Batavia Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Batavia Cemetery is located on Harvester Avenue in Batavia
, New York, United States. It opened in 1823 and contains over 8,000 graves, mostly from the 19th century. In 2002 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, the first of two cemeteries in Genesee County
to be so designated.
The first graves were some of the city's early settlers, moved from another graveyard that had become too full. Originally it was run by nearby St. James' Episcopal Church, but when the cemetery became too big an independent Batavia Cemetery Association was formed. It has operated the cemetery ever since.
Joseph Ellicott, the agent
for the Holland Land Company
, who shaped Western New York
in its early years and laid out the cities of Batavia and Buffalo
, is buried under a large monument. Other notable markers commemorate Anti-Masonic
activist William Morgan
, American Fourierist
Albert Brisbane
and his son Arthur
, a prominent newspaper editor in the yellow journalism
era; Civil War
General John H. Martindale
and New York Central Railroad
president Dean Richmond
. Other notable burials include some local congressmen
.
and 33
). It is an irregularly shaped 9 acres (3.6 ha) parcel bordered by an active rail spur on the south and an abandoned rail right-of-way on the north. The terrain is generally level with a small rise in the middle of the property. There are over 8,000 burials in 629 separate plots.
On the north is a residential neighborhood dominated by two-story wood frame
houses from the 20th century. The portion of the right-of-way on the northwest is used as an unpaved parking area. Across Harvester is a large four-story brick industrial building. South of the railroad tracks is an area of mixed commercial and industrial use, with another large industrial complex served by the rail spur on the southeast.
A cast iron
Italianate
fence runs along the street side. It has simple spiked picket
s between larger posts decorated
with chamfer
ed corners and floral rosette
s. They are complemented by modern chainlink fences on the south and east; a row of Eastern Hemlock
shrubs sets off the right-of-way at the northwest corner.
All vehicular access to the cemetery is via the double-leaf gates in the fence along Harvester. The main gate is in the center, with the cemetery's main internal access road leading due east from it to the rear corner. Secondary roads, most in the process of growing over, branch out from it at intervals.
Along that road in the center of the cemetery is the only building, a small one-story one-bay
maintenance shed, originally built as a bank and moved to the cemetery later. It is a Greek Revival
structure with paired Doric
columns and pilasters at the corners supporting a pediment
ed roof. The north (front) elevation is sided in clapboard
; the others have flushboard. There is a small closet size wing on the east. A six-paneled wooden door in the middle of the front is the only entrance; there are no windows. It is considered a contributing property
to the listing on the National Register.
in the cemetery, the final resting place of Dean Richmond
, a Batavia native who rose to become president of the New York Central Railroad
. There are no other monuments or markers in the surrounding area.
It is a red granite
High Victorian
structure in the form of a high gable
ed nave
with lower flanking shed-roofed catacombs topped by 28 by, 13 short tons (11.6 LT) granite slabs. The middle section of the roof is raised further; its sides and the gable apexes have large quatrefoil
s.
A small set of steps on the west (front) end has a semicircular tympanum
supported by four colonettes of smooth granite with carved cushioned capitals
. Atop are voussoir
s of alternating dark and light stone. A dentilled cornice
runs around the perimeter above; on the west the name "Richmond" is carved just above it in the entablature
. At the very top of the west facade
is a stone cross.
at the gravesite of Joseph Ellicott. An inscription recounts his accomplishments in developing the region as the agent
for the Holland Land Company
in the early decades of the 19th century.
At the southwest corner of the cemetery is a 37 feet (11.3 m) granite pillar with a statue of William Morgan
atop it. A four-part inscription on all sides praises Morgan for his heroism in attempting to expose the secrets of Freemasonry
and explains how the monument was funded with donations from Canada and 26 U.S. states and terrirories. Morgan is actually not buried there; he disappeared in 1824.
There are many other obelisks, many located in the south central portion near Ellicott's. Most are in a classical
mode, with the Gothic cross on the grave of David Evans, Ellicott's nephew, a notable exception. The majority of the graves have markers typical of the 19th century, from simple marble headstones for the earlier graves to more Romantic
markers later on with a wide variety of motifs in their funerary art
. There are also polished granite markers from the early 20th century, and one of white zinc
.
, which frequently flooded, it soon became apparent that a better location was needed. The decedents were removed to the new Batavia Cemetery, established in 1823 on what was the eastern edge of the village.
A former bank building was moved from Ebenezer
, near Buffalo, to serve as the maintenance shed. The original 88 plots were laid out in a grid, with the feet of the dead intended to face east, toward the rising sun. Additional land was purchased in 1829 and 1841.
Eight years later, in 1849, the cemetery got its first large monument. Joseph Ellicott, a resident who as agent for the Holland Land Company
had overseen and planned the settlement of what is now Western New York
, had taken his own life in New York City in 1826 and was buried there. Almost a quarter-century after his death his sister Rachel Evans arranged for his body to be reburied in the city he had founded, with a large monument inscribed with an account of his life and work. More land was added to the cemetery three years later, in 1852.
The Ellicott monument was exceeded in scale after the Civil War
by the mausoleum
of Dean Richmond
, who had parlayed his railroad holdings into the presidency of the New York Central Railroad
from 1864 until his death two years later. His widow spent $28,000 ($ in contemporary funds) having it built in 1869. It faced the line then used by the Central's main competitor, the Erie.
In the cemetery's early years, two churches, St. James' Episcopal and the First Congregational Society (later the First Presbyterian Church
) were the joint owners of the cemetery. Despite the land purchases and some other improvements, maintenance of the cemetery as a whole was unsatisfactory for the plot owners. They joined together in 1880 and incorporated as the Batavia Cemetery Association, which has owned and operated it ever since.
Two years later, in 1882, an organization called the National Christian Association Opposed to Secret Societies called attention to William Morgan
, a Batavia resident who, after a failed bid to join the local Masonic Lodge
, began speaking and writing against the order
and its alleged hidden influence on society and politics. His 1826 disappearance,The previous year, workers at a quarry in nearby Pembroke
found remains with artifacts that indicated they might be Morgan's. supposedly after an abduction, helped catalyze the formation of an Anti-Masonic Party
. The Association shared his sentiments, and proposed that a memorial be built to him. With $20,000 ($ in contemporary funds) raised from supporters all over the United States and Canada, the monument was built in 1882. It was placed near the street and the New York Central main line to maximize its public visibility.
By that time, the Richmond mausoleum was beginning to show signs of structural failure
. In 1886, Mrs. Richmond paid another $12,000 ($ in contemporary funds) to have it dismantled, rebuilt and expanded. A total of 150 short tons (133.9 LT) of granite were brought to Batavia from Westerly, Rhode Island, for the new mausoleum, including 10-inch-thick (10 inches (25.4 cm)) 6 by floor blocks.
The last significant land acquisition came in 1915, bringing the cemetery to its present shape and size. In the early 1950s the Central built a new main line south of the city, routing most rail traffic away from the Morgan monument. Both those tracks and the Erie's eventually became part of Conrail when the private railroads failed in the early 1970s; the former Erie tracks were removed. In 1998 one of the neighboring companies, which owns the right-of-way, transferred a stretch near the cemetery's northeast corner to it for future expansion.
general, a railroad executive and the man who guided the region's early development.
Batavia (city), New York
Batavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
, New York, United States. It opened in 1823 and contains over 8,000 graves, mostly from the 19th century. In 2002 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the first of two cemeteries in Genesee County
Genesee County, New York
Genesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
to be so designated.
The first graves were some of the city's early settlers, moved from another graveyard that had become too full. Originally it was run by nearby St. James' Episcopal Church, but when the cemetery became too big an independent Batavia Cemetery Association was formed. It has operated the cemetery ever since.
Joseph Ellicott, the agent
Land agent
Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts.Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the landed gentry of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or...
for the Holland Land Company
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
, who shaped Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
in its early years and laid out the cities of Batavia and Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, is buried under a large monument. Other notable markers commemorate Anti-Masonic
Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry". However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement...
activist William Morgan
William Morgan (anti-Mason)
William Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
, American Fourierist
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
Albert Brisbane
Albert Brisbane
Albert Brisbane was an American utopian socialist, the chief popularizer of the theories of Charles Fourier in the United States in several books, notably Social Destiny of Man , and in his Fourierist journal The Phalanx...
and his son Arthur
Arthur Brisbane
Arthur Brisbane was one of the best known American newspaper editors of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, a prominent newspaper editor in the yellow journalism
Yellow journalism
Yellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
era; Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
General John H. Martindale
John H. Martindale
John Henry Martindale was an American lawyer, Union Army general, and politician.-Early life:Martindale was born in Sandy Hill, Washington County, New York, the son of Congressman Henry C. Martindale and Minerva Hitchcock Martindale. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in...
and New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
president Dean Richmond
Dean Richmond
Dean Richmond was Batavia, New York's railroad magnate, director of the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company, First Vice President of the New York Central Railroad, and from 1864 to 1866, president of the New York Central. He was born in the town of Barnard, Vermont on March 31, 1804, and was a...
. Other notable burials include some local congressmen
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
.
Grounds
The cemetery is located on the east side of Harvester, a block south of East Main Street (New York state routes 5New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
and 33
New York State Route 33
New York State Route 33 is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. The route extends for just under from NY 5 in Buffalo in the west to NY 31 in Rochester in the east. It is, in fact, the only state highway that directly connects both cities, although...
). It is an irregularly shaped 9 acres (3.6 ha) parcel bordered by an active rail spur on the south and an abandoned rail right-of-way on the north. The terrain is generally level with a small rise in the middle of the property. There are over 8,000 burials in 629 separate plots.
On the north is a residential neighborhood dominated by two-story wood frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
houses from the 20th century. The portion of the right-of-way on the northwest is used as an unpaved parking area. Across Harvester is a large four-story brick industrial building. South of the railroad tracks is an area of mixed commercial and industrial use, with another large industrial complex served by the rail spur on the southeast.
A cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
fence runs along the street side. It has simple spiked picket
Picket
Picket may refer to:* Picketing , a form of protest* A climbing tool used to anchor a rope* Picket fence* Screw picket, a tethering device* Picket line, to tether horses* Picket , a military formation* Picket, a piece in fairy chess...
s between larger posts decorated
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
with chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed corners and floral rosette
Rosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
s. They are complemented by modern chainlink fences on the south and east; a row of Eastern Hemlock
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...
shrubs sets off the right-of-way at the northwest corner.
All vehicular access to the cemetery is via the double-leaf gates in the fence along Harvester. The main gate is in the center, with the cemetery's main internal access road leading due east from it to the rear corner. Secondary roads, most in the process of growing over, branch out from it at intervals.
Along that road in the center of the cemetery is the only building, a small one-story one-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
maintenance shed, originally built as a bank and moved to the cemetery later. It is a Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
structure with paired Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns and pilasters at the corners supporting a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed roof. The north (front) elevation is sided in clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
; the others have flushboard. There is a small closet size wing on the east. A six-paneled wooden door in the middle of the front is the only entrance; there are no windows. It is considered a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the listing on the National Register.
Richmond Mausoleum
A gate near the south end of the fence is no longer in use; the road from it is overgrown. Two gates near the northwest corner lead to a short semicircular drive with a large cast iron urn in the middle of its lawn. At its east end is the only mausoleumMausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
in the cemetery, the final resting place of Dean Richmond
Dean Richmond
Dean Richmond was Batavia, New York's railroad magnate, director of the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company, First Vice President of the New York Central Railroad, and from 1864 to 1866, president of the New York Central. He was born in the town of Barnard, Vermont on March 31, 1804, and was a...
, a Batavia native who rose to become president of the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. There are no other monuments or markers in the surrounding area.
It is a red granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
High Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
structure in the form of a high gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
ed nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with lower flanking shed-roofed catacombs topped by 28 by, 13 short tons (11.6 LT) granite slabs. The middle section of the roof is raised further; its sides and the gable apexes have large quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
s.
A small set of steps on the west (front) end has a semicircular tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
supported by four colonettes of smooth granite with carved cushioned capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
. Atop are voussoir
Voussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...
s of alternating dark and light stone. A dentilled cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
runs around the perimeter above; on the west the name "Richmond" is carved just above it in the entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
. At the very top of the west facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is a stone cross.
Other monuments and markers
Two other decedents are commemorated with significant memorials, both in the form of tall pillars. Just southwest of the maintenance shed in the middle of the cemetery is a 32 feet (9.8 m) obeliskObelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
at the gravesite of Joseph Ellicott. An inscription recounts his accomplishments in developing the region as the agent
Land agent
Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts.Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the landed gentry of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or...
for the Holland Land Company
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
in the early decades of the 19th century.
At the southwest corner of the cemetery is a 37 feet (11.3 m) granite pillar with a statue of William Morgan
William Morgan (anti-Mason)
William Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
atop it. A four-part inscription on all sides praises Morgan for his heroism in attempting to expose the secrets of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and explains how the monument was funded with donations from Canada and 26 U.S. states and terrirories. Morgan is actually not buried there; he disappeared in 1824.
There are many other obelisks, many located in the south central portion near Ellicott's. Most are in a classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
mode, with the Gothic cross on the grave of David Evans, Ellicott's nephew, a notable exception. The majority of the graves have markers typical of the 19th century, from simple marble headstones for the earlier graves to more Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
markers later on with a wide variety of motifs in their funerary art
Funerary art
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. Tomb is a general term for the repository, while grave goods are objects—other than the primary human remains—which have been placed inside...
. There are also polished granite markers from the early 20th century, and one of white zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
.
History
Batavia's first graveyard, the West Main Street Cemetery, was established in 1806, in the first years of settlement. Since it was next to Tonawanda CreekTonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...
, which frequently flooded, it soon became apparent that a better location was needed. The decedents were removed to the new Batavia Cemetery, established in 1823 on what was the eastern edge of the village.
A former bank building was moved from Ebenezer
Ebenezer, New York
Ebenezer, New York is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of West Seneca in Erie County, New York, USA.-References:...
, near Buffalo, to serve as the maintenance shed. The original 88 plots were laid out in a grid, with the feet of the dead intended to face east, toward the rising sun. Additional land was purchased in 1829 and 1841.
Eight years later, in 1849, the cemetery got its first large monument. Joseph Ellicott, a resident who as agent for the Holland Land Company
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
had overseen and planned the settlement of what is now Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
, had taken his own life in New York City in 1826 and was buried there. Almost a quarter-century after his death his sister Rachel Evans arranged for his body to be reburied in the city he had founded, with a large monument inscribed with an account of his life and work. More land was added to the cemetery three years later, in 1852.
The Ellicott monument was exceeded in scale after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
by the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of Dean Richmond
Dean Richmond
Dean Richmond was Batavia, New York's railroad magnate, director of the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company, First Vice President of the New York Central Railroad, and from 1864 to 1866, president of the New York Central. He was born in the town of Barnard, Vermont on March 31, 1804, and was a...
, who had parlayed his railroad holdings into the presidency of the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
from 1864 until his death two years later. His widow spent $28,000 ($ in contemporary funds) having it built in 1869. It faced the line then used by the Central's main competitor, the Erie.
In the cemetery's early years, two churches, St. James' Episcopal and the First Congregational Society (later the First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church (Batavia, New York)
The First Presbyterian Church in Batavia, New York, United States, is located at East Main and Liberty streets. It is a joined complex of several buildings. The main one, the church's sanctuary, is a limestone Gothic Revival structure built in the mid-19th century...
) were the joint owners of the cemetery. Despite the land purchases and some other improvements, maintenance of the cemetery as a whole was unsatisfactory for the plot owners. They joined together in 1880 and incorporated as the Batavia Cemetery Association, which has owned and operated it ever since.
Two years later, in 1882, an organization called the National Christian Association Opposed to Secret Societies called attention to William Morgan
William Morgan (anti-Mason)
William Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
, a Batavia resident who, after a failed bid to join the local Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
, began speaking and writing against the order
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and its alleged hidden influence on society and politics. His 1826 disappearance,The previous year, workers at a quarry in nearby Pembroke
Pembroke, New York
Pembroke is a town in Genesee County, Western New York, United States. The population was 4,530 at the 2000 census. The town is named for a town in west Wales.The town of Pembroke lies on the west border of Genesee County, west of Batavia, NY.- History :...
found remains with artifacts that indicated they might be Morgan's. supposedly after an abduction, helped catalyze the formation of an Anti-Masonic Party
Anti-Masonic Party
The Anti-Masonic Party was the first "third party" in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry and was founded as a single-issue party aspiring to become a major party....
. The Association shared his sentiments, and proposed that a memorial be built to him. With $20,000 ($ in contemporary funds) raised from supporters all over the United States and Canada, the monument was built in 1882. It was placed near the street and the New York Central main line to maximize its public visibility.
By that time, the Richmond mausoleum was beginning to show signs of structural failure
Structural failure
Structural failure refers to loss of the load-carrying capacity of a component or member within a structure or of the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when the material is stressed to its strength limit, thus causing fracture or excessive deformations...
. In 1886, Mrs. Richmond paid another $12,000 ($ in contemporary funds) to have it dismantled, rebuilt and expanded. A total of 150 short tons (133.9 LT) of granite were brought to Batavia from Westerly, Rhode Island, for the new mausoleum, including 10-inch-thick (10 inches (25.4 cm)) 6 by floor blocks.
The last significant land acquisition came in 1915, bringing the cemetery to its present shape and size. In the early 1950s the Central built a new main line south of the city, routing most rail traffic away from the Morgan monument. Both those tracks and the Erie's eventually became part of Conrail when the private railroads failed in the early 1970s; the former Erie tracks were removed. In 1998 one of the neighboring companies, which owns the right-of-way, transferred a stretch near the cemetery's northeast corner to it for future expansion.
Notable burials
Decedents of note buried at Batavia include seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives, some of whom also served in the New York State Legislature, a Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
general, a railroad executive and the man who guided the region's early development.
- John T. Bergen, (1786–1855). U.S. Representative from Brooklyn, 1831–33.
- Albert BrisbaneAlbert BrisbaneAlbert Brisbane was an American utopian socialist, the chief popularizer of the theories of Charles Fourier in the United States in several books, notably Social Destiny of Man , and in his Fourierist journal The Phalanx...
, (1809–1890). Early popularizer of the utopian socialistUtopian socialismUtopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...
ideas of French philosopher Charles FourierCharles FourierFrançois Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
reflected in Brook FarmBrook FarmBrook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
and several other experimental communities of the 1840s. - Arthur BrisbaneArthur BrisbaneArthur Brisbane was one of the best known American newspaper editors of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, (1863–1936). Son of Albert who became one of the most influential American newspaper editors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries under William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, along with whom he is credited with creating yellow journalismYellow journalismYellow journalism or the yellow press is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism...
. - Benjamin EllicottBenjamin EllicottBenjamin Ellicott was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born at Ellicotts Mills, Maryland, Ellicott accompanied his brothers in 1789 to upper Canada on the survey to determine the western boundary of the State of New York. He was employed as a surveyor and draftsman for the Holland Land Co. in...
, (1765–1827). Brother of Joseph Ellicott and a U.S. representative for the area from 1817–19. - David Ellicott EvansDavid Ellicott EvansDavid Ellicott Evans , was a United States Representative from New York.Evans was born in Ellicotts Upper Mills, Maryland. He attended the common schools, moved to New York in 1803 and settled in Batavia. He was employed as a clerk and afterward as an accounting clerk with the Holland Land Company...
, (1788–1850). A former clerk for the Holland Land CompanyHolland Land CompanyThe Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
at its officeHolland Land OfficeThe Holland Land Office building is located on West Main Street in downtown Batavia, New York, United States. It is a stone building designed by surveyor Joseph Ellicott and erected in the 1810s....
in Batavia run by his uncle Joseph, he later became a state senatorNew York State SenateThe New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
and served for two months as a U.S. representative before he succeeded his uncle as land agent through the company's dissolution in 1837. - Joseph Ellicott, (1760–1826). As surveyor, land agentLand agentLand agent may be used in at least three different contexts.Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the landed gentry of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or...
and highest-ranking representative for the Holland Land CompanyHolland Land CompanyThe Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
, he was effectively Western New YorkWestern New YorkWestern New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
's regional plannerRegional planningRegional planning deals with the efficient placement of land use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. The related field of urban planning deals with the specific issues of city planning...
for the first quarter-century of its settlement. He laid out the cities of Buffalo and Batavia, lobbied for the construction of the Erie CanalErie CanalThe Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
and served as a judge. His large obelisk near the center of the cemetery was built by his sister Rachel Evans when she had him reburied here in 1849. - John FisherJohn Fisher (politician)John Fisher , iron founder, manufacturer, was a politician, both in Canada and the United States. He had one son....
, (1806–1882). A New Hampshire native who settled in Canada and established the first foundryFoundryA foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
in Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. After returning to the United States and settling in Batavia he served as a U.S. Representative for the 1869–71 term. - George W. LayGeorge W. LayGeorge Washington Lay was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Catskill, New York, Lay pursued classical studies and was graduated from Hamilton College at Clinton, New York, in 1817.He studied law....
, (1798–1860). Served as a U.S. Representative from 1833–37, a state assemblymanNew York State AssemblyThe New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
in 1840 and as chargé d'affairesChargé d'affairesIn diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
at the U.S. embassy in Sweden from 1842–45. - John Henry Martindale, (1815–1881). A graduate of the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, he later became a lawyer and served as Genesee CountyGenesee County, New YorkGenesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
district attorneyDistrict attorneyIn many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
. At the outbreak of the Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he returned to the Army and was commissioned a brigadier generalBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
. After the Peninsula CampaignPeninsula CampaignThe Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
, he supervised the defenses of Washington as military governor, was brevettedBrevet (military)In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
to major generalMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
and led troops at Bermuda HundredBermuda Hundred CampaignThe Bermuda Hundred Campaign was a series of battles fought at the town of Bermuda Hundred, outside Richmond, Virginia, during May 1864 in the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, commanding the Army of the James, threatened Richmond from the east but was stopped by forces under ...
, Cold HarborBattle of Cold HarborThe Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...
and PetersburgSiege of PetersburgThe Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
. After the war he was elected to a term as New York State Attorney GeneralNew York State Attorney GeneralThe New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
. - Benjamin PringleBenjamin PringleBenjamin Pringle was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Richfield, Otsego County, he completed preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1830 and practiced for a number of years...
, (1807–1887). A Genesee County Court judge who was later elected to two successive terms as a U.S. Representative from 1853–57, as a WhigWhig Party (United States)The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
for the first and an OppositionistOpposition Party (United States)The Opposition Party in the United States is a label with two different applications in Congressional history, as a majority party in Congress 1854-58, and as a Third Party in the South 1858-1860....
the second. During the war he served briefly in the state assembly, and Lincoln appointed him to the court of arbitration in Cape Town, South Africa, as part of the treaty with Britain on the abolition of the African slave tradeAfrican slave tradeSystems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
. - Dean RichmondDean RichmondDean Richmond was Batavia, New York's railroad magnate, director of the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company, First Vice President of the New York Central Railroad, and from 1864 to 1866, president of the New York Central. He was born in the town of Barnard, Vermont on March 31, 1804, and was a...
, (1804–1866). After taking over his family's salt business in his teens, he eventually got into railroads, helping persuade the state legislature to clear the way for the creation of the Central and its free competition with the Erie Canal. At the time of his death he was president of the Central. His widow had his elaborate stone 1869 mausoleumMausoleumA mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
at the northwest corner of the cemetery rebuilt and expanded in 1882. - Phineas L. TracyPhineas L. TracyPhineas Lyman Tracy was a U.S. Representative from New York, brother of Albert Haller Tracy.Born in Norwich, Connecticut, Tracy graduated from Yale College in 1806.He engaged in teaching for two years.He studied law....
, (1786–1876). Elected to succeed David Evans as U.S. Representative in 1827, he served through 1833, often taking Anti-MasonicAnti-MasonryAnti-Masonry is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry". However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement...
positions. After leaving Congress he served as a presiding judge at county court.