Exploring Bellefontaine Cemetery, St Louis, Missouri

in st. Louis near the banks of the Mississippi River is one of the jewels of American cemeteries founded in 18-49 it is noted for its many famous interments including explorer William Clark who along with partner Meriwether Lewis and Indian guides Sacagawea carved the first path from the American interior to the Pacific Ocean the cemetery is also home to many works of funerary art and architecture some of which are listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and are all very well documented for our exploration however let's focus on some of the lesser-known destinations come walk with me along the seldom used paths at st. Louis Missouri Bella Fontaine Cemetery buried beneath this monument decorated with symbols of military service our brothers William and Samuel McCree they continued a family military tradition started during the Revolutionary War by their father Griffith McCree William was a graduate of West Point and served in Canada during the War of 1812 his younger brother Samuel fought in Texas and Mexico under general Zachary Taylor during the mexican-american war originally from North Carolina the brothers were considerable landowners in the early days of st. Louis sadly both of their lives were cut short in separate cholera epidemics William went first in 1833 followed by Samuel in 18-49 Sadie Waters was the daughter of industrialist and oil magnate William H waters while in her teens Sadie traveled to Paris where she studied painting there her talents blossomed and her work consisting mainly of religious themes were exhibited in the Paris salon in the summer of 1900 Sadie became suddenly ill and passed away at the age of 32 her body was sent home to st. Louis and buried in the family plot a magnificent bronze likeness of Sadie frozen and everlasting slumber was placed over her gravesite in death the artist has become art [Music] on May 31st 1889 Gussie swine furred was traveling through Cambria County Pennsylvania when her train became stranded near Johnstown wordid reached the passengers that the South Fork dam had burst with only minutes to decide between life and death many ran for higher ground while others stayed behind the Johnstown Flood caused seventeen million dollars in damage a half billion dollars today and claimed over 2,000 lives including Gussie Schweinfurt who had chosen to wait out the flood in the Train her body was recovered and buried in her hometown of st. Louis by her husband of eight months [Music] and Henry Hitchcock was a lawyer who served as judge advocate in General Sherman's wartime staff his diary during the Atlanta Campaign is considered one of the most historically significant documents of the war also buried in the plot is Henry's brother Ethan who served presidents McKinley and Roosevelt as ambassador to Russia and a Secretary of the Interior [Music] [Music] Thorton Grimsley was a businessman who produced spanish-style saddles that were popular with the first regiment of us dragoons through his success in business he saw to it that an area of land in st. Louis was set aside as a public park originally known as Grimsley's folly it has since been renamed Lafayette Park [Music] the man who built this monument was Tennessee and James Irwin Yeatman who came to st. Louis in 1842 he was involved in many enterprises most notably as the founder and president of the Merchants Bank but he was also a philanthropist who presided over the Western Area sanitation commission that aided soldiers returning from the Civil War Yeatman also helped establish Bella Fontaine Cemetery and for a time served as its president [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] Willson McGonagall of the United States Navy served in the Western theater during the early part of the American Civil War in 1862 he took command of the ironclad gunboat USS st. Louis and patrolled the Mississippi River near Memphis Tennessee McGonigle later took charge of a squadron of ironclads operating on the white river in Arkansas alternately between patrol duty he oversaw a gunboat conversions and fleet recruiting while on special assignment in Annapolis Maryland Lieutenant Commander Wilson McGonagall died of tuberculosis his monument depicts military and maritime themes Wilson's eldest son George McGonagall went on to have a long distinguished career in the United States Army the success and growth of st. Louis is owed in large part to the Mississippi River and the introduction of the steamboat in the 19th century the exploits of steamboat captain's were legendary one can almost think of them as the astronauts of their age Bela Fontaine Cemetery is the resting place of many of them like George Claybourne wolf as a captain of an Illinois packet company vessel he spent most of his life on the Mississippi he was also a shrewd businessman who saw the potential of using steam ships as saloons in all he managed 30 such establishments on the river upon George Wolf's monument is the image of one of his steamers gently gliding over the water for all time [Music] german-born composer Charles Ballmer who wrote under the name Henri Werner came to st. Louis and opened a music store with his brother-in-law additionally the partners published sheet music in May 1865 Ballmer had the distinction of being chosen to conduct the music for President Abraham Lincoln's funeral in Springfield Illinois Charles was also the longtime organist at Christ Church Cathedral in st. Louis [Music] [Music] being from California I was surprised to come across someone in Missouri who played a big part in my home state's history infantry officer Richard Barnes Mason was a veteran of the blackhawk and the mexican-american wars in 1847 he was promoted to Brigadier General and assigned as the 6th military governor of California the year following his assignment he sent an official report to President Polk detailing the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill it was this report that triggered the California Gold Rush in 18-49 after leaving California he was sent to Jefferson Barracks in st. Louis it was there that general Mason contracted cholera and died on July 25th 1850 [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] this monument belongs to industrialist Charles Henry Peck aside from interests and Natural Resources banking and railroads he was an architect and a builder he died in 1899 on the eve of the 20th century but in so many ways his hand guided the city towards a prosperous future [Music] [Music] [Music] this family mausoleum was constructed in 1907 by Frank cake fashioned to appear like an ancient Egyptian temple complete with two sphinxes guarding the entrance it's no wonder that Kate along with his partner Zac tinker built some of the finest theaters and movie palaces from st. Louis to Buffalo [Music] you [Music] Peter Ochs was the maker and seller of fine caramels chocolates and sweet meats he went into business in 1865 and the people of st. Louis came to know that if the label had his face on it they were getting the very best [Music] the story behind this monument is of a man determined to have the woman he loved in one form or another pharmacist Hermann loyalties was visiting Italy when he fell madly in love with a beautiful young actress when she turned down his proposal of marriage he returned home brokenhearted but determined he commissioned a sculptor to recreate her likeness in the form of a 12-foot statue Herrmann passed away in 1921 and in his will he directed that the statue of his love be moved to the family's plot in Bellefonte [Music] any words I choose to describe delafontaine seem inadequate even the images taken by my camera failed to capture the sense of wonder and I felt while I was there but to be honest those feelings seemed to run on an undercurrent of frustration frustration not for the mosquitoes or the weather that was alternately rainy and hot nor the place itself no it was for that mysterious abstract concept that vexes us all time or the lack thereof my visit here was a way to kill a couple hours before I had to be on a flight back home to California I had no idea there would be so much to see over one hill was another and beyond that another and so on and upon each of them were more sites beckoning me to come and explore before long I realized I was lost and each attempt I made to get back to where I started only took me further in another direction in moments like this the mind plays tricks the distant noises of cars and trucks fade away until all you hear is the wind all around our moss covered stones marking the places of countless broken hearts that are now long forgotten it makes one wonder when the last time someone stood here who knew that person who last wept for them in the grave [Music] it almost makes you forget about the ticking clock airline schedules and the family and job that are waiting for you almost time is an unsympathetic companion that doesn't yield for dreamers as the light fades behind its veil of clouds I tell myself that the time has come to go while a voice in my head whispers stay but right on cue as if the universe planned it this way I see my rental car through the trees it's due back in a couple hours switching off my camera I am suddenly aware of the noise of the outside world that undercurrent of frustration reaches the surface and as I walk back to the car it's like slogging through quicksand because there's still so much that I haven't seen with a heavy heart I take one last look at Bella Fontaine it's so hard to leave and just then I hear my phone it's a text from the airline time to go as I pass through the front gate and I'm about to enter traffic I say to myself I'll come back someday I will walk here again [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you for watching and be sure to subscribe to my channel today for more grave explorations

Channel: Grave Explorations

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Length: 23min 17sec (1397 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 21 2017