St. John's Cemetery, Cleveland

St. John's had been the cathedral's parish graveyard. It is across the street from the City of Cleveland's Woodland Cemetery. There is a speed camera on the road between them, west of E.71st.

The first resident priest, John Dillon†1836 is buried at St. John's now (he had been first buried at Erie Street Cemetery, then in the cathedral), he shares a plot and stone with a Fr. James Conlan†1875. They were both born in County Leitrim, Ireland.

In the mid-XIXth century cemeteries were created outside towns. The city limits had been at what is now called East 55th, and then Willson Avenue. In 1906 many streets were renamed, so that police, firemen, postmen and others could find addresses more easily. This was one of the many reforms of Mayor Tom Johnson. Most streets that ran north-south were given numbers and designated as 'streets', whether east or west of Public Square's Ontario Street. Many streets that run west-east are designated 'avenues'. There are anomalies from old usages. East 9th Street used to be Erie Street. That is why Erie Street Cemetery is on 9th Street, and Willet Street Cemetery is on Fulton Road.
Maher Mausoleum 1876, entrance cement blocked up. Grass freshly mowed. Small forest and pasture growing on the walls, and roof.
In a previous essay, i wrote: “It was very important, and very promoted for Catholics to be buried only in hallowed grounds, which usually meant Catholic cemeteries.” Cleveland's Catholic cemeteries are not discount operations, and over the years there has been financial irregularities in the management of funds. It also a great place to hide stuff.

Old Cuddleback

To the west of Vermilion, Ohio is Orchard Beach. It has a cemetery on Rte. 6/ Rte 2/ Lake Road and Risdon. There is no fence, no name. It is called Orchard Beach, or Old Cuddleback Cemetery. The grass is mowed. There are less than an hundred stones. Some are broken. Some are illegible. Some only the first name is clear, as Elizabeth above. The oldest visible burial date is 1824, someone was buried in 1816 [someone has made a careful research of these, not me]. The last is from 1890. David Johnson was born in 1790 and died in 1890, his wife in 1833. There are few stones after the 1850s. Most are thin upright slabs made from soft stone. The graveyard was not much more than utilitarian burying ground. Some people were born nearby, others from the east (Connecticut and New York). Some people were Cuddlebacks, and their relatives, hence Old Cuddleback Cemetery. There is a Charles Hurlbut, i wonder if he is a relative of Hinman B. Hurlbut. There is a state marker for Lester Pelton, he is buried in a different cemetery. There are few with ornament. This one for Lucias Wilson has four stars, and a stylized weeping willow. In the antebellum XIXth century this was a very popular sign for mourning. There are a few others in this cemetery.

Cholera Cemetery

Some years ago, in my very short teaching career, i assigned to the high school science classes a book to read. I did not think much of the education courses i took at university. One point that some classmates brought up was, that, every class should be a reading class. I taught in a very strange school, with a very different pupil population. I would describe it as teaching at the nut house, or having the emotionally disturbed children of financially gifted parents. I was not happy. I saw the children of the bourgeois, and the assumptions of their relatives, and i felt how one could be contemptuous towards them.

Curriculum courses were not helpful. What i needed was abnormal psychology, aberrant psychology. I took one class in educational psychology, that was insufficient. It has been many years, i think one course was abnormal psychology, but it was forensic.

Well these students did not do well with textbooks, so i had them read well written books by scientists. I had one class read, King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz; one class read, The Panda's Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould; one class read, The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson; and here is where i got in to trouble, the one class, Rats, Lice, and History by Hans Zinsser. [i made the mistake of lending that book, it had all my notes written on the margins, i have not seen that book in 25 years] Unfortunately, i think i would get in trouble to-day, on account of the increased, and militant stupidity. Carson is anathema to the chemical companies and, therefore Republicans. Gould was a propagandist for evolution, and privately an atheist. They were all good writers, teachers, and scientists; but that is not important to idjits and teabaggers, if anything it is grounds for attack.

Zinsser's book was objected to because of its title. It also dealt with the germ theory of disease. Now, we are living with politically active, and vengeful people who deny science (and history). These people were not on that bandwagon, then. During the course of the XIXth century there were several pandemics of cholera. John Snow studied the locations of death in London, On the Mode of Communication of Cholera. First in 1849, and a second edition in 1855 (with an appendix for the 1854 epidemic). Snow did not believe disease was caused by bad air (miasma). He found it was by bad water. The Broad Street Water Pump was killing people in 1854. It was three feet from a cesspool.

A few years later [1861] Louis Pasteur (and some others) formalised the germ theory of disease. Certain micro-organisms caused disease. Many people did not believe that then [some do not now]. Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which produces a toxin that infects the intestine, which pumps out diarrhoea in such volume, that death occurs within the day.

Cholera, for centuries or millennia, was restricted to Bengal. In the XIXth century it travelled, by land and sea. A ship flying a yellow flag was giving signal cholera was aboard. Port cities were very susceptible. The United States was first visited by cholera in 1832. In 1849 Cincinnati had 8,000 deaths, and many people abandoned the city. Ohio's first State Fair was cancelled. James Polk had just finished his presidency, he died of cholera on 15 June 1849 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sandusky, Ohio was a port town. They have a cholera cemetery, it is not the only one in Ohio; but in may be the biggest in the country. The cholera was active in Sandusky from 1 July to 7 September 1849. As the state plaque [Erie County loves plaques, there are state markers, county plaques, organisational plaques, and so on; the density based on population is very high] reads, “Of the city's 5667 people in 1849, 3500 fled, and 400 of those remaining were victims of cholera. Most are buried here...The scourge came again in 1850 and 1852...” The numbers on the monument are different, and slightly vaguer.

The cemetery was immediately neglected, and abused variously. In 1924 it was rehabilitated, and a bronze pillar monument erected. The park is just west of the center of town, in a run down neighborhood.

Besides, the state marker, and monument, there are two high birdhouses, several trees and three military stones for Revolutionary War veterans, all with the surname, Ransom. Two are Connecticut veterans [Sandusky was a part of Connecticut's Western Reserve]. Two of them died on 3 November 1840. There are no current stones for anyone else. Yet, other pre-cholera burials took place, including that of a one term Democratic congressman, William Hunter.

You've gotta see the General

To Woodland Cemetery i came on a fluke. I was noticed, first by one woman, then by a second. And at both incidences, i was just about to hop into the flivver and go home. They were both enthusiastic volunteers, and ambassadors for Woodland Cemetery. They catalogue, and help maintain the once premier Cleveland necropolis.

The second lady, was extremely eager to talk. By happenstance, my current street of residence had been her old street of residence. She gave me a tour. We had a two vehicle caravan about the cemetery. She spoke of the denizens, and the ground hog [woodchuck] problem [they are digging up graves], former vandals and grave robbers, and other interesting things. We spoke about war, and the ravages it does to the combatants. But, most insistently, “You've gotta see the General”, or really his monument. I did, and was quite pleased.

It was a four sided pillar. Donald McLeod, could the name be any more Scottish? And right behind him, across one street had been Holy Trinity. Across the other street, a Catholic Cemetery. Donald was an Unitarian. Well, one face tells you Donald was born at Fort Augustus near Inverness [by Loch Ness] Scotland, on the 1st of January 1779. Now, that was its new name after the disaster of Culloden 1746. The old name, for the wee village, was Kiliwhimin [Cill Chuimein]. It was newly named after the Butcher, Duke of Cumberland, William Augustus, third son of William II.

McLeod lived 100 years, 6 months and 21 days. What did he do for a century? How did he get to die in Cleveland? Well, a part of the story is on another face:

A soldier in the campaigns of the Duke of Wellington. And a participant in the burial of Sir John Moore. A British officer at the Battle of Waterloo. And in the American War of 1812. Major General of the Patriots in the Canadian Rebellion of 1837.

France under Napoleon Bonaparte wanted the control of Europe. The Peninsular [Iberia = Spain, Portugal] War was fought from 1807-1814. The British were first lead by Lt. Gen. Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington). He was recalled, and the Scotsman, Lt. Gen. John Moore took command. He died after being struck by cannon shot at the Battle of Corruna, in Galicia, Spain on January 16, 1809.

McLeod had attended the University of Aberdeen. In 1803 he joined the British navy. He joined the 42nd Highlanders, infantry in 1808. His unit was active in Spain, and Portugal. They were sent to Canada. Sgt. McLeod participated in Battle of Lundy's Lane (Niagara Falls, Canada) July 25, 1814. He also participated at Queenston Heights, and Crysler’s Farm. The regiment came back to England, then Waterloo. June 18, 1815 Napoleon fought his last battle. The newly created, Duke of Wellington led the British. The British, the Dutch, and four German states ended Napoleon's return to power.

In 1816 McLeod settled in Prescott, on the St. Lawrence, across Ogdensburg New York. He became a teacher, publisher of a newspaper, and a militia major. In 1837 rebellions broke out in Lower Canada (Papineau's)[Quebec], and Upper Canada (Mackenzie's) [Ontario]. The Rebels (Patriotes, Patriots) wanted a responsible government, they were in opposition to the Tories (Conservatives) and the Crown. The Tories trashed his printing press. McLeod escaped to New York state.

He became a brigadier general overseeing 500 men. On the second day of the March, a US colonel, and his troops took all their weapons. February 24, 1838 he reached Windsor. Four hundred British troops wee waiting, they had been notified by the American General Hugh Brady. McLeod and his, now, 300 had six muskets, and one cannon. They retreated to the American side, and were arrested.

The Canadians in the US formed a Hunters Lodge in Cleveland, and one in Rochester. They were imitating masonic structure. McLeod was appointed Secretary War, and Major General, in Cleveland. In 1840, the US ended these lodges, and other Canadian organisations; also the government in Canada was improving. The rebellions were put down. Self-rule was still a generation away [July 1, 1867].

McLeod wrote a book: A Brief Review of the Settlement of Upper Canada by the N. E. Loyalists and Scotch Highlanders in 1783; and of the Grievances which Compelled the Canadas to have recourse to Arms in Defence of their Rights and Liberties in the Years 1837 and 1838. Together with a Brief Sketch of the Campaigns of 1812-'13-'14: With an account of the Military Executions, Burnings, and Sackings of Towns and Villages, by the British, in the Upper and Lower Provinces, during the Commotion of 1837 and '38. By D. McLeod, Major General, Patriot Army, Upper Canada. Cleveland: F. B. Penniman, 1841.

In 1846 the British pardoned the surviving rebels. Some had been hanged, more were sent to the prison colony of Australia. McLeod returned to Canada, later coming to Cleveland. Where he died.

pro patria mori

To be born in one land, and to die in another. On a gravestone, it is not a novel inscribed; but in a few characters a story is limned. An historian, an antiquarian, or some sort of researcher may be able to uncover more details. One could search for relatives to interview. Often, after the passage of a certain number of years, no one knows more than the marks inscribed. Yet, those marks have some instructive value. St. John's Cemetery, Cleveland. Sargeant James Kelly. Company B, 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Wounded at Gettysburg. July 3, 1863. Born in Ireland March 3, 1836. Died July 7, 1863. May his soul rest in peace.
Kelly was an immigrant to America [when did he arrive?]. He died four days after being wounded in the most famous of that war's many, many battles — Gettysburg. The name is Irish. The stone has the clover, the Irish will have you know, is the shamrock. The stone also has a cross, and sits in a Catholic cemetery. It was very important, and very promoted for Catholics to be buried only in hallowed grounds, which usually meant Catholic cemeteries.
Woodland Cemetery, Cleveland. 7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. War for the Union 1861-1865.
Woodland Cemetery was the City of Cleveland's most important public cemetery in the XIXth century. It opened in 1853, and was conveniently available for the war dead. Near the main entrance there are two large monuments for two regiments [23rd, 7th] of infantry. The one for the 23rd was dedicated on August 1, 1865, just a few months after the end of combat. The names of the war dead are written on all four sides, of the lower portion, of the monument. The number is almost evenly divided by those who died in action, and those that died by disease. Remember, the four horseman are war, famine, death, and pestilence.

The other [1872] is harder to read, for the engraving in the color of stone. Raised lettering is easy to read. It has four freshly restored, union painted, rifled cannons [West Point Foundry] defending it. The regiment was infantry.

That war had many names, but in Cleveland, at that time, it was called 'War for the Union'. The Republicans were successful politically. There were no Republicans in the South. To-day, things have changed. The South is full of Republicans, and no Republicans would use the term—'War for the Union'.

Woodland Cemetery, Cleveland. Alfred J. Straka. Born July 5, 1895. Died May 26, 1914 at Vera Cruz Mexico in the service of United States Navy.

I heard Woodrow Wilson's guns
I heard Maria calling
Saying, "Veracruz is dying
And Cuernavaca's falling"
—Veracruz. Warren Zevon and Jorge Calderon

That Battle of Vera Cruz took place 21-24 April 1914. The Mexicans were having a civil war. The US occupied Vera Cruz to 23 November. Twenty two American servicemen were listed as dead. This fellow, presumably, was one.
Lake View Cemetery. John S. Allen 1893-1918. Private, Company M 18th Infantry American Expeditionary Force. Died from wounds received in action Argonne France.
The Battle for the Argonne Forest was the last offensive of the War to end all wars. It began 26 September 1918. It was the largest American engagement in the war. It was the only engagement for most Americans. It was the deadliest battle that Americans ever engaged in. America does not remember this one. This was the big one. The American Expeditionary Force (an honest name), fought along side the 4th and 5th French Armies, against the German Fifth. The Allied Forces were more than twice the size of the Germans, and suffered more casualties. The Americans were of a larger population than the Germans, and this was the first of their troops. The Germans agreed to an Armistice.

The only surviving veteran of World War I is an English waitress, that signed up in 1918. She is 110 years old, Florence Beatrice Green (née Patterson, born 19 February 1901).

Who's that stone?

Before this summer, i had been to Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, O., i think thrice. Once to see President Garfield's Monument, it was closed. Once a friend wanted to drive by Eliot Ness's stone. I stopped in to see the Tiffany decorated chapel. Once to drive from Mayfield to Euclid Avenue, while pointing out what a place it was. The trips were short.

Walking around with a camera, there is so much to see. It is a sculpture garden, and history museum. Graveyards are filled with the unknown dead, but this one has notable exceptions.
John D. Rockefeller, the man richer than Midas or Croesus, is planted here near a huge granite needle. Very near by, there is [maybe] the most pompous statue in Cleveland. Whatever one thinks of Cleveland, it is very plentiful in sights. People on tour, and they do tour, ask, “Who the hell is that?”

One sees a large mausoleum [which acts as a pedestal], reminiscent of the original at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, king, and satrap of the Carians in Anatolia, built by his queen/sister/wife, Artesimia II. On top, seated in a chair, is a statue of S.S. Stone, which sits as enthroned king of the cemetery as ridiculous as Yertle the Turtle.

Do the people, who walk or drive by, know who Silas Safford Stone was? Of course not, he was a real estate speculator, that became rich dealing to railroads, and the federal government. The Civil War was a marvelous way to get rich.