Charles Baber Cemetery is a cemetery in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...

. The Cemetery is situated on 25 acres of central Pottsville, between 12th and 16th Street.

History

The stone wall which surrounds the entire cemetery was built during the 1800s by members of the Madera family, who were known for their

stone masonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

skills. During the early morning hours of

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

in 1891, Edward Fisher, senior vice commander of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War's Gowen Post led a squad of members from the organization in decorating the graves of fallen soldiers and deceased veterans at the cemetery. During the summer of 1898, a fire completely destroyed the barn on the cemetery's property, which was located behind the Chapel of the Resurrection. In 1911, newspapers across Pennsylvania reported that the city of Pottsville was "in the throes of an epidemic of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

," that l of the cases" were "in the proximity of the open sewer that flows through the Charles Baber Cemetery," that this open sewer was carrying "the sewage of Yorkville beyond Sixteenth street and the north side of Market street," and that this sewage flow was several inches deep. In 2017, the cemetery hosted the city's 29th annual

Arbor Day Arbor Day (or Arbour in some countries) is a secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, dependi ...

celebration. The 18th year that the celebration was held at the cemetery, the event featured the dedication and blessing of ten new trees, which included bald cypresses,

dogwoods ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

, pin oaks, and red buds. The Rev. Clifford B. Carr, the former rector of Pottsville's Trinity Episcopal Church, officiated at the ceremony. According to Carol S. Field, a member of the Charles Baber Preservation Trust, between the years 2000 and 2017, 153 trees had been planted at the cemetery on Arbor Day. In 2018, Trinity Episcopal Church held summer services at the cemetery's Resurrection Chapel on Sunday mornings from June 17 through September 9 (Baber Day). The cemetery is managed by a board of trustees from Pottsville's Trinity Episcopal Church and its Charles Baber Cemetery Preservation Trust.

Notable burials

A number of former members of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

have been buried at the Charles Baber Cemetery, as have been prominent United States business leaders and other social figures and many former soldiers who fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Among the most notable of those interred here are: * Charles Napoleon Brumm (1838–1917): A Greenbacker and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

* George Franklin Brumm (1880–1934): Native of

Minersville, Pennsylvania Minersville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Anthracite coal deposits are plentiful in the region. The population was 4,388 at the 2020 census. Minersville is located west of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, a ...

who became a

member of the

Jake Daubert Jacob Ellsworth Daubert (April 7, 1884 – October 9, 1924) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Superbas and Cincinnati Reds. His career lasted from 1910 until his death in 1924. Daubert was recogni ...

(1884–1924): Major League baseball first baseman from 1910 to 1924 (Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds) who led the National League in batting average in 1913 and 1914, helped the Dodgers reach their first World Series in 1916, and helped the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Chicago White Sox in 1919 World SeriesJake Daubert
(biography). Phoenix, Arizona: Society for American Baseball Research, retrieved online August 1, 2019. *

Francis Wade Hughes Francis Wade Hughes (August 10, 1817October 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 8th district from 1843 to 1844. He served as Secretary of the ...

(1817–1885): Pennsylvania Senator for the 8th district from 1843 to 1844, Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1853 to 1855 * Cyrus Maffet Palmer (1887–1959):

member of the

* Henry Clay Pleasants (1833–1880): Coal mining engineer and officer in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

, who organized the construction of a tunnel filled with explosives under the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

lines outside

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

, which resulted in the

Battle of the Crater The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...

on July 30, 1864 * Jack Quinn (1883–1946): Major League baseball pitcher * John Reber (1858–1931):

member of the

* Christian Markle Straub (1804–1860): U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district from 1853 to 1855 * David Gottlob Yuengling (1808–1877): Founder and first president of America's oldest brewery, D. G. Yuengling & Son * Frank D. Yuengling (1876–1963): President and owner of the

brewer,

Yuengling D. G. Yuengling & Son, established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewery, brewing company in the United States. In 2018, by volume of sales, it was the largest Craft brewery and microbrewery, craft brewery, sixth largest overall brewery and l ...

References

External links

Cemetery Records of Charles Baber Cemetery
United States: Interment.net {{Authority control Burials at Charles Baber Cemetery Cemeteries in Pennsylvania Pottsville, Pennsylvania