Cemeteries Worth the Visit – Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana

Map of Evansville

Oak View Cemetery

Oak Hill Cemetery located in Evansville, Indiana began in 1853. Located along the curve of the Ohio River, this hilly, rural-style cemetery is made up of 175 acres. Although now located in a thriving section of the city, Oak Hill has retained its quiet, Victorian charm.

Map of Oak View in 1800's

Ellen Johnson

The land for the cemetery was originally purchased in 1852 and the first to be buried here was 2-year-old Ellen Johnson on February 18^th, 1853.  A local paper of the times described the land selection as “a “hillock, a wilderness of underbrush and briars, and called at that with a mantle of loess, underlain by sandstone.”

Mission Revival Gate

The cemetery entrance is located on Virginia Street and the drive up to the Mission Revival gate and brick-walled fence is 365 feet long.  Architects William Harris and Clifford Shopbell designed the entrance gate in 1901.

Craftsman Administration Building

Harris and Shopbell also designed the Craftsman style Administration Building in 1899.  It contained an office, waiting room and chapel. The building was remodeled in 1917.  It still contains the central bell tower and massive fireplace, with a 3-sided porch surrounding it.

Oak View Cemetery

Ginkgo Tree

The cemetery grounds are made up of numerous hills.  Most of the landscaping was done between 1853 and 1932 and has grown into a place of beauty and seasonal color.  The cemetery is a treasure-trove of trees, many native to the state of Indiana.   While pine, maple, willow, and oak abound; it was interesting to see several magnolias, and one of the largest ginkgo trees in the U.S. is located here.

Cemetery Lake

A large man-made lake is on the grounds, surrounded by mausoleums crafted from marble, limestone and granite.  Local architects designed many of the mausoleums and their intricately laced doors.  A stone pedestrian walking bridge crosses to a small island where the Mead family (of Mead-Johnson fame) is buried.

Annie F Johnson

 Also buried here is Annie Fellows Johnson, author of the over a dozen of the children’s Little Colonel book series. Born May 15, 1863 in Evansville, Johnson wrote for years about her Little Colonel, a “precocious young girl growing up in aristocratic Kentucky prone to bullying and temper tantrums.”  Over a million of the books were sold at the turn of the century.  The series of Little Colonel books inspired a movie by the same name, starring Shirley Temple and Lionel Barrymore.

Harrison Marker

Records also indicate the King and Queen of a tribe of Romany Gypsies are buried here.  Elizabeth Harrison, Queen of the Gypsies, died in November 1895, in either, Massachusetts, Mississippi, or Ohio.  Her body was shipped to Oak Hill Cemetery and held in the receiving vault until members of her camp could meet to attend her funeral. Services were finally held on April 1, 1896.  Over 6,000 people were on hand for the graveside services, fifty of them Gypsies.  It was the largest funeral ever held at the cemetery.

Gypsies Camp

On Christmas Eve, 1900, Harrison’s husband, Isaac was buried beside her.  Isaac Harrison, King of the Gypsies, had been killed by a bullet on December 1^st, in Alabama, in a fight between his sons.

Civil War Burial Ground

Oak Hill has a Civil War military cemetery section that includes over 500 Union soldiers and 24 Confederates.  Surrounded by heavy chains, with two Civil War cannons, it is a moving tribute to those fallen men.

Confederate Monument

A Confederate Solider stands at the intersection of two lanes, one that leads to the military section.  The statue was erected at the turn of the twentieth century by the Fitzhugh Lee Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy in remembrance of the 24 Confederate soldiers buried on Yankee soil.

Union Monument

A Union Soldier also stands in Oak View Cemetery as a reminder of the hundreds of local men and boys who died during the Civil War.

Governor Conrad Baker

Other notables interred here include over a half a dozen U.S. congressmen, along with several Civil War officers and Indiana’s 5^th Governor, Conrad Baker.

Autumn in the Cemetery

Assistance on genealogy research is available by contacting Cemetery Superintendent Chris Cooke at ccooke@evansvillegov.org or by calling (812) 435-6045.  For a list of many of those buried here, visit the Vanderburgh County, Indiana InGen Web Project http://www.ingenweb.org/invanderburgh/cemeteries/oakhillcem.htm

Ad Building in1910

Tree Stones

Oak Hill Cemetery is located at 1400 E. Virginia Street in 
Evansville, Indiana. Regular office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. 
Saturday the office is open from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.   At this time the cemetery has no web or Facebook presence.

Contemplation

Oak Hill continues to fulfill its purpose of being a place of relaxation and contemplation.  As first stated in the 1800’s, and still true today, Oak Hill is there for those who “become wearied with the sight of human faces, when the noise and bustle of the city grate harshly on the ear, when we feel an inward yearning for some quiet spot where we may rest in seclusion, undisturbed and alone.”

~ Joy

My Old Kentucky Home - Federal Hill, Bardstown, Kentucky

Federal Hill Mansion

In honor of October being the month of Halloween - and other things spooky - all of my blogs this month have dealt with a haunted location and the cemetery that ties into the story.

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Just east of Bardstown, Kentucky is the former plantation of U.S. Senator John Rowan.  Rowan and his wife, Ann Lytle, began building their mansion in 1795 and named it ‘Federal Hill’ after Rowan’s political views as a Federalist.    ‘Federal Hill’ was designed in true Federalist style.  There are thirteen windows across the front of the house, the ceilings are thirteen feet high and the walls are 13 inches thick. Each staircase has 13 steps.

But the number 13 may have proven to be unlucky for Rowan.  In 1801, Rowan was playing cards with Dr. James Chambers when harsh words were exchanged and led to the challenge of a duel between the two.  Rowan apologized for his comments but Chambers insisted that the duel be held.  Rowan survived, but his promising political career almost didn’t.  He was tried for the murder of Chambers, but the judge found insufficient evidence to convict him.  It was over a year later, before Rowan was appointed to serve in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

John Rowan

Throughout his life, Rowan served in many state and national offices. He served as a Kentucky state judge, Chief Justice for the Court of Appeals, Kentucky Secretary of State, as a representative in the U.S. House and as a U.S. Senator.  In all, he served for forty years in political life.

Epitaph

Rowan loved Federal Hill and felt that the mansion stood as a monument and testament to his ideas and beliefs.  He stated in his will, he did not want a monument or any type of marker on his grave.  He said that since his parents did not have a marker, he did not want to be honored above them by having one.  On July 13, 1843, Rowan died and was buried at Federal Hill Cemetery near his home.  Friends and family did not adhere to his wishes for an unmarked grave. A tall obelisk monument with a lengthy and glowing epitaph was placed at his gravesite.

Rowan's Monument

But by autumn, the stone had fallen over.  Stonemasons were called to repair the monument and return it to its base. Again and again, the obelisk fell to the ground.  The toppling of the monument became so common that worker refused to assist in setting it back in place, fearing that Rowan was indeed displeased by the large monument. 

Rumor has it that the stone is still known to tip over without provocation, and is just as quietly put back in place.  It appears that John Rowan meant what he said almost 170 years ago – his home was the only monument he wanted to be remembered by.

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But what is Federal Hill truly remembered for?

Stephen Foster

Original Sheet Music

It was in 1852, almost ten years after John Rowan died that his cousin; Stephen Foster paid a visit to Federal Hill.  It was rumored that during this visit, Foster was inspired to write the minstrel song, “My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night.”  It was published in 1853 and performed by Christy’s Minstrels.  Although many of the songs that Foster wrote had Southern themes, he never lived in the South and only visited the area once.

Sheet Music

“My Old Kentucky Home” was adopted as the state song of Kentucky in 1928.  It was in 1986 when Kentucky Representative Carl Hines sponsored a bill to revise the lyrics, changing the word ‘darkies’ to ‘people.’

Federal Hill in the Twenties

Federal Hill was sold to the state of Kentucky in 1920 and was called “My Old Kentucky Home.”   In 1936 it was transferred to the Division of State Parks where it became known as “My Old Kentucky Home State Park.”

The longest running outdoor musical, “Stephen Foster- The Musical” plays during the summer months at the state park amphitheater.  Started in 1959, the show runs from June through August each year.

Federal Hill was featured on a 29 cent U.S. postage stamp in 1992, and is now depicted on the back of the Kentucky state quarter, released in 2002.

The Federal Hill Mansion and Cemetery are open to the public.  Please check their website for days and times. http://www.parks.ky.gov/parks/recreationparks/old-ky-home/default.aspx

~ Joy

Elizabeth Reed -First Woman Executed by Hanging- Heathsville, Illinois

In honor of October being the month of Halloween - and other things spooky - all of my blogs this month will deal with a haunted location and the cemetery that ties into the story.

Tis the season……..Enjoy!

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Illinois in 1840

Arsenic

Her story is one of questions, conflict, and mystery over 160 years later.  Elizabeth (Betsey) Reed was a frontier wife, in a tiny Illinois town, in the mid-1840’s when she was suddenly charged with the unthinkable – murder!

According to the news and court reports during May 1844, Betsey Reed was accused of giving her husband Leonard, a cup of arsenic-laced sassafras tea.  He died the next day.  The charge of murder levied against Elizabeth Reed was based on only one report - made by a relative.

Heathsville & Palestine

Unfortunately for Betsey, she was not well liked in the tiny village of Heathsville, Illinois.  Many of the women found her to be coldhearted, uncaring and eccentric.  However, the men appeared to be fascinated by her, observing none of the traits the local women did.

Public opinion of her husband Leonard wasn’t much better.  Some viewed him as a calculated businessman, others as a failure who was unwilling to fit in to society. Either way, neither garnered public sympathy or support.

1840's Log Jail

Reed was arrested, taken to Palestine, Illinois and charged with murdering her husband.  She was placed in the Palestine jail where she started a fire that burned down the building.  Officials said that she had nothing in her possession that could have been used to start a fire.  The insinuation of being a witch had been made and the town’s 13-hundred residents were titillated by the story.

Lawrence County Courthouse

Reed was then moved to the Lawrence County jail in Lawrenceville, Illinois, about 25 miles away.  The change of venue did nothing to assist in Reed’s defense.  The story was so horrifying for the time that it was being covered, by newspapers from around the state, and around the country, from as far away as New York.

Augustus French

William Wilson

Elizabeth Reed was defended by two well-known attorneys, Augustus French and Usher Linder. The only witness to the supposed event was a relative, 16-year-old Evelyn Deal.  Evelyn said that she saw Betsey pour a white powder into Leonard’s tea and serve it to him.  No other evidence was given.  Reed’s trial lasted for three days and she was never allowed to comment in her own defense.  Illinois State Supreme Court Justice William Wilson pronounced her guilty of murder and sentenced her to be hanged.

On the morning of May 23, 1845, thousands lined the streets of the small town of Lawrenceville.  Crowd estimates ranged from 8,000 to 20,000 people on hand for the execution.  It was rumored that Betsey Reed ‘found God’ in the eleventh hour and had been baptized in the Embarras River the night before.  Reports said that she went to the gallows, riding on top of her coffin, singing hymns and chanting religious verses.  The minister who presided, Reverend John Seed, preached a long sermon to the crowd while Betsey continued to sing and chant.  Ninety minutes later, Elizabeth (Betsey) Reed became the first woman in the U.S. ever publicly executed and the only woman executed by hanging in Illinois.

According to the New York Daily Tribune, Betsey’s body was taken down and dissected.  It was found that she had swallowed tiny pieces of brick and pulverized in glass in an attempt to kill herself and escape the hangman’s noose.

Baker Cemetery

Betsey Reed was buried outside of the local town cemetery, in an unmarked grave.  But family members, who did not believe she was guilt, demanded she be given a proper burial.  Betsey was re-interred at a tiny country cemetery called Baker, just outside of Heathsville. 

Lane to cemetery

Up a narrow country lane, surrounded by crops and woods, the cemetery has a gloomy feel, even during the day.  

E.R. Marker

The Reed's Gravestone

Elizabeth is buried next to Leonard, the husband she was found guilty of killing, at the back of the cemetery.  A simple stone marked E.R. can be found in the grass.  Along side it is a replacement stone that simply lists their names, dates, and how they died.  Under Leonard’s name it says “Death by Murder.”  Under Betsey’s name it reads “Death by Hanging.”

Two orbs near graves

(Crawford Co Ghost Hunters)

But, according to the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters, it appears that Betsey Reed did not go ‘quietly into that good night.’  After exploring this cemetery they have reported paranormal activity around her and Leonard’s graves.

An afternoon in Baker Cemetery

One hundred sixty five years later, questions still exist as to her guilt or innocence.  Regardless, Elizabeth Reed has gone down in the annals of U.S. history as the first women to be hanged in the state and the country.

~ Joy

White Hall and Cassius Marcellus Clay

In honor of October being the month of Halloween - and other things spooky - all of my blogs this month will deal with a haunted location and the cemetery that ties into the story.

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Kentucky

Historic White Hall

White Hall was the Kentucky home of Cassius Clay, 19^th century emancipationist.  Located near Richmond, Kentucky, the mansion was originally built by Clay’s father, Green Clay in 1798-99, and named Clermont. When Clay inherited the house in 1861, his wife, Mary Jane, decided to have the home remodeled in the Italianate style.  She literally had part of the new house built over the old.  The original home had seven rooms.  When the new house was finished it boasted 44 rooms, counting closets and bathrooms.  The home was then renamed White Hall.

Green Clay

Green Clay was a landowner of magnificent proportions. It was never known how much acreage he actually owned, but the land made up at least two counties!  Green Clay came to Kentucky with Daniel Boone. He made his fortune as a surveyor, taking 50% of the land surveyed for his work.  On these lands he grew hemp, raised sheep and owned farms, distilleries, taverns, and a ferry, which crossed the Kentucky River.  He became one of the wealthiest land owners and largest slaveholders in Kentucky.

William Lloyd Garrison

Cassius Clay

Cassius Marcellus Clay was born October 19, 1810 at Clermont. Clay attended Yale and it was there that he heard an anti-slavery speech, given by William Lloyd Garrison, that set his course for life.  From that point on, Clay rallied that slaves should be freed gradually by legal means, and slavery abolished.  As a lawyer and dedicated emancipationist, he spoke around the south for the freedom of slaves.  Many times he was threatened and injured, but Clay always managed to gain the upper hand.  He had the apt reputation of being a great fighter. Although a Southern land owner, Clay was true to his principles and freed the slaves he owned in 1844.  

Mary Jane Warfield

In 1833, he married Mary Jane Warfield. They were married for 45 years and had ten children.  Clay became a Kentucky state representative from 1835 to 1837.   And in 1844, he campaigned for his cousin, Henry Clay, when he ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Presidency.

In 1845, Clay started and published the True American newspaper, in Lexington.  The newspaper championed freedom from slavery.

Clay during the Mexican War

In 1846, even though he was against the annexation of Texas, Clay volunteered to serve in the Mexican War.  When the war was over, the people of Fayette County, Kentucky presented him with a Tiffany sword in honor of his bravery and compassion on the battlefield.

Clay also served in the General Assembly three times and made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Kentucky in 1851.

Abraham Lincoln

In 1860, Clay again campaigned for a presidential candidate.  This time, the man he championed, Abraham Lincoln, won.   Clay was appointed as a major general, and became an envoy between the state of Kentucky and the President.  It was, in part, due to these reports that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

Czar Alexander II

Clay was also appointed as minister to the court of Czar Alexander II of Russia for two terms. Because of this, he was able to act as a liaison in the U.S. purchase of Alaska.

Cassius M. Clay

Dora Richardson Clay

Cassius Clay returned from Russia to White Hall in 1869.  Years of separation, rumors of infidelity, and financial problems put a toll on his marriage.  In 1878, after more than 45 years of marriage, Cassius and Mary Jane divorced.

In 1879, Clay married 15-year–old Dora Richardson, bringing national scandal on the family.  The marriage lasted only four years before they too, were divorced.

White Hall

Clay continued to live in the mansion until his death on July 22, 1903.  He was buried in the Richmond, Kentucky Cemetery.  (Note: AGI blog post on the Richmond Cemetery was published on October 4^th.)

Cassius Clay Memorial

Cassius Clay

Local papers reported that Clay was so respected by the black community, the streets of Richmond were lined by local black families, paying their last respects to a man who had fought for, and in part, helped them win them freedom from slavery. A local paper reported, “Never was a more striking scene witnessed on the way to Richmond, where the funeral services were to be held.  From every humble negro cottage along the roadside and at every cross roads, the mothers and large children carrying those who were too little to walk, the negroes were lined up to pay their last respects to the man whom they honored as the Abraham Lincoln of Kentucky.” 

White Hall in the 1960's

But the legacy of White Hall does not end there. When Clay died in 1903, the home was abandoned.  It eventually fell into ruin and was used by tenant farmers as a barn to store grain, tractors and house chickens.  

Lion in garden

White Hall Gardens

It was 1967 when the Madison County Garden Club suggested that the state consider saving the old mansion and turn it into a state park.  In 1968, the deed for the mansion and 13 acres was donated by the Clay heirs to the state of Kentucky.  Restoration was undertaken immediately by Kentucky’s First Lady, Beulah Nunn and the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation.  The mansion, restored to its former glory, was opened to the public in September of 1971.

Conservatory where
voices are heard

And, as with many historical homes, White Hall has the reputation of being haunted.  Even tour guides will tell you that something stirs about the place.  Mysterious lights are seen, hushed conversations are heard, rose perfume drifts through the house at odd moments, pipe smoke can be smelled at times, ghostly dinner parties still take place in the dining room, complete with the tinkle of glasses, lively, though undistinguishable conversation, and the delicious smell of food.

Ghost Walk tours
held at White Hall

Tis the season for ghosts, but you don’t have long to visit.  Guided tours of White Hall are available from April 1^st through October 31^st.  Tours are given by guides in period dress.  The home is closed to public tours from November through March.  Special events are held throughout the year. These annual events include the “Scandals and Ghost Stories” tour in July, the Ghost Walk tours held in October, and the Victorian Christmas tours in December.  Reservations are required for these special events.  

White Hall near Richmond, Kentucky

White Hall is located at 500 White Hall Shrine Rod.  More information is available at the Kentucky historic state site, http://parks.ky.gov/parks/historicsites/white-hall/

or the White Hall –Clermont Foundation at http://www.whitehallclermontfoundation.org.

~ Joy