Sunday Cemetery - Missing Cemetery Deed

Published the 14^th of June in 1904 in the Sun out of Baltimore, MD

HAD TO POSTPONE FUNERAL

Family of Mrs. M. E. Curley Could Not Find Cemetery Lot Deed.

     The funeral of Mrs Mary Elizabeth Curley, who was instantly killed Wednesday by being caught in the machinery in a mill at Elizabethport, N.J. where she had called to visit her husband had to be postponed yesterday because the deed to the family lot in Mt Alphenaus Cemetery could not be found. That the deed was missing was not discovered until a few hours before the time set for the funeral service.

     Mr. John Curley, her husband, and numerous friends and relatives of the deceased had gathered at the home of Mr. Chas Hoddinott, SN Waipert avenue, Waverly, whence they were to go to the cemetery.

     Mr Curley immediately sent his son, Jas Curley , to Elizabethport to search among Mrs Curley’s effects for the missing document. Meanwhile the body is lying in a vault at the cemetery. If the deed is found the funeral will be held today; otherwise it may be again postponed.

     Mrs Curley was born in Baltimore 58 years ago and was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Fuchaberger. Thirty-one years ago she was married to Mr Curley and for the last 21 years they had been living in Elizabethport.

The family has been particularity unfortunate. Four of the children have died and a brother of Mrs Curley was drowned. The husband and one son survive. 
                                          (*above article found on Genealogy Bank website)

Sunday Cemetery - Coffins in Flood

Published the 9^th of April in 1904 in the Philadelphia Inquirer out of Philadelphia, PA

SHIFTED COFFINS IN FLOODED VAULT

BLUE-COATED MEMBER OF RITTENHOUSE FAMILY MOVED BODIES OF WIFE AND CHILD

     Conditions at the flooded Mennonite Cemetery, at Germantown, are growing worse. Yesterday the flow of water from whatever source it may come increased, and exceeded all efforts of the Water Bureau employes to divert it to the street.

It rose to the top level of the famous Rittenhouse family vault, and was overflowing form that and other vaults and graves into the cellars of near-by houses. The occupants of the latter have become alarmed lest the water, probably having come in contact with the bodies of the dead, may spread disease.

     They have accordingly circulated a petition to be sent to the health authorities, asking that immediate steps be taken to check the flood, as they fear an epidemic of disease may result. Some of the residents, whose houses have been flooded, are: Charles Reiner, E. J. Armstrong, Mrs. Roop, Mrs. D. M. Hicks and Harry S. Rahn.

Coffins Were Shifted

     Before the water reached the top of the Rittenhouse vault yesterday morning, Samuel Rittenhouse, foremen of Fire Engine Company, No. 19, of Germantown, a member of the distinguished family whose name he bears, climbed into the cavern to move the coffins of his wife and child who had lain there for about two years. Standing in the icy water waist deep, he shifted the coffins to shelves on a high level which had not yet been touched by the flood. But a few hours later the water again reached them.

      Meanwhile the Water Bureau employes were working several pumps to reduce the level of water.

     In strange contrast to the gruesome environments of the grave was a relic which came up through the pumps. It was a plain band wedding ring. Whose it was or what joyous union it had helped to bind in the forgotten years is unknown. It was turned over to members of the Rittenhouse family.

     The city employes engaged in trying to trace the source of the water flow have so far been baffled. Notwithstanding previous investigations, they are not inclined again to think the water comes from a broken main. The water has been shut off from most of the mains in the locality to determine it possible form where it flows into the cemetery.  

Sunday Cemetery - Mount Moriah Vandals

Published in May 1904 in the Philadelphia Inquire out of Philadelphia PA

SEEK DESPOILERS OF BURIAL LOTS

MOUNT MORIAH AUTHORITIES

WATCHING FOR VANDALS

WHO STEAL FLOWERS

SAY LOT HOLDER WAS CAUGHT IN

ACT OF TRANSFERRING PLANT.

REWARD OFFERED FOR ARRESTS

     The despoliation of burial lots at Mount Moriah Cemetery by vandals, who ruthlessly steal flowers and even entire plants and bushes which have been placed on or near graves by relatives or friends of the deceased, has assumed such serious proportions that George Connell, superintendent of the cemetery, has been compelled to employ special policemen and watchmen and to adopt rigorous measures in the hope of detecting the thieves.

     His efforts were rewarded two weeks ago when Matthew Coats, a special policeman employed by him, caught a man in the act of stealing flowers from a grave. The man proved to be a lot holder, to Mr. Connell’s surprise, and his arrest has led the superintendent to believe that many lot holders in the cemetery, whether maliciously or to save money, have been guilty of transferring flowers and plants from other lots to their own.

      The man arrested two weeks ago was arraigned before Magistrate Stratton and heavily fined. Mr.  Connell declared yesterday that the next person caught despoiling burial lots would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law instead of escaping with a mere fine. He said the penalty for such an offense, under the charter granted to the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association was imprisonment for a term of not less than six months nor more than four years.

Have Offered Reward

     “The next person,” Mr. Connell continued, “we catch stealing flowers or otherwise despoiling burial lots or graves in Mount Moriah will go to jail. We have offered a reward of $25 for the arrest and conviction of any person who shall willfully remove, destroy, cut or break any tree, shrub, plant or memorial of any kind within our cemetery. We do not even allow lot holders to remove flowers or plants from their own lots without having first secured permission from us. I have men detailed throughout the cemetery all the time on the lookout for flower thieves, but it is no easy matter to keep a watchful eye over the entire cemetery continuously.

     “You will realize this, I am sure, when I tell you that we have 365 acres, of rolling land to look after, part within the city limits and the rest extending into Delaware County. We have 45,000 lot holders, and there is hardly a clear day that we do not have at least five thousand visitors. On a nice Sunday it is no uncommon thing for 25,000 persons to visit the cemetery. You can imagine the task of keeping an eye on such a large number of persons. Strangers are about to sneak in despite our efforts to the contrary. We are receiving complaints continually form lot holders, all to the effect that flowers and plants have been stolen form their lots and the graves of their departed dear ones trampled upon and otherwise injured.

Thinks Plants Are Transferred

     “The same conditions doubtless prevail in cemeteries throughout the city and vicinity. It is almost impossible to altogether prevent it, but we are doing everything within our power to break up the systematic preying upon the burial lots of our cemetery. I do not think that the flowers and plants that are stolen are removed from the cemetery. I think the guilty ones are lot holders, who, whether from spite or to save themselves expense, pilfer flowers from the graves of others and adorn those of members of their own families with their spoils. This may seem preposterous, but I have good grounds for believing it to be true, and I am working along these lines in hope of catching the guilty ones. 

Saturday Spotting- Ancient Order of Hibernians

I know March has come and gone but I thought this was still worth sharing.

Published in January of 1904 in the San Jose Mercury News out of San Jose, California 

SAINT PATRICKS DAY WILL BE CELEBRATED

ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS WILL BE IN CHARGE

First Meeting of the Committee Will Be Held This Afternoon

The St. Patricks Day Committee of the Ancient Order of Hibernians will meet this afternoon, January 31^st, at 2 o’clock to arrange for the celebration of St Paticks day. The committee consists of M. E. Griffith, Thos McNally, M. Farrell, Jas Logue, Barney Higgins, John Guerin, Martin Dalton and Rev. John D Walshe, the county chaplain.

     The committee has full power to act and proposes to make this celebration one that will reflect credit on the Hibernians, and will interest the Irish people of this county in the affairs of their race.

     Rev. Father Cullen of Mountain View will preach the sermon on St. Patricks day, and the committee is considering holding on open meeting after the church services, and inviting their friends.

     The Hibernians are very strong in this county and have added largely to their membership during the past year. Frequent meetings are held and much interest is manifested by the members. The officers and committee members state that an early start is being made for the celebration of St Patricks day, as it is intended that the celebration shall be of more than ordinary importance. 

Saturday Spotting - Baltimore's Rare Copper Find

Published in June of 1904 by Baltimore American out of Baltimore, Maryland.

 RARE OLD ENGRAVINGS FOUND IN BALTIMORE

Copper Plates of 1702 in the Maryland Historical Society and Pratt Library.

As the result of investigation made by Col. George W. F. Vernon the presence in this city of two very rare old copper plate engravings has been brought to light. One is in the rooms of Maryland Historical Society, where it has laid with little or no attention for an indefinite period; the other, which is similar, is in the reading room of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

     The engravings are of exceedingly fine lines and is a copy of a painting in the Royal Academy, London, and was designed, engraved and published by James Barry, R. A., professor of painting to the Royal Academy, February 28, 1792. It is probably one of a series which the artist offered to paint gratuitously, allegorically illustrating the culture and progress of human knowledge. This offer was made to the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. The painting was made to give credit to Cecilus Calvert as establisher of civil and religious liberty in America, and is peculiarly interesting to both historians and artists.

Description of the Antiques

     The engravings are on a large plat 2 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 6 inches, and represent Lycurgus, King Alfred, William Penn and other lawgivers, civilians and clergy, the main feature of which exhibits as the central and most conspicuous figure Lycurgus in his Greek attire with a scroll in his hands, reading the name, which is apparently being unrolled by Cecilus Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, held up for the scrutiny of Lycurgus on which is inscribed “Religious and Civil Liberty Established in Maryland, 1649.”

The bottom of the engraving reads as follows:

In the Elysium one of the series of pictures on human culture in the Greek room of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, etc., at the Adelphia, a mistake was committed, owing to the illusion, that has been so generally spread of considering William Penn as the first colonizer who established equal laws of religious and civil liberty. This design is, therefore, added to the series in order to rectify the mistake in the group of legislators, by making Lycurgus looking at these exemplary laws as placed in the hands of Ceceilus Calvert. Baron of Baltimore, who was the original establisher of them in his colony of Maryland many years before William Penn and his colony arrived in America a copy his worthy example.

Mystery of Their Origin

     The manner in which the presence of the engraving was discovered is interesting. It is supposed that the only other copy is in the possession of Dr. M. H. Cryer, of the University of Pennsylvania. Recently Colonel Vernon met Dr. Cryer, and the latter interested him with the description of the copperplate. Upon his return to Baltimore Colonel Vernon called the attention of Maryland Historical Society to the existence of such a plate, when the copy was released from the obscurity in which it has been and given prominent place in the library of the Maryland Historical Society. It was impossible to find out how long the engraving has been in the possession of the society.

     The copy which is in the possession of the Enoch Pratt Library has been in the reading-room for some time, and from whence it came is also shrouded in mystery.

     Barry, the artist, was born in Cork in 1741. In 1777 he was made a royal academician, and 1782 he was elected professor of painting. Owing, however, to a certain turbulence of temper he quarreled with the president of the academy and in 1792 his expulsion took place. He died in 1806.  

Sunday's Cemetery - Flooding Cemetery January 11

Published in April of 1904 in the Philadelphia Inquirer out of Philadelphia, PA

Water Still Flooding Old Cemetery

     The water from a subterranean spring which has flooded the old Menonnite Cemetery at Germantown avenue and Herman street, still continues to flow at an alarming rate. Employes of the Water Bureau who were called upon to pump the water from the vaults were unable to make any headway against the flood and were forced to desist. In the Rittenhouse family vault a score of coffins can be seen floating upon the surface, and it will be necessary to disinter a number of bodies from the flooded vaults.

Well fed apparition chasing Brookfiled's youth

A ghost from Brookfield and West Brookfield seems to be popping up out of the ground and scaring many of the citizens, including school age children. This happens to be another article found on the GenealogyBank.com website. It appeared in the Boston Journal out of Boston, MA in May of 1904. 

GHOST FRIGHTENS BROOKFIELD CHASES SCHOOL GIRLS AND BOYS

SHADE APPARENTLY OF FEMININE GENDER

Well fed, Almost fat, Apparition Pops Out of the Ground, 

Says Creepy Things and Fades From View.

BROOKFIELD’S GHOST

Short and rather stout.

Garbed in filmy white.

Utters terrible sounds.

Chases people with outstretched arms.

Appears and disappears as a magic.

Has thrown the citizens into a state of terror.

Is being nightly searched for by the police and citizens.

Brookfield, May 3 – An unearthly looking, blood chilling ghost has been chasing a number of Brookfield and West Brookfield people until  many in this community have been thrown into a state of terror and the citizens, headed by the police, have been out hunting for this ghost several nights.

The ghost appears to be a short, rather stout woman, garbed in filmy white, with unearthly features, who has followed several people along Brookfield streets with outstretched arms, uttering terrible sounds, only to vanish a mysteriously as she or “it” appeared.

Popped Out of the Ground.

Two nights ago a part of girls form this town and West Brookfield meet the ghost at the corner of Central and River streets. They were walking up Central street when the apparition seemed to rise form the ground in front of them and with outstretched arms and hideous face glided swiftly toward them.

With shrieks of terror the girls turned and fled down Central street retracing their tracks. A crowd about the post office heard their terrified cries and ran to meet them. The girls were hysterical and it was several minutes before they could tell their story. They said the ghost glided after them full 100 yards and then at the corner of River street. Disappeared as though swallowed up by the earth. This was about 8:30.

Chased by Woman in White.

Patrolman E.R. Irwin, club in hand headed the band of citizens who went to search for the ghost. The girls were so frightened they had to be taken to their homes. Nearly an hour later, while the citizens were still searching for the ghost, they met Thomas McNamara, a High School student, running down Main street. He was very white and badly frightened. He had not heard of the girls meeting the ghost, but told of being chased by a “woman in white” and his description tallied exactly with that given by the girls.

Since then several others have shown every sign of fear and insisted that they saw the same ghost. Last night the citizens were out searching for the ghost and they went out again tonight. No one can bring to mind any person lately deceased or deceased with in their memory, who tallies with this description everyone is wondering why this gruesome looking ghost should haunt quiet Brookfield.