Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 October 1881 — PRESIDENT’S GRAVES. [ARTICLE]

PRESIDENT’S GRAVES.

Whoro tho Remains of oar Nation’s Balers Rest—Tho Banal Places of All the Chief Magistrates From Washington down to Johnson Described—Neglect of Our Great Dead. Philadelphia Breas. j It is not; a -very difficult matter to prove that tbe Unitea States is an ungrateful Repulic, if her neglect of her dead Presidents is to be taken as complete evidence of it, without any cpunterbala icing testimony. Not even the Slates in whioh ttie Presidents are buried are known to most people.» The graves of a number of them are unmarked with amonumeut, while those as others are cared lor a ith scarcely •lie attention due to the lowest citizen. There are a few noble exceptions, hut it is not the United States that lias been gratelul but the State of the dead one’s nativity or his personal friends. WASHINGTON. The gTavo of the first President, the Father of his Country, has been visited by so many thousands of Americans and foreigners that it will be of very Utile interest to the majority of readers to peruse a description of tbe Diace now. The Mount Vernon Association has taken good care of the first President’s last resting place. Washington’s remains were depositedln their present receptacle l.i 1837. The vault was built in accordance with the provisions of the President’s will. It is of brjck, with an arched roof. Over -the gateway, in a marble tablet,"!* the simple ‘inscription, “Within Ihis *enclosure rest the remains of General George Washington.” Two coffins lie iu the vestibule of the vault; the first is that of Washington, the other that of Martini Washington. JOHN ADA M 3. Beneath tbe Unitarian Church of Quincy, Massachuseets, may be~fouud the remains of two American Presidents, The church was completed in 1828* and the body John Adams was removed from the family vault In the cemetery just across the street int> the room beneath the church. John Quincy Adams’s body was placed in the same room iu 1848. Their wives artburied with them. The bodies lie in leaden caskets placed in cases hewn from solid blocks of stone. The tombs are seldom visited, and the apartment is kept dingy and dirty. Inthechurch room above may be found the following inscription t "Beueath these walls* are deposited the mortal remains- of John Adams, son of Johu and .Susanna (Boyiston) Adams, second President’of the United States. Born 19 30 October, 1735. Ou the 4th of July, 1776, he Pledged his life, fortune, amt sacred honor to the independence of his country. On the 3d of September, 1783, he afiixed his signature to the dcQulte treaty with Great Brtaini which, acknowledged that independence, and consummated the redemption of bis pledge. *Qu the 4th of July, 1826, he was summoned to the Independence of Immortality ami to tne judgment of his God. This house will tiear witness to ills piety, this town (his birthplace) to his munificence,history to his patriotism, posterity to tin depth and composure of his mind.”

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. Ou the other side of the pulpit is the tablet containing the inscription to the' oilier Adams. It reads thus: "Near this place reposes ail that could die of John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail (Smith) Adamr. sixth Pr:.“ideut of the United States. ' Born 11th July. 1707, amidst the stoims of civil commotion he nursed the vigor which inspires a Christian. For more than half a century, whenever his country called for his labors in either hemisphere or iu any he never s|>ared them in her cause. On the 24th December, 1814, he signed the recond treaty with Qreat Britain, which restored peace within her borders. On the 23d of February, 1848, he closed years pf eloquent defense of Jhe lessons of his youth by dyiugat his post in her great National Council. A sou worthy of his' father, a citizen shedding glory on his country, a scholar ambitious to advance mankind. this Christian sought to waik humbly in the sight of his God." The church itself is built*of Quincy granite and surrounded by elms and horsechesnuts.

- JEFFEK'-eON.' Tn.a thick growth if- woods, a few hundred yards to the right of a road leading from Charlutteville.Vireiuia.to Montietllo. may be seen the grave of Jefferson, in a little inclosure, with thirty others. .An obelisk nine feet high marks the spot. The base has ail been chipped away, and the monument looks like a rough, meaningless stone. "Born April 2, 9. 8., 1743, died July 4, 1826,” is put upon Auother inscription has been almost entirely Obliterated. On a fly-leaf of au old t ccount-boo£ Jefferson wrote this: "Choose some unfrequented vale in the park, where is no sound to break the stillness, hut a brook that bubbling winds among the Woods—no mark of human shape that .has been there, unless the skeleton of some poor wretch who sought that place out to despair and die iu.- Let it be among ancient ami venerable oaks; intersperse some gloomy evergreens. - Appropriate one-half to the use of my family, ihe other to strangers, servants, etc.* Let the exit look upon a small and distant part of fbo Blue Mountains.” His fishes have been Well calrii d out. The old family house was in ruins three years ago aud tenanted by an old man who made a living by demanding a fee from visitors.

MADISON. •At Montpelier, four miles form Orange, Virginia, Madison is buried. The grave is in the center of a large level ftpld, in a lot about 100 feet square, surrounded?, by a good brick °,2 th * gate "i 8 '* I ’. “Madison, 1820. Four graves are ..here. Over one of them rises a mound twenty feet high. A granite obelisk bears the intviriptim, "Madisou, born March 16. 1731.” By its side |s a Mmller shaft of white marble insetibed “In raetuorv ol Dolly Payne, wifettf James Madison, born May 20,1768; died July 8, 1849.” Two nephews are buried with her. The region round about is one of great natural beauty apd commands a view of the Southwest mountains. At the southeastern edge of the adjoining wooc's is the home which Madison inherited when a child. It is well kept at the present date. MONROE. James Monroe is Wiried in Hollywood cemetery, Richmond, Virginia. It is beautiful site. Five feet under ground, in a* vault of bricks and "granite, the remains rest. On the sarcophagus, op a brass plate, is this momenta: "James Monroe, born in Westmorelandcountv,2Sih April. 1758, died in the City of New York, 4tli of July, 1831. By order of the General Asssemby his tremaius were removed 1 1 this cemetery, 5 h July, 1858» as an evidence of the affection of Virginia

for her good and honored son.” Over fhis monument Is a Gothic temple twelve feet long and nine feet wide, resting upon four pillars on a foundation of dressed Virginia granite. A cast-iron screen almost prevents a view of the monument within. TfWf iron is considerably rusted. The, temple is painted drab color and sanded. Around it are beds of flowers and tall oaks. JACKSON. Andrew Jackson is buried at the Hermitage, h.s famous home, on the Lebanon pike, eleven miles from Nashville. A massive monument of Tennessee granite marks his grave and that of bis wife. It is placed in the corner of the garden. The grave is Kept in good order. Three steps lead up to Its foot. It is composed of eight Anted Doric columns, supporting a plain entablature and dome, upon which stands an urn. Inside the space is ornamented with white stucco work. A pyramid resting on a square is the monument proper and nearly beneath it rest the bones of the President. A stone contains this inscription: "General Andrew Jackson. Born March 15, 1767; aied June 8, 1745.” Jackson’s wife is buried on the right of the pyramid.

VAN BUREN. Martin Vanßuren sleeps in the little viliiage cemetery of Kinderhook. Columbia county, New York. The President’s grave is in the family lot. A granite shaft fifteen feet high contains the following; Martin Van Bnren, • Vlllth President of the U. S. j Born December.?, 1782. Died July 24,1882. jThere is no carving of any kind upon it. The inscription is in large black letters. The name of his wife appears upon another face of the shait, while on tbe third is to be seen the name of a son. The house is at the southern end of the villlage. near the creek, a frame building, which has been entirely remodled of late years. His other residence, two miles south of town is the property of farmers who live there. HARRISON. The resting place of William Henry Harrison was brought prominently before the country three years ago by the desecration of his son’s grave. It Is situated at North Bend, Indiana, a few yards from the track of the Cincinnati, ludianapolis and Lafayette railroad, where it enters the’ tunnel. The grave is a simple mound unfenced, on a little knoll, and is shaded by beeches and oth&r treea There is no monument and no inscription anywhere to tell the story of the life of the departed hero. Since the desecration of Scott Harrisou’s grave the mound has been/Improved somewhat. The vault has Jbeen cemented on the top in imitation of stone slabs. The iron door on 4iie left is now securely fastened and some effort is made to keep the place in good order. The spot is a lovely one, and could be made byproper improvement to do honor to the remains of the hero of Tippeca* uoe. TYLER. . The grave of John Tyler is practically unmarked. A little mound, covered with bushes, Just ten yards from the grave of Monroe, in Hollywood cemetery, Richmond, is pointed out as the spot where a President’s remains lie. ATTts head is a small magnolia tree, on the south isanother magnolia, and on the north a young Juuiper tree. The grave is neither inclosed nor curb ed. Near by are the graves of Monroe, of William Allen, one of J.fl Davis’s bondmen; bf Dr. Lawrence Roane Warren, the philanthropist; of James M. Mason, the Confederate Envoy to England, and or "Little Joe,” son of Jefferson Davis, killed in Richmond dining the war. Near by are buried 18,000 Confederate soldiers around a tall pyramid of granite.

POLK. At the corner of Viue and Union streets, Nashville, at the old family homestead, may be fouud the grave of James K. Polk. The mohumeut is a block, twelve feet square by twelve iu height. It is appropriately ornamented. ami contains, among other inscriptions. Ihi3: ‘Games Iv. Polk, eleventh President of the United States. Born Noveinber2,l79s; died, June 15,1849.” He was buried here nearly thirty years ago. An iron gate, surmounted by an eagle, opens from Vine street into a broad avenue bordered by mulberry trees and silver leafed poplars. This road ieads to the Polk homestead, a lai-ge brick house three stories high. The tomb is surrounded by a grass plat which is encircled by a walk of white shells. ShruD3 and flowers beautify the spot ami make it look quiet and bright. TAYLOR. V. The remains of Zachary Taylor have been moved three times. They repo.- e now in a public spot at Frank fort, Kentucky. The body was first placed in a cemetery at Washington, then in a lot on the Taylor homestead, live miles back of Louisville, and then taken to Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville. In 1878 the remains were placed in the beautiful cemetery at Fraukfort,where they are in the company of many illustrious dead, including Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson. FILLMORE. Millard Fillmore lies buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery,three mi I ess from Buffalo. The grave is well taken care of, and is a beautiful spot. A tail monument contains the inscription, "Millard Fillmore. Born Jan, 7, 1800. Died March 8, 1874.” The. grave is at the eastern extremity of the lot iu the center of a grassy space. At its head rises the monument. In the southeastern corner is a Norway spruce, which shadows the grave. Fillmore’s daughter sleeps near the remains of her father. An iron urn for flowers lies under an evergreen. Near Fillmore’s grave are those of Bunker Hill heroes, of Stephen Charuplin and Bid well, who fell at Cedar Creek.

PIERCE. The remains of Franklin Pierce rest at Concord, New Hampshire, in the Old Cemetery on Mnin street. Pierce’s monument 'is of Italian marble, aud bears the following: "Franklin Pierce Born November 23, 1804. Died October 8, 1869,” The Pierce lot Is at the northwestein corner of the Minot inclosure and contains about an acre of ground. It is surrounded by a neat iron fence six feet bign, traversed by concrete paths and neatly sodded- The monument displays a spire with cap, die and plinth, resting on a base of granite three and one-quarter feet square. It is surmounted by a draped cross aud its total height is fourteen feet eight inches. In the Old Cemetery the founders of Concord rest. bughanan. • Jimes Buchanan is burled at Woodward Hill cemetery, Lancaster, on the banks of the Conestoga. The grave lot is inclosed by a neat iron fence, A fine sarcophagus of Italian marble contains the following:

: Here rest the remains of James : • Buchanan, fifteenth President of ' f • the United State*. Born in Frank- i • tin county, Pa„ April 21,1791. Died : at Wheatland, June 1, IMS. The lot is 80 by 12 feet, with white and black granite supporting the fence. All around the fence is a hedge of blooming roses, aud rose bushes are in the enclosure. The spot is kept carefully, and is always attractive. LINCOLN. Abraham Lincoln is buried at Oak Ridge cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. A fine pile of marble, granite and bronze marks the spot. It 'nears the single wotd, “Lincoln.” This memorial is probably one of the most magnificent in the United States. The building of the monument was begun by Mr. Lincoln's friends in Springfield. It was dedicated October 15,1874.

It stands is a tract of 7f acre*. From north to south its length is 119 feet 6 inches. Its breadth is 72 fset A inches. The structure is of blocks of New Hampshire granite. The-main platform is nearly 16 feet from the ground, approached by four grind staircases with balustrades. The main platform is 72 feet square. From the center rises the shaft, 12 feet . square at the baSe and 96 feet from the ground Shields of polished granite bearing the names of tne States encircle the square. It is a fitting tribute to the martyred President. JOHNSON. Hie grove of Andrew Johnson is at Greenville, Tannesee. on a spot selected by himself. A fine granite arch upon a broad base marks the site. It contains the inscription: “Andrew Johnsou,seventeenth President U. 8. A. B6rn December 29, 1808. Died July 31, 1851. His faith in the people never wavered.” Hie monament is of marble upon a base of granite nine and a luif by seven feet. The tomb was erected by the President’s three surviving sons. Pilasters on either side of the plinth support funeral urns. Tne Bcroll of the Constitution is carved bn the die, and also an open hible, upon which rests a hand. The shaft is festooned by the American flag at tbe top aud surmounted by an eagle with outstretched wings.