Cleveland Cemeteries: Stone, Symbols & Stories

by Vicki Blum Vigil

Take a quiet journey back through time and discover the fascinating stories of Cleveland's most notable permanent residents. These 61 nearby cemeteries are home to a wide range of characters celebrities, villains, patriarchs, innovators, and just plain folks. They're a remarkable source of local lore, from woeful tales of untimely demise to celebrations of noble achievement and almost everything in between. Stroll among the markers and meet . . . -"World's Strongest Man" Stanley Radwan, who once bit in half a 5/8-inch-thick piece of steel (p. 26) -Royalty, including Lizzie Ely, True Queen of the Gypsies (p. 80) and Polka King Frankie Yankovic (p. 27) -Gertrude Anna Harrison, the country's first women's golf pro and inventor of the golf-ball-return machine (p. 107) -Oil titan John D. Rockefeller, on whose 400,000-pound(!) monument visitors still place shiny new dimes (p. 108) -The giant Captain Martin Van Buren Bates, discharged from the army because they couldnÕt find a uniform large enough to fit him (p. 202) - and hundreds more! Each listing includes details about where and when to visit, historical facts, oldest graves, religious and ethnic affiliation, and where to find cemetery records. Also included are tidbits about gravemarker symbology, cemetery superstition, gravestone rubbing, and other useful information.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

229 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Joshua]

Since I've never been to the city of Cleveland, but always wanted to visit. I found this book extremely helpful in introducing me to some of the key movers and shakers in Cleveland's history. Within the 220+ pages are sixty-five cemeteries with concise historical overviews of the cemetery, and short biographical narratives of some of the personalities who rest eternally in that cemetery. While I didn't know much about Cleveland's history, this book helped put the pieces together to understand the city, who's cemeteries I'd really like to visit, in the foreseeable future.

[Katharine Ott]

"Cleveland Cemeteries" - written by Vicki Blum Vigil and published in 1999 by Gray & Company. Indispensable reference for local cemeteries in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.