tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48197366778763458612024-03-04T20:08:01.111-08:00The Central Florida Graveyard RabbitThis blog was created to promote the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from a study of burial customs, burying grounds, and tombstones of Central Florida.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-80862510856009743082009-01-17T09:23:00.000-08:002009-01-19T09:29:40.483-08:00Who was Wyman R. Brown?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijl8LNnxP_he8ydx374tLvSFf-L6gTMcs7Oc56z7EGeTAs8HoYgYLCQanZHemZ08yOCAhxueTx1wSr8QlGPaPhFF7zvVwYvmbhkSX8pFHh1az638SB_ijeN7KK0eLYmlNJQscKgyHZhAqA/s1600-h/ocoeecem.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293056973484194050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijl8LNnxP_he8ydx374tLvSFf-L6gTMcs7Oc56z7EGeTAs8HoYgYLCQanZHemZ08yOCAhxueTx1wSr8QlGPaPhFF7zvVwYvmbhkSX8pFHh1az638SB_ijeN7KK0eLYmlNJQscKgyHZhAqA/s200/ocoeecem.jpg" border="0" /></a>Today's history mystery has us rabbits hopping out to Ocoee, a small town west of Orlando on SR 50.<br /><br />Ye local rabbits have no doubt sped along this stretch of highway several times, not realizing there was a graveyard ripe for hopping just north of Lake Blanchard.<br /><br />The cemetery entrance is actually where Story Road dead ends.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4cEjUDcncsaSj9cWVLFnylxt4tHpt3SZQ4Briu9iwSgWTvtpveCG9d2hx6ttKIiI-we-EskzG4gsBwbV6bAnz5-iJcdaCJed84VfjQrFNaJwIIuTrdkNhWF1ENun3qfZDg9O8xx7gtpZ/s1600-h/wymanbrown.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293056979080327426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4cEjUDcncsaSj9cWVLFnylxt4tHpt3SZQ4Briu9iwSgWTvtpveCG9d2hx6ttKIiI-we-EskzG4gsBwbV6bAnz5-iJcdaCJed84VfjQrFNaJwIIuTrdkNhWF1ENun3qfZDg9O8xx7gtpZ/s200/wymanbrown.jpg" border="0" /></a>Anyway, the oldest markers in this old graveyard are clustered in the back of the property.<br /><br />Among them, I found this hard-to-read stone bearing the inscription:<br /><br />WYMAN R. BROWN<br />Sept 26, 1820<br />Jan 12, 1882<br /><br />Unforutnately, I haven't been able to find out anything further on our mystery man. There was a W.R. Brown included in the 1880 census of Orange County, but he was too young to be this fellow. So, who was Wyman R. Brown?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-67330324878022297762009-01-16T09:07:00.000-08:002009-01-16T09:11:14.652-08:00Osceola County considering a new cemetery<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRWQ7vuvk8fJIeTGxOVn9eoof3z5PNjua_KHmaptELE0AY3rt27MzQjJsITPhEjtc0sSTA8mkvVCG71pByV8epk7FBQmNwoZnSBjOVZkVxixSDRFggyq7_SbHjiby1LKnR4l0LEd6tUAt/s1600-h/newcemetery.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291939486525145810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 114px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRWQ7vuvk8fJIeTGxOVn9eoof3z5PNjua_KHmaptELE0AY3rt27MzQjJsITPhEjtc0sSTA8mkvVCG71pByV8epk7FBQmNwoZnSBjOVZkVxixSDRFggyq7_SbHjiby1LKnR4l0LEd6tUAt/s200/newcemetery.JPG" border="0" /></a> This just received from a fellow rabbit who lives near the site.<br /><br />Osceola County is in the process of permitting a new cemetery, per Conditional Use Application #08-00042 submitted by Hickory Tree, LLC.<br /><br />If approved, the new graveyard will encompass about 36 acres of prime hopping grounds north of Mable Simmons Road, between Hickory Tree Road and Westshore Drive.<br /><br />The Planning Commission will consider the application on January 22nd, and the Board of County Commissioners will do the same on February 23rd.<br /><br />So, stay tuned. Our territory may be expanding!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-67454833100511301202009-01-15T05:22:00.000-08:002009-01-15T05:28:03.617-08:00Urban sprawl has a long history in Orlando<a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/479187760_851c1c83e5.jpg?v=0"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 408px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/479187760_851c1c83e5.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a> Even back in 1884, local residents felt the encroachment of development.<br /><br />That's the year my Patrick and Ivey ancestors formed the Lake Hill Cemetery Association, and removed the bodies of loved ones buried in their old family plot to escape all the rampant land speculation that was going on in this little corner of heaven in anticipation of the arrival of the railroad.<br /><br />The former burial ground was known locally as the Patrick Cemetery, and was located between Lake Lorna Doone and Rock Lake north of the modern Citrus Bowl.<br /><br />If ye rabbits feel like hopping over the former site of this long-disappeared graveyard, take the Orange Blossom Trail to Washington Street, then head west between the shores of the two lakes.<br /><br />You may not see any surviving grave markers, but if you time it just right you may be able to enjoy a sunset like this one over Lorna Doone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-22964566975982690432009-01-14T05:23:00.000-08:002009-01-14T05:35:42.806-08:00Before there was a Mount Peace?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9tRjAIXW6NQC5CJ4QvKbFlib8fzvWXIzxGPdhcSoCB4mfBPgokvdAeGAmtF8inO3tlgPncX1-qVUkTVYQmTArVFqRgfC-F1k1-7n4PBS48oKDSy25_3q-N0Of88lkj_m3NrhFlCu6KIp/s1600-h/mountpace.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291140501864287586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9tRjAIXW6NQC5CJ4QvKbFlib8fzvWXIzxGPdhcSoCB4mfBPgokvdAeGAmtF8inO3tlgPncX1-qVUkTVYQmTArVFqRgfC-F1k1-7n4PBS48oKDSy25_3q-N0Of88lkj_m3NrhFlCu6KIp/s200/mountpace.jpg" border="0" /></a>Today, I want to take ye rabbits south of the Orlando International Airport, across the Osceola County line into the bustling little town of St. Cloud.<br /><br /><br />The oldest cemetery here is Mount Peace. It has a nice iron gate, stone columns, and a sexton's office on site.<br /><br /><br />According to the sexton's records, the cemetery was founded back in 1910. But, that date seems a little suspect to yours truly.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCxQ4L4lGpvSHxbOHJSWf2GYS6AbQYpRM-o9ZUEg25rLbB97KFHV-HE2ei0JBqd5nXeFapGiAQtUhD4UCoKsgWYsFjIrmyvDO7IrHZQHWVxtaU9ecYwIFfPEcLwSvkpV_9ijOSGnVYdSa/s1600-h/wjbrack.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291140505444876466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCxQ4L4lGpvSHxbOHJSWf2GYS6AbQYpRM-o9ZUEg25rLbB97KFHV-HE2ei0JBqd5nXeFapGiAQtUhD4UCoKsgWYsFjIrmyvDO7IrHZQHWVxtaU9ecYwIFfPEcLwSvkpV_9ijOSGnVYdSa/s200/wjbrack.jpg" border="0" /></a>For instance, I found this gravemarker for William Jackson Brack (17 January 1837 - 30 April 1901), who served as the first Mayor of Orlando, 1875-7.<br /><br /><br />How could it be that he died 9 years before the cemetery was founded?<br /><br />Were his remains brought here after the fact and reinterred?<br /><br />Or, was this originally a family cemetery that was later deeded to the city?<br /><br /><br />I'd love to get to the bottom of this mystery.<br />Any ideas?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-41884311453422670932009-01-13T10:07:00.000-08:002009-01-13T10:24:55.551-08:00Meet my Uncle George<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqPvA5PkiP46001q2_qk4pO7WHUk46aodouXxxluGKKTDV5DD6UyCdJWXVMaf46zS5URy_vST3lByZxYI3AYbUWjvioQ9iLKvnRg2JjrWnjiuPb51ksrDqNbPpLX_4aeJ_Z7ZnNtAR9fe/s1600-h/georgemacy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290841805221867090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqPvA5PkiP46001q2_qk4pO7WHUk46aodouXxxluGKKTDV5DD6UyCdJWXVMaf46zS5URy_vST3lByZxYI3AYbUWjvioQ9iLKvnRg2JjrWnjiuPb51ksrDqNbPpLX_4aeJ_Z7ZnNtAR9fe/s200/georgemacy.jpg" border="0" /></a>Today, I'd like to introduce ye rabbits to my great-uncle George Everett Macy (1850-1928).<br /><br /><br />His grave marker may be found near the back of Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando, in Section A to be more precise.<br /><br /><br />If you squint at this image, you can barely make out some words beneath his name and vital dates: "Absent from the Body, present with the Lord."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JaCZ9wBtoiJOjV9mweDTiSuJh_QZ9hiXTwSUFUChs0zUCJobQZ4uKUH_NkUd9nSzD9v3co5WTIzqkMQcz62C3A8q9RM1qabib0_2xVvzBgVNOdZLODCqDi5iJsEOq91OSL_YE-NOySyF/s1600-h/macywagons.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290841805781038914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 178px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JaCZ9wBtoiJOjV9mweDTiSuJh_QZ9hiXTwSUFUChs0zUCJobQZ4uKUH_NkUd9nSzD9v3co5WTIzqkMQcz62C3A8q9RM1qabib0_2xVvzBgVNOdZLODCqDi5iJsEOq91OSL_YE-NOySyF/s200/macywagons.jpg" border="0" /></a>Uncle George came down to this little corner of heaven with his dad, my great-great-great grandfather William H. Macy during the years immediately after the Civil War.<br /><br /><br />Settling in Orlando in 1875, George established a blacksmith shop at what is now the intersection of South Street and Hughey Avenue.<br /><br /><br />His two-story home stood nearby at 208 West South Street, but had to be moved over to the grounds of the old Boone homestead on Irvine Street when I-4 was rammed through our old downtown area.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, Uncle George's blacksmith shop grew from producing horseshoes and branding irons to become a wagon factory--the biggest in the state, as a matter of fact. It covered 12,640 square feet of workspace and produced 16 varieties of wagons, carriages, buggies, and surreys.<br /><br /><br />I'll bet it was a Macy Wagon that the old funeral homes used to carry caskets and mourners out here to Greenwood Cemetery back in the long ago, maybe even for Uncle George funeral!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-32116430290853179012009-01-12T09:33:00.001-08:002009-01-12T09:36:25.763-08:00I'm baaaaaaaack!Well, rabbits, after an extended absence due to holiday-making, trip-taking, computer updating, and illness-recuperating, yours truly is FINALLY back online!<br /><br />My new year's resolution is to get back into the swing of making daily posts here.<br /><br />So, watch this space!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-34425439839486182532008-12-17T06:57:00.000-08:002008-12-18T07:08:53.283-08:00Pilgrim's of the NightAfter yesterday's post, yours truly determined to find out more about the hymn sung during Mrs. Welborne's funeral at Winter Park in January 1884.<br /><br />I quickly found it was written by Dr. Frederick W. Faber of London back in 1854, and entitled "Pilgrims of the Night." It originally had seven stanzas, but the American love of brevity shortened it to just three in hymn books printed on this side of the Atlantic. The surviving stanzas were likely sung by the mourners on Interlachen that winter day described by Harriet Switzer so many years ago:<br /><br /><div align="center"><em>Darker than night life's shadows fall around us,</em></div><div align="center"><em>And, like benighted men we miss our mark;</em></div><div align="center"><em>God hides himself, and grace hat scarcely found us</em></div><div align="center"><em>Ere death finds out his victims in the dark.</em></div><div align="center"><em><br /><br /></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em>Rest comes at length, though life be long and dreary,</em></div><div align="center"><em>The day must dawn, and darksome night be past;</em></div><div align="center"><em>Faith's journey ends in welcome to the weary,</em></div><div align="center"><em>And heaven, the heart's true home, will come at last.</em></div><div align="center"><em><br /><br /></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em>Cheer up my soul! Faith's moonbeams softly glisten</em></div><div align="center"><em>Upon the breast of life's most troubled sea;</em></div><div align="center"><em>And it will cheer thy drooping heart to listen</em></div><div align="center"><em>To those brave songs which angels mean for thee.</em></div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="left"><u>References:</u></div><div align="left">*<i>Annotations Upon Popular Hymns,</i> by Charles Seymour Robinson, 1893.</div><div align="left">*<i>Thomas Carlyle: A History of His Life in London, 1834-1881,</i> by James Anthony Froude, 1885.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-36139921771545197612008-12-16T06:24:00.000-08:002008-12-18T06:35:30.067-08:00Backyard burials<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6NsFkSd8nNSRGVztPJs6MZJtq3-bt2rcgx85PKeeKXeGnnylBcQlfSpKX_5VCP59zHMdnwnnMtXo96B2ECPXAjS_rQEFx20qpYrk4X_SEHMVDrughTxvdAsmhGq0zbwVeECtZGacl5SA/s1600-h/welbornehome.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281136167695308290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6NsFkSd8nNSRGVztPJs6MZJtq3-bt2rcgx85PKeeKXeGnnylBcQlfSpKX_5VCP59zHMdnwnnMtXo96B2ECPXAjS_rQEFx20qpYrk4X_SEHMVDrughTxvdAsmhGq0zbwVeECtZGacl5SA/s320/welbornehome.JPG" border="0" /></a> Not all the graves in this little corner of heaven are to be found in formal cemeteries.<br /><br />In pioneer days, folks were often laid to rest in the back yard, close to their survivng loved ones.<br /><br />Back in January 1884, Harriet F. Switzer described one such burial of a neighbor at the old Welborne house on Interlachen in Winter Park:<br /><br /><em>Well, this morning, Mrs. Chapman and Mrs. Lyman drove up to tell us of the death of Judge Welborne's wife who had been suffering from consumption for a long time and at last succombed. The funeral is to be this afternoon and, "Would I help with the [illegible]?" There is so little one can do at such a time that I hesitantly, yet gladly too, said I would. I don't see that you could have done anything else.</em><br /><p><em>I wish I had an artist's brush to paint [the] service. Instead of the close room we had expected, we were taken to the end of the garden. On the sloping bank of a beautiful lake was an open grave, but so [illegible] with green there was no earth showing. The sun danced and sparkled on the water and shone through the trees onto the plams, fur branches, and flowers carpeting the last royal resting place of a tired and worn out body.</em></p><p><em>Bishop Whipple's tall, commanding figure with his silvery hair, which he always has rather long, and the touch of colour [sic] given by his purple skull cap made the picture most impressive. Then the group of mourners and friends, the [illegible] colored men. Oh, their varying expressions! That was the human side.</em></p><p><em>But, above all was the sun, blue sky, and the stately pines that whispered peace as we sang "Faith's Journey Ends in Welcome to [illegible]." We knew that "life's long shadows" were forgotten, swallowed up in the "cloudless love" and that she who had suffered so long and so patiently was experiencing the "joy that ends the night of weeping."</em></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-29902791021889861762008-12-15T11:39:00.000-08:002008-12-17T12:35:37.815-08:00Non-traditional source reveals citrus pioneer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92R3U6_vGkIQMr5AsODCQHBUWiNGSlyIyphqoD_JdRGKNkmal3gfOsU-Gno41Q1D6uetsZStQHRPJuKHePUOq_TFhDsty879oQVAL-f7zaTzS7O4pgkv9ZmLewkLS0uxWvzfmhmwatNq3/s1600-h/willarddewey.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280846414655871586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 235px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92R3U6_vGkIQMr5AsODCQHBUWiNGSlyIyphqoD_JdRGKNkmal3gfOsU-Gno41Q1D6uetsZStQHRPJuKHePUOq_TFhDsty879oQVAL-f7zaTzS7O4pgkv9ZmLewkLS0uxWvzfmhmwatNq3/s320/willarddewey.jpg" border="0" /></a> This stone at Greenwood Cemetery in dowtown Orlando doesn't reveal too much about the fellow it memorializes.<br /><br />It's hard to read, so here's a transcript for ye rabbits:<br /><br /><div align="center">WILLARD DEWEY</div><div align="center">Born</div><div align="center">Aug 15, 1839</div><div align="center">Died</div><div align="center">Dec 5, 1899</div><div align="center">A precious one</div><div align="center">from us has gone.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">I tried the usual sources of additional biographical information, but completely struck-out with the federal census.<br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I did find a Civil War service record showing he served as Quartermaster Sergeant in the 27th Kentucky Infantry Regiment.<br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">But, it was only by checking a recently-discovered source on citrus farming that I found out more about Mr. Dewey:<br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><a href="http://www.fshs.org/">http://www.fshs.org/</a><br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">The site belongs to the Florida State Horticultural Society, and if you click on the "Proceedings" tab you will find they have kindly digitized their records dating back to 1888. It was in these records that I found the Committee on History's "paper number 6," about the history of orange plows. It was written by W.W. Yothers, an Orlando entomologist, who remembered Mr. Dewey as the owner of a grove about 3 miles south of Orlando, and quoted a letter from the Avery Plow Company in Louisville, Kentucky, dated 23 November 1918, which stated (in part):<br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><em>An old and highly esteemed member of our staff</em></div><div align="center"><em>was Mr. Willard Dewey, foreman of our forge shop.</em></div><div align="center"><em>After years of faithful service he moved to Florida,</em></div><div align="center"><em>partly for the purpose of seeking relief from rheu-</em></div><div align="center"><em>matism. He acquired an orange grove, and at that</em></div><div align="center"><em>time the cultivation of groves was either not done or</em></div><div align="center"><em>done in a primitive way. This was about 1885.<br /></em></div><div align="center"><em><br /></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em>He decided that the cultivation of orange groves by</em></div><div align="center"><em>plowing, to keep the groves free of grass and weeds,</em></div><div align="center"><em>was advisable, and he applied intensive cultivation to</em></div><div align="center"><em>his grove along this line . . . This improvement was made</em></div><div align="center"><em>in 1889, as the result of several years study preceding.<br /></em></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Mr. Dewey, like many of our pioneers, came to this neck of the woods only after the rail lines were established and thus missed the 1880 census enumeration. We all know the 1890 census records were lost to fire. So, it is important for we rabbits to broaden the scope of our search when we're trying to find out more about people whose grave markers were erected in this time frame. Don't just check the census and vital records, try contemporary periodicals, too!</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-90405788007319707782008-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:002008-12-17T06:34:47.877-08:00Dangerous trees?<a href="http://www.eleadershipinstitute.ucf.edu/PE%20Long%20Logo06.jpeg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 329px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 105px" alt="" src="http://www.eleadershipinstitute.ucf.edu/PE%20Long%20Logo06.jpeg" border="0" /></a> I read in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel that there is some controversy brewing at one of the cemeteries we rabbits visited recently.<br /><br />Apparently, Progress Energy has removed a stand of old oak trees along a one mile stretch of Rinehart Road--the namesake of adjacent Oaklawn Cemetery.<br /><br />According to them, the trees were "dangerously close" to one of their 230-kilovolt transmission lines.<br /><br />Their fear is a hurricane or tropical storm might blow thru and drop limbs on said line, thus disrupting power to area residents.<br /><br />Hmmmm . . .<br /><br />These trees somehow managed to survive the horrendous '04 season, among many others. Power outages are just something we have to expect in those situations. Progress Energy's fear doesn't justify, in my humble opinion, destroying the character of the neighborhood they claim as their primary concern.<br /><br />What's done is done, though. I guess we will just have to wait and see what sort of "appropriate low-growing trees" they plant in the oak stand's stead.<br /><br />Maybe, the folks in Lake Mary should rename their old burial ground "Appropriate Low Growing Tree Lawn Cemetery" when they get done . . .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-30574864086009560342008-12-13T08:47:00.000-08:002008-12-14T08:59:33.006-08:00Graveyard wildlife<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEwdO8Ocrm-MhdttCy_XQDeRlTOPF8nHcybeZqvbyUUd52mqc_7-Dbyst1FfIst4uWAOJKbSxVDg5Y1c0ss1QgpZAhf5vwGmL99cKw8jyuLBUAnePZ-NbCC3qLJHLInDbuzpBKmcX-rXN/s1600-h/eaglenest.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279689235003079794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEwdO8Ocrm-MhdttCy_XQDeRlTOPF8nHcybeZqvbyUUd52mqc_7-Dbyst1FfIst4uWAOJKbSxVDg5Y1c0ss1QgpZAhf5vwGmL99cKw8jyuLBUAnePZ-NbCC3qLJHLInDbuzpBKmcX-rXN/s320/eaglenest.JPG" border="0" /></a> We graveyard rabbits are well aware of the fact that cemeteries are (or can be) places full of life.<br /><br />That irony seems to be lost on most folks.<br /><br />But, all they have to do is open their eyes to both flora and fauna, especially down in this little corner of heaven where the winters are so mild.<br /><br />A recent visit to Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando confirmed this.<br /><br />Rising from the tombstone littered grounds and jutting above the treeline is an active bald eagle nest that could have inspired Dr. Seuss.<br /><br />And scampering around the gravestones--not to mention along the paths that divide up the various sections--is a veritable menagerie.<br /><br />I didn't spot any other rabbits, just yours truly. But, there were tons of birds.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67cSOPLvRBVmyyJmXdpJyOXVbm2l3r96aJwpv_qokFv8lbw4-0-BwCepoadfUFZn05KdO9HxwkLJc3DvaocmBcld-ZAUaSpCTJAVX2LCM8a6PlRvz-Wv4SjAzTaqHvX49pCsiZ_J6bXLV/s1600-h/crane.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279689227021689282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67cSOPLvRBVmyyJmXdpJyOXVbm2l3r96aJwpv_qokFv8lbw4-0-BwCepoadfUFZn05KdO9HxwkLJc3DvaocmBcld-ZAUaSpCTJAVX2LCM8a6PlRvz-Wv4SjAzTaqHvX49pCsiZ_J6bXLV/s320/crane.JPG" border="0" /></a> Most of them fled, either on foot or on wing, when my indelicate clodhoppers approached with a camera . . . like I was a gaggle of paparazzi trying to capture their images for the front page of the National Enquirer.<br /><br />I did manage to snap one good pic of a little white crane, though.<br /><br />Enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-68834592283280844092008-12-12T08:44:00.001-08:002008-12-12T09:09:10.603-08:00An accusation carved in stone<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278945611768128338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 227px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1bil_3wVveYAYf4A1odE1KhmyPlaSO2-m__4MRiaIdzw3cJwX_uX_iQUUYisNtrHzUGAVRDLWx7pbrRoYqCf8T45J1w6cSYrDuc3v9Ic-ecX0rfHeeHJRiYo6hwJ1uzVf9GdOiUiLxXE/s320/fredweeks.JPG" border="0" />One of the most eye-catching sites within the bounds of Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando is the Weeks mausoleum, mostly because just about everybody around this little corner of heaven was buried in the ground.<br /><br />Anyway, if ye rabbits are brave enough to closely inspect the mausoleum, you will find a curious Bible verse (Luke 10:30):<br /><br /><em>"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves."</em><br /><br />There's a fairly humorous story behind that inscription.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeMwKBdATCYRcioD8NP-LksriCuX-0jSigrMsQGylN_INCzeT0L75r6wSToka_PiXblAV9dcYocWLWBXPeC7ImdZ6qbq0NSDQXVbkvuQMLA_pR3orqBOqHUjkDSqkFXhNSjl4o94oUvvY/s1600-h/thieves.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278945616481771794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeMwKBdATCYRcioD8NP-LksriCuX-0jSigrMsQGylN_INCzeT0L75r6wSToka_PiXblAV9dcYocWLWBXPeC7ImdZ6qbq0NSDQXVbkvuQMLA_pR3orqBOqHUjkDSqkFXhNSjl4o94oUvvY/s320/thieves.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>It seems Fred S. Weeks came to these parts from Quincy, Illinois, in the late 1800s, and began searching for a good piece of land to start an orange grove.<br /><br />He traveled the countryside and came upon a promising parcel of land that some locals were already clearing for that purpose. They were piling up the scrub brush in a pile and burning it to make way for rows of new citrus trees.<br /><br />Seeing this, Mr. Weeks eagerly made an offer on the property, figuring the current owner had already done the hard work of clearing it. He should have been slightly suspicious when his offer was accepted just as quickly . . .<br /><br />When he and his wife went out to the property to build their new home, they discovered all the smoke from the scrub fires had masked the view of the entire tract of land. As it turned out, clear skies revealed a boggy marsh unsuitable for citrus. They had been swindled!<br /><br />Exhausting all normal means of recovery from the swindlers, Mr. Weeks erected his mausoleum in Greenwood Cemetery. At the time, as pointed out in previous posts, the cemetery did double duty as a public park and had quite a lot of pedestrian traffic. So, you can imagine how embarassed the swindlers were when they found their names had been chiseled below the aforementioned Bible verse for all their neighbors to read!<br /><br />Long story longer, they settled-up with Mr. Weeks and he allowed them to pay someone to remove their names. (You can still see the "blank" space beneath the verse where the swindler's names used to be listed!)<br /><br /><strong><u>References:</u></strong><br />* 1870 Census, Adams County, Illinois, page 427b.<br />* 1880 Census, Adams County, Illinois, page 589a.<br />* 1900 Census, Orange County, Florida, page 45b.<br />* 1910 Census, Orange County, Florida, page 206b.<br />* 1920 Census, Orange County, Florida, page 130b.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-62551696202472527142008-12-11T05:24:00.001-08:002008-12-11T05:33:43.325-08:00Old newspapers add stories to the stones<a href="http://www.wppl.org/images/collages/wphistory-intheworks.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 545px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 126px" alt="" src="http://www.wppl.org/images/collages/wphistory-intheworks.jpg" border="0" /></a>Have you ever hopped upon a grave marker and wondered what it WASN'T telling you?<br /><br />You know, most of them will give you a name and a couple of vital dates. But, there is so much more to a person's life than the beginning and the end.<br /><br />Now, we local rabbits have a great online resource for finding out more by perusing old newspapers posted at this website:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wppl.org/">http://www.wppl.org/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSJP3n63CeTea4FGxdKynWEUm26cHnv7MXUEbpWWUZSdMCA7xbTFpgTodFgPkdc8hBAlki1dQ0fosYgmJM6yf4J6qygYJs4sqjqmGvXJ6VGmPkKzRoOPjSZKqPy-VL3Fg1ZKx7_9yu-Vg/s1600-h/nathanfogg.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278523809668113682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSJP3n63CeTea4FGxdKynWEUm26cHnv7MXUEbpWWUZSdMCA7xbTFpgTodFgPkdc8hBAlki1dQ0fosYgmJM6yf4J6qygYJs4sqjqmGvXJ6VGmPkKzRoOPjSZKqPy-VL3Fg1ZKx7_9yu-Vg/s200/nathanfogg.jpg" border="0" /></a>For example, yours truly wanted to know more about this Civil War veteran Nathan H. Fogg (20 June 1838 - 26 March 1916) who was buried in the GAR section of Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando.<br /><br />I found his obituary printed in the 30 March 1916 edition of the <em>Winter Park Post</em>:<br /><br />DEATH OF NATHAN H. FOGG<br /><br />Nathan H. Fogg died at his home in Altamonte Springs Sunday evening. Mr. Fott has resided in Altamonte Springs for the past 32 years and was dearly beloved by all who knew him. In the words of one who knew him well, "He was a self-made man, a devoted husband, and a loving father--ever willing to lend to the poor and afflicted. He will be sadly missed by those whom he assisted in times of distress."<br /><br />The funeral services took place Tuesday morning. The cortege left at 10 o'clock for Greenwood Cemetery, where after the Masonic ritualistic burial service, the interment was made in the G.A.R. burial ground. Undertaker Carey Hand was in charge of the arrangements.<br /><br />The deceased was in his seventy-seventh year. He moved her to what was then Orange County from Saco, Maine. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Mrs. J.W. Osteen of Altamonte, and Mrs. J.M. Tracy of Colville, Wash.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-80728584279749468932008-12-10T10:07:00.001-08:002008-12-10T10:08:25.428-08:00Who is this blogger?!All the details that are fit to print may be found in this introduction:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thegraveyardrabbit.com/2008/12/meet-central-florida-graveyard-rabbit.html">http://www.thegraveyardrabbit.com/2008/12/meet-central-florida-graveyard-rabbit.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-81864746529443697612008-12-09T09:16:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:01:36.718-08:00Why did she get the nicer stone?!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRCAkua6gLwLV_cJL6F9K59ecndvgMLxBVmUVhk4EWiiuznLph1tyvcOk3SYrRIkBVh-7LPAJ52oPXvYYn862PWKXMXKSKRfaAYjifuta3OUIWoRHDczEWExsRRRvH8az32qy2LAl4Yod/s1600-h/drusillamoore.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278211822483393202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 121px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRCAkua6gLwLV_cJL6F9K59ecndvgMLxBVmUVhk4EWiiuznLph1tyvcOk3SYrRIkBVh-7LPAJ52oPXvYYn862PWKXMXKSKRfaAYjifuta3OUIWoRHDczEWExsRRRvH8az32qy2LAl4Yod/s200/drusillamoore.jpg" border="0" /></a>Today, we rabbits hop north of Orlando to visit Longwood Memorial Gardens, just east of Ronald Reagan Boulevard.<br /><br /><br />Longwood was one of the communities in this little corner of heaven that was founded by Northerners after the railroad came in the 1880s and opened the region for settlement. In fact, it was named for a suburb of Boston. But, I digress . . .<br /><br /><br />The oldest gravemarker yours truly could find here was this finely-cast stone belonging to a Civil War widow.<br /><br /><br />Here's the transcript, in case your eyes fail you:<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">DRUSILLA</div><div align="center">MARGARET</div><div align="center">SCOTT</div><div align="center">Wife of</div><div align="center">JOHN O. MOORE</div><div align="center">Born</div><div align="center">Jun 22, 1847</div><div align="center">Died</div><div align="center">Oct 15, 1903</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5Ej70NiYrBoQ0goz89DLzQid5Rq-PFy3OP82genZSbtz3FypZWgsfvGQCqg5cMMZgmRzl9_n8jXw-yPZTu-TZ8U2zrGG5-qpBEmnJDhejmaAfjUh0HoZIh7n371rD7LZWGouFm9AWYfx/s1600-h/johnmoore.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278211816501443058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 85px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5Ej70NiYrBoQ0goz89DLzQid5Rq-PFy3OP82genZSbtz3FypZWgsfvGQCqg5cMMZgmRzl9_n8jXw-yPZTu-TZ8U2zrGG5-qpBEmnJDhejmaAfjUh0HoZIh7n371rD7LZWGouFm9AWYfx/s200/johnmoore.jpg" border="0" /></a>Not too far away this much simpler, government-issued stone marks her husband's final resting place. It gives the unit he served in during the Civil War, but no vital dates whatsoever.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>I did a little sleuthing and found Mr. Moore was born in September 1834. He and Drusilla lived at Centre in Perry County, Pennsylvania, before moving to this little corner of heaven in the late 1800s. As a young man, he worked as an egraver, but eventually turned to farming. They had 7 children, though only 4 survived to adulthood.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>We rabbits get so used to seeing matching stones for married couples, or even one stone bearing the names of both husband and wife. Isn't it a little odd that the Moores should have such very different markers?<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u><strong><em>References:</u></em></strong></div><div>* 1870 Census, Perry County, Pennsylvania, page 30a.</div><div>* 1880 Census, Perry County, Pennsylvania, page 181b.</div><div>* 1900 Census, Orange County, Florida, page 36b.</div><div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-66578896623886685652008-12-08T11:22:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:42:43.408-08:00Bone Mizell's odd sense of post-mortem justice<a href="https://www.floridabooks.net/catalog/images/books/0-8130-0985-5.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 161px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 212px" alt="" src="https://www.floridabooks.net/catalog/images/books/0-8130-0985-5.jpg" border="0" /></a> Yesterday's post about the practice of disinterring folks who were already at rest and shipping them up north reminded yours truly of a story told about local legend Morgan Bonaparte "Bone" Mizell. (Yes, he was kin to the Mizells mentioned in previous posts!)<br /><br />Anyway, Bone had two buddies die on him at about the same time, back when Central Florida was a rough and tumble frontier. One of them was an old "cracker" named John Underhill. The other was a sickly young man from a wealthy New Orleans family who ironically came down here seeking to improve his health, whose name has been lost to history.<br /><br />Both of Bone's buddies were laid to rest next to one another, but neither grave site enjoyed the benefit of a fancy marker. So, when the sickly fellow's family came down here to dig up the young man and take him back north, they had to ask Bone where his remains were buried.<br /><br />Well, as Bone saw it, the young man had left New Orleans for a reason and wouldn't want to go back there if he could speak for himself. And, old John Underhill had never seen much of this world beyond Florida, much less enjoyed a train ride.<br /><br />So, you can guess what happened next . . .<br /><br />If you'd like to read more about the exploits of Bone Mizell, check out Jim Bob Tinsley's book "Florida Cow Hunter." (ISBN 0-8130-0985-5)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.floridabooks.net/catalog/images/books/0-8130-0985-5.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-24800756657640951922008-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:002008-12-09T11:18:29.004-08:00Not-so-final resting place<a href="http://www.cfmemory.org/common/images/logoCFM.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px" alt="" src="http://www.cfmemory.org/common/images/logoCFM.gif" border="0" /></a> If nasty weather prevents ye rabbits from visiting a graveyard today, allow yours truly to encourage you to hop online and visit this site:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cfmemory.org/">http://www.cfmemory.org/</a><br /><br />There you may find a wonderful collection of records pertaining to the history of this little corner of heaven.<br /><br />Given the scope of this blog, I would particularly point out the digitized records of Carey Hand Funeral Home.<br /><br />In browsing that collection, I was surprised to find the number of folks who were laid to rest in area cemeteries "in the long, long ago," only to be disinterred later and shipped to points north.<br /><br />Case in point, do a search at this site for a Spanish American War veteran named ARTHUR WHIPPLE who had brought his wife and 2 small children to these parts to work as a telegraph operator with the railroad . You will find the poor fellow died of TB at his parents' truck farm out in Oakland on 14 May 1912, and was apparently buried there. Flash forward just over 15 years, and somebody up in Malden, Massachusetts, paid good money to have his remains dug up and put on a northbound train.!<br /><br />It makes one wonder how many open spaces in cemeteries around here were not always empty, doesn't it?<br /><br /><u><strong><em>Reference:</u></em></strong><br />1910 Census, Orange County, Florida, page 171b.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-1071357574774662192008-12-06T10:18:00.000-08:002008-12-09T10:33:10.387-08:00An early account of a haunting at Greenwood Cemetery<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmKNKmkY0XAWX0sDR-xUKeSJane0lh6QkjYGqgn2OHSlEs4hNudQT77pXGiy4it0pgGyYmgeM6FHW9VTVH6hgFEhUyrGpCZvkd73_plzooIb6Ao6cwhWktfml_uKZV4TNMuVS9TxMw4qd/s1600-h/landscape.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277857791788743970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmKNKmkY0XAWX0sDR-xUKeSJane0lh6QkjYGqgn2OHSlEs4hNudQT77pXGiy4it0pgGyYmgeM6FHW9VTVH6hgFEhUyrGpCZvkd73_plzooIb6Ao6cwhWktfml_uKZV4TNMuVS9TxMw4qd/s200/landscape.jpg" border="0" /></a>A century ago, many of Orlando's black residents lived in a settlement dubbed "Jonestown." It lay east of the city limits, between Colonial Drive and Gore Street, and as far east at Bumby Avenue.<br /><div></div><br /><div>But, soon after the 1900 census enumeration, most of Jonestown's residents moved west of the aptly-named Division Street.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>Now, as I continue reading Kena Fries' old local history, I believe the following first-hand account (slightly edited) indicates that a supposed "haunting" at Greenwood Cemetery scared the people away . . . conveniently vacating a lot of valuable acreage for real estate development:<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><em>"We'd all been living there in brotherly accord and love for a powerfully long time and the ghosts never gave any trouble til they put up a fine tombstone over the man who gave the land for the burying ground. Since then, every night when the town clock goes "bong, bong" twelve times, he creeps out of his grave and sits atop the stone pointing his gun at the gate, and he sits there til our roosters crow three times in the morning, then he creeps back in the ground til the clock goes "bong, bong" twelve times the next night. I saw him, and my father-in-law saw him, and all the rest of us have seen him sitting there."</em><br /></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-42695758808541609272008-12-05T10:02:00.000-08:002008-12-09T10:11:53.534-08:00In the long, long ago . . .<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2k2O9zWURKfIWMnLD26_QUuEv45d7SWTlPWYT5NcaQGHY1bl6nBpkPehgyo2HXzpxtUWonN3A77uT7MTMbJAj_mgC3SxNlyUOKrOzWXIK0fjpuAUbm45pcxovmis1rIk59DPKwmVY41n/s1600-h/kenafries.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277853289957617346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 122px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2k2O9zWURKfIWMnLD26_QUuEv45d7SWTlPWYT5NcaQGHY1bl6nBpkPehgyo2HXzpxtUWonN3A77uT7MTMbJAj_mgC3SxNlyUOKrOzWXIK0fjpuAUbm45pcxovmis1rIk59DPKwmVY41n/s200/kenafries.JPG" border="0" /></a> Back in 1938, Kena Fries (whose stone pictured here may be seen at Greenwood Cemetery downtown) published a book on the history of Orlando.<br /><br />I thought ye rabbits would appreciate what she wrote about early funerary practices in this neck o' the woods:<br /><br /><em>"In the long, long ago, when a death occurred friends of the family made a rude coffin or box, and the corpse was lovingly laid to rest on the very best sheet and pillow the family owned. The body was taken to the grave on a wagon drawn by a mule or oxen. A pine board, or light wood marker was placed on the spot. The interment usually took place under some large tree, magnolia, cedar, or oak, on the homestead. The first public grave yard was situated at the corner of Main and Pine. When the street was clayed, notice was printed in the papers requesting all bodies be removed. At the end of six months <strong><u>those remaining with some form of marker</u></strong> were disinterred and buried in a common grave in Greenwood."</em><br /><p>Note, she doesn't mention what happened to those remaining *without* a marker!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-37197252504818591662008-12-04T08:34:00.000-08:002008-12-04T08:40:39.420-08:00Mark your calendars, local rabbits!<a href="http://www.greenwood-cemetery.net/images/moonowlcolor.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px" alt="" src="http://www.greenwood-cemetery.net/images/moonowlcolor.gif" border="0" /></a> Once again, venerable Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando will be hosting a moonlight tour:<br /><br />Next Friday - December 12th - 9pm - 1603 Greenwood Street<br /><br />This is the perfect opportunity to see some of the things yours truly has been blogging about here at the CFGYR.<br /><br />Couple of suggestions from past personal experience:<br /><br />1. Wear comfortable walking shoes. The tour is about 2 miles long.<br /><br />2. Bring a flashlight.<br /><br />For more info and tips, please feel free to call the sexton's office: 407-325-6269.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-75767821440020254472008-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:002008-12-03T12:36:35.581-08:00Victorian Cemetery Design<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5aeNlu8pSEGqLsgRf-6GhYhmF9hw_wEgTPbnvulNyPMflJ_cl5If5wW3cwAmB2exIfGjj8-G-SoNsez8PXepR1_8_wU9UalyyHZlfTrzxO1wTSnRkPzo_B6mi7yv9C8_g2yEhyphenhypheneS7fec/s1600-h/Greenwoodmap.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275656558673978690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 230px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5aeNlu8pSEGqLsgRf-6GhYhmF9hw_wEgTPbnvulNyPMflJ_cl5If5wW3cwAmB2exIfGjj8-G-SoNsez8PXepR1_8_wU9UalyyHZlfTrzxO1wTSnRkPzo_B6mi7yv9C8_g2yEhyphenhypheneS7fec/s320/Greenwoodmap.JPG" border="0" /></a> A few days ago, yours truly mentioned a fellow named Samuel A. Robinson, whose name should be heralded by all local graveyard rabbits.<br /><br />It was Mr. Robinson who came up with the original design for Orlando's beautiful municipal graveyard: Greenwood Cemetery.<br /><br />Here is a basic map of the modern cemetery's layout, but it has been expanded and modified significantly since Mr. Robinson first took pen to paper back in the 1880s. In his day, rabbits entered from Gore Street, on the south (see the red dot between sections J and G). That is why most of the earliest burials here are clustered from that point to sections A and H.<br /><br />Unlike modern planners who seem more interested in utility and aesthetics, Robinson was a true Victorian. His three purposes were pragmatism, amenity, and morality.<br /><br />By pragmatism, I mean his primary intent was to provide the city with a sanitary means of handling human remains. Imagine how important a concern that was in his day, especially given Florida's subtropical climate.<br /><br />By amenity, I mean he also wanted to create a space that would be as inviting as a city park. He intended the grounds to be used for more than just funerals, and expected his design would to welcome both individual citizens seeking a refuge from the bustling urban center as well sizeable civic gatherings on important dates.<br /><br />By morality, I mean Robinson expected visitors to receive important messages about mercy, virtue, and patriotism . . . and from the other side of the coin: vice and selfishness, too. A section was mercifully set aside for the indigent. The virtue of the family unit was reinforced with multigenerational plots. The patriotic values of the city founders are reflected by the placement of all the veteran sections at the front, where they could be clearly seen by those traveling along Gore Street. (Confederate veterans in section J, Union veterans in section I, and later Spanish American War veterans in section W.) Vices would be decried in the monuments that sprouted up when the grounds were opened. But, there would be none of the selfish old iron fences surrounding individual plots and interrupting what was intended to be a broad, open, and tangible moral lesson.<br /><br />Robinson's intentions are all but lost on modern visitors to Greenwood, who enter thru the new gate on the west side of the property . . . especially since most turn north after passing the cemetery office and head toward the more active sections that crowd up against Anderson Street and the new "urban wetlands."<br /><br />But, now, at least ye rabbits know a lot of thought was put into designing this little corner of heaven, and the heavy thinking was done by Sam Robinson!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-25787926205805171242008-12-02T06:03:00.000-08:002008-12-03T06:28:42.876-08:00Was Orlando named for a grave?!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDs_FJ1QSE0gSUzK3GaBdL5fFFqpwWPNKeamisX2I1G7ichq4eQZte4nAfDRWc-xStKxVDCtOZtVbnxyn5GfPZ0qxvR76TpV28rwiV-GXCVZHvcDdtbtkJndHhRZd6079dI4Bcql2O5VP/s1600-h/reevesmonument.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275564627296086082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 295px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDs_FJ1QSE0gSUzK3GaBdL5fFFqpwWPNKeamisX2I1G7ichq4eQZte4nAfDRWc-xStKxVDCtOZtVbnxyn5GfPZ0qxvR76TpV28rwiV-GXCVZHvcDdtbtkJndHhRZd6079dI4Bcql2O5VP/s320/reevesmonument.JPG" border="0" /></a>The simple answer is "maybe."<br /><div></div><br /><div>But, the origins of the name Orlando have been the cause of a lot of contention in this little corner of heaven. <br><br> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>If you believe this downtown marker by Lake Eola, the city was named for a soldier named Orlando Reeves who was killed in action during the Second Seminole War.<br><br></div><div> </div><div></div><div>Despite extensive research at the National Archives, Tallahassee, and in Gainesville, though, yours truly has never been able to find any record of a soldier from that era who bore any name even somewhat similar to the one on this marker.<br><br></div><div> </div><div></div><div>And, the only clash with the Seminoles in these parts took place several miles south of downtown Orlando, at Hatcheelustee (now Disney property).<br><br></div><div> </div><div></div><div>I did find a plantation owner named Orlando REES who lived at Spring Hill in nearby Volusia County in the years leading up to the Second Seminole War. But, he fled back to his native South Carolina when the fighting started.<br><br></div><div> </div><div></div><div>Still, the earliest American settlers in these parts claimed to have encountered the word "Orlando" carved on a tree near the shores of Lake Lawsona, just east of Lake Eola. They assumed it marked the resting place of some poor soul by that name, and took to referring to the area around it as "Orlando's grave." In time, this moniker was shortened to simply "Orlando."<br><br></div><div> </div><div></div><div>Of course, that's just legend, too. I haven't seen any surviving photographs of the carving in question, only the second-hand account by local historian Kena Fries who wrote about how distressed her father (surveyor J.O. Fries) was when the tree was felled.<br><br></div><div> </div><div></div><div>I believe the carving was made by Mr. Rees in the 1820s or 30s. He was a friend of famous naturalist John J. Audubon, who visited him at Spring Hill and explored the Central Florida wilderness with him. Audubon had adopted a habit learned from Daniel Boone, whereby he periodically carved his name or a symbol in a tree trunk to mark his wanderings and thus make retracing his steps a little easier. It seems entirely likely that the ORLANDO the early settlers spotted in that trunk near Lake Lawsona was such a guidepost, not really a grave marker<br><br>.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Still, the legends are very entertaining . . . which is probably why they seem to last a lot longer than trees and gravemarkers!</div><div><br /></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-43604257793960500332008-12-01T12:36:00.000-08:002008-12-02T12:48:50.316-08:00Pioneer undertakers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhax9h3346-SXh3YFuiJMszEoOfRcru2y88Z7OIYCeCJfE6kmmXxYmReE4cxJgQ0zuOAHR6o-BTB7JmkQ7hFW9mVDjPE2eUs6Fv32QMPiEOBNkwB2IJT9gU6JuQ1e82Ue6rXcO4r7bkpKUb/s1600-h/edgararichards.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275294884301446914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 137px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhax9h3346-SXh3YFuiJMszEoOfRcru2y88Z7OIYCeCJfE6kmmXxYmReE4cxJgQ0zuOAHR6o-BTB7JmkQ7hFW9mVDjPE2eUs6Fv32QMPiEOBNkwB2IJT9gU6JuQ1e82Ue6rXcO4r7bkpKUb/s320/edgararichards.jpg" border="0" /></a>Further to yesterday's post about Orlando's earliest graveyard, I would like to introduce ye rabbits to the city's earliest undertakers.<br /><br />Until the arrival of Edgar A. Richards, a carpetbagger from Massachusetts, most folks in this little corner of heaven oversaw the burial of their own family and friends.<br /><br />Mr. Richards made things easier on the grieving survivors, though, with his ready supply of coffins at his furniture store . . . not to mention a willing shovel.<br /><br /><br />But, it wasn't until 1887, when Elijah Hand came to these parts that embalming of bodies was introduced to our funerary customs.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4ZLGO7lmXKzlQFHD529ufCEq8nkOoN6YoRM9uJAKcmy03_xMBceHMCnR-9BVQuuucdNpacMNdKjWPSmjQ3Rkq6gjfdzZPWoHyKZIQNmMi3qrv_eAgf-HGya_V93d93CyaihIto7Mafxo/s1600-h/elijahhand.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275294536132548066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4ZLGO7lmXKzlQFHD529ufCEq8nkOoN6YoRM9uJAKcmy03_xMBceHMCnR-9BVQuuucdNpacMNdKjWPSmjQ3Rkq6gjfdzZPWoHyKZIQNmMi3qrv_eAgf-HGya_V93d93CyaihIto7Mafxo/s320/elijahhand.jpg" border="0" /></a>Before Hand's arrival, there was a custom that anyone who died before noon had to be buried by sundown. Anyone who died after noon would be buried the next morning.<br /><br />But, with Mr. Hand's introduction of embalming fluid, funerals could be postponed a few days . . . a very convenient thing when you consider how difficult travel conditions could otherwise restrict turn-out for a good wake.<br /><br />After a couple of years in competition with each other, Mr. Richards and Mr. Hand teamed-up to serve the community.<br /><br />Ironically, while Mr. Richards' fine obelisk may still be seen at Greenwood Cemetery southeast of downtown Orlando, Mr. Hand (father of local embalming) was himself embalmed and sent back to his old hometown of Shelbyville, Indiana, for burial!<br /><br />That being said, Mr. Hand's son Carey remained in Orlando and it is his name that has become synonymous with the funeral business right up to the present day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-10746361498149707462008-11-30T09:53:00.000-08:002008-12-02T10:14:25.864-08:00Not a vestige of anything left . . .<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2ZZ0SB7r7ApBK2EPxnr4PNKWrb1knjPy-FHxkpvYFpjpf72Lijni_7DwyCzxxlfSFbM6wt9HVTT6htsanbvizpu8u8mPW_JMK-SPThaZgF6HqtDcTg-vieoBDhRbU7KBG9WqHLw3rkFm/s1600-h/unionfreechurch.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275252558084046418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 178px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2ZZ0SB7r7ApBK2EPxnr4PNKWrb1knjPy-FHxkpvYFpjpf72Lijni_7DwyCzxxlfSFbM6wt9HVTT6htsanbvizpu8u8mPW_JMK-SPThaZgF6HqtDcTg-vieoBDhRbU7KBG9WqHLw3rkFm/s320/unionfreechurch.JPG" border="0" /></a> Those were the words Orlando pioneer Samuel A. Robinson used to describe the city's first graveyard when he was interviewed by the local newspaper back in 1915.<br /><br />According to Mr. Robinson, it was where "Samuel Russ and many others" were originally buried. But, it may not be their finaly resting place. Or, maybe it is . . .<br /><br />The roots of the vanished cemetery date way back to 23 November 1857, when my ancestor John Patrick deeded one acre to the local Baptist congregation to build a church. I suspect his generous gift followed the death of his father Wright Patrick, Orlando's first postmaster and quite possibly the first person buried within the bounds of the modern city block bounded by Church Street on the South, Rosalind Avenue on the East, Pine Street on the North, and Magnolia Avenue on the West.<br /><br />It was certainly being used as a graveyard by 1869. But, it wasn't until 1872 that the locals got around to building an L-shaped log church on the site. (Pictured above.) It was used not only by the Baptists, but also by all the other congregations in the city until they were able to build churches of their own. Thus, it was known as the "Union Free Church." It also did double duty as a public school building.<br /><br />In 1880, when Greenwood Cemetery was established southeast of downtown, the old graveyard fell into disuse. The union church building was absorbed by the nearby Tremont Hotel, but was ultimately condemned by the city in 1891. Two years later, the Baptists wanted to expand their new church complex. So, they disinterred all the grave sites they could identify and moved the remains to Greenwood. But, as ye rabbits are well aware, sometimes it's hard to spot all the graves in a graveyard. And, they apparently missed more than a few!<br /><br />Who knows who may yet remain buried under this bustling block in the heart of downtown Orlando: Samuel Russ? Wright Patrick? Their names certainly don't appear in the sexton's records at Greenwood . . .<br /><br />Think about that the next time ye hop down to one of the hot spots at Church Street Station, and a chill might just run down your spine!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819736677876345861.post-2201124312958072642008-11-29T11:14:00.000-08:002008-12-01T11:52:34.647-08:00Aluminum marker in flood zone<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Crabgrass.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Crabgrass.JPG" border="0" /></a>Hopping along US 192 from Holopaw to the coast will take ye rabbits to the vicinity of Deer Park and the Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area.<br /><br />Few know there is a small cemetery in the WMA.<br /><br />Those who do, call it by a variety of names. Some call it the Lanier Cemetery for a pioneer family. Others call it the Bull Creek Cemetery for the WMA. But, I've always known it as the Crabgrass Creek Cemetery.<br /><br />Anyway, the terrain here is "Old Florida," replete with scrub oak and white sugar sand. You'd really be well advised to take a 4x4 if you're seriously interested in visiting this graveyard in person. But, you will be richly rewarded with some of the greatest natural scenery in these parts.<br />Unfortunately, the area is prone to some pretty serious flooding. This may be why only the sturdiest grave markers have stood the test of time. Several have evidently been washed away, and one in particular was replaced with one of those little funeral home markers experienced rabbits will recognize from previous excursions.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKoLR7-J8NKXhwc4T2TXeIc8m1D3Qh-3_0NLPTdOZLAStuD_-b_T-3ZC0YR-Fx8eM5Nqd6_2FquhMW9TpNj8yAjx8an9jy2Am6lYYxnH5gpPbQUFbiLurpcXeSgwxeAAFecG9WQ0Nroqv/s1600-h/platt.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274903491326840674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKoLR7-J8NKXhwc4T2TXeIc8m1D3Qh-3_0NLPTdOZLAStuD_-b_T-3ZC0YR-Fx8eM5Nqd6_2FquhMW9TpNj8yAjx8an9jy2Am6lYYxnH5gpPbQUFbiLurpcXeSgwxeAAFecG9WQ0Nroqv/s320/platt.JPG" border="0" /></a>This marker caught my attention, because it was so small and had so few clues as to the identity of the person who rests beneath it.<br /><br /><br />It bears aluminum letters that blend into the aluminum background of the sign, making it a little difficult to read in this picture. But, I can tell you they spell out: LAVONIA PLATT.<br /><br /><br />I wondered who she was, and wondered (based on the flag) whether she might have been a Confederate widow. So, I decided to do a little research.<br /><br /><br />It didn't take me long to discover information on Lavonia (3 Nov 1876 - 24 July 1935) posted on a website maintained by <a href="http://www.christophertanner.com/">Christopher G. Tanner of Maitland</a>. According to him, this poor woman was accidentally killed by a train along the Florida East Coast Railway in nearby Melbourne.<br /><br /><br />A very sad story, made even sadder by her marker . . . still haven't figured out the Stars and Bars connection . . .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0