Friends of Mt. Hope

FRIENDS OF MOUNT HOPE CEMETERY -- NEWS

MARCH 2019

FOMH GENEALOGICAL SERVICES: A Priceless Gift to Families

PART ONE – Meet Anna Jannes

One of the most appreciated services of the Friends of Mount Hope is free genealogical information for families with relatives buried at Mount Hope and Riverside Cemeteries. Our research team consists of two FOMH members and veteran researchers, Anna Jannes and Nancy Uffindell. In addition, Gwen Dade, Cemetery Sales Coordinator of the City of Rochester, responds to inquiries regarding availability of graves in a certain plot, burial costs, and cemetery policies.

Let's meet the amazing Anna Jannes! Anna loves looking through the old interment books and deciphering the cursive and old fashioned names. She is excited to find the name and burial location of a lost relative and send photos to the family. People yearn to know if their loved one has a marker. It's a puzzle come to life!

Anna shares two special memories of her work:

"In the six years I have been handling the genealogy inquiries for the Friends, two requests have really moved me. The first one was my very first genealogy request. A person was looking for a long lost relative and unbeknownst to me, not everyone buried in Mount Hope has a grave marker (it was my first assignment – I've learned a lot since then!). The person the family was looking for was buried in the old public grounds without a grave marker. Even today when I am in that section of the cemetery, I stop by the unmarked grave and say 'Hi'-- I want this person to know that he is not forgotten.

"My second story is from a woman in Houston who asked me to find her great-great grandfather James's grave. She was very proud of the fact that James had served during the Civil War, but very sad she lived so far away and could not honor him personally on Memorial and Veterans' Days. As my eldest daughter Gillian is a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps and just happened to be home on leave, we both went to James's gravesite where my daughter planted an American flag to honor his service. I'm not sure who was moved more by this, my daughter, myself, or James's great-great grand-daughter. It tugs at my heart even now almost two years later."

The Mount Hope Cemetery genealogical look-ups performed by the Friends are a free, volunteer service. Response time is 10-14 working days. To submit a request, use Contact Us on this homepage. Write your question, and be sure to include the name and death date of the deceased person whom you are researching.

Thank you, Anna! 

SHOUT-OUT TO GIRL SCOUT LEADERS!

Spring is coming, and it's time to book cemetery tours for your Girl Scouts. Many of you are involved in the "Stories in Stone Patch Program." This entire program is available on our website, or through the Girl Scouts.

Mount Hope is a great place to do community service projects. Currently we are desperate for rakers (once the snow melts)! It's fun to have a picnic at the cemetery, and we can combine these activities with a tour.

WE LOVE GIRL SCOUTS!

To book a tour, please use the "Contact Us" button at the top of this homepage. You will be connected to our Special Tour Coordinator, Chris Petote.

JANUARY 2019

DR. HARTWELL CARVER -- "Remarkable Rochesterian"

What an interesting article by Jim Memmott in Dec 4th's Democrat and Chronicle about Dr. Hartwell Carver, formerly of Pittsford, and now a permanent resident of Mt. Hope.

Here is a man who was totally devoted to the dream of creating a railroad to the Pacific Ocean. He spent years promoting the feasibility and practical use of such a railroad. When his dream was finally fulfilled, he helped drive the "golden spike" that connected the east and west by rail in 1869.

hartwell_carver_monument

It appears from Memmott's research that Carver erected his 50-foot-high memorial – the second highest in the cemeter—several years before his death, and wrote his own epitaph. I suspect that many wealthy early Rochesterians made similar plans to erect elegant statuary before their deaths. Pre-planning was in vogue!

Having recently been added to the list of the Democrat & Chronicle's "Remarkable Rochesterians," Dr. Carver's entry reads:

Dr. Hartwell Carver (1789-1875): An early advocate of a railroad that would link the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, he began publishing articles on the subject as early as 1832 and later claimed he was the "father of the Pacific Railroad." Others would also lay claim to this title. Born in Providence, R.I., he graduated from Yale University in 1816 (after a brief time at Hamilton College) and set up a
medical practice in Pittsford, where he lived, on and off, for the rest of his life, his time interrupted by frequent travel.

He also established several businesses in the area and built a large home in Pittsford village. Before his death, he had a 54-foot monument to himself erected in Mount Hope Cemetery at what became his burial site.

Carver's monument and gravesite will be featured on our Winter Tour on Saturday, January 26th. Winter tours are invigorating, educational, and fun. All are welcome!