5/5 Oscar Santiago Bustillos L. 1 year ago on Google
The
Story
of
Allegheny
Cemetery
As
early
as
1834
an
attempt
was
made
by
Dr.
J.
Ramsey
Speer,
Stephen
Colwell
and
John
Chislett,
Sr.
to
establish
a
rural
cemetery.
The
three
persons
named
were
connected
with
the
Third
Presbyterian
Church
of
Pittsburgh,
of
which
Dr.
D.
H.
Riddle
was
Pastor,
and
the
congregation
not
having
procured
a
burial
ground,
their
attention
was
drawn
to
the
subject
and
it
was
proposed
to
purchase
a
lot
belonging
to
the
heirs
of
Judge
Roberts,
situated
on
the
south
side
of
Wylie
Street.
The
entire
lot,
containing
eleven
acres,
was
offered
for
Five
Thousand
Dollars
on
easy
terms
and
was
considered
large
enough
for
one
congregation.
In
the
meantime,
the
decided
success
of
Mount
Auburn
Cemetery
at
Boston
led
them
to
change
their
plans,
so
as
to
embrace
the
prospective
needs
of
the
whole
population
of
the
two
cities
of
all
denominations
that
might
think
proper
to
join
in
the
movement.
With
this
thought
in
mind,
Dr.
Speer
visited
Mount
Auburn
at
Boston,
which
was
chartered
in
1831,
Laurel
Hill
in
Philadelphia,
1836,
and
Greenwood
in
New
York,
1838.
In
the
interval
of
years
between
1834
and
1842,
continued
efforts
were
made
to
keep
the
subject
alive
through
occasional
articles
in
the
newspapers
advocating
the
measure.
Repeated
explorations
were
made
of
all
the
sites
that
were
considered
suitable
or
available
for
the
purpose,
until
finally
the
farm
and
homestead
of
Col.
Bayard,
embracing
one
hundred
acres,
located
between
the
Greensburg
Pike
and
the
Sharpsburg
Ferry,
was
chosen.
Several
meetings
of
interested
citizens
were
held,
which
resulted
in
the
Act
of
Incorporation
being
passed
by
the
Legislature
without
objection
and
returned
with
the
approval
of
Gov.
David
A.
Porter,
dated
April
24th,
1844.
Legal
matters
in
regard
to
drafting
the
Charter
and
additional
legislation
was
placed
in
the
hands
of
the
Hon.
Richard
Biddle,
a
very
prominent
lawyer
who
also
served
as
the
Cemetery’s
first
President.
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