The Historic City Cemetery

               In the summer of 1852, Tonawanda was struck by a cholera epidemic that claimed the lives of many residents in a short period of time. Cholera is a severe intestinal disease caused by contaminated water or food. Before modern sanitation and water treatment, outbreaks could spread rapidly through a community, often proving fatal within hours or days.      Among the victims were members of the Anguish family, descendants of one of Tonawanda's earliest pioneer families. Mary (Bacon) Anguish, wife of William Anguish, died on August 3, 1852, at the age of 51. Three days later, her two-year-old grandson, Albert B. Bartlett, died. On August 10, Mary's daughter, Wealthy Anguish, age 21, also succumbed to the disease. Their deaths, occurring within a single week, illustrate the devastating impact cholera had on local families.      Mary and Wealthy were originally buried in Tonawanda's River Cemetery, the co...

          Anna Neal  1858 - 1940 Section: B86      Mrs. Anna Neal dedicated her whole life to the promotion of American Patriotism and especially the remembrance of our Civil War veterans. She was born in North Tonawanda just before the Civil War. In 1877, at age 19, she married the 44-year-old Civil War veteran John Schwartz. From its very start, Anna was involved with the local branch of the Ladies Relief Corps, an auxiliary of the Civil War Veterans Organization – the G A R. As the Patriotic Instructor of that organization, she visited schools, Boy and Girl Scout Troops, and other organizations promoting the importance of the American Flag.      In 1894, Anna’s husband John Schwartz was seriously injured when he was struck by a train on Main Street in Tonawanda. He died a few days later, never regaining consciousness. Two years later Anna married her neighbor George Neal, becoming Mrs. Anna Neal, a name by which she was...

GAR Monument Dedicated: Memorial Day 1910      The GAR monument that stands before you was the product of many groups coming together in 1910. The Winfield B. Scott GAR Post of Tonawanda, The Winfield B. Scott GAR Post Women's Relief Corps, and the Ladies Auxiliary raised money, organized, and planned the erection and dedication of this twenty plus foot monument. The statue of a Union soldier at the top alone cost $450. The base would have cost about the same. It was made by the White Bronze Monument Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The groups raised just over two thousand dollar, which would be around seventy-thousand dollar's today.       The monument was designed to memorialize the names of over two-hundred members of the Winfield B. Scott GAR Post living and dead at the time. It also recognized the other groups who helped make the monument possible.       Miss Onelee Edmonds was supposed to dedicate the monument after a grand...

                                                              Chester Fitzgerald 1896-1918 Section G115      The death of a child can change the course of a parent's life forever. This is the case when it comes to Chester Fitzgerald and his mother. Chester entered the military during WWI at the age of 22. He was assigned to  Co I of the 125 Infantry. He was sent to France to fight in the first World War. Chester was killed at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The war ended a month after his death, but Chester's story didn't.       Soldiers returning home from war told Chester's parents that he had not died. They claimed to have seen him in a hospital in France.  His parents contacted the Red Cross to find out if Chester was in fact alive. It wasn't long before word ...

Fred Louth 1839-1917 Section: E3      Fred Louth served thirty years in the United States Military from 1861 to 1891. He started his career in the army at the start of the Civil War. He enlisted May 7th, 1861 at the age of twenty-two. He served in the war from start to finish. He was likely involved in the First and Second Battle of Bull run, as well as  the Battle of Yorktown. By the time he mustered out he was a seasoned veteran.       Fred wasn't ready to put away the uniform at the end of the war. He reenlisted  December 10, 1866 in St. Louis, Missouri. The war may have been over, but tensions were still high in the South. His job was peacekeeping in hostile territory. He would also have been tasked with protecting freedmen, policing, and making sure the government maintained control.       Fred's next assignment out west was during the Indian Wars. Fred was serving at Fort Buford in 1881 when Sitting Bull and Lakota f...

Mayott Family Isaac Mayott 1842-1815 Elmer Mayott 1883-1921 William Mayott 1867-1893 Cora Mayott Section A7      Isaac and his family lived and died by the water. As a young man Isaac worked as a boat man. This job put him out on the waterways of the Tonawandas almost daily. When the Civil War broke out he joined the Navy at the age of 23.     As a Quartermaster, he stood at the helm of ships like the USS St. Clair and USS Great Western, helping guide them through northern waters during the Civil War. After the war he returned home and continued his life on the water.       His son Elmer almost lost his life when he was employed as an ice cutter for The Rose Ice Company. He fell into a hole plunging him into the icy waters of Ellicott Creek. He was saved by a fellow employee.       Isaac's son William wasn't as lucky as his brother. He was killed in a tragic accident. He was out cutting timber with friends when a rabbit j...