USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > Lindenwood cemetery: articles of association, rules and regulations adopted, 1885 > Part 2
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The experience of the past was a sufficient warning to the future, that some place should be selected at a suitable distance from the city that would place the danger of its being disturbed by encroachments from its too near proximity to the prospective growth of the city in any contin-
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geney, and at the same time of such easy access as to be within the reach of all. Numerous publie meetings were held by the citizens and various places suggested. Their location with reference to the roads, crossing of rivers, canals, and rail roads-the ease of access on the one hand, and the impediments on the other-the adaptation of the grounds for the purposes of interment-the quality of soil, and all other matters supposed to have a bearing upon the subject, were from time to time discussed, until the most zealous became wearied and discouraged with the prospect of select- ing a place that would give general satisfaction.
In this condition matters remained for several months; but the ne- cessity of the case was pressing itself upon the minds of reflecting persons with such intense earnestness, that the different locations, with all the arguments in favor and all the objections urged against them, were can- vassed with much freedom and with a determined will that a location must be made, having as few objections and as many advantages as possible. Fortunately for the public, the minds of several of our citizens soon drifted in the same direction, who secured at the earliest possible moment the grounds now occupied for the purpose; which are so universally admired by the many thousand persons that visit them, amid the wonder and amazement of everybody, how it was that grounds adapted in such a wonderful degree to agricultural purposes should have remained in a state of nature, on the very borders of the city, so long a time; as if by Divine appointment, to be consecrated as the "City of the Dead." Its beautifully diversified surface, with undulating hills, ravines and valleys, fixing, as it were, the very bounds of every section in such an admirable manner as to leave the landscape artist almost at fault to suggest improvements in the execution of his skill. The soil is mostly dry and peculiarly adapted to burial purposes.
On the 5th day of July, 1859, JESSE L. WILLIAMS, HUGH MCCUL- LOCH, CHARLES D. BOND, 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 of JESSE L. WILLIAMS for the use of the company, which was duly deeded to the President of Lindenwood Cemetery by 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 being covered with timber and a thick growth of underbrush, and what is now the approach, or entrance, an impassable
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marsh. About sixty-five acres off of the south end of the ground was put under fence, to be occupied for burial and oanamental purposes. All within the enclosure adapted to burial purposes was surveyed into nine- teen sections, designated by letter from "A to S" inclusive. Sections B, F and H 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 pur- pose of electing the first officers under the organization, which resulted in the election of ISAAC D. G. NELSON as President, and CHARLES D. BOND as Secretary and Treasurer.
The whole expense incurred for improvement at the time of the elec- tion, including clearing, fencing, grading, engineering, etc., amounted to $1,841.52, which amount, added to the first payment on the land pur- chase, made a total of $3,748.39, which sum was advanced by the corpo- rators.
On the 30th day of May, 1860, the grounds were duly set apart for sepulchral purposes with solemn and imposing ceremonies, conducted in the following order:
CONSECRATION OF LINDENWOOD CEMETERY,
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
1. Reading of the Articles of Association By JESSE L. WILLIAMS,
2. Reading 23d chapter of Genesis . . By REV. MR. LOWRIE.
3. Dedicatory Prayer . By REV. MR. BATTIN.
4. Singing, " I Would not Live Alway . By THE CHOIR.
5. Reading 39th and 90th Psalms. By REV. MR. CURTIS.
6. Dedicatory Poem By REV. J. M. LOWRIE.
7. Reading Ist Corinthians, 15th chap., com. at 20th v., By REV. MR. RUTHRAUFF.
8. Address. By REV. MR. MCMULLEN. 9. Psalm, read By REV. MR. KLINE.
10. Benediction . By REV. MR. ROBINSON.
The weather was beautiful, and everything went off satisfactory. After the exercises were over, the large audience partook of refreshments
EWINGE
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provided by themselves, in a social way, on the ground; after which a sale of lots took place, the proceeds of which amounted to about $3,000.
In this connection, and as being identified with the early history of this enterprise, it is proper to say that JOHN H. DOSWELL has been Superintendent and Landscape Gardener from the commencement, and to whom the Cemetery is much indebted for the handsome improvements made upon the grounds.
The company is also very greatly indebted to JOHN CHISLET, EsQ., of Pittsburgh, Superintendent and Landscape Gardener of Alleghany Cemetery, for his skill and excellent taste in laying off the grounds orig- inally, and for his many practical suggestions in its management.
To the HON. JOSEPHI K. EDGERTON, the stockholders are also under many obligations for the carefully drawn and well digested articles of association, and also for valuable legal advisory information in the original organization.
LAYING OFF THE SECTIONS.
It has been the rule thus far to lay off alternate sections to be occu- pied for burial purposes, leaving the intermediate sections with most of the timber upon them. This adds somewhat to the expense of keeping up the grounds-but it at the same time so scatters the improvements as to add interest to the diversified scenery in riding or driving along the ave- nues, and at the same time gives future generations the benefit of lots equal, if not superior, to those now sold. These sections laid off for burial purposes were subdivided into lots of different shapes correspond- ing with the form and make of the ground, varying in size from 300 square feet to as many thousand, to suit the wants and abilities of different sized families. Single interments and smaller sized lots are also furnished for the use of strangers and others not requiring full sized lots. Ample provision has also been made for the burial of the poor and friendless " without money and without price."
ADAPTABILITY AND FITNESS OF THE GROUND 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 seclusion under affliction, that we are involuntarily re- minded of the Patriarch Abraham, who, at the death of Sarah, 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 2
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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 Maepelah, 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 Macpelah, 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 buried their dead also in large fields and plains surrounded by trees, and the ancient Germans buried their dead in groves consecrated by their Priests. And even the Turks adorn their cemeteries with beautiful avennes, studed with Cypress 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 been 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 construc- tion of cemeteries in this country, upon a scale appropriate to the fitness of man's destiny and redemption.
The burial ground should not only be 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 and grand scenery when it can be obtained, and to each dell or more humble shady nook. When such grounds are handsomely embellished and developed by the slight touches 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 and neglected grave yard as we hasten away after depositing the remains of some relative 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 contem- plate 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 wild wood, 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 thoughts of pretension and display-but rather of simplicity, quiet secur- ity, affectionate remembrance, cheerful hope.
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A GLANCE AT THE FUTURE AS SET FORTH IN OUR FIRST REPORT.
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, but will be prosecuted where most needed as fast as is praetieable. Considerable filling up has to be done, timber removed off some of the sections, etc. It is also the purpose of the Asso- ciation to excavate two Lakes, which can be done without heavy expense, and when completed will add immensely to the beauty of the scenery, which nature has so lavishly bestowed upon these grounds.
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 eight thousand dollars, all of which has to be paid within three years, besides refunding the stockhoklers if they require it; still those who witnessed the dark hours of its early history and combated an opposition more of indifference than open opjection-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 discour- agement now. As they never faltered then, but with a fixed determina- tion pressed on the work and met every assessment for funds that was made upon them with a promptness and determination of purpose that so generally accomplishes success, so they will see now that this good work goes on.
In brief, it is the purpose of those having this enterprise in charge to use all the means, after the 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 incidents and events of early associa- tions, began as it was in the midst of a forest, under gloomy and discour- aging auspices, will become one day one of the most attractive places of rural interest in Northern Indiana. No change in its objeets or purposes can ever be made ; but it will ever remain as it was consecrated, without " 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 our
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sight," in the virgin soil that was never cultivated by man. It will be the "Beautiful City," peopled with its thousands of voiceless tenants, and vis- ited by its tens of thousands of living beings, to witness the storied urn, the " animated bust," the noble obelisk, the mausoleum, the richly seulp- tured tomb, and the more plain and humble 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 incense. Here the cedar, the fir, the spruce, the box, the pine and the arborvitæ, with other evergreens from many climes, emblems of immortality, and historical trees will mingle their shadows together. Here the cypress and the laurel will inter- lace 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 pass- ing 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 grace these grounds. "May they never be marred by mistaken taste or desecrated by rude hands, but beneath the green and waving foliage-amid tranquil shades where nature weeps in all her 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 henceforth be sepulchered."
NOTE .- In how far the above predictions have been verified this report will show elsewhere.
THE GROUNDS OPEN TO EVERYBODY.
As we pass on, we wish to drop a word to our country friends. It is not necessary for us to say to them that they are invited to bury in these grounds. The articles of association explain the object and purposes of the organization, which are, that all who choose to do so may here find a resting place for themselves and friends ; but it is to direct their attention to the fact that this is the only safe place of burial, within many miles at least, where they can be assured that their ashes can remain undisturbed until the resurrection morn. Burials upon their own private grounds, be- cause they own the farm, is the worst of all. How long they or their de- scendants will remain the owners they know not. Sad scenes enough have come under the eyes of us all, that should eanse the mind to revolt
EDGERTON.
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at thoughts of such a burial. But even all the best regulated country grave-yards become sooner or later filled; friends become scattered; gen- erations pass away; grave-yards, first neglected, then deserted, and memories allowed to perish amid the silent sighs of departed humanity.
This is the history of older sections of this country, and of the world. We, therefore, wish simply to direct all within reasonable distance to con- template these facts, and have them feel that the portals of " Lindenwood " are open to all who wish to enter.
And this suggests another advantage over rural cemeteries-their in- fluence on the moral feelings. Can any good come from visiting old-fash- ioned grave-yards, barbarously kept as many of them are? Who has not been shocked at seeing their rude hillocks, crowded together in dreary rows, perhaps grassless, or covered with rank weeds and briars, their head-stones tilted over at all angles, or broken and prostrate? Was any one ever made better by walking through a burying-ground used as a sheep pasture, or left open to the street by a broken fence, or allowed to stand treeless and shrubless, exposed to the glaring sun and howling wind ? Such sights sadden us, indeed ; but they do not mend our hearts. They remind us that we must die; but they also make us dread to die-dread to think that our bodies must be put into the same festering earth, and he treated with the same neglect.
But why clothe death with such unnecessary terrors? It is sad enough to turn away from life and all we hold dear, without adding to the sadness by rendering the grave an object of disgust and dismay. Rather, let us make our burial-grounds pleasant and attractive ; places where we shall be inclined to go often, to muse upon life and its grandest concerns, and upon death and the glorious rewards awaiting the good after death, to reflect upon the virtues of those whose dust sleeps around us, and to consider how we may imitate those virtues. The spirit of Themis- tocles was fired by visiting the tombs of the illustrious dead. "The Romans buried their most honored citizens along the Appian Way, that the youth as they entered the city might be moved to emulate their vir- tues and share their renown." The early Christians worshiped near the graves of the martyrs, that they might be filled with their spirit. And so, may not we, while walking among the tombs of the good departed, catch something of their spirit and be filled with aspirations after a better life ?
There should be nothing in the place or manner of their interment to detract from our tender and respectful veneration for the dead. But this can hadly be avoided, if their graves are dug in a dismal and un-
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sightly spot. How much better to choose some retired, sunny slope, the most beautiful in the region around us, and make it sacred as a burial place forever. Here let there be trees with their grateful and soul-ab- sorbing shade; there let us see the open lawn and cheerful sunshine ; around us, on every hand, let us behold the opening bud and springing seed, types of the resurrection.
THE OLD BROADWAY CEMETERY.
The following letter from the Hon. Hugh McCulloch was received in answer to certain inquiries made for the purpose of obtaining some un- written historical facts in regard to the origin of the old Broadway Ceme- tery, as well as the disposition he contemplated making of the property, as it is no longer a sacred burying place for the dead, but has become an unsightly abomination to the living. The letter explains itself, containing a praiseworthy offer from Mr. McCulloch to donate the ground to the city for the purposes of a public park, upon condition that it shall forever be kept up as such.
It would be a small park, to be sure, but, if nothing more, it would serve as a breathing place, at least, for those who are so confined in their narrow apartments that they have not at present even that much of God's fresh air to enjoy. Anything of the kind, however small, will afford some of the pleasures and comforts now denied to all classes and condi- tions of our people. Its location is so admirable for convenience that all can visit it at pleasure :
P. O. Box 646-WASHINGTON, D. C., ) November 24, '85. )
DEAR SIR-Yours of the 18th inst. is at hand. Soon after I became a resident of Fort Wayne, I discovered that there was, neither in the town nor near it, a public burial ground. That the interments had been and were being made in a lot to which the town had no title, and that consequently there could be no assurance that the bodies buried there would remain undisturbed, I, therefore, in 1837, if I rightly recollect, bought of Judge Hanna four acres of land near the town, enclosed them with a handsome fence, and laid them off into burial lots. A part of the lots were set apart for the poor, the rest were offered for sale and a part of them, perhaps the larger part, were sold before the Lindenwood Ceme-
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tery Company was formed. The proceeds of the sales were applied to the payment of the money I had expended in the purchase and improve- ment of the ground. For my trouble I expected and received no com- pensation. The sale of the lots ceased soon after the Lindenwood Ceme- tery was established, and as there were no funds for keeping the ground in order, and as a large part of the bodies which had been buried there were removed to the new cemetery, they were neglected and are now, I understand, in a disreputable condition. As the lots were sold for burial purposes only, the property reverts to me when it ceases to be used for burial purposes. Under these circumstances, I have offered to relinquish my right to it to the City of Fort Wayne, upon an agreement of the city to properly enclose and beautify it, and permanently maintain it as a "Public Park." I am, very truly yours, HUGH MCCULLOCH.
I. D. G. NELSON, EsQ.
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS.
ORIGINAL PURCHASES, QUANTITIES, PRICES-OF WHOM PURCHASED AND TO WHOM SOLD.
Sept. 29, 1859. Of Jesse L. Williams, 152 55-100 acres . . $7,627 50
Jan. 2, 1864. Of Geo. W. and A. W. Ewing, 21 acres . 1,850 00
Sept. 6, 1864. Of William G. Ewing, Jr., 7 acres. . . . 630 00
Jan. 25, 1882. Of N. Y. C. and St. Louis Railway strip of land along canal of indefinite quantity, described below. There was no money consideration, but a mutual exchange of privileges.
PROPERTY SOLD NOT SUITED TO BURIAL PURPOSES. Sept. 18, 1864. To Susan B. Beierlein, 6 44-100 acres across canal $500 00
Nov. 24, 1881. To John H. Bass, 423 acres across railway . 3,825 00
Jan. 2, 1882. To N. Y. C. & St. L. Ry., 3 16-100 acres right of way . 205 40
In addition to the above statement, a sale of a regularly laid off sec- tion ("Y"), lying on the west border of the grounds, containing about
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two acres, was sold March 17, 1884, to the " Achduth Veshalom Congre- gation" for the sum of three thousand dollars for the purposes of Hebrew burial. This embraces all the outside sales made of any description. What other sales have been made has been in lots for burial purposes on regularly laid off sections-a list of which is published elsewhere. The section sold to the Hebrews, although for their own use and purposes, is subject to the same rules and regulations as govern other portions of the Cemetery.
MAP OF THE GROUND.
A fine lithographed map, copied from a careful survey made and platted by Superintendent Doswell, is herewith submitted, which shows accurately the entire property as now owned by Lindenwood Cemetery Corporation, with the sections as laid off and designated by letters, avenues, etc. The survey shows that there are 124 acres of ground after making all dedue- tions, 70 acres of which are suitable for interments, a small portion of which only has been thus far used. It has been found to be bad economy for cemetery companies to hold much more real estate than is needed for reasonable use ; contrary to a practice once considered necessary-expe- rience having demonstrated that no difficulty is ever found in purchasing suitable ground for interments adjoining a cemetery at reasonable prices- so that upon every consideration of utility, necessity and economy suffi- cient, at most for 'a generation, is ample for any cemetery to own. That much it will be seen 'we have, and much more, according to the ratio of interments heretofore made. 1
NEW ENTRANCE TO THE GROUNDS AS SHOWN BY THE FRONTISPIECE TO THIS REPORT.
Lindenwood Cemetery has now as attractive, pleasing and convenient an approach to the main grounds for funeral processions, or for accomoda- tion of visitors, as any cemetery in the country. But it was the work of years to accomplish it. It is only those immediately connected with the enterprise, who can ever understand the perplexities anxieties and troubles for the want of it, or in endeavoring to remove obstacles that existed at the time the ground was purchased-the removal of which was from the first and at the time of purchase considered indespensable, as will be seen by reference to our first report. After fruitless efforts for a quarter of a century to no purpose, and almost reaching at last to the verge of des- pondeney in endeavoring to secure what we wanted and so much needed, Providence at last seemed to interpose and made it possible.
There was but one apparently natural, commanding entrance point to the grounds, and that led over a canal culvert too small to pass the
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WILLIAMS
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water in time of heavy rains, overflowing the passage way to the great annoyance of funeral processions, through slough holes and other water obstructions, all lying at the very entrance gate, reputed to be owned by foreign canal bond holders or other complicated titles. Although it was of no actual value to the property holders, still a conveyance seemed diffi- cult, if not impossible, to obtain. Besides this, a much traveled circuitous public road existing and used for over forty years, passed along and ran immediately up to where our entrance gate should properly be, and where it is now placed. At last the long hoped for time arrived for a change in the line of the road, for the purpose of making it a free gravel pike. The County Commissioners ordered a survey and re-location where crooked or necessary, and appointed viewers for the purpose, who with extraordinary good sense changed the curve of the old road to a better route, and on a straight line where it naturally should be for the convenience of the cemetery and for the accommodation of the traveling public as well. At about this juncture the N. Y., St. L. & C. R'y purchased the Wabash & Erie Canal interest for a road bed-this included the property at our en- trance that we had so long wanted. Their survey for location of the road took them over a piece of our cemetery grounds on the north. According to our statutes protecting cemetery grounds from being taken for public use, they were estopped altogether, unless with our consent; which the Trustees agreed to upon condition of payment as in other cases, and by WM. B. HOWARD, the representive man, deeding to the cemetery the strip of land required to complete our front entrance as described else- where, which was accordingly agreed to, and the work of filling, leveling and grading the ground at once commeneed, preparatory to a general im- provement by the construction of a superb iron fence 1,700 feet in length, extending along the east front and along the entire distance of the south line of the cemetery and public highway. The fence is five feet high, set upon stone posts 8x8, three feet in the ground. It was constructed by Messrs. Seward & Co., of Bloomington, Indiana, at a cost of $2,652.25, and will last for generations.
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