The Historic City Cemetery

In 1897 , August Engel brought a lawsuit against Fred Hamp , a local undertaker. The case did not involve property or money at first, but something deeply personal,  wounded feelings . While removing the body of August’s mother-in-law from the family home, the undertaker made a remark that August found insulting during a moment of grief and vulnerability. Rather than letting the insult go unanswered, August sought justice through the courts. His case was heard, and the court ruled in his favor, awarding him $100 in damages . At the time, this was a meaningful sum — roughly equivalent to about $4,000 today  and it sent a clear message that dignity and respect mattered, even in moments of mourning. What do you think the undertaker said?

                                                                       Oscar Henry Gordon Towne                                                                                        1874-1898 Oscar , a young man whose service to his country did not take place on a battlefield, but in a hospital ward. Oscar served as Chief Hospital Steward with the 3rd Infantry of the National Guard at Camp Alger in Virginia . His role would have been much like that of a pharmacist,  preparing medicines, assisting surgeons, and caring...

  William Richell 1922-1944 KIA                                                                                              William was serving as a Second Lieutenant with the 3036th Base Unit in Arizona , where he worked as an instructor pilot . Rather than flying combat missions overseas, his role was to train other airmen While he served, William left behind his wife, Nora , and family in Tonawanda. Nora  was herself preparing for a life of service having enrolled in nursing school while her husband was away. On the night of June 28, 1944 , William was aboard a B-17 bomber on a late-night training navigation mission . Somewhere over Arizona, something went terribly wrong. The aircraft crashed into the Gila Mou...

     Otto Hintz was called "The man nobody knew too much about". Now with access to so many records we can no longer call him that. It was these same records that helped to clear up a mystery that has been questioned over the years. In 1963 it was decided that during the re-dedication of the GAR monument at City Cemetery that a rebel flag would be placed at Otto's grave a veteran of the 1st Texas Cavalry.  They had a representative of the governor of North Carolina come for the ceremony. A big deal was made to give Otto proper representation of his service.... but had they?      How could he have been a member of the GAR if he had fought for the South?  The Grand Army Of The Republic was for Union veterans only. Could he have been captured and switched sides? Such things did happen...       Somewhere, someone saw in his GAR records that he had served in Company A of the 1st Texas Cavalry and had assumed he had been a rebel. Wha...

1895-1918      William and his brother Edward were some of the first young men in Tonawanda to enlist in WW1 in 1917. They were also some of the first Marines to land in France.  Both of the brothers spent months in the trenches of France. Together they experienced some of the bloodiest battles of the war.       They were wounded around the same time. Edward lost an arm to enemy fire. William was shot in the shoulder and his lung.  Both brothers found themselves recovering in the hospital at the same time. They remained strong and looked forward to being reunited with family at home. The first to go back to the states was Edward with William behind him by a few days.           Their family came together in Tonawanda to greet Edward and wait for William who they had been told was on the mend and would be returning home soon. Before the celebrations started, news came that William had died on a transport ship home....