‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
“Sample” Evidence of Health Naiveté
By Sue Hunter Weir Side by Side Marble Markers They are two of the oldest markers in the cemetery””identical marble markers, side by side, right next to the cemetery”'s only road. They mark the graves of Henry B. Sample and his sister, Lottie Sample. Rev. Robert Sample”'s Lincoln inspired “The Curtained Throne” Homily Their father, Robert F. Sample, was one of the early pastors at Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis. Reverend Sample received a call from the Westminster congregation in February 1868. He was already well-known on the East Coast, most notably for a sermon that he gave in Bedford, Pennsylvania on April 23, 1865. The title of the sermon was “The Curtained Throne;” it was so popular that he was asked to repeat it the following Sunday and to give his permission for it to be printed and distributed--the 1860s”' equivalent of “going viral.” The subject of this famous sermon was the [...]
Hannah Burbank Stanchfield Blaisdell: A $65.00 “Touchstone” to The Revolution
Alice Stanchfield Bowman worried about what was going to happen to her mother”'s gravesite and headstone in Layman”'s Cemetery. by Sue Hunter Weir In 1925 Alice Stanchfield Bowman worried about what was going to happen to her mother”'s gravesite and headstone in Layman”'s Cemetery. Alice was 79 years old and almost blind but she could read well enough to follow the newspaper stories about the bodies that were being removed from the cemetery, sometimes at the rate of several hundred a day. She wrote to Marion Satterlee, first president of the Minneapolis Cemetery Protective Association, to let him know that her brother, his wife, and several of their children were buried in the Stanchfield family plot. In addition she had many friends buried there, but it was her mother, Hannah Burbank Stanchfield Blaisdell, that she was most concerned about. Hannah Burbank was born in Maine on March 3, 1806. She married Ezra Stanchfield, [...]
Hundreds of Scouts and Friends are Cemetery”'s Caretakers throughout the year
190 Girl Scouts along with Friends of the Cemetery continuing their caretaking helped prepare this sacred place for winter during the 159th Fall season since the Cemetery's first burial. Photos by Tim McCall By Sue Hunter Weir Another season at Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery has ended””its 159th to be exact. With the exception of Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11th, the cemetery will be closed until April 15th, 2013. That doesn”'t mean that work on the cemetery will stop. The next phase of the fence restoration is due to begin shortly””more sections will be removed, restored and returned in the late fall. Over 190 Girl Scouts and their parents volunteered to help put the cemetery to bed for the season. The occasion was the Centennial Day Year of Service by the Mississippi River Valley”'s Minnesota-Wisconsin Chapter of Girl Scouts. Beth Hart, longtime Phillips community activist, organized the event; the girls spent the morning [...]
