
“Approach the grave
As one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”
/