USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of the cemetery of Mount Auburn. > Part 6
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The names of some of the persons interred in the public lots, having been lost through the inatten- tion of their relatives and friends, measures have been taken, as far as possible, to identify these per- sons, and, in future, to remedy such neglect, by affixing to each grave a number on stone, with a corresponding number of reference on the Superin- tendent's books.
An important vote has passed the Trustees, pro- viding that the land left vacant as intermediate space between lots, and not exceeding ten feet in width between any two lots, may be sold to the nearest lot holder or holders, at one third of the selling price per foot, at the time of such sale, with the condition that the said land shall forever be kept open, and without interments. The advan- tage of this arrangement consists not only in the probable increase of the funds of the Corporation from the expected sales, but also in the opportunity afforded to lot owners who may wish to avail them- selves of it, to protect their lots, at a small expense, against the eventual occupation of these spaces for small lots or single interments - a thing which the experience of older cemeteries has shown to be very likely to happen.
The comparative smallness of this year's balance
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of stocks, cash, and debts receivable, remaining in the Treasurer's hands, is not an index of the true pecuniary position of Mount Auburn. It will be seen that the purchase of the Stone Farm, the mak- ing of land within the Cemetery, and the erection of the Superintendent's house, are not expenditures but investments - a conversion of more precarious stocks into real property at the Cemetery, much more certain hereafter to yield an abundant return, than any of the funds which have been converted for their purchase. It may be safely assumed, that the financial position of Mount Auburn was never so strong, nor its preservation and embellishments so satisfactory to its proprietors, nor so attractive to purchasers, as they will be found to be at the expiration of the coming year.
In conformity with the intention which has been repeatedly announced, the Trustees have this year voted to commence the accumulation of a perma- nent fund for the future preservation of the Ceme- tery, after all the land shall have been sold. A re- port of a Committee has been adopted providing for the deposit annually, under certain circumstances, of one fifth part of the gross proceeds of the sales of lots, with the Massachusetts Hospital Life In- surance Company, to accumulate at compound in-
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terest for the term of twenty years. Should the receipts and necessary expenditures continue about the same as they now are, and should the same conservative policy which has hitherto governed the Trustees continue to be observed by them, there is no doubt that an ample permanent fund will have been accumulated for the perpetual care and preservation of the Cemetery, after all the land shall have been disposed of.
A new Catalogue has been ordered to be printed for the use of the Proprietors, which is enlarged and corrected up to the present time.
A code of By-Laws, not before published, has now been added, consisting of extracts from the recorded standing votes of the Trustees, amended and considerably enlarged.
Respectfully submitted,
In behalf of the Trustees.
JACOB BIGELOW, President.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE
MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, JANUARY, 1858.
SINCE the last Annual Meeting a new and complete Catalogue of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn Cemetery has been published, having been corrected from former editions with much labor and care on the part of the Secretary. To this Catalogue has been prefixed a code of By-Laws, compiled and digested from the standing votes of the Trustees, with such amendments as were considered necessary.
Since the adoption of this code, it has been found that the duties therein required of the Superintendent were too onerous and diversified to be properly performed by one individual. A new office has therefore been created, and a new By-Law introduced, providing for the appoint- ment, and prescribing the duties and powers of a Gardener to the Cemetery. The person so appointed is to take charge of, and keep in repair, the lots of such proprietors as may apply to him for that service, and on such terms as may be agreed on between the parties ; he is also to keep for sale, at some convenient place designated by
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the Trustees, shrubs, trees, and flowers, and be ready to furnish, plant, or cultivate the same at his own expense, and at such price and remunera- tion as may be agreed on with the purchasers. This plan, which costs nothing to the Corporation, has been found to work well in other cemeteries where it has been tried.
The Trustees have appointed to this office Mr. Anthony Apple, an experienced gardener, and have leased to him a piece of ground nearly opposite the Gate, on which he has erected a conservatory and commenced a garden. The destruction of his first green-house, by fire, and the consequent expense of rebuilding it, entitles him to the charitable consideration of those who may be likely to need his services.
The experiment made last year of transplanting some dozens of large trees in the neighborhood of the Gate, has proved eminently successful, not one of them having been lost or injured by the operation. A somewhat similar alteration is now in progress on the westerly side of the Gate.
By the liberality of one of the proprietors, the sum of one thousand dollars has been expended in grading, stoning, and otherwise improving the border of Meadow Pond. An open space of two
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thousand square feet, inclosing the fountain at the head of the pond, is to be forever kept open for ornamental purposes. It is hoped that other proprietors may be induced to follow so praise- worthy an example. The Trustees have voted to appropriate to a similar repair of Forest Pond, all sums which may be derived from the sale of intermediate spaces between lots bordering on this pond. Some of the abuttors have already subscribed to this object, and it is believed that others will be disposed to promote an object bene- ficial to themselves and to the Corporation.
The statues expected from Italy, and intended to decorate the interior of the Chapel, have not yet arrived. That of Governor Winthrop, by Mr. Greenough, is announced as completed in Florence, and may be expected here in the Spring or sooner. Mr. Crawford's statue of James Otis has been unhappily delayed by the death of that distinguished and lamented artist. Letters from his representatives, however, express the belief that it is already completed in Rome, and will be forwarded in the course of the Spring. The fourth statue, that of John Adams, was shipped from Leghorn about the first of September, in the Oxford, a vessel reported as deserted at sea,
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and probably lost. The amount which would have been due on the delivery of this statue, was insured by the sculptor, Mr. Rogers, who is confident of being able to execute a duplicate from the model in the course of another year. When these works are completed, and in their places, the Corporation will have acquired a valuable and most appropriate embellishment, giving them precedence over all other cemeteries in this country, at an expense not exceeding three per cent. of the estimated gross outlay of Mount Auburn, or six per cent. of the expendi- tures up to the present time.
Among the auspicious events of the last year is the commencement of a permanent fund, pro- vided for the support and preservation of the Cemetery, after the receipts from land sales shall have ceased. A first instalment of three thousand five hundred and ten dollars has been paid by the Treasurer to the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, in pursuance of a vote of the Trustees, by which it is required that one fifth part of the gross proceeds of sales of land shall be annually deposited with said company, until the whole sum thus deposited, together with its accumulations of interest, shall amount
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to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The farther to insure the stability of this investment, the Trustees have caused to be inserted in every new deed of conveyance a covenant binding the Corporation to the preservation and increase of this permanent fund, so that no future Board of Trustees will have the power to misapply or to divert any part of it from its legitimate destina- tion.
By the Treasurer's Report it will be seen that the receipts of the last year have considerably exceeded those of the previous year, while the expenditures have been less ; showing that the Trustees have thus far been able to keep up the same prudent policy which has heretofore governed their movements.
For the Trustees.
JACOB BIGELOW, President.
BOSTON, February 1st, 1858.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, JANUARY, 1859.
IN 1831 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society purchased the tract of land since inclosed and known as the Cemetery of Mount Auburn. The principal part of this land was first conditionally engaged for a Cemetery by the Corresponding Secretary of the Society, and the purchase was not completed until one hundred individual subscribers for burial lots had been obtained from the commu- nity at large, and thus a sufficient sum insured to compensate the Society for its outlay.
It was at first intended to divide the land pur- chased into two parts - the one to be occupied as a cemetery, and the other as an experimental gar- den for horticultural purposes. But in a few years it became apparent that the proposed garden was not likely to be wanted, and in 1835, under an Act of the Legislature, the Horticultural Society conveyed the whole land known as Mount Auburn to a new Corporation, entitled " The Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn." By the terms of this conveyance, the new Corpo- ration was to pay annually to the Horticultural
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Society one fourth part of the proceeds of the sales of lots, after deducting fourteen hundred dollars, which last sum was intended for the defrayment of annual expenses. In this way things remained until 1858.
In the meanwhile the Proprietors of Mount Auburn had, at sundry times, made additional purchases of land in the neighborhood of their Cemetery - the greatest of which is that of the estate known as the "Stone Farm," on the south- erly side of Mount Auburn ; and various questions have arisen, both before and since that purchase, as to the right of the Horticultural Society to par- ticipate in the results of such purchases ; also to the claim of that Society for a part of the proceeds of interments made in "public lots," the fee of which is still in the Corporation of Mount Auburn ; also in regard to the expense of filling up and grading ponds and useless pieces of land so as to render them available for cemetery purposes ; and also in regard to various other unsettled matters.
With a view to the final adjustment of these and any other questions which might remain, the Trus- tees of Mount Auburn Cemetery, during the last year, appointed a Committee of Conference, to meet
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a similar Committee to be appointed on the part of the Horticultural Society, and to report terms of agreement which might be satisfactory to both parties. The Committee of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, consisting of Messrs. Bigelow, Gould and Cheever, were met by a Committee of the Horticultural Society, consisting of Messrs. Stickney, Wilder, Rand, Walker, Austin, and Hovey, and a report was agreed on, which was afterwards unanimously accepted by both parties in interest, and by them carried into effect. An Indenture of two parts has been duly executed by the two Corporations, under which the parties covenant and agree with each other in the manner following : -
" First. That the said Cemetery as now exist- ing, and situated south of the street called Mount Auburn Street, in Cambridge, together with the lands already purchased as an enlargement thereof, and all additions which shall hereafter be made to the same, shall be held by the said Proprietors, and the entire control, management, and direction of the same, and of all works and improvements therein, and expenditures thereon, shall be and remain in the said Proprietors and their officers,
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in as full and complete a manner as the same are now vested in and entrusted to them by Act of Legislature incorporating the said Proprietors, passed on the thirty-first day of March, A. D. eighteen hundred and thirty-five.
Second. The yearly proceeds of all sales of lands in the said Cemetery as it now exists, or may hereafter be enlarged, together with all amounts received for single interments in any public lots or receiving tombs, after the deduction of fourteen hundred dollars therefrom to be retained by the said Proprietors for the purposes stated in said Act, shall, on the first Monday in every year, be divided between the said Proprietors and the said Horticultural Society, according to the terms of the said Act, in following proportions, viz : three fourths to the said Proprietors, and one fourth to the said Society ; and the said Proprietors shall, at such time, render to the said Society a just and true account of all sales made, and of all moneys received by them for such lands and interments during the preceding year, and shall furnish all such vouchers and evidence in regard to the same as the said Society may reasonably require.
Third. The sum of nine thousand eight and To 0 dollars, which on the first day of January next
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will be due and owing from the said Horticultural Society to the said Proprietors, shall be paid in manner following, viz .: The said Proprietors shall have the right to retain out of the amount which under the provisions of the preceding Ar- ticle, will yearly, and in each year, be due and payable to the said Society, one full half part thereof of the amount so payable, which part so retained shall be applied - first, to the payment of the yearly interest on the said sum, or on such part as shall remain unpaid, and the residue to the reduction and final extinguishment of the said debt, until the same shall be fully paid and dis- charged ; provided, however, that the said Society shall have the right to pay the whole, or any part of the said sum at any time.
Fourth. The said Society hereby covenants with the said Proprietors, that whenever the said Proprietors shall enclose the lands already pur- chased in a manner corresponding with the present Cemetery, or otherwise, as they shall see fit, they will pay to the said Proprietors one fourth part of the cost thereof ; and in like manner, in case of any future additions to and enlargements of the Cemetery, they will pay to the said Proprietors one fourth part of the cost of enclosing the same,
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whenever such enclosure shall be completed - the time and making such enclosure to be at the discretion of the said Proprietors.
Fifth. Whenever lands, otherwise unsaleable, or unfit for purposes of burial, shall be filled up and improved, the cost of such filling up and im provement shall first be deducted from the proceeds of sales of such lands ; and the residue only shall be the amount to be accounted for by the said Proprietors, and to be divided between the two Corporations in the manner specified in the Second Article of this Indenture ; provided, however, that the amount of such residue shall never be less than fifty cents per square foot - except that interme- diate spaces between lots, when not intended for burial, may be sold for sixteen and two thirds cents per square foot.
Sixth. In case the said Proprietors shall here- after build Receiving Tombs, Catacombs, or Colum- baria, in the said Cemetery, the said Horticultural Society shall pay one fourth part of the cost thereof; and shall be entitled to one fourth part of all amounts received for interments therein.
Seventh. The said Horticultural Society here- by release the said Proprietors from all claims and demands for or on account of any and all
8
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moneys received, or which shall be received, by the said Proprietors for single interments in the said Cemetery prior to the first of January next.
Eighth. It is understood and agreed that the said Horticultural Society have no interest in the lands situated on the northerly side of Mount Auburn Street, on which the Gardener's House now stands, and the said Society hereby expressly disclaims all right and title and interest therein."
It will be seen by the foregoing extracts that the Horticultural Society pay to the Proprietors of the Cemetery the sum of 9008 dollars 49 cents, this being the balance which would be due on the esti- mated cost, interest and present value of one fourth part of the lands newly purchased, after deducting the necessary off-sets. And the Society farther agrees to pay one fourth part of the expense of an iron fence, &c., round the newly acquired land whenever the same shall be erected. On the other hand, the Proprietors of Mount Auburn agree to place the new lands on the same footing as the old Cemetery, and to pay to the Horticultural Society one fourth part of the proceeds of all sales of these lands after the usual deduction has been made.
The other unsettled questions have been adjusted
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in a spirit of compromise and mutual concession, and are believed to be equitable, and entirely satisfactory to both parties.
Since the last Annual Meeting, two of the historic statues, destined for the interior of the Chapel, have arrived from Italy, and are now on their pedestals. These are the statues of Governor Winthrop, by R. S. Greenough, and of James Otis, by Crawford. The fourth statue, that of John Adams, having been lost at sea, a duplicate has been undertaken by the artist, Mr. Rogers, and is promised to arrive in the course of the com- ing Spring. The execution, and acquisition of these appropriate works of art, are alike creditable to the Corporation, and to the eminent sculptors by whom they have been formed.
The repairing and edging with stone, of Auburn Lake (formerly Meadow Pond) has been com- pleted, and an avenue made round its lower half, crossing the middle of the lake by a handsome bridge, passable for carriages. A corresponding improvement, in stoning up the border of Forest Pond, is in contemplation for the next season. Improvements in grading avenues and moving trees west of the gate have been made, and others are in progress, together with the extension of
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sundry drains, and the completion of new paths in different parts of the ground. The Trustees have voted to expend one thousand dollars annually in the gradual filling, reclaiming, and improving of sunken lands, which have a prospective value.
The tract of unoccupied ground in the front of the Cemetery, between Garden Pond and the road, constituting one of the most desirable parts of Mount Auburn, is in process of being surveyed, and the lots will be offered for sale early in the Spring.
The Trustees have voted that lots for tombs on the hill-sides, in such places as the Committee on Lots shall approve, may be sold at fifty cents per square foot, on the purchasers binding themselves to erect no tomb or repository which shall not be made air-tight, to the satisfaction of the Committee on Lots.
By the Treasurer's Report it will be seen that the financial affairs of the Corporation are in a safe and prosperous condition. The sales of land during the last year have amounted to $24,434.65, exceeding those of the previous year by $3836. The Permanent Fund for the future preservation of the Cemetery, which was auspiciously com- menced last year, has been this year increased by
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85678, making the present total amount of that fund, 89390.33. Besides which the Corporation 'have always a large reserve beyond their liabili- ties, more than adequate to meet all anticipated expenses.
In behalf of the Trustees,
JACOB BIGELOW, President.
CAUTIONARY SUGGESTIONS.
THE experience of nearly thirty years which have elapsed since the foundation of Mount Auburn, has furnished useful instruction in regard to the management and safe preservation of this public trust in time to come. Its record may also yield profitable information for other estab- lishments which may hereafter be founded on its example. Considered in regard to its success, and the rapid growth which has followed its original movement, Mount Auburn has surpassed the expectations of the most sanguine of its promoters. Yet it is easy to perceive, at this period, that if its progress and extent could have
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been fully foreseen, various arrangements, both of convenience and economy, could have been more perfectly carried out, and, doubtless, some errors avoided in its management.
The Committee, who were originally charged with the duty of laying out the grounds, made their paths and avenues with reference to the grade of the surface and facility of access to all parts of the Cemetery. The lots, also, were placed for the most part on level spots, and frequently where the purchasers chose to have them, without regard to the economy of the land, or to the size and shape of the intermediate spaces. The experience of late years has induced the Trustees to make both the paths and lots more parallel to each other, and with as little space between them as is consistent with their good appearance. An adherence to this plan hereafter, by preventing waste, will render the unsold land more productive, without in any way injuring the general appearance of the place. Proprietors, however, who may desire to control more land, for use or ornament, can always do so by purchasing it. At present, a space of six feet in front is allowed to every purchaser, between his lot and the avenue or path. And
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the Trustees have carefully avoided infringing on the intermediate space existing between lots, except when it is unnecessarily large. But it may happen hereafter, that, when all the lots in the Cemetery are sold, some future Board of Trustees may be importuned or tempted to sell these intermediate spaces, as has happened in old cemeteries in Europe and elsewhere. The only perfect security against all such encroachment is for the proprietors to protect themselves, if they see fit, by purchasing the immediate space or border adjoining them, at its present reduced and very small price, as seen in the By-Laws.
The multiplication of trees has already become in Mount Auburn a serious evil. The original wood has apparently more than doubled its boughs and foliage since the beginning of the Cemetery. The ground, as seen from the top of the tower, now looks like a dense, impenetrable forest, in which most of the monuments are concealed from view by the contiguous branches. Where young firs and other evergreens are planted, the level prospect is also wholly inter- cepted, and the visitor, in many cases, cannot see many rods in advance of his eyes. The Trustees have endeavored in part to abate this
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evil by thinning out the wood, pruning branches, and cutting away useless trees; and this work is still in gradual progress. But over the trees belonging to individual proprietors, or growing on lots, they have no control, except in obedience to the laws and the wishes of the owners. If application is made to the Superintendent, trees can always be removed without expense to the proprietors.
The custom of continually planting new trees rapidly increases the evil, as will become apparent when the young trees, now set out, shall have attained the age of ten or of fifty years. When trees stand too thickly together, as they do in natural woods, the under branches die for want of sunshine, and are eventually converted into dead limbs or unseemly knots. And, in like manner, the interlocking branches of contiguous trees reciprocally destroy each other, so that when one of a pair is cut down, a hemispherical or half tree remains of the other. Trees planted with reference to their free growth and ultimate good appearance, should not stand nearer than thirty feet, or about two rods apart, - as is seen in the elms and other trees of Boston Mall and Common. Pines, firs, and evergreen trees, except
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when planted in clumps for ornament, where land is abundant, require still greater distance. When immediate effect is required, young trees may be planted one rod from each other, and, at a subse- sequent period, the alternate ones may be removed as soon as they have acquired a height of twenty feet.
The perfection of Mount Auburn, as far as its natural features are concerned, would be attained by diminishing the trees to less than one half of their present number, -leaving broad vistas and open spaces, through which the works of art could be seen ; and the light of the sun might be admitted to the grass and cultivated flowers, to the health of which it is indispensable. Rows of trees are wanted only on the principal avenues, while, in other places, flowers and low flowering shrubs, varied according to the requirements of individual taste, with a few trees left only in unobjectionable places, would greatly improve the picturesque effect of the Cemetery. To purchasers who look forward to the prospective beauty of appearance, the open grounds now existing on the north and south extremes of the Cemetery are more eligible, from their capacity of improve- ment, than the dense and central parts now
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