USA > Indiana > Allen County > History of Allen County, Indiana, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 42
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On the 5th day of July, 1859, Jesse L. Williams, Hugh McCulloch, Charles D. Boud, David F. Comparet, Royal W. Taylor, Allen Hamilton, Alexander M. Orbison, John E. Hill, Pliny Hoagland, Alfred D. Brandriff, Ochmig Bird and Isaac D. G. Nelson purchased the property set forth in the Articles of Association, for the sum of $7,627.50, the title for which was to be taken in the name ol' Jesse L. Williams, for the use of the company, which was duly dceded to the President of Lindenwood Cemetery hy the said Jesse L. Williams, on the 14th day of May, 1860.
The land, when purchased, was in an exceedingly wild condition, nearly the whole ground heing covered with a thick growth of underbrush, and what is now the approach or entrance was an impassable marsh. About sixty-five acres off of
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100
HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY, INDIANA.
the south end of tho ground was put under fence, to be oceupied for burial and ornamental purposes. All within the inelosure adapted for burial purposes was surveyed into umeteen sections, designated by letters, from A to S, inclusive. Sections B, F and I were laid off into burial lots.
In accordance with the Articles of Association, the Trustees met at their office in Fort Wayne, on the 14th day of May, 1860, for the purpose of electing the first officers under the organization, which resulted in the election of Isaae D. G. Nelson as President, and Charles D. Bond as Secretary and Treasurer, which offi- ecrs have been continued to the present time. The only change in the Board of Trustees since the organization was the election of' Oliver P. Morgan, on the 8th day of August, 1860, in the place of David F. Comparet, who sold his interest to said Morgan and resigned as Trustec.
The whole expense incurred for improvement, at the time of the election, ineluding clearing, feocing, engineering, etc., amounted to $1,841.52, which, added to the first payment on the land purchase, made a total of $3,748.39, which had been advanced by the stockholders. On the 30th day of May, 1860, the grounds were duly set apart for sepulchral purposes, with solemn and impos- ing ceremonies.
In this connection, and as being identified with the early history of this enterprise, it is proper to say that John W. Doswell has been Superintendent and Landscape Gardener from the commencement, and to himu the cemetery is much indebted for the handsome improvements made upon the grounds. The Company is also very greatly indebted to John Chislet, Esq., Superintendent and Landscape Gardener of Alleghany Cemetery, for his skill and excellent taste in laying off the grounds originally, and for his muany praetieal suggestions in its management. To the Hon. Joseph K. Edgerton, the stockholders are under many obligatioos for the earefully drawn and well-digested Articles of Association, wbieh challenge the approval of every lot-holder, and also for valuable legal advisory information in the original organization.
Laying Of the Sections .- It has been the rule thus far to lay off alternate sections to be occupied for burial purposes, leaving the intermediate sections with most of the timber upon then. This adds somewhat to the expense of keeping up the grounds, but, at the same time, so scatters the improvements as to add interest to the diversified seenery in riding and driving along the avenues, and, at tbe same time, give future generations the benefit of lots equal, if not superior, to those now sold. These sections laid off for burial purposes were subdivided int > lots of different shapes, corresponding with the form and quake of the ground, varying in size fromu 300 square feet to as many thousand, to suit the wants aud abilities of different-sized families. Single interuients and smaller-sized lots are also furn- ished for the use of strangers and others not requiring full-sized lots. Ample provisions has also been made for the burial of the poor and friendless " without money and without price."
Adaptability and Fitness of the Grounds for the Purpose .- The selection of grounds for this use away from the busy throng, amid the grove and the forest, is so in keeping with the feelings of our nature to seek seelusion under affliction. that we are involuntarily reminded of the Patriarch Abraham, who, at the death of Saralı, said to the children of Heth, " I am a stranger and sojourner with you ; give me possession of a burial place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And Abraham came to her tent to mourn and weep for her ; and for four hundred shekels of silver he purchased the field of Ephron and the trees that were thereon, and the cave of Machpelah, which was at the end of the field, for a burying place." Jacob also said to his children, "Bury me not in Egypt, but with my fathers in the cave of Machpelah, that is in the field Ephron. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife, and there I buried Leah."
The Egyptians and Persians bury their dead also in large fields and plains surrounded by trees, and the ancient Germans buried their dead in groves eonse- crated by their priests. And even the Turks adorn their ecmeteries with beauti- ful avenues, studded with eypress to shade their walks. So in all ages and in all countries, to a greater or less extent, burial locations, decorated with trees, shrubs, plants and flowers, have heen made the resting-place of the dead. But it is only within a few years that the public mind has been directed to the location and con- struction of cemeteries in this country, upon a scale appropriate to the fitness of man's destiny and redemption.
The burial ground should not only the the cemetery for the dead, but also a seminary of learning for the living, when appropriately laid out in suitable lots with walks and carriage roads leading to bold seencry when it ean be obtained, and to each dell' or more bumble shady nook. When such grounds are hand- somely embellished and developed by the slight touebes of the hand of art and planted with trees, shrubs, vines, etc., many, perhaps, for the first time, will be moved with higher emotions and loftier conceptions of the Author of their being.
But not so with visits made to the deserted aul neglected graveyard as we hasten away after depositing the remains of some relation or friend, as if anxious to forget the spot and the sad scene, never to return, except to experience similar sensations. heightened by the contemplation that our own bodies must soon be treated with the same indifference and neglect.
Let us, then, make our own "Lindenwood" pleasant and attractive, where we may often go, with a pleasure not easily described, to contemplate the scenes of future bliss that await those sleeping around us. Here, under the shades of these stately monarchs of the forest, we can look out upon nature's wildwood, the grassy- lawn dotted here and there with groups of evergreens, interspersed with roses and flowers, to soften the heart and charm the soul-a secluded, cultivated scene, awaking no thought of pretension and display-but rather of simplicity, quiet security, affectionate remembrance, cheerful hope.
A Glance at the Future .- Notwithstanding the amount of improvements already made, the good work has scarcely begun. The graveling of the avenues and walks is a tedious and expensive job, hut will be prosecuted wbere most
needed, as fast as is practicable. Considerable filling up has to be done, timber removed off of some of the sections, etc. It is also the purpose of the Association to excavate two lakes, which ean be done without heavy expense, and, when eom- pleted, will add immensely to the beauty of the seencry which nature has so lav- ishly bestowed upon these grounds. They will be supplied with natural fountains of pure water, that will be seen flowing out at all seasons of the year.
A receiving vault is considered necessary to a well-regulated eemetery, but it is not indispensable. When the Company is in condition to construct it, they havo a beautiful spot for the purpose ; but it is somewhat expensive, and must be delayed for the present. Another improvement much needed is a suitable entrance gate to the ground, which should be a massive stone structure, flanked on one side with a neat lodge and bell-tower for the Superintendent, and on the other, offices for the use and convenience of the Company. The completion of all these, and others not enumerated, in addition to the regular business of the cemetery, will cost a large sum of money. It cannot be done at once, yet we have the assurance that it will be done, and most of it at no very distant day. The enterprise is no longer an experiment. It has been successful beyond the expectation of its most sanguine friends ; and, although the present liability of the Company amounts to about $8,000, all of which has to be paid within three years, besides refunding the stockholders, if they require it, still those who witnessed the dark hours of its early history and combated an opposition more of indifference than open objec- tion, the alarms of war that suddenly broke upon the country, a heavy debt and rapidly accumulating expenses, all conspiring to shake the confidence of the Com- pany and produce discouragement, certainly will see no cause for discouragement now. As they never faltered then, but, with a fixed determination, pressed on thic work and met every assessment for funds that was made upon them with a promptness and a determination of purpose that so generally accomplishes suc- eess, so they will see now that the good work goes on.
In brief, it is the purpose of those having this enterprise in charge, to use all the means, after payment of expenses, in beautifying these grounds that are to be made the last resting-place of us all, trusting that those who follow them will emulate the example, and will go on increasing the interest from generation to generation, until the humble spot, now so dear to some of us because of the ineidents and events of carly associations, begun as it was in the midst of a forest under gloomy and discouraging auspiees, will become, one day, one of the most attractive places of rural interest in Northern Indiana. No change in its objects or purposes can ever be made ; but it will ever remain as it was conscerated, with- out " let or hindrance," " the city of the dead."
Here in these groves, which were God's first temples, the dead are to be " buried out of sight," in the virgin soil that was never cultivated by man. It will be tbe " beautiful city," peopled with its thousands of voiceless tenants, and visited by its tens of thousands of living beings to witness the storied urn, the " animated bust," the noble obelisk, the mausoleum, the richly sculptured tomb, and the more plain and bumble slab, telling the brief story of a thousand lives. Here, also, will Flora gem the ground with her jewels, and perfume the air with her ineensc. Here the ecdar, the fir, the spruce, the box, the pine and the arbor vitæ, with other evergreens from many climes, emblems of immortality, and his- torieal trees, will mingle their shadows together. Here the cypress and the laurel will interlace their branches. Here. too, the mighty oaks with their giant out- stretched arms that have bid defiance to the frosts and tempests of a thousand winters, will still remain for generations as monuments of passing ages. Here, too, will be preserved and cultivated, with a view to the expanding of their wildest beauties, all the other varieties of trees and shrubs, to add to the many other charms that will ever gree these grounds. " May they never be marred by mis- taken taste or descernted by rude hands; but, beneath the verdant and flowering sod, beneath the waving foliage, amid tranquil shades where Nature weeps in all ber dews, and sighs in every breeze, and chants a requiem by each warbling bird, the dying generations of this growing city and surrounding country, will henec- forth be sepulchered."
Articles of Association,-In pursuance of the act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, entitled " An Act concerning the Organization of Vol- untary Associations and repealing former laws in reference thereto, approved February 12, 1855," the undersigned do hereby associate themselves together as a corporation, for the objects hereinafter specified :
1. The corporate name of the corporation shall be " The Lindenwood Come- tery."
2. The object of said corporation is to acquire, ornameut and dispose of, in suitable lots, land at or near the city of Fort Wayne, in the county of Allen, in the State of Indiana, for a publie cemetery for the burial of the dead, to be known as the Lindenwood Cemetery, at Fort Wayne.
3. The following described real estate has been purchased by the subscribers hereto for the purpose of said cemetery, the legal title whereof is now in Jesse L. Williams, viz. : Situate in the county of Allen, State of Indiana, being that part and portion of Seetion number four (4), in Township number thirty (30), north of Range number twelve (12) cast, which is included within the following metes and bounds, to wit: Beginning at the southeast corner. of said Scetion four, thence running west on the south line of said section twenty chains and nine links ; theuce north seventy-six chains twenty links, to the north line of said section ; thence east on said north line to the northeast corner of said see- tion nineteen chains ninety-five links ; thence south with the east line of said seetion seventy-six chains twenty links, to the place of begioning, containing one hundred and fifty-two acres and fifty-five hundredths of an acre, more or less, being lot number one (1), in the subdivision of said section, made by William Rockhill, Samuel Edsall and John M. Wilt, Commissioners appointed in the Allen Circuit Court, at the February term thereof, in the year 1853, to make partition of suid section, and to set off to Philip Pollard, in severalty, the one- third part in value of said section, and being the same real estate conveyed to said
101
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
Philip Pollard on the fifteenth day of September, 1853, by Joseph K. Edgerton, a Commissioner appointed by said Court, by deed bearing that date, and which decd is recorded on pages 204, 205 and 206, in minute-book, Chancery number two, in Clerk's office of said county of Allcu, the date of said record being Sep- tember 15, 1853, which real estate, on the completion of the record of these Artieles, is to be couveyed to said corporation for the purpose thereof.
4. Until the subscribers hereto are severally paid the amount of their advances for the purchase and improvement of said property, or released from their liabilities on account thereof, each subscriber shall be deemed an owner or shareholder in said corporation to the amount set opposite his name, and the shares shall be held and be transferable in such manner as the Board of Trustees shall pres- eribe ; and until the Board of Trustees shall otherwise by proper By- Laws provide, each subscriber, in any election of Trustees or Corporators, or otherwise, shall be entitled to one vote for each $25 by him subscribed ; provided, however, that when the said subscribers shall be severally re-imbursed the amount of their advance or liabilities for the purchase or improvement of said property. with the interest, or fully released from all such liabilities, all certificates of ownership of shares or stock in said corporation shall be surrendered and canceled, and the property of said corporation shall thereafter remain and continue a public trust in said corporation for the purpose herein expresscd.
5. The subscribers hereto and their successors, eorporators of said corpora- tion, shall annually hereafter, or oftener if necessary, fill by cleetion by ballot, from those who may be lot-holders iu the cemetery, all vacancies which may oceur among said eorporators, and may in like manner increase the number of corporators, so that the number thereof shall never be less than twelve nor more than twenty.
6. The powers of said corporation shall be vested in a Board of Trustees, con- sisting of five corporators, subscribers hereto, if living and willing and competent to serve, or their successors, chosen as above, to be elected annually by the corporation.
The first Board of Trustecs sball be Isaac D. G. Nelson, Jesse L. Williams, Hugh McCulloch, Pliny Hoagland and David F. Comparet, who shall hold office for one year, or until their successors are chosen. The Board of Trustees shall elect a President from their own number and a Secretary and Treasurer, and may, from time to time, appoint such other officers or agents as may be required to carry out the purposes of said corporation, and may fill any vacancy in the Board of Trustees in the interim between the annual elections, and may make all such by-laws and rules and regulations for the government of said cor- poration and the property thercof, and the care, management and disposal of said cemetery grounds as may be lawful and proper.
7. The first annual meeting of corporators for the elcetion of Trustees shall be held at the Clerk's office of the Allen Circuit Court, in the city of Fort. Wayne, on the first Monday of August, A. D. 1860, or sneh other day as the Board of Trustees way provide, and annually thereafter, at such time and place as the Board of Trustees may, from time to time, prescribe, who shall also pre- scribe the rules of election.
8. So soon after the organization of this corporation as practicable, the Board of Trustees shall provide for laying off, for burial purposes, so much of the land above described, conveyed to said eorporation, as shall be necessary and suit- able for such purposes ; and if there should be a surplus of said land not required, or not suitable for burial purposes, the same shall be sold at the discretion of said Trustees, and the proceeds thereof, when realized, be applied to the payment of any unpaid purchase-money for said land, and to refund to subscribers bereto, or their assigns, such money as they may have advanced for the purchase of said land, and the improvement of the burial grounds, with the interest thereon, and the residue of such proceeds, if any, be applied at the discretiou and under the direc- tion of said Board of Trustees, to the benutifying, protecting and improving said cemetery grounds.
9. The proceeds of the sale of said burial lots, and of any of the land not needed for burial purposes shall be applied as follows :
First. To the payment to the subscribers bereto, or to their assigns, the amount, with interest, they have already advanced, or may hereafter advance, for the purchase of the land above deseribed, or the improvement of the burial grounds, or to the payment of any obligation, or obligations, which the corpora- tors may execute for such advances.
Second. To the payment of the purchase- money due on said land, as it shall become due from the subscribers, or to the payment of any obligation or obliga- tions which the corporation may execute for the amount due on the purchase of said lands.
Third. To inelosing, ornamenting, improving and preserving the cemetery grounds and defraying necessary expenses, all of which shall be made under the direction and sanction of the Board of Trustees.
10. The corporate seal of said corporation shall be a plain, circular seal, impressed from a uretallie plate or die, with the inscription, " Seal of Lindenwood Cemetery."
In witness whereof, the undersigned hereunto interchangeably set their hands, at Fort Wayne, this 30th day of July, A. D., 1859:
1. D. G NELSON, Elm Park, $,1000 HUGH McCULLOCH, Fort Wayne, 1,000
ALLEN HAMILTON,
1,000
C. D. BOND,
1,000
J. K. HILL,
500
A. M. ORBISON. 500
R. W. TAYLOR, 1,000
J. L. WILLIAMS. 1,000
A. D. BRANDRIFF. 1,000
D. E. COMPARET. =
1,000
OCHMIG BIRD. - 1,000
PLINY HOAGLAND, 1,000
In addition to what has already been shown concerning this beautiful city of the dead, there is one other feature of peculiar interest-the number and magnificence
of the monuments which quark the last resting-places of some of our best- remembered citizens. Among these is one of especial note, perhaps the finest in Amerien, at least the most grand and elegant that ever crossed the ocean, the shaft being composed of pure Scotch granite. It was brought from Scotland to this country, to the city of Fort Wayne, transported the entire distance by water, at a cost of 825,000, and marks the spot where repose the remains of Col. George W. Ewing, in his day, probably, the utan best known among the business men and people of Allen County.
There are other monuments, however, less pretentious than that of Col. Ewing, costing from 82,000 to $10,000, in the grounds of this cemetery, memen- tos of the living consecrated to the loved ones departed-not the exhibitions of munificence, merely, but heart-offerings to the altar of holy associations.
OTHIER CEMETERIES.
There are other ericteries connected with religious, social and benevolent institutions, whose histories have a direct connection with the institutions them- selves, not being of a public character. Among these are the Ashduth Vesholom Congregation, Jewish ; the St. John's German Lutheran ; and St. Paul's, also German Lutheran.
GRAVEYARDS.
Immediately south of Wayne's fort, what is now Taber's Addition, was the burial plnee connected with the garrison, but was, also, a general burial place. Another place of burial was at the northwest corner of Columbia aod Clinton streets and immediately to the westward thercof.
Another was located where the basin of the canal crosses Harrison street ; this, however, was an ludian burial place. Mr. Price, in his History of Fort Wayne (p. 284), says of this place, " and often had been seeu, years ago, swing- ing from the bougb of a tree, or in a hammock stretched between two trees, tbe infant of the Indian mother; or a few little log inclosures, where the bodies of adults sat upright, with all their former apparel wrapped about them, and their trinkets, tomahawks, etc., by their side, could be seen at any time for many years, by the few pale-faces visiting or sojourning here."
Another burial-place, used by the French and Indians, was located immedi- ately east of the Methodist College and south of Wayne street. Rockhill street was run through this ground. [Brice, p. 316-317.]
Messrs. Barr & McCorkle, proprietors of Fort Wayne, in making their appropriation of lands for public purposes, set apart a tract four rods square as a free place of burial, and for church purposes. [Brice, p. 294.] This tract was located west of the present site of the Jail, and immediately north of Water street. " In subsequent years, Judge IIanna having purchased all the Barr & McCorkle claims here, and the lots donated, as in the foregoing, being laid off by Mr. Hanna as a part of the place for general building purposes, the dead of the graveyard were, in 1837, removed at public expense or by loved friends, to the general cemetery west of Fort Wayne," on Broadway. [Brice, p. 294.]
Alexander Ewing and wife, two of the very early settlers of Fort Wayne, were first buried on the north side of Water street, about where Ewing street erosses, his residenee being located immediately west, on what is now Lot No. 1, of Ewing's Addition, west of Ewing street. They were subsequently removed, how- ever, to the Ewing family vault, in the cemetery on Broadway.
EARLY MASONIC IHISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
BY J. W. DAWSON.
I propose, in the part of the issue of this week dated 20th December, to devote a short space in presenting the history of Lodge No. 25, of Free and Accepted Masons of Indiana, as connected with Fort Wayne history .. From an old record now before me, it is ascertained that, on the 22d of March, 1823, and before the organization of the county of Allen, a dispensation was granted by the Grand Master of Indiana-John Sheets, attested by Secretary William C. Keen, at the office of the Grand Master, at Madison, to Alexander Ewing, W. M .; John P. Hedges. S. W., and Benjamin Cushman, J. W., together with all such brethren as wright thereafter become members, to be known as Wayne Lodge, located in the town of Fort Wayne, Randolph Co., Ind. This dispens :- tion was presented by Worshipful Alexander Ewing to a meeting held in a room in Fort Wayne in May, 1823, at which appeared, in addition to those nawied in the dispensation, Master Masons Capt, James IIackley. Benjamin B. Kereh- eval, and as visitors, Master Masons Gen. John Tipton, of Pisgah Lodge, No. 5, of Corydon, Ind .; Anthony L. Divis, of Franklin Lodge, No. 28, of Kentucky ; Richard L. Britton, of St. John's Lodge, No. 13, Ohio: John McCorkle, of Lodge No. 14, Ohio, and Robert A. Forsyth. On reading the dispensation, the Lodge was opened in the First Degree, iu ancient form, consisting of Alex- ander Ewing, W. M .; J. J. Iledges, S. W. and Scc. pro tem .; B. Cushman, J. W .; James Haekley, Trens., and S. D. pro tem., and B. B. Kercheval, S. aud T. pro tem. The next meeting was held on the 6th of June following. 1823, at which the Worshipful Master appointed B. B. Kercheval, Treas .; Charles W. Ewing, Sce .; Jas. Ilackley, S. D .; Robt- Hors, J. D., aud W. Hedges, S. aod T.
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