286 
PARK AND CEMETERY, 
CEMETERY NOTES. 
Miss Hester Ann Neely, a wealthy resident of Anderson, 
Ind., has ordered a monument to cost|to,ooo to be erected 
over the graves of her parents in Mt. Pleasant cemetery, a 
burial ground near Anderson that has been practically aban- 
doned. 
* » • 
Some of the lot owners of Calvary cemetery, St. Louis, 
Mo., have complained concerning the removal of the metaland 
other temporary decorations deposited by them on the graves. 
After a day or two these have been removed, hence the trouble. 
The rules of the cemetery prohibit such devices and the com- 
plainants have been referred to said rules. 
* » * 
The trustees of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass., 
in their 69th annual report, dwell upon the subject of crema- 
tion, which, they say, is growing in favor since the first crema- 
tion which took place in April last. From April 18 to the close 
of the year 50 bodies have thus been disposed of. The total 
number of interments in the cemetery is 33,412. 
« * * 
Under the will of the late Josiah Converse, the Stafford 
Springs Cemetery association, Stafford Springs, Conn., receives 
a bequest of $ 1,000 in cash and several acres of land adjoining 
the cemetery on the north. Mr. Converse, who was one of the 
wealthiest men in the town, gave the land which is now used 
for a cemetery and it has the reputation of being one of the 
finest rural cemeteries in the state. 
• * * 
Congressman Norton recently introduced a bill before 
Congress providing for the purchase of the confederate ceme- 
tery on Johnson’s Island, Sandusky bay, O. During the civil 
war the government leased 40 acres of land on the island for a 
prison for Confederate soldiers. Out of the 10,000 prisoners, 
220 died and there are now 206 graves on the island. The 
burials were made on private grounds and the bill calls for an 
appropriation of not more than $2,500 to purchase the five-acre 
plot. 
* jt- 
The annual meeting of Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburg, 
Pa., was held January ii. The total receipts from all sources 
were $87,254.39 which included the sale of lots realizing 
$69,439.05. The Permanent Improvement Fund is now $84,- 
973.76. There was expended by lot owners for improvements, 
$43,013.15. The amount expended in labor was $9,023.62. and 
for expenses including salaries, $6,748.23. In 1900 823 inter- 
ments were made bringing the total in the cemetery to 9,974. 
Rosendale valley cement is used in the cemetery. It has proved 
good for underground work. 
* » » 
Graceland Cemetery, New Castle, Pa., the new cemetery 
chartered and organized last fall consists of some 100 acres of 
land admirably adapted for cemetery purposes. Some $20,000 
was provided for immediate improvements, such as receiving 
tomb, entrance, etc., and one feature of the charter provides 
that $40,000 shall be set aside from the amounts realized from 
sale of lots, to be funded for permanent maintenance. The 
site embraces some fine scenic outlooks and a wooded section 
will be reserved for a park to which the public will at all times 
have access under proper restrictions. 
* « * 
A long looked for addition to Harmony Grove Cemetery, 
Salem, Mass., is now a matter of the near future— a memorial 
chapel. By the will of Mrs. Nancy Colwell Blake, a sum 
approximately $20,000 has been bequeathed to the trustees for 
the purpose of erecting a memorial chapel to her deceased son, 
George Harrison Blake. The conditions of the bequest are 
acceptable to the trustees and work will be begun as soon as 
funds are available. A sum of $3,000 for the endowment of 
her lot in the cemetery is also bequeathed. The chapel is to be 
called “The Blake Memorial Chapel.’’ 
* * * 
The annual report of Swan Point cemetery, Providence, 
R. I., gives an interesting account of the progress of work in 
that cemetery the past year. At the meeting it was voted to 
build a receiving tomb and afterwards at the discretion of the 
directors, a chapel and oflSce, providing also space for a crema- 
tory and its adjuncts. The president, in the course of compli- 
mentary references to the work of Superintendent Timothy 
McCarthy, and his brother who died last year, said: “In the 
care of the cemetery the superintendent was assisted by his 
brother, M. Joseph McCarthy, who performed the duties of his 
office for 24 years until removed by death on the 2d of April, 
1900. He served the cemetery with such cheerfulness and con- 
sideration for all with whom he came in contact that he won 
the affection of the proprietors and the confidence of the direc- 
tors, and enabled the superintendent to devote his time to the 
work in the field without any anxiety as to those which de- 
volved upon his brother. To both of them, each in his own 
sphere, the proprietors are indebted for a loving service which 
money cannot purchase and for which it does not pay, but 
which is appreciated by all who have been brought in contact 
with them.’’ The total assets of the corporation are $418,278.26, 
with liabilities $1600.28. The receipts for the year were $86,- 
657.66; expenditures, $86,465.91. The perpetual care and be- 
quest fund is now $296,068.15, and the permanent fund, 
$65,051,47. 
* • * 
The elaborate report of Mr. A. D. Smith, superintendent of 
Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Calif., of which he has 
favored us with a copy contains much interesting information 
and suggestions of value. The closing of the burial grounds of 
San Francisco has naturally diverted attention to adjacent 
cemeteries and Mountain View has added to its list of proprie- 
tors thereby. During the past year a considerable amount of 
land was prepared for sale and many improvements made. 
The sewerage system is now connected with the city drainage, 
so that only storm water needs to be provided for. Marked 
success has attended the system of caring for the improved sec- 
tions. A certain employee is held responsible for a section as to 
care and appearance. F:ach man writes his own record in the 
appearance of the section of which he has sole charge, and 
there is no dividing responsibility. Each section is provided 
with a roomy tool chest and a full complement of tools and 
implements of every kind and for every purpose. The system 
has resulted very favorably both in regard to care both of sec- 
tions and'tools. A new barn or storehouse, 40 ft. by 60 ft., 14 
feet high at eaves and 25 feet at peak, built of redwood and 
Oregon pine was erected and completed by the cemetery em- 
ployees and at a saving of several hundred dollars below the 
lowest bids obtained. The employes are now all neatly uni- 
formed. A telephone system has been carried through the 
grounds and has been found of great convenience. The Fi- 
nance Committee’s report shows that the perpetual care fund 
was increased during the year ending December 3:. 1900, 
$16,774 25 and the perpetual guaranty fund, $2,535.61. The 
total trust funds now amount to $150,260.61. Some 71 monu- 
ments and headstones were erected during the year. The F. 
M. Smith mausoleum, now in course of construction, will be a 
marked monumental feature of the grounds. The total burials 
now amount to 20,025. 
