Machpelah Cemetery (Le Roy, New York)
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Machpelah Cemetery is located on North Street in Le Roy, New York, United States. It was opened in the mid-19th century and expanded since then. Graves from other, smaller burial grounds around Le Roy have been added. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2007, one of two cemeteries in Genesee County with that distinction. It was originally built and laid out as a
rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...
, with a parklike setting on the banks of
Oatka Creek Oatka Creek ( ) is the third longest tributary of the Genesee River, located entirely in the Western New York region of the U.S. state of New York. From southern Wyoming County, New York, Wyoming County, it flows to the Genesee near Scottsville, ...
. In the early 20th century its design philosophy changed, when a large mausoleum to local businessman Orator Francis Woodward, who in his last years made a fortune developing
Jell-O Jell-O (stylized in all caps) is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of ...
into a bestselling dessert, was built in the southern section of the cemetery near his factory. The architect hired by the family to lay out the section was influenced by the
City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...
, giving that area a more orderly cast. ''Note:'' This includes
Supplemental Documentation
an
''Accompanying five photographs''
/ref> Woodward's monument, visible from the cemetery's main entrance, is the most prominent of many notable graves in the cemetery. Other structures within include a memorial chapel built around the same time and a granite vault held together by its own weight. The markers exhibit a variety of materials, forms and styles of
funerary art Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the death, dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, a ...
. Among the 5,500 dead buried here besides Woodward and his family are many people important to the history of Le Roy, including the daughters of its namesake, the inventor of Jell-O and
Sarah Frances Whiting Sarah Frances Whiting (August 23, 1847 – September 12, 1927) was an American physicist and astronomer. In February 1896 Whiting founded both the physics and astronomy departments; and was the first professor of physics and astronomy at Welle ...
, an astronomer who was also one of the first to experiment with
X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
s. Veterans of every American war lie at Machpelah as well.


Buildings and grounds

The cemetery is located on a parcel near the northern boundary of the village of Le Roy. Its western boundary is the irregular, curving Oatka Creek. On the south is the large, empty factory that once manufactured Jell-O when it was all produced in Le Roy. To the east, across North Street, are houses, and residential property continues to the north, into the Town of Le Roy. A
wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...
fence runs along the south and east sides. At the three main entrances, and the southeast and northeast corners, are two
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
pillars topped with stone orbs. The southern third of the cemetery is generally flat, with axial roads radiating outward from the Woodward mausoleum near the southeast entrance. In the northern and central portions, the landscape becomes hillier, with a gentle descent to the creek. The roads there curve with the landscape. Throughout, the cemetery is planted with mature trees and shrubs from a variety of species. There are three buildings on the cemetery grounds. The most prominent is the
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
of Orator Francis Woodward, the Le Roy resident who built a personal fortune from buying the
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
for Jell-O. It is a small stone
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
structure in the middle of a circle with large planted myrtles at the end of the short drive from the main entrance, serving as its focal point. The east (front) elevation has four Doric columns in front of bronze doors, and a similar colonnade on the west (rear) with a
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
window. Its interior is paneled in
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
. Interred there are Woodward, his wife Cora and their six children. To the south of the main drive is the smaller Lampson mausoleum. It is built of panels of
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
granite locked together by their own weight. Scottish variegated granite columns are on the north (front) elevation. Between them are marble doors opening into a chamber with a marble mosaic floor. Downhill from the drive at the northern entrance, the former main entrance, is the Lathrop Chapel, at the end of a
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare. The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or connecting to a park from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded. Over the years, many different types of roads have been labeled p ...
with plantings and a veterans' memorial. It is a
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
building with a slate roof. On its front is a
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
with two
lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...
s framing the entrance. Above is a double pointed-arch window with a
Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...
at the roof. All three are
contributing resources In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...
to the cemetery's historic character. There is one other building, a modern cemetery office and garage just south of the main entrance. Due to its recent construction it is non-contributing. There are 5,500 decedents buried at 6,500 graves in the cemetery's ten sections. They date from the time of the cemetery's founding to the present, and include a variety of funerary art from the times they were erected. They take a variety of forms, from traditional
gravestone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...
s to
obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
s, and use a variety of stones from granite and marble to green serpentine. Among the notable markers are another one to the Woodwards. It is a large semicircle of pink Canadian granite, long and 10½ feet () deep with a paved
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
. On either side are curved benches with a small flower garden in the center around a rectangular stone. Many members of the Olmsted family, prominent from Le Roy's early days, also have distinctive markers. The obelisk of John Randolph Olmsted is the tallest monument in the cemetery, and Chauncey Olmsted and his family also are memorialized with a large red granite obelisk atop a hill. John Barlow Olmsted's green serpentine stone, amid a grove of cedars, has a history of the family. Some markers have distinctive decoration. Artist Frank Eastman Jones' stone has a carved palette. On the south knoll of the cemetery's west side are the graves of the three Bang children, outlined with low marble stones that resemble cribs when seen at a distance. A fourth Bang child has a nearby grave with a detailed carved cross decorated with ivy and flowers. Another descendant of a prominent local family, Sheldon Francis Bartow, has a large marble urn embellished with garlands on his stone. The white marble angel praying at the Paul family plot is the largest statue in the cemetery. Other distinct funerary art include the
Greek letters The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as we ...
Alpha and Omega (A and Ω) on the three Whiting graves and the Avilan crosses on the graves of Polly and Esther Barrows.


History

The cemetery went through two phases of development. From its establishment to the end of the 19th century, it remained true to its conception as a rural cemetery. After the construction of the Woodward Mausoleum in the early years of the 20th, subsequent development was influenced by the contemporary City Beautiful movement.


1801–1858: Conception and construction

Le Roy's first burying ground had been established in 1801, within three years of its settlement. Gradually seven other small graveyards came into being around the community's churches as it grew due to settlement of the
Holland Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel G ...
lands in the surrounding area and its location at the junction of Oatka Creek and a major road (now
New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...
) through the area. All were small, meant mainly for the churches' congregants. The first rural cemetery,
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, was established in 1831. The idea of burying the dead in a large, parklike tract with walking paths and plantings took some time to gain acceptance. Seven years later, in 1838, Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery became the first rural cemetery in
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
, and the first one to be operated by a municipality. George Blodgett, a veteran of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
and local businessman, may have been similarly inspired by the idea. He proposed that an eight-acre () tract near the northwest corner of the village be acquired for a rural cemetery. At first he tried to finance the purchase through the sale of plots for $25 ($ in contemporary dollars), but grew discouraged after he had only sold 20 in several years.


1858–1906: Rural cemetery period

Blodgett turned to another prominent Le Roy citizen, Chauncey Olmsted, who would later be buried in the cemetery. Olmsted gave him $200, which made it possible to purchase the land from a local wheat farmer. Under Blodgett's supervision, Olmsted built the original fences and walkways. The Rev. Samuel Cox, first chancellor of
Ingham University Ingham University (previously known as Attica Female Seminary and LeRoy Female Institute) in Le Roy, New York, was the first women's college in New York State and the first chartered women's university in the United States. It was founded in 1835 ...
, suggested the name Machpelah, from
Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
's exhortation at
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
49:30: "''Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephrom the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah'' ..." The first decedent, twelve-year-old Caro Frances Chamberlin, was buried on the last day of 1858. Her grave is extant, atop the southern knoll in section B, Lot 16. Blodgett built the public
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...
into the hill near what is now the parkway leading to the Lathrop Chapel. Its limestone facade was copied soon after for a nearby family vault. In 1870 the heirs of Miles Lampson, one of the wealthiest men in the village, built the granite mausoleum to him. Originally it was surrounded by a decorative iron fence. It was built by a Connecticut company for a reported cost of $10,000 ($ in contemporary dollars). Later in that decade the cemetery grew when one of Le Roy's original burying grounds were closed down and the bodies moved. After the original Episcopal church was demolished, the bodies in its graveyard were divided between two other cemeteries. Among those moved to Machpelah were Julia and Caroline Le Roy, daughters of the community's namesake, Jacob Le Roy. Ownership of the cemetery was formally transferred in 1873 from Blodgett to the Machpelah Cemetery Association. The following year Blodgett died, and the cemetery was formally
consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
. At the ceremony one speaker, Lucius Bangs, praised the cemetery's rural setting and its soothing effect: Similar praise found its way into print in subsequent years. "The grounds are upon an elevation and are beautifully laid out with an excellent taste displayed in adapting new ideas to the laying out and beautifying of burial plots, which is worthy of imitation." wrote the ''Genesee County Gazetteer'' in 1890. Two decades later, in 1913, the ''Le Roy Gazette'' said: With the new century the cemetery acquired a fence. The initial was installed along the east side by a Detroit company for $36.60 ($ in contemporary dollars) in 1903. Later that decade, the cemetery association bought the property to the south and, in 1907, the Woodward Mausoleum was built. Afterwards, the southern boundary was fenced off and by late 1908 the limestone pillars at the gates and corners were in place.


1906–present: City Beautiful

Orator Francis Woodward's burial in the cemetery marked a change in design philosophies. He had made his Jell-O fortune in the last years of his life; his family put it to many
philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
uses not only in Le Roy but in the greater Rochester area as well. His mausoleum was one of the first in the southern section, and the Woodward family retained
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
Alling Deforest, who had designed the gardens around the
George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...
in Rochester, to design the surrounding landscape. The roads radiating from the circular drive around the mausoleum impart clean, clear visual lines and symmetry to the landscape, in contrast to the meandering, idiosyncratic rural atmosphere of the older sections. This reflects the ideals of the contemporary
City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...
, with a preference for symmetry and order in public spaces, particularly since this section directly abuts the factory where Woodward had made his fortune. It is augmented by the
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
style of the mausoleum at the center of the Deforest-designed portion, the architect of which is not known. Deforest was also able to make a smooth transition between the newer and older sections and their different styles. In 1910 the Union Free School in the village needed to expand and acquired the former
Ingham University Ingham University (previously known as Attica Female Seminary and LeRoy Female Institute) in Le Roy, New York, was the first women's college in New York State and the first chartered women's university in the United States. It was founded in 1835 ...
campus. Members of the Ingham family who had been buried there were moved to a small plot in Machpelah, along with the white marble obelisk memorializing Emily Ingham's husband Col. Phineas Staunton, who died on an expedition to South America and is buried in Ecuador. Also that year, the Lathrop Chapel, designed by Robert Fayfield of Buffalo, was erected. It is built into the hillside to allow its basement to be used as a vault. There have been no significant additions to the cemetery since then. The chapel underwent several renovations at mid-century. In 1950 Helen Woodward Rivas, Orator's youngest daughter, paid for the first. Three years later, the Rev. Raymond Calkins funded additional work in memory of his wife's family, the Lathrops, giving the chapel its name. Among those renovations were a
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...
; however it was replaced with the current window, depicting the
Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus () is Christianity, Christian belief that God in Christianity, God Resurrection, raised Jesus in Christianity, Jesus from the dead on the third day after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion, starting—or Preexis ...
as described at
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chinese Elm ''Ulmus parvifolia'' Christianity * Matthew the Apostle, one of ...
28:1-6, six years later when Calkins objected to the rose window.


Notable burials

A number of locally prominent people, some who also achieved national renown, are buried in Machpelah: * ''
Dick Gamble Richard Frank Gamble (November 16, 1928 – March 22, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1950 and 1967. Hi ...
'' Canadian professional ice hockey player. *Frank Eastman Jones, an artist whose grave marker has a carved palette. *Janet DeMallie Boehme, She was the face of Eastman Kodak for decades, her husband Robert A "Bob" Boehme is next to her. *Calvin Keeney, a village resident who invented the stringless bean. *William Lampson, a local bank president who was the wealthiest man in the village when he died in 1897. His funeral vault is the only extant building of many he had constructed. *Joshua Lathrop, Le Roy's first mayor (the position was called village president at the time). *Jacob Le Roy's daughters Caroline and Julia, both of whom died in childhood, are the only members of the family buried in the village which bears their father's name. Their graves were among those moved into Machpelah later on. *Pearle Bixby Wait, the actual inventor of Jell-O. *
Sarah Frances Whiting Sarah Frances Whiting (August 23, 1847 – September 12, 1927) was an American physicist and astronomer. In February 1896 Whiting founded both the physics and astronomy departments; and was the first professor of physics and astronomy at Welle ...
, an Ingham alumna who became an astronomer and was one of the first to experiment with
X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
s. *Donald Woodward, Orator's youngest son. He was an aviation pioneer who built the local airport and owned the ''Friendship'', the plane
Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...
flew across the Atlantic. *Ernest Woodward, Orator's oldest son. He sold Jell-O to
Postum Postum () is a powdered roasted grain beverage popular as a coffee substitute. The caffeine-free beverage was created by Post Consumer Brands, Post Cereal Company founder C. W. Post in 1895 and marketed as a healthier alternative to coffee. Post w ...
for $66 million, the beginning of
General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...
. With the money he supported local institutions, and even paid for some of the cost of the local
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
. * Orator Francis Woodward, The owner of the Genesee Pure Food Company. He bought the Jell-O patent from Wait in 1899 and died a millionaire seven years later. *Nancy Van Doren, One of the founders of Washington State University, 1891. Almost 400 war veterans are buried at Machpelah. They represent all wars, starting with three from Revolutionary War moved to Machpelah later in the 19th century. In 2006 the Le Roy Historical Society began putting flags on their graves, a practice the local
American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
post had discontinued in the 1980s due to lack of funds. It is part of a society project to update the records of the veterans buried at the cemetery.


See also

* List of cemeteries in New York *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Genesee County, New York List of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Genesee County, New York This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Genesee County, New York. The lo ...


References


External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in New York Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Cemeteries in Genesee County, New York Gothic Revival architecture in New York (state) Neoclassical architecture in New York (state) 1858 establishments in New York (state) Le Roy, New York National Register of Historic Places in Genesee County, New York