Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Some More Notable Green-Wood Residents Part 2

Imre Kiralfy (1845-1919), producer of pageants and processions including The Life of Columbus which ran during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago as well as America or 400 Years of History which played at the Auditorium Chicago.

Across the water, William Niblo (1789-1878), theatre manager and founder of Niblo's Garden.

Samuel Morse (1791-1872), painter, inventor of the single wire telegraph and namesake of Morse code.

William "Boss" Tweed (1823-1878), politician and head of Tammany Hall.


4 comments:

magnus said...

These wonderful monuments bring to mind an interesting American phenomenon: We were and still are a very fluid society, geographic and otherwise. Given the size of some of these mausoleums and monuments, we can only assume that they were intended as the resting place for many generations of the family who built them. I wonder how many hold more than the patriarch and his children, if even all of them?

The Down East Dilettante said...

Marvelous stuff. Niblo's is astonishing

And what strange bedfellows a cemetery makes

archibuff said...

Magnus, always presumed a resting spot for eternity in a great family mausoleum like these pictured were prized tickets within families and similar to the Pratts in Glen Cove or the Vanderbilts on Staten Island, all remaining places were long ago accounted for.

While maybe not typical, the Steinway Mausoleum can hold an astonishing 256 family members and approximately 74 are buried there today. The link may explain why. Seems Henry E Steinway, founder of the Piano firm restricted future occupants to his immediate family and only male descendants bearing the name Steinway. Even though that restriction was eventually lifted 1n 1989, mnay generations of family members probably decided to be laid to rest elsewhere in the 100 odd years since Henry limited its usage.

The Green-wood mausoleum photos over the past two weeks have been wonderful in their architectural variety and beauty

http://americanhistory.si.edu/steinwaydiary/annotations/?id=711

Anonymous said...

Kiralfy does it for me more garden gazebo than crypt.