‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
Casper”'s Ghost says, “”˜People were dying to get into the cemetery.”' But were they really dead?”
by Sue Hunter Weir Casper Link was terrified of being buried alive, and he was not the only one. There is a word for this fear””taphophobia””meaning the fear of graves. Mr. Link died on Sunday, July 21, 1872, but not before his wife and friends promised that they would not bury him until three days after he had been declared dead. Mrs. Link arranged for a funeral service, though not a burial, to take place on the day after her husband died. During the service, Mr. Link”'s worst fears appeared to have been realized when one of the people in attendance noticed what he thought was perspiration on Mr. Link”'s forehead. The funeral service was brought to an abrupt halt and a doctor was summoned. The doctor examined Mr. Link one last time and concluded, yet again, that he was dead. The funeral service continued as planned, and Mr. Link”'s body was taken to the cemetery where it was stored in the vault until the promised three days had passed. Throughout, his [...]
Alice”'s murder exploited by vagaries of politicos and publishers
Roosevelt, Taft, politicos, prostitution, Titanic dominate headlines by Sue Hunter Weir Alice Mathews led a rather ordinary life except for one thing: she was murdered. On Saturday, March 23, 1912, the night that she was murdered, Alice was twenty years old. She worked as a packer at the Pillsbury C Mill and lived with her father, stepmother and four siblings in South Minneapolis. Alice had spent the evening downtown going to a movie and having a late supper with two of her girlfriends. At 11:06, Alice caught the Cedar Avenue streetcar. She got off on 34th Street and Cedar Avenue, the end of the line, and started to walk home, a distance of about seven blocks. When Alice was within a few houses of her own home, someone attempted to rape her. Failing that, her attacker strangled her. The story of Alice”'s murder was front-page news for the next three weeks. Except for those who were interested in the battle between Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft for the Republican [...]
Daughters of the War of 1812 , The Second War of Independence, will Honor Sergeant James Nettle
By Sue Hunter Weir The Daughters of the War of 1812 will rededicate the marker of Sergeant James Nettle Glover, one of three confirmed War of 1812 veterans buried in Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery. The other two veterans, Asa Clark Brown and Walter P. Carpenter, will be honored in 2011 and 2012 respectively. John Carpenter, Walter”'s brother, may well turn out to be a War of 1812 veteran as well. If that turns out to be the case, four of the approximately 200 War of 1812 veterans known to have died in Minnesota will be buried in Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery. All of these veterans were interesting men, perhaps none more so than James Nettle Glover. Mr. Glover was born in Fort Tobacco, Maryland, in 1793. When the War of 1812 began, Mr. Glover enlisted; he was eventually promoted to sergeant. Following the war, Mr. Glover and all of his siblings, moved to St. Louis, Missouri. It was there that he met and married Elizabeth Dozier. One of the [...]
