Membership Database Status
WE APOLOGIZE:
The database used by The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery to manage the membership list activity is currently being updated to allow for more flexibility and ease of use. Processing of new membership applications as well as notification of memberships renewals for the months of September and October are delayed.
We apologize for the delay and expect to be back in full operation within the next two weeks.
Thanks
Marilyn Nolte, President
Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery
19 Sep 2008 by fomh
Fall Foliage Tour of Mount Hope Cemetery
Saturday, October 25, at 11 AM Enjoy the beauty and variety of Mount Hope’s trees in autumn on a special Fall Foliage Tour of the cemetery led by landscape architect Ed Olinger on Saturday, October 25. The two-hour walking tour begins at 11:00 a.m. at the cemetery’s north entrance, 791 Mount Hope Avenue, opposite Robinson Drive. Admission is $4/person – free for members of the Friends of Mount Hope.
Those who planned and developed Mount Hope Cemetery in 1837-38 were careful to preserve the largest and best trees as well as the glacial topography. Some of the red and black oaks from that original forest survive today as magnificent specimens over 300 years old. During the later half of the nineteenth century the Elwanger and Barry Nursery added many exotic species, as did the Rochester Parks Department in later years. Tour guide Olinger will provide a survey of this remarkable arboretum and some of its unusual, historic trees.
02 Aug 2008 by fomh
FOMH and the RMSC Players
The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery and the RMSC Players will present two dramatic interactive walking tours of Mount Hope in Fall 2008. Tickets for each performance are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-18. The plays begin at the North Gatehouse at Mount Hope Cemetery, 791 Mt. Hope Avenue, opposite Robinson Drive.
Call (585) 697-1942 for reservations. Tickets may also be purchased at the gatehouse on the day of the tour.
04 Jul 2008 by fomhRead More ...
Pioneers in the Fight for Women's Rights Rest in Historic Mount Hope Cemetery
As we celebrate the 160th anniversary of the first Women's Rights Convention, held on July 19 & 20 in Seneca Falls, New York, it should be noted that Rochester women played important roles in that event, and in the Convention that reconvened here just two weeks later on August 2 and 3. The gravesites of several of these remarkable women are located in Mount Hope Cemetery.
At the Seneca Falls Convention, 68 women signed the Declaration of Sentiments asserting equal rights for women, including Amy Post, Catharine Fish Stebbins, Mary Hallowell, and Sarah Kirby Hallowell Willis from Rochester. All are buried in Mount Hope, as is Frederick Douglass, one of the 32 men who signed.
Amy Post, Sarah Fish, and Mary Hallowell served on the Arrangements Committee for the Rochester Convention, as did Rhoda DeGarmo, whose grave is also located in Mount Hope. The Rochester Convention established a daring new precedent by designating a woman, Abigail Bush, to preside.
Decades later Rhoda DeGarmo voted illegally with Susan B. Anthony in the presidential election of 1872. At the time of the 1848 Conventions, Anthony was living and teaching in Canajoharie, New York. Her parents and sister Mary all attended the Rochester Convention.
The Anthony Family plot and the Douglass grave are two of the most visited sites in Mount Hope Cemetery. Learn more about these and other historic Rochester visionaries on free cemetery tours offered by the Friends of Mount Hope each weekend from May through October.
09 Feb 2008 by fomh
Restoration of Old Jewish Sections
Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery and Temple B’Rith Kodesh Join Together to Restore Two Old Jewish Sections of Mount Hope Cemetery.
A Mitzvah Day cleanup project organized by Reform synagogue Temple B’rith Kodesh led to a joint restoration project coordinated by Friends Board member, Earl Gurell. Section O, Lots 396 and 397 were the first public Jewish burial plots purchased in Rochester, New York by the Jewish community. The lots were purchased in April of 1848 and between that date and into the early 1870’s, 128 children and 15 adults were buried therein. The area was found to be in a state of neglect. Friends members as well as the Mt. Hope Cemetery staff, repaired and up-righted stones as well as assisting in the research required insuring a complete listing of burials.
While researching the Sec. O lots, another old section was discovered; the Jewish Poor Lot, a section whose existence was unknown to the Jewish community. Most of the burials were children who died of such illnesses as cholera, influenza and consumption. Only two individuals of the 85 children and 15 adults buried were memorialized by two small stones.
Mr. Gurell obtained donations from the community that resulted in the erection of memorial stones in each of the two areas. On August 12, 2007 a community dedication service, attended by over 75 people including one man who’s great, great grandfather was buried in Section O, was held at both locations.
03 Jan 2008 by fomh
Charles Rau Mausoleum restoration
The Charles Rau Mausoleum restoration funded by the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery is now completed. The crowning moment occurred when the large cross was raised to its once proud location on the peak of the roof. The three-man team from local contractor, E. G. Sackett Co., went over and above, by replacing falling stones immediately in front of the mausoleum and cleaning the mausoleum face. The Mount Hope Cemetery City of Rochester grounds workers re-contoured the ground and seeded the area.
01 Oct 2007 by fomhRead More ...
Online Donations Now Being Accepted!
The Friends of Mount Hope are pleased to announce that donations and membership fees will now be accepted through the web site. Use this convenient, secure process to support our tours, research, and restoration projects. Please visit the Membership page to make your contribution and help maintain this valuable cultural resource for Rochester, NY. Thank you!
Visit our new page here
15 Aug 2007 by fomh
