Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery NEWS
July 2010
Volunteering At Mount Hope Cemetery -
Dennis Carr (left), trustee of The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery, watches as Dick Miller,City of Rochester Cemetery Staff, works with Casey Kelly, Eagle Scout, Boy Scout Troop 220, and other troop members to put up stones in an old section of Mount Hope Cemetery.
This project is one of several volunteer opportunities that exist within Mount Hope Cemetery. For information, click on
Volunteer at Mount Hope.
June, 2010
Students from the Rochester City School
District's School Of The Arts on Prince St. created a video project on
death and dying featuring Mount Hope Cemetery and two Friends of Mount
Hope Trustees, Joan Hunt and Dennis Carr. To view this creative work,
click on the following YouTube link: Post Mortem documentary
Spring,
2010
2010 Annual Meeting of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery
The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, April 13, beginning with a brief business review of 2009.
Following the annual business report, World of Inquiry School No. 58 Vice Principal Sheela Webster and AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow Laura Lonski gave an outstanding presentation about the school's seventh grade project, "The Road to Freedom." This Expeditionary Learning program combined science, mathematics, art, writing skills, and history in a research project based on 30 historical figures interred in Mount Hope Cemetery. Friends of Mount Hope president Marilyn Nolte worked with the students to identify their research subjects, explore their history, and discover why these seemingly "forgotten" figures deserve recognition within the City of Rochester for their important contributions to our heritage. Students Unique Fair-Smith and Taariq Cleveland shared with the audience their research project on the life of Civil War soldier William Kidd, Jr. They presented an excellent case for honoring this compelling character for his acts of bravery as an officer in the Union Army.
The main speaker of the evening was Valerie O'Hara,
President of Pike Stained Glass Studios. Valerie presented the history
of the
art of stained glass windows from earliest times to present. One of the
oldest
stained glass studios in the country, Pike Stained Glass was established
in
1908 by William Pike, Valerie's great-uncle. He learned his trade as an
employee of the famous Louis Comfort Tiffany studios in Long Island.
Windows
designed and manufactured by Valerie, her father James, and her
great-uncle can
be seen in many churches and hospitals throughout the Rochester area.
Winter, 2010
Historians and Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery Trustees Jean
Czerkas and Tim O'Connell Honored for Research and Discovery of Frederick
Douglass Home on Hamilton Street
While searching cemetery ledgers in 2003, local historian
and Friends of Mount Hope trustee Jean Czerkas discovered an entry for Alice
Louisa Sprague, whom she recognized as the granddaughter of Frederick Douglass.
Further research by Czerkas and Tim O'Connell revealed that a home at 271
Hamilton Street was once owned by Frederick Douglass.
After he moved to
Washington, D.C. in 1872, Douglass kept the Hamilton Street house and lived
there off and on, retaining ownership until his death in 1895. The home was
occupied by his daughter, Rosetta Douglass Sprague and son-in-law Nathan
Sprague.
Now the residence of Sherri Dukes, 271 Hamilton Street was
designated a landmark property by the City of Rochester in January, 2010. In
February, the Monroe County Legislature honored the contributions of Jean
Czerkas, Tim O'Connell and Sherri Dukes in discovering the existence of a home
once owned by one of the giants of Rochester history.
Fall, 2009
Mount Hope Cemetery Cultural Landscape Report and Tree Inventory/Management Plan Completed
By Richard O. Reisem
On September 26, 2007, a major 1 ½-year study of Mount Hope Cemetery
began. Costing nearly $100,000, the study is the most comprehensive such effort
ever undertaken for Mount Hope Cemetery. Three grants paid for the project: New
York State Quality Communities Program, Preservation League Preserve New York
Program, and Rochester Area Community Foundation Klos Historic Preservation
Fund. During the 17 months of work on the project, participants in the study
held half-day progress meetings on November 28, 2007; June 23, July 15,
September 16, and November 13, 2008; and April 16, 2009. Read more...
Fall, 2009
New Edition of Rochester History Journal Announced
A
reception and public program on Monday, December 7, 2009 introduced the
newest edition of the Rochester History Journal, titled "We Called Her
Anna: Nathaniel Rochester and Slavery in the Genesee Country." The
publication commemorates the 175th anniversary of the signing of the
City of Rochester's city charter. Authors
Marilyn S. Nolte, President of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery;
Victoria Sandwick Schmitt, President of Corn Hill Navigation and a
trustee of the Friends; and Christine L. Ridarsky, Rochester City
Historian spoke on Nathaniel Rochester's role as a trader and owner of
enslaved people in the State of Maryland, and about the historical
significance of his bringing enslaved people to the Genesee Country in
the early 1800s.
Fall, 2009
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
Mount
Hope Cemetery has been officially recognized as part of the National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Nancy Uffindell,
Executive Committee member and Trustee of the Friends of Mount Hope
Cemetery, submitted the application on behalf of the City of Rochester
and the Friends.
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, implemented by the National Parks Service, coordinates preservation and education efforts nationwide and integrates local historical sites into a network of community, regional and national stories. The program builds on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998. As part of the network, Mount Hope Cemetery is authorized to use or display a uniform network logo, receive technical assistance, and participate in program workshops.
The application required substantial documentation of individuals interred in Mount Hope Cemetery who were active participants in the Underground Railroad. More than 30 individuals were listed on Mount Hope's application, including Frederick Douglass, Reverend Thomas James, and members of the Daniel Anthony family, the Asa Anthony family, the Samuel Porter family, the Elias DeGarmo family, the Isaac Post family, and several others.
This is the second nation-wide program application submitted by The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery on behalf of the City of Rochester. In 2008 Mount Hope Cemetery was designated a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat. The application was submitted by Sue O'Neil, a Trustee of the Friends.
Fall 2009
World of Inquiry Students Explore History at Mount Hope Cemetery
Marilyn
Nolte, President of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery, has been
helping World of Inquiry School create a social studies program focused
on the period prior to and including the American Civil War. Students
begin the program learning about historical figures for whom Rochester
streets were named. Each student then chooses a "compelling historic
figure," researches the person's life and career, and prepares a
presentation outlining why the person deserved to have a city street
named for them.
Approximately 30 "compelling characters" were
chosen from among the multitude of important Rochesterians interred at
Mount Hope. The students visited the cemetery, located their research
subjects, made notes from the gravestones and family plots, and began
considering what historical information needed to be assembled for a
persuasive presentation.
The success of this World of Inquiry
program has become a stepping stone for the development of future
learning programs that will be available for Rochester City Schools
through the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery.
