Batavia Cemetery
Batavia Cemetery | |
---|---|
Batavia, NY | |
Country | US |
Coordinates | 42°59′36″N 78°10′17″W / 42.99333°N 78.17139°W |
Owned by | Batavia Cemetery Association |
Size | 9 acres (3.6 ha)[1] |
No. of graves | over 8,000 |
Find a Grave | Batavia Cemetery |
The Political Graveyard | Batavia Cemetery |
Batavia Cemetery is located on Harvester Avenue in
The first graves were some of the city's early settlers, moved from another graveyard that had become too full. Originally it was run by nearby St. James Episcopal Church, but when the cemetery became too big an independent Batavia Cemetery Association was formed. It has operated the cemetery ever since.
Grounds
The cemetery is located on the east side of Harvester, a block south of East Main Street (New York state routes
On the north is a residential neighborhood dominated by two-story wood frame houses from the 20th century. The portion of the right-of-way on the northwest is used as an unpaved parking area. Across Harvester is a large four-story brick industrial building. South of the railroad tracks is an area of mixed commercial and industrial use, with another large industrial complex served by the rail spur on the southeast.[1]
A
All vehicular access to the cemetery is via the double-leaf gates in the fence along Harvester. The main gate is in the center, with the cemetery's main internal access road leading due east from it to the rear corner. Secondary roads, most in the process of growing over, branch out from it at intervals.[1]
Along that road in the center of the cemetery is the only building, a small one-story one-
Richmond Mausoleum
A gate near the south end of the fence is no longer in use; the road from it is overgrown. Two gates near the northwest corner lead to a short semicircular drive with a large cast iron urn in the middle of its lawn. At its east end is the only mausoleum in the cemetery, the final resting place of Dean Richmond, a Batavia native who rose to become president of the New York Central Railroad. There are no other monuments or markers in the surrounding area.[1]
It is a red
A small set of steps on the west (front) end has a semicircular
Other monuments and markers
Two other decedents are commemorated with significant memorials, both in the form of tall pillars. Just southwest of the maintenance shed in the middle of the cemetery is a 32-foot (9.8 m)
At the southwest corner of the cemetery is a 37-foot (11 m) granite pillar with a statue of William Morgan atop it. A four-part inscription on all sides praises Morgan for his heroism in attempting to expose the secrets of Freemasonry and explains how the monument was funded with donations from Canada and 26 U.S. states and territories. Morgan is actually not buried there; he disappeared in 1824.[1]
There are many other obelisks, many located in the south central portion near Ellicott's. Most are in a classical mode, with the Gothic cross on the grave of David Evans, Ellicott's nephew, a notable exception. The majority of the graves have markers typical of the 19th century, from simple marble headstones for the earlier graves to more Romantic markers later on with a wide variety of motifs in their funerary art. There are also polished granite markers from the early 20th century, and one of white zinc.[1]
History
Batavia's first graveyard, the West Main Street Cemetery, was established in 1806, in the first years of settlement. Since it was next to Tonawanda Creek, which frequently flooded, it soon became apparent that a better location was needed. The decedents were removed to the new Batavia Cemetery, established in 1823 on what was the eastern edge of the village.[1]
A former bank building was moved from Ebenezer, near Buffalo, to serve as the maintenance shed. The original 88 plots were laid out in a grid, with the feet of the dead intended to face east, toward the rising sun. Additional land was purchased in 1829 and 1841.[1]
Eight years later, in 1849, the cemetery got its first large monument.
The Ellicott monument was exceeded in scale after the
In the cemetery's early years, two churches, St. James Episcopal and the First Congregational Society (later the First Presbyterian Church) were the joint owners of the cemetery. Despite the land purchases and some other improvements, maintenance of the cemetery as a whole was unsatisfactory for the plot owners. They joined together in 1880 and incorporated as the Batavia Cemetery Association, which has owned and operated it ever since.[1]
Two years later, in 1882, an organization called the National Christian Association Opposed to Secret Societies called attention to
By that time, the Richmond mausoleum was beginning to show signs of
The last significant land acquisition came in 1915, bringing the cemetery to its present shape and size. In the early 1950s the Central built a new main line south of the city, routing most rail traffic away from the Morgan monument. Both those tracks and the Erie's eventually became part of Conrail when the private railroads failed in the early 1970s; the former Erie tracks were removed. In 1998 one of the neighboring companies, which owns the right-of-way, transferred a stretch near the cemetery's northeast corner to it for future expansion.[1]
Notable burials
Decedents of note buried at Batavia include seven members of the
- Brooklyn, 1831–33.
- Albert Brisbane, (1809–1890). Early popularizer of the utopian socialist ideas of French philosopher Charles Fourier reflected in Brook Farm and several other experimental communities of the 1840s.
- Arthur Brisbane, (1863–1936). Son of Albert who became one of the most influential American newspaper editors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries under William Randolph Hearst, along with whom he is credited with creating yellow journalism.
- Benjamin Ellicott, (1765–1827). Brother of Joseph Ellicott and a U.S. representative for the area from 1817–19.
- David Ellicott Evans, (1788–1850). A former clerk for the Holland Land Company at its office in Batavia run by his uncle Joseph, he later became a state senator and served for two months as a U.S. representative before he succeeded his uncle as land agent through the company's dissolution in 1837.
- Joseph Ellicott, (1760–1826). As surveyor, land agent and highest-ranking representative for the Holland Land Company, he was effectively Western New York's regional planner for the first quarter-century of its settlement. He laid out the cities of Buffalo and Batavia, lobbied for the construction of the Erie Canaland served as a judge. His large obelisk near the center of the cemetery was built by his sister Rachel Evans when she had him reburied here in 1849.
- John Fisher, (1806–1882). A New Hampshire native who settled in Canada and established the first foundry in Hamilton, Ontario. After returning to the United States and settling in Batavia he served as a U.S. Representative for the 1869–71 term.
- George W. Lay, (1798–1860). Served as a U.S. Representative from 1833–37, a state assemblyman in 1840 and as chargé d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Sweden from 1842–45.
- New York State Attorney General.
- Anti-masonry movement and the creation of the Anti-Masonic Party.[4]
- African slave trade.
- Dean Richmond, (1804–1866). After taking over his family's salt business in his teens, he eventually got into railroads, helping persuade the state legislature to clear the way for the creation of the Central and its free competition with the Erie Canal. At the time of his death he was president of the Central. His widow had his elaborate stone 1869 mausoleum at the northwest corner of the cemetery rebuilt and expanded in 1882.
- Phineas L. Tracy, (1786–1876). Elected to succeed David Evans as U.S. Representative in 1827, he served through 1833, often taking Anti-Masonic positions. After leaving Congress he served as a presiding judge at county court.
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2016-07-01. Note: This includes Robert T. Englert (August 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Batavia Cemetery" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-01. and Accompanying 12 photographs
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-6840-3.