The Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery

The Heritage Gazette Fall 2006

SeaBees Install Water Line Louisburg Wildcats March to Sousa East Side Phase I Complete One hundred fourteen march- played “Military Medley,” which

The Seabees from Construction ing band members from Louis- includes service tunes for differ- Battalion Maintenance Unit 202, De- burg High School, Louisburg, ent branches of the service, Kansas, braved a summer thun- “Taps”, and “High School Ca- tachment Washington, led by Lieu- th tenant Junior Grade Greg Kirk, have derstorm to make a July 5 trip dets,” a march by Sousa. been hard at work installing a new to Congressional Cemetery and Continued on Page 6. water line in the cemetery. Phase 1 play at the grave of John Philip Sousa. Marching to the graveside accompa- nied by the Marine Corps Color Guard, the band

PLANET Returns to HCC Stewardship Program Annual Renewal & Remembrance Borden to Develop Program

On July 24, Professional Land- The Association has hired care Network (PLANET) donated a scholar Rebecca Borden to de- has now been completed, and we day of professional services to HCC velop an interpretive stewardship have a new water line to the east side for the sixth straight year. This year, program for the cemetery. The of the cemetery, with nine new spig- as in previous years, they put weed Steward Program will be a com- ots. control on all 30+ acres, trimmed prehensive volunteer training The Seabees will work through the and pruned trees, and last year pro- program designed to provide ca- end of this year to complete Phase 2, vided lightning protection for the pable and knowledgeable bringing a water line to the ceme- large swamp oak just inside the en- "stewards" who can advance and tery’s west side. Navy Seabees de- trance. Their volunteer donation enact the overall mission of His- ploy around the world to provide adds up to over $10,000 in services toric Congressional Cemetery. construction support for U.S. forces and time. Each year, PLANET Depending on the volunteers’ as well as humanitarian assistance. members assemble on Capitol Hill interest and experiences, stew- HCC thanks the Seabees, as well each year to work cooperatively on ards will serve many capacities Continued on Page 5. Continued on Page 2. Continued on Page 5. Donations for Chapel A Week At Congressional Board Members Urgent Renovations Needed Linda Donavan Harper — Chair At first blush it may look like a Patrick Crowley —Vice Chair Historic Congressional Ceme- place of eternal rest, but life is not dull Frank Devlin —Treasurer tery’s Redemption Chapel was Sandy Schmidt — Secretary at Congressional Cemetery. In fact, built in 1903, replacing a large J. Dudley Brown “rest” is not in our vocabulary. Frederick Davis water fountain that stood on the Rev. Judith Davis While Sandy was deep within the same site. For over 100 years, the Farleigh Earhart Library of Congress researching obitu- Chapel has hosted funerals, wed- Scott Kibler aries for our fantastic web site, Linda Collin Green dings, historic meetings and Alice Norris was off in London on “vacation” talk- events, and of course the annual Tabitha Almquist ing up Congressional to potential do- OAC—Vacant HCC Hallowe’en Organ Recital nors. Dudley was preparing for a pres- and the HCC Association Annual ~~~~~~~~~~~ entation on Congressional as the first Meeting. Fundraising National Cemetery and I was at East- Over the years, the Chapel has Linda Harper, Chair ern Market going over the concept Mary Hewes, Development fallen into a terrible state of dis- Jill Beatty, Coordinator drawings for our new guide map. repair. Currently, it has no elec- Scott was huddled over engineering Building & Grounds tricity and a leaking roof, as well Scott Kibler, Chair, proposals for our road and drainage as possible structural damage, Scott Kibler, Infrastructure problems and Rebecca was actually in and we have had to close it for all Catherine Dewey, Conservator the gatehouse developing the interpre- Howard Wellman, Task Force events for the foreseeable future. Michele Pagan, Surveys tive program. Laurie was at home re- Continued on Page 6. Lisa Hollingsworth, Trees search material for our bicentennial Collin Ingraham, Groundskeeper commemorative book while Collin and PLANET Cares for Earth Education & Outreach Lisa trimmed trees out in the yard. Continued form page 1. Sandy Schmidt, Archives Meanwhile Catherine and Howard re- legislative issues. For six years Sandy Schmidt, Web Master now they have donated a day of Rebecca Borden, Interpretation convened the Conservation Task Force Laurie Stahl, Newsletter Editor to repair grave markers. Tom contin- their professional services to Patrick Crowley, Newsletter ued to field the day to day processing HCC. Alice Norris, Newsletter PLANET is an international Robert Ellis, Genealogy of membership applications, where’s- Barbara Allshouse, Genealogy my-folks inquiries, and making sure association serving the lawn care John Kreinheder, Inscription professionals, exterior mainte- the bills get paid. Robert was develop- Cemetery Manager ing a proprietor's data base (muy impo- nance contractors, installa- Tom Kelly tion/design/build professionals, rante) and John continued his inscrip- Bicentennial Committee tion survey despite the heat. Margaret and interiorscapers. PLANET Patrick Crowley and Michele worked on a gardening provides its members with a Lisa Hollingsworth good business foundation to help stewards program, and Jill struggled Bicentennial Commemorative Book with our data base system upgrades. them evaluate, plan, and better Laurie Stahl manage their companies. Sandy Schmidt These are the week by week chores Member firms have direct ac- ~~~~~~~~~~~ that go on behind the scenes, under- taken by some very dedicated people. cess to marketing tools, industry Contact Not only do they keep the place func- specific business publications, The Association for the Preservation of updates on legislative issues, and Historic Congressional Cemetery tioning but these folks are building a 1801 E Street, Southeast fantastic organization. I have to say I networking opportunities that can Washington, DC 20003 assist them in becoming more am very proud to be part of this group. 202-543-0539 profitable. So while the Navy Yard SeaBees 202-543-5966 fax Herbicides used to kill off poi- www.congressionalcemetery.org working on the new water line may be [email protected] son ivy on the fences and over- the only visible sign of activity, “rest” growth on the walkways are con- The Association for the Preservation assured, we are hard at work. sidered non-toxic after they dry, of Historic Congressional Cemetery is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. which occurs within a few hours ~ Patrick Crowley All donations are tax deductible. of application. Ω A Personal Bequest Can Benefit HCC From the Manager’s Desk ~ There are Several Options My One Year Review There are several options avail- bequest or a percentage of the fi- able to anyone wanting to make a nal estate. And advantage of des- In my second week of work, one planned gift to benefit The Asso- ignating a percentage may be that year ago, Board Chair, Linda Harper ciation for the Preservation of His- as an estate increases in value over and I had a chat on priorities. The need to keep looking for support was toric Congressional Cemetery time, the will or estate plan would high on the list: promoting site sales (APHCC), with the most popular not have to updated to reflect the and for ideas for foundation grants, being a bequest through a will. change in value. etc. After Linda left to go home, I There is nothing new about 3. Contact an attorney. A pro- opened that day’s mail, finding an making a gift to APHCC through spective donor should contact his envelope that held a really substantial a bequest, and we have received or her legal advisor and request check to the Association from the many over the years. The ease and that APHCC be named as a bene- estate of Donald Mooers. I called simplicity with which a bequest ficiary in his or her will. The attor- Linda immediately. For all I knew can be completed is perhaps one ney will need information regard- this kind of thing happened all the of the reasons that the charitable ing the amount or percentage of time. Well, actually it doesn’t. This was the first tranche of a bequest bequest is the favorite way to the bequest and the specific area, which has turned out to be the largest make a philanthropic contribution if any, to benefit. individual donation in the Ceme- after death. There are four easy 4. Inform the APHCC of your tery’s history. steps to follow in making a be- decision. The APHCC maintains a Then there was the Wirt skull epi- quest to APHCC: conditional list of friends who sode, which brought police detec- 1. Identify an area of interest. have named the cemetery as a tives, forensic scientists, and other First, you select APHCC as the beneficiary in their estate plans. unusual visitors to the office and beneficiary. If the donor has a spe- Following the completion of a be- grounds. We’ve also had visits by the cific area of interest at the ceme- quest, the donor is requested to NY Times, National Geographic, and a number of independent film- tery that he or she wants to benefit contact the Cemetery Office to makers. The Cemetery appeared fre- from the gift, this should be iden- inform the Association of the es- quently in local media and we’ve tified in the will/bequest. The in- tate gift. You can reach the Ceme- even hosted weddings and birthday terest might be: landscape ameni- tery Office at 202-543-0539 or via parties. ties, building repairs, program en- [email protected]. The biggest surprise has been the hancements, or the endowment Note: the information contained high level of activity I’ve found. fund. in this article is for educational This is an alive Cemetery! We’ve 2. Determine the bequest purposes only. For specific details witnessed constant streams of com- amount. Two options are available on how a planned gift would bene- munity volunteers, spearheaded by the Navy Yard and Marine families in choosing an amount, a predeter- fit you, contact an attorney, finan- and friends, donating hundreds of mined amount designated in the cial planner, or other advisor. Ω hours on permanent improvements to our grounds. The sheer volume of HCC Website Expanding and Improving offers sometimes taxes our adminis- Photos of gravestones are being uploaded to the website! Three trative structures, but somehow quarters of the cemetery’s 15,000 stones have been added and we we’ve been able to handle these will keep adding them. You can download these photos. Currently events and physical improvements continue to amaze visitors who labeled by range & site numbers, they will eventually be labeled by “knew us when.” burial name. Also on the website is a detailed report on HCC’s Tree Having spent the better part of the Canopy Replenishment Program. To find it, click on 40 years working with non-profit or- Conservation/Landscaping from the home page. Sandy Schmidt, ganizations, APHCC and its support- cemetery historian and our exceptional web diva, is also working on ers are perhaps the best example of uploading transcriptions of all the cemetery’s daily logs (running the volunteer spirit I have experi- through 1925) as well as the obituaries she has transcribed though enced, and I personally want to thank 1914. Thanks in large part to Sandy’s efforts, the cemetery website you all for that spirit. serves as a rich genealogical and historical resource for people ~ Tom Kelly around the world. Ω 3 Congressional Cemetery’s American Heritage Oregon to Antarctica to Japan: Navy Purser William Speiden In 1828, William Speiden was a 1838.) This government-sponsored into office, and died exactly a 21-year old Purser’s Clerk at the scientific expedition made signifi- month after he was inaugu- Washington Navy Yard. A native cant scientific achievements: they rated....On the 6th of April his re- of Washington, D.C., Speiden collected, geological, and zoologi- mains were taken to the Congress owed his position to Timothy cal specimens, recorded various burying ground and put in the pub- Winn, a Navy Purser, who in 1815 data on the Pacific Ocean, deter- lic vault. His wife on account of offered a job to the then-18 year mined Antarctica was a continent, recent illness did not come to old boy. Winn had a strong influ- charted the Fiji Islands and Washington with him, nor was she ence on Speiden’s career and was mapped the Columbia River region here when he died. His funeral clearly grooming him for better of Oregon. The Expedition in- procession was the longest I have things. In 1824, Winn wrote to spired other men and women to ever seen. He was not carried in a Speiden from New York, advising undertake scientific expeditions, hearse as a general but carried on a him not to take a position as a and contributed greater discoveries car covered with black velvet. He purser’s steward on the North was placed in several coffins Carolina as it would not serve to preserve him...I believe to advance his career. they intend taking him to Speiden subsequently re- Ohio but they have not done mained at the Navy Yard, ran so as yet.” Harrison was not Winn’s small grocery store, laid to rest in Ohio until July and built a reputation for 7th, remaining in the Public honesty and competence. The Vault at Congressional 1834 Washington city direc- Cemetery in the interim. tory shows him serving as a After the Wilkes Expedi- Common Councilman of the tion, Speiden remained in the Sixth Ward as well as serving The Schooner Flying Fish one of six Navy, his duties keeping him with his father-in-law as a ships in the Exploration Expedition in Washington for several Trustee of the Public Schools. In than its participants realized at the years. He left again during the 1828 he married Marian Coote, time. Mexican war and later in 1853 and age 18. In 1829 their daughter The time of the expedition, from 1854, Speiden was a purser’s clerk Marian Eliza was born, then a son 1837 to 1842, spanned the presi- aboard the Mississippi during Mat- Clement in 1833 and William, Jr., dential terms of Martin Van Buren, thew Perry’s expedition to open in 1835. William Henry Harrison and John Japan, specifically Edo (Tokyo), to Although Speiden’s career was Tyler. Americans were involved in trade. Speiden then served as the on the rise, he struggled to provide a Canadian insurrection, there was Naval Storekeeper at the Hong for not only his wife and three a dispute over the boundary of Kong Depot beginning in 1856 to children but also as sole support of Maine, the first emigrant train perhaps 1860 or 1861, marking his widowed mother and two sis- reached California via the Oregon another long absence from home. ters. When his friend Winn died in Trail, and a patent was issued to After falling ill he was sent home, 1836, Speiden looked desperately Charles F.B. Morse for the tele- where he died on December 18, for the security of a Purser’s posi- graph. 1861, at the age of 56. tion, which he won in August Marian wrote frequent letters to In 2003, the Library of Congress 1837. her absent husband, and in 1841 restored William Speiden’s jour- He was then ordered to Norfolk wrote this: "In my last I gave you a nals, the two volumes of which to join a ship assigned to the U.S. description of the inaugural of contain many drawings and paint- Exploration Expedition, where he General William Henry Harrison, ings. served as Purser. (Marian was now I shall give you a description ~ contributed by Laurie Stahl pregnant when Speiden left, and a of his funeral procession. He was third son, Edgar, was born in taken sick a few weeks after going 4 Building & Grounds Sends Out RFP for Summer Conservation Work Catherine Dewey, our profes- five monuments at the cemetery. and fell into the box this spring. sional conservator on the Building The work will begin this fall on For information on who these indi- & Grounds Committee issued an monuments belonging to James viduals were please visit our web RFP (request for proposals) in June Greenleaf (left), William Prout, site’s obituary pages. Ω seeking bids for the restoration of Catherine Sanford, Samuel Smallwood (right), and James He- iskall. The selected firm will provide cleaning and conservation treat- ment to the monuments. All the monuments are in disrepair, exhib- iting deteriorating masonry and mortar soiling. The Greenleaf me- morial needs several small cracks cleaned and closed. The Smallwood memorial has severe delaminating and flaking; the team will attempt to preserve the remain- ing façade and possibly fill the sur- face voids. Similar treatment will be provided to the Prout box tomb. The Sanford box tomb lid broke

SeaBees Complete Phase I of Water Line Installation Naval Support Activity Command Adopts Congressional Continued from Page 1. another for spring 2007.” ject that the local bases participate as the Commanding Officer of Na- Thanks to these enormous ef- in by bringing volunteers to pro- val Support Activity Washington, forts, the cemetery will meet many jects. A committee votes on pro- Captain George Chamberlain who of its landscape and preservation jects to take on, and Congressional has been instrumental in organiz- goals, making it a nicer place for Cemetery was the benefactor in ing Navy volunteer efforts on the public to visit for the bicenten- 2004 and 2005. This year, MADD Make a Difference Day as well as nial and for many years to come. will probably go to another pro- on our water line work. The Make a Difference Day is a ject. However, we at Naval Sup- “We at Naval Support Activity recurring community service pro- port Activity Washington have Washington have ‘adopted’ "adopted" the Congres- Congressional Cemetery,” sional Cemetery, so we Captain Chamberlain ex- have committed to com- plains, “so we have commit- munity service projects, ted to community service apart from MADD, with projects apart from Make a the goal of making the Difference Day with the most historic tract in the goal of making the most his- cemetery presentation- toric tract in the cemetery ready for the 2007 bicen- presentation-ready for the tennial. Our projects are 2007 bicentennial celebra- scheduled for Aug 19 and tion. Our projects are sched- Nov 4, and we plan to do uled throughout 2006, with at least one more in the upcoming work in Novem- spring. Ω ber, and we are planning 5 Stewardship Program on the grounds. HCC is a signifi- their educational programming. A Continued from Page 1. cant site for many reasons and on national expert on arts education including general office support, multiple levels. An interpretive and built environment education, historical archives, genealogical program will help HCC communi- Rebecca worked closely with many research, buildings and grounds cate historical significance, envi- leading educational organizations maintenance, preservation of head- ronmental significance, community across the country. stones, visitor tours, and special significance, personal significance She moved to D.C. in 2003 from events. Members interested in be- to all audiences. Charlottesville with her 12-year coming a volunteer HHC Steward Borden comes with a wealth of old chocolate lab Henley, but is should contact Rebecca directly at experience and knowledge about originally from the Boston area. the Gatehouse. education and informal learning “Cemeteries have always played an One of the goals of the Steward environments. She helped the important role in my life,” she Program is to build a community American Architectural Founda- says, and she likes to visit Mount of caring citizens and life-long tion develop its national education Auburn Cemetery when home as learners who reflect the leadership initiatives and currently advises the three of her grandparents are bur- qualities of those who are buried National Building Museum on ied there. Ω

Wildcats March To Sousa Continued from Page 1. Father Coughlin, Chaplain of U.S. Capitol, led a prayer and the U.S. Marine Corps Band Assis- tant Director Captain Fettig accepted a wreath from the band and spoke about Sousa’s role in promoting music education, especially among high school students. “John Phillip Sousa would be proud of your playing here today,” Captain Fettig said. “He was dedicated to educating stu- dents about music.” Sousa’s grandson, John Phillip Sousa Pugh, traveled from the eastern shore to bring one of Sousa’s batons for John Cisetti, the Louisburg band leader, to use. “The entire day was certainly one of the greatest thrills of my career,” Cisetti Louisburg Wildcat Marching Band and Captain Fettig place a wreath with assistance of Sousa’s grandson, John Pugh, and Wildcats Drum said. “It was a memorable and educational event Majors Megan Smith, Kevin Manning, and Dean Symes. The honor de- for all of us.” tail also included past winners of the John Philip Sousa Band Award The band marched in the National Independ- Dean Davidson, Anna Goens, Rusty Nay, and Cathy Cisetti. ence Day Parade as the representative of the State of Kansas, and performed at a wreath- Chapel Repairs Needed this effort, as the Chapel laying ceremony at the Navy Memorial. They Continued form page 2. has become such an inte- also performed the “Star-Spangled Banner” to Estimates for the Chapel gral part of the cemetery’s open the Nationals vs. Florida Marlins baseball restoration are near th event planning, and is criti- game on the evening of July 5 . The students $100,000. The Chapel cal to a successful bicen- also toured the White House, Capitol, Smith- needs a new slate roof with tennial celebration. sonian Institution and Mount Vernon, as well as all accompanying metal- As it stands now, we the fireworks on the mall. work, electrical work, po- will have to cancel our an- John Philip Sousa’s promotion of bands and tential structural work and, nual Hallowe’en concert band music helped in the establishment of band ideally, installation of cen- because of the lack of elec- programs across America. “It is fair to say that tral air conditioning. tricity in the Chapel. Ω there might be no Louisburg High School Band We are actively seeking had it not been for John Philip Sousa,” Cisetti donations to help us with said. “We are indebted to him.” Ω 6 Congressional Quiz Countdown to our 200th Anniversary

How well do you know I want to help preserve Historic Congressional Cemetery. Congressional Cemetery? ___$25 ___$50 ___$100 ___$250 ___Other

What do we call: Donations of $250 or more are deposited in our Third Century Endow- ment Fund which is matched by our Congressional Appropriation and 1) The tallest monument? managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

____My check is enclosed (made payable to Congressional Cemetery). 2) The first burial? ____Please bill my credit card. ____Visa ____MasterCard 3) Memorial’s to Congressmen?

Card Number ______Exp. Date______4) The big stone bench?

Signature ______5) The pair of angel statues?

Name ______~~~~~~~~~~~~

a) The Cenotaphs Address ______

b) The Arsenal Monument City/State/Zip______

Phone ______email ______c) The Swinton Memorial Does your employer make matching contributions? d) The Sousa Memorial Would you like the matching gift form? _____

The Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery e) The Hall Memorial is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.

Around the Yard DC Cultural Tourism “Shadow of Afghanistan” Mr. Graves is Back HCC Hosts September 30 Tours Film Honors Fallen Journalists Careful: Don’t Get Bit !

The popular city-wide “get off A film honoring two fallen To the delight of his many fans, the Mall” tour program sponsored journalists who’s memorial marker our snapping turtle, “Mr. Graves,” by DC Cultural Tourism will return sits just outside the chapel dors at has returned from an extended to Congressional this fall on Sept. Congressional opened at the Tribeca absense down the Anacostia River. 30 at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The Film Festival in New York this He can be found in the drain basin free tours are led by “Crypt Master” May. They were murdered while at 19th & H St. were he crawls Patrick Crowley starting at the main covering the wars in Afghanistan in through pipes to the woods beyond gate at 18th & E Street, SE. For 1987. Information about the film the fence. We hear he’s partial to more information on other tours, can be found at shrimp but will bite at anything ~ visit www.culturaltourismdc.org. Ω www.shadowofafghanistan.com. Ω watch your fingers! Ω

Annual Sousa Tribute Nov. 6 Conservation Task Force New Map in the Works Marine Corps Band Honors Leader Professionals Return to HCC Local Artist Creates HCC Map

The Marine Corps Band will re- Undaunted at the task that lies Local Eastern Market artist Mary turn to Congressional cemetery on before them, Congressional’s Belcher is creating a new map for November 6th to honor its illustri- Conservation Task Force team Congressional Cemetery in time for ous leader, John Philip Sousa. The resumed their summer preservation our Bicentennial in 2007. Her map- concert will begin approximately work in June with the cleaning and making skills are widely known and 10:30 AM and is free and open to repair of several markers east of the promises a much more entertaining the public. Check our web site for Gatehouse led by Howard Wellman guide to the grounds. Look for details as the date draws near. Ω and Catherine Dewey. Ω completion late this year. Ω 7 The Association for the Preservation of Non-Profit Historic Congressional Cemetery U.S. Postage 1801 E Street, Southeast PAID Washington, DC 20003 Suburban, MD Permit No. 6511

Congressional Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Heritage Gazette Fall 2006

Capitol Hill Community Foundation Awards $10,000 Keller Grant To APHCC to Prepare for Bi- centennial of Congressional Cemetery. The Annual Gala at Folger Library also honored Hugh Kelly (2nd from left), William Reed (3rd from left), and Harold & Janice Gordon (4th &5th from left). APHCC Chair Linda Harper and Vice Chair Patrick Crowley (2nd & 3rd from right) ac-

cepted the award from Nicky Cymrot (far left) and Stephanie Deutsch (far right). in History Place Reserve Your in Sites are available Interment Historic CongressionalCemetery details—202-543-0539Call for