000_1882 Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings Vo 1, 2005.120.001

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[image of crematory interior with caption RECONSTRUCTED INTERIOR.]

[smaller image of man in crematory with caption THE RETORTS]

[both images combined have caption THE REMODELLED CREMATORY AT MT. AUBURN.]

CREMATION'S SLOW PROGRESS — During the past twenty-five years the number of incinerations in this country has been 13,281. At the end of 1900 there were twenty-six crematoriums in operation. As the burials in the United States exceed a million a year, it will be seen that the proportion of those annually dying who are incinerated is very small. That it will steadily increase as the difficulty of finding cemetery accommodations convenient to the cities and large towns increases is to be expected. That it no longer shocks the public sense and that a preference for it over burial does not now class the one expressing it as a "crank" and a moral outlaw are evidences of a more intelligent conception of its great hygienic advantages and a weakening of the unreasoning prejudice which opposed its introduction into "civilized" communities. [New York Times.

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MT AUBURN CREMATORY. — Most Perfect in the World in Some Details. — Rapidity by Which Bodies are Converted Into Gases One of the Features. — Wonderful Change in Sentiment Since Agitation Began in 1873. — "The question," remarked one of the trustees of Mt Auburn cemetery yesterday, "is whether the edict for humanity—dust to dust—shall occupy, in its process of accomplishment, 20 years of corruption, or 20 minutes of purification."

The subject of conversation was the new crematory established by the corporation at "Sweet Auburn" the euphonious name given to Stones wood by Harvard students three-quarters of a century ago—and the reasons for the new enterprise.

Since the first agitation upon the subject in America, about 1873, a wonderful change in sentiment has taken place. Then the advocates of incineration were few and the opponents strong in numbers and argument.

The custom of the centuries could not be abrogated in a moment. The question of the resurrection was presented by religious people as a reason against it, and to them it seemed to be unanswerable. The proposed burning of the dead was regarded by some with more horror than the suffering of martyrs at the stake. And added to these reasons was the thought that the ceremonies of obsequies could not so well be observed, and that there would be no final resting place for the departed to serve as a shrine for the living. Besides, the Bible did not authorize the method

But education, slowly disseminated and reluctantly accepted, began to have its effect. That along the lines of sanitary science was chiefly instrumental in the modification of prejudice. Many examples were cited and proven of widespread pestilence traceable to the release of disease germs from burial grounds, through excavation, contamination of water, the burrowing of insects and reptiles and other methods.

Physicians began to investigate, and the more careful thinkers in communities began to listen and read. At last, in 1876, a small experimental crematory was built in Washington, Penn, and in 1884 a larger one, for public use, was established in Lancaster, Penn, and within that year three cremations were performed.

The earliest public notice of this subject in Boston was in form of a meeting of 25 persons called together on invitation of John Storer Cobb. This was in December, 1883. A society was formed, a permissible bill was passed in 1885, and late that year the society fixed its capital at $25,000, but could not dispose of the stock.

After many public meetings a large number of articles in the press and the distribution of much literature on the subject, a crematory was built at Forest Hills cemetery. During the first five years of its operation the number of incinerations increased from 87 in 1894 to 167 in 1898.

In the whole country there were but 25 cremations from 1876 to 1883 at Washington Penn. while from 1884 to 1898 the annual number increased from 16 to

Boston Sunday Globe May 6, 1900.

The latest will to be set aside by the courts in New York is that of a testa[?]or who left all his residuary estate to the cemetery wherein he was to be buried. The court holds that this bequest is invalid for the reason that the testator already had a burial plot and a handsome monument, erected during his lifetime at great expense, and the court is unable to find any valid reason for one dead man having two costly monuments in one cemetery. This looks rather more logical than sentimental.

1699. The total number during this time was 8883, while in Great Britain for the same period there were but 1664. — Visit to Paris. The growing demands of the times and the often-expressed wishes of constituents led the trustees to carefully consider the subject. One of the members, on a visit to Paris, made a careful investigation of the matter. Cremation became popular there about 1882, and in that year an institution was established to accommodate those who wished to use this method of disposing of mortal remains. It contained 3000 niches for urns, and it was believed that this number would be sufficient for many years.

The system grew in favor so rapidly, however, that other crematories were demanded, and subsequently the great one at Pere la Chaise was erected. The Boston gentleman obtained a permit from the prefect of the Seine, and visited the place, where he found an establishment with many thousands upon thousands of niches; that the process of incineration was performed 10 or 12 times daily, and that the capacity was much larger.

His examination of the workings so favorably impressed him that upon his return he became a strong advocate in favor of a similar insititution. In this he was supported by other trustees, while they had the hearty indorsement of members of the medical profession.

It was determined to have the most scientific and up-to-date construction possible, and to obviate so far as might be the major and minor difficulties which had been developed in the experience of others. In this they had the cooperation of Prof Robert H. Richards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and to him, more than to any other, is due the completion of a crematory which in important details is more perfect than any other in the world.

The especial features of excellence are the rapidity of which bodies are converted into gases and the consumption of the latter, the absolute absence of smoke and odor and the ability to deliver the residuum of ashes to the friends of the deceased in a short time.

The interior of the old building has been so remodeled as to render it fireproof, while its interior architecture, combined with the well-arranged array of furniture and the growing plants in alcoves and along the wall make an appriate place for final obsequies.

In the retorts proper—the crematory itself—oil is used instead of coal or wood, which were at first employed as fuel. This is contained in a tanke some distance below the retort wherein the body is placed, and is conveyed by means of water pressure from beneath, the engine being at considerable distance away from the building in order to avoid the disturbance which would otherwise be caused by its noise.

The oil is conveyed to the crematory chamber by a small pipe or conduit through three burners at the side of the retort. In these burners it is mixed with air, which comes through a seveninch conduit, and under a 17-ounce pressure. — Process of Incineration. The burner has a rifled muzzle or mouth, so that the mixture is thrown in a whirling motion upon a bullseye on the opposite wall, by which means it is atomized so as to render combustion rapid and perfect.

The casket containing the body rests upon a perforated arch, beneath which passes a portion of the flame or heat, thus more rapidly converting the bones and tissues into gases and the gray dust which is left.

All these gases are conveyed by a conduit to a second retort, beneath the crematory proper, where they are so absolutely destroyed in what is termed "the after fire" that not a trace of smoke can be seen from the chimney

stack, which, being one of the towers, is not distinguishable, and not a particle of odor of any character can be detected.

The process of icineration is this, the time of the several operations varying slightly according to circumstances:

Forty-five minutes before the cortege arrives with the body, the "after fire" is started, and 15 minutes later the inflow of oil and air to the upper chamber begins and is ignited. When the body arrives the fires are stopped during the ceremony in the hall or chapel above.

The heat in the retorts has now reached about 3000 degrees, as nearly as can be measured or estimated.

The obsequies finished, the curtain which hides the view of the scene below is roiled back, and the elevator on which rests the bier supporting the casket is lowered, the three sets of doors opened, and the casket conveyed upon roilers in upon the perforated arch of the upper chamber.

As soon as the doors are securely closed clair, and air only, is let into the upper retort, under the 17-ounce pressure. Instantly oil and air are both admitted to the "after fire." Ignition takes place immediately, but if there should be failure of its being caused by the heat within, it can be started by mechanical means.

Disintegration of the remains begins at once, although the cloth covering the casket is not even singed until the retort is closed.

This condition continues about 45 minutes, when oil and air both are supplied to the cremation chamber, in order to complete the incineration of the bones and tissues. This is continued for about 15 minutes, while the "after fire" is kept up until all the gases in the retort have passed and been consumed.

In the course of an hour after this the ashes, a whitish gray lime, which represents the bones only—the rest being dissolved into the gases—and averaging about three quarts, are placed in an urn of copper and delivered to the friends of the deceased.

There are several ways of disposing of these. The more common is to deposit them in a receptacle under the monument, or in a place cut in the stone itself for the purpose. The experience of 12 year sin receiving the remains of persons cremated elsewhere is that no one has taken the ashes home, but one gentleman took those of a member of his family and scattered them upon the lot which he owned.

The first cremation at Mt Auburn took place on the 18th of last month, and since then seven more have been performed.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — A CREMATIONIST'S PLEA FOR HIS CREED — To the Editor of the Transcript: It is not so much that the present system of disposing of dead bodies leads to the poisoning of the wells and the injury of the health of the neighbors of the cemetery. These evils cease when water is supplied by the public water works, and proper care is taken within the cemetery.

It is the grim convention of the funeral as at present conducted—absurd were it not so serious an evil—which has to be rebelled against, before we can become simple and natural, and I will add really Christian in this matter.

No doubt there are funerals at which the near relatives of the deceased are, for one reason or another, prostrate from grief. In such case they should make the ceremony absolutely private.

But at most funerals the survivors have only tender and loving memories of a good human life; and then, if that life has been one of exceptional beauty and light, and care for others, and has lasted far beyond the usual threescore years and ten, with some suffering towards the end from which they are thankful that their dear on eis relieved, surely they should rejoice in the certainty that "the weary are at rest," even if they have no such certainty of a glorious future in the spirit as some happily possess. And they should bid their friends rejoice with them.

How impossible this is for us, however free we many be in other matters, so long as we are ruled by the undertaker and his embalming, and dreary upholstery, most readers must be convinced by their own experience.

Were it once considered right and proper that the poor decaying body should be removed, as soon as the spirit has left it, to the crematorium and its ashes reverently scattered over the nearest flowerbed, the whole dreary ceremony as at present conducted would disappear and a reasonable reunion of relatives and friends, in memory of the spirit of the departed, would take its place.

CITY CEMETERIES — To the Editor of the Transcript: In the interesting "study of life and death," just published under the title of "The Individual," there are no more notable words than those with which Professor Shaler rebukes the vast and foolish expense incurred in relation to the dead. "From somewhat careful observation made at three widely separated points in this country," writes the professor, "I have been led to the conclusion that the cost of unnecessary and generally reprehensible monuments to the dead considerably exceeds that of all the investments of our educational system." Of all these expenditures none are more utterly indefensible than the taking of land in our rapidly growing cities for purposes of burial. It is generally understood that there is some political deal in the proposal to take another slice of Boston territory for the enlargement of Mt. Hope Cemetery, and that "insiders" can name the parties who are to profit by it. But in the light of modern knowledge, the vast majority of outsiders should rebuke the attempt to take more land from the uses of the living, and from the taxable property of the city, even though a few landholders may reap a profit by doing it. Intermural interments should be as strictly forbidden here as they are in the cities of Europe. Within little more than an hour's ride of Boston waste land, that will not be wanted for human use during any time that is worth considering, may be had for scarcely more than the cost of the fences that surround it. Until the old method of burial can be superseded by the more wholesome practice of cremation, it is such easily accessible land as this that should be used for sepulchre.

Everything points to the continued massing of population of Boston is likely to be rapid. We cannot go on supplying a constantly increasing area of tax-exempted land to be put to no other use than that of holding the moral remains of our inhabitants. It makes no difference whether this muchwanted land is taken in hundred of acres, to be divided into spacious lots for the use of the rich, or is heaped and pent with the narrow resting places accorded to the poor. The fashion of reserving large tracts of the best urban and suburban land for cemeteries has arisen within the memory of men who are still living. See what has come of it. There is the city of Brooklyn, pressing today upon thousands of acres wanted for the living, but which have been devoted to the corruption of the dead. Physicians have testified that when the wind blows off this extensive area of decay a marked deterioration in the public health is the result. Yet it was as late as 1840 that the first interment in Greenwood took place. If sanitary objections are already evident, what will be their increase as time goes on?

Our neighboring city of Cambridge makes frequent protests because the small amount of land occupied by Harvard College has been placed beyond the reach of taxation. But what is this to the multitudinous acres of the very best land in that city, which, had it been devoted to the uses of the living, would have made handsome contributions to its treasury! That city cemeteries provide large opportunities for the manipulations of private money-makers, and that they furnish agreeable salaried offices for those having influence enough to get them, may be true; but that their existence and increase makes for the general good is less obvious. It is a satisfaction to know that there is constantly increasing number of persons of Christian faith and refined sensibility who make use of the opportunities for incineration of the body that are now near at hand. They shrink from exposing the remains of those they have loved to a corruption of which the details are revolting to the imagination. But this sentiment is of gradual growth and cannot be hurried. In the meantime those who are not in politics for their pockets must resist the doctrine of expansion in its application to city cemeteries.

CIVIS

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MOUNT AUBURN'S NEW BUILDINGS.

[image of statues of John Winthrop, James Otis, John Adams and Joseph Story as well as a small illustration of the new chapel. Caption reads: STATUES OF THE NEW CHAPEL AT MOUNT AUBURN.]

The new chapel at Mt Auburn cemetery, and the administration building, containing the offices of the superintendent and others, are now finished and occupied, and have, in fact, served for a number of months to fulfill the different purposes for which they were designed.

The one nearer the street is the administration building. This building and the chapel are alike constructed of red stone, and the architecture of the group of buildings is the perpendicular gothic, types of which are to be found in many of the rural churches of England. The architect, Mr. Willard T. Sears, has carried out the style consistently in all details.

These two buildings are connected by a cloister, and the material of the main walls is Potsdam sandstone, and the mullions of the windows are Indiana limestone.

The chapel, the main entrance of which is on the principal avenue, is so placed as to be parallel to the street. The porte cochere opens into a vestibule directly under the tower, and there is

another entrance on the north side of the latter.

In one part of the building the visitor will find the celebrated group of statues which have been in possession of the corporation for many years.

There are four of these statues composing the group, and their history is a very interesting one. At a meeting of the trustees held Jan 3, 1854, the subject of procuring some historical statues of great public men was considered, and a committee appointed on the advisability of the idea.

The committee considered the matter carefully, and reported that they deemed if advisable to procure a certain number of marble statues commemorative of men who have been distinguished in the history of the country in their character and public services.

The custom of placing works of sculpture commemorative of the illustrious dead is not uncommon in Europe, and is occasional in this country.

This report caused the trustees to vote that a committee of three be appointed to consider the subject of introducing statues into the cemetery at the expense of the corporation.

After many meetings and much discussion it was finally decided at the

meeting of Sept 4, 1854, to vote the sum of $15,000 for the purchase of three marble statues, said statues to be those of distinguished American citizens.

About this time a statue of Judge Story arrived from Italy, destined for Mt Auburn, and was temporarily placed in the vestibule of Boston Atheneum. It was the result of a spontaneous private subscription, which had immediately followed the death of that distinguished citizen and jurist, which was in 1845.

The section of three historical personages to fill the remaining niches of the old chapel was finally settled in this way. A method was adopted of assuming a representative man for each of the four great epochs in the history of Massachusetts.

First comes, therefore, the statue of John Winthrop, the first governor of the commonwealth; second we find the statue of James Otis, who resisted with magnificient courage and spirit the aggression of the British parliament. The third epoch, representative of the time of the revolution and the establishment of the new constitution, is exemplified in the statue of John Adams. The fourth and last statue represents the last epoch in the marble counterpart of Judge Story.

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THE PARIS CEMETERY FOR DOGS — It has been said, "Paris is the paradise for animals." I don't know whether it is more so than any other place, but certainly it is a place where dogs are made a great deal of during their lives, and I believe it to be the only place where they are provided with a resting place after their death. Le Cimetière des Chiens," dog's cemetery, is a very interesting as well as an artistic place to visit. It is situated on what is called Dog's Island (formally known as Island of Ravageurs), in Asnières, a few miles out of Paris, on the west side. The promoters of the dog's cemetery are Madam Marguerite Durand, directress of the newspaper called La Fronde, and M. George Harmois, director of the journal Avocat. M. Eugène Pierre-Petit is the architect of it. The entrance to the cemetery is very impressive indeed, with its forged iron gates! A visit to the cemetery will stop the irony of the most hardened sceptic! Most of the epitaphs are so sincere and tell so well their own story that no one can help realizing what a splendid friend the dog is to man!

The animals are brought to their last rest in a tricycle used exclusively for their transport to the necropolis. It is divided into several parts; one for dogs, of course, the most interesting one; one for cats, and another for birds and other animals. We must not forget a very important spot, that is "the common grave," where the poorest persons may have the remains of what often has been their only friend interred. Works of art are to be found all over the cemetery. Behind the central fountain there are two nymphs forming the entry to it.

All the epitaphs are most interesting. Here is the grave of Brave Bijou, who saved his mistress from being hurt by thieves. There is Pompon's grave. He was friendly to the soldiers of the camp at Chalons, who have raised enough money to build this tribute to his faithfulness. Here is the grave of Brave Louloer, aged nine months, who nothwithstanding a broken paw, saved a little child from drowning in the Garonne. It is surprising how many inscriptions relate the saving of life by dogs.

How can we help admire creatures who will be faithful unto death, when such devotion is so rarely found among Christians!

One of the finest tombs here, indeed quite a mausoleum, is to the memory of a lady dog called Euma, who saved the life of Princesses Cerchiara-Pignatellé. Some epitaphs are borrowed from poets, such as Victor Hugo's "Dog is the emblem of virtue, who not being able to become man has become an animal."

There are many dog houses made of wood or of stones, with dogs attached to them with their chains and collars. Then comes the cat cemetery. But there are few cats buried there. Why is that the fact? Well, probably because, with some exceptions, of course, cats are more independent, more egotistical, less devoted to us, and when they die we cannot think of them nor regret them as we do our dogs. A visit to the dog's cemetery is really a most interesting one, and I recommend it to all who love animals. I am sure American ladies will be pleased to hear of the humane way of disposing of the bodies of French people's pets, and it may also give them an insight into the nature of the French, who are not willing to abandon even a dead animal who has been friendly to them during their lifetime.

EMÉLIE ALEXANDER MARIUS Officier d. Académie.

Mt. Auburn Cemetery Trustees Elected Proprietors of the Mt. Auburn Cemetery held their sixty-ninth annual meeting yesterday afternoon at Horticultural Hall, and the following trustees were elected: To serve until 1907, Joseph Sawyer and Francis Foster; toserve until 1904, Edward W. Hutchins. President Israel M. Spelman presented the report of the trustees, and Treasurer Dill reported a balance in the treasury of $21,116.73.

CREMATION A GROWING CUSTOM — Trustees of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Their Annual Report Show That This Means of Disposing of the Dead Is on the Increase — Cremation is the subject upon which the trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery dwell principally in their sixty-ninth annual report, which has just appeared. The trustees say that since the eighteenth day of April last, when the first cremation took place, fifty bodies have been incinerated and they declare that "it seems clearly evident that cremation is growing in favor. It is undoubtedly not only the most speedy method of resolving the body into its elements, one hour doing the work of years, but also the safest from a sanitary point of view."

The completion of the crematory is regarded by the corporation as its most signal event of the year 1900. Willard T. Sears had charge of the work of reconstructing the old chapel and adapting it to crematory uses. The whole building was made over with the exception of the outer granite structure, which was retained on account of its associations. The trustees acknowledge the valuable assistance and advice which were freely rendered by many on the subject of the crematory, and they especially thank Professor R.H. Richards of the Institute of Technology for his advice and personal aid in making the crematory a success.

The incineration of a body requires about one hour of time. The body is placed in a retort, enclosed in the casket as first received at the cemetery, the name plate and other metal work being removed. Two hours after the cremation the ashes can be delivered to the family in a coppy cylinder, terra cotta urn or wooden casket. No incinerations are made on Sunday, unless the cause of death is certified to be from a contagious or infectious disease.

Superintendent James C. Scorgie reports that the number of original interments for the year ending Dec. 31, 1900, was 469. There were twenty-three removals from other cemeteries, making the total number of interments for the year 492, and the total number of interments since the cemetery was opened 33,412.

The cemetery repair fund now amounts to $1,110,570, the increase for the year being $55,728. The income of this fund must be used for the perpetual care of monuments and lots. The yearly gain in the permanent fund, which provides for the expenses of the cemetery after all of the lots have been sold, was $11,964, making a total fund of $415,935. The general fund, from which are made the larger improvements, now amounts to $128,220.

RIGHTS TO DEAD BODIES

The Supreme Court of California has decided in the recent case of Enos vs. Snyder (63 Pac. Rep. 170) that a person has no property in his dead body so that he can dispose of it by will, and that the right or burial belongs to those relatives who are classes as next of kin, and not to the executor. This decision is quite in line with other American and English cases, the current of authority being that, in the absence of statutory provisions, there is no property in a dead body; that it is not a part of the estate of the deceased, and that a man cannot dispose in his will of that which after his death will become his corpse. It was argued in this California case that the executor or administrator had, by virtue of his office, the right to bury the body and the right tot ake possession of it for that purpose. It has been quite generally declared that the right to bury a deceased husband or wife belongs to the surviving one of the two, and in other cases to the next of kin who are present and have the ability to render the service. It is generally provided that executors or administrators must pay the funeral expenses, but it has been the custom in America for the next of kin, and not the executor or administrator, to take charge of the body and of the funeral and burial.

BURIALS WITHOUT COFFINS — Board of Health Hears a Complaint Against This Method Among the Jews, and Proposes to Stop It — A private hearing was given by the Board of Health the other day on a complaint about an old Jewish burial custom which is said to have been revived in Boston. A Jewish funeral was held here a few days before, and it is alleged that the body was buried without a coffin in the Montvale Cemetery. Five boards were set together in the form of a bottomless box to cover the body, as is done in some poor localities in Russia, whence come many of the Jewish residents of Boston. A complaint was made to the Board of Health and the undertaker was called upon for an explanation. He appeared before the Health Commissioners, accompanied by a rabbi, and argued that the method he followed is prescribed by the Jewish religion, which he desires to respect. As the Board of Health refuses to give its consent, the method must be discontinued.

There is considerable jealousy among the Hebrew undertakers in the North End over this problem. Those who always follow the Christian method of using coffins claim that there are several undertakers who frequently neglect to use them, which enables them to charge comparatively small fees. In the future they will have to comply with the regulations of the Board of Health.

JOSEPH SAWYER'S KINDNESS. — At His Funeral the Minister Says Many Promissory Notes Signed by Students Were Found. — The funeral of Joseph Sawyer was held at the Warren Avenue Baptist Church yesterday afternoon, the pastor of the church, the Rev. H.S. Johnson, officiating. The pallbearers were the deacons of the church, Messrs. C.P. Hall, W.S. Norwell, F.P. Daly and N.F. Roak.

Mr. Johnson, in speaking of the life and character of Dea. Sawyer, said, in part: By every criterion of judgment he was a strong man, strong in business, stron gin the church, strong physically. He always stood immovable for what he thought was right. He was a Christian on weekdays as well as on Sundays, in business as well as in the church. His strength was always at the service of those who needed it. He helped women in distress; he helped men in business, and among his private papers have been found scores of promissory notes signed by young men whom he has helped through college.

DEATH OF JOSEPH SAWYER, THE OLDSCHOOL MERCHANT, IN THE BACK BAY. — Born in This City, and One of the Most Charitable of Wealthy Men. — Joseph Sawyer, the retired woollen commission merchant, died at his home, 31 Commonwealth avenue, yesterday afternoon, from old age. Mr. Sawyer's health began to cause anxiety about three weeks ago, but last Friday he was able to take a walk in the Public Garden. He was confined to his room on Sunday, and his health failed rapidly from that time.

Joseph Sawyer was born in this city 77 years ago, and was a liberal descendent of James Sawyer, who was born in England about 1630, and emigrated to this country between 1665 and 1669. He settled first in Ipswich and subsequently moved to Gloucester. The father of Joseph Sawyer was a mariner, who made a number of voyages to England, and married Ellen Whyte in Liverpool, Eng.

Joseph, the eldest of 11 children, received his education here in the Eliot school, but when 14 years old entered the retail dry goods store of Joshua Stetson on Hanover street, then the headquarters of this line of trade. In 1844 the firm of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co. was organized in the woollen and jobbing business, and in 1849 Mr. Sawyer was admitted as a partner. These relations continued until 1862, when the commissionn house of E.R. Mudge, Sawyer & Co. was formed for the sale of textile fabrics. They purchased, in company with the old firm of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co., the Burlington Woollen Mills of Winooski, Vt., the largest in the state. On the death of Mr. Stetson in 1869, Mr. Sawyer succeeded to the treasurership of the corporation, from which he retired in 1882 to accept the presidency. On the death of the Hon. E.R. Mudge, the firm dissolved, and Mr. Sawyer retried from active business. The firm of Sawyer & Manning was afterwards

[photograph of Joseph Sawyer with caption [Photo by Notman.] THE LATE JOSEPH SAWYER.]

organized, largely with the view of inducting Mr. Joseph D. Sawyer into the business where his father throve. Mr. Sawyer retired permanently from business about five years ago.

Mr. Sawyer was long distinguished for his charitable deeds, and it is estimated that he expended over $500,000 in this direction. The firm with which he was connected could always be counted upon to give substantial aid for every good cause, and for years was known as one of the most charitable, as well as one of the most enterprising firms in Boston. He was one of the best old school merchants in this city, and ws often sought by men who needed sound counsel when in trouble. Mr. Sawyer was a director in the Revere Bank; president for five years of the Colorado Mining & Smelting Company, and a trustee of many estates. He was also connected with a number of charitable and benevolent societies.

Mr. Sawyer was married in this city in 1847 to Anna Maria, daughter of William Dillaway, who survives him with three sons and two daughters. The funeral will be held Friday at the Warren Avenue Baptist Church.

Boston Herald May 28, 1901

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GRAVES OF NOTED PERSONS IN "GOD'S ACRE" A MECCA OF VISITORS x ASHES OF LONGFELLOW, LO

[image of a tombstone with caption GRAVE OF FANNY OF FERN]

[image of tombstone with caption JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL'S GRAVE]

[image of larger grave with caption GRAVE OF LONGFELLOW]

[image of multiple headstones with caption GRAVE OF OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES]

[image of larger grave with caption GRAVE OF WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING]

[image of chapel with caption NEW CHAPEL]