Old Gray Cemetery is the second-oldest cemetery in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, United States. Established in 1850, the cemetery contains the graves of some of Knoxville's most influential citizens, ranging from politicians and soldiers, to artists and activists. The cemetery is also noted for the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
marble sculpture and elaborate carvings adorning many of the grave markers and headstones.
In 1996, the cemetery was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Named for English poet
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...
(1716–1771), Old Gray Cemetery is an example of a so-called
garden cemetery
A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...
, a mid-19th-century style that sought the transition of graveyards from urban churchyards to quiet suburban plots. Unlike its crowded predecessor, the
First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
The First Presbyterian Church Graveyard is the oldest graveyard in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Established in the 1790s, the graveyard contains the graves of some of Knoxville's most prominent early residents, including territorial gov ...
, Old Gray features spacious graves, grand monuments, and extensive vegetation, and its layout bears more resemblance to a public park. Playwright
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
mentions Old Gray in his short story, "The Man in the Overstuffed Chair,"
and
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning novelist
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
alludes to the cemetery in his book, ''In the Tennessee Country''.
The cemetery was simply known as "Gray Cemetery" until 1892, when "New" Gray Cemetery was established about a mile away.
History
By the 1840s, the
garden cemetery
A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...
movement, driven largely by the fame of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
's
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...
, had gained popularity in France, England, and the United States, as planners in various large cities began building larger, more elaborate cemeteries in their respective cities' outskirts and suburbs. During this period, Knoxville's leaders sought such a cemetery for Knoxville, as many had incorrectly believed the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery (near the center of town) had caused a deadly
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
in 1838.
[Jack Neely, ''The Marble City: A Photographic Tour of Knoxville's Graveyards'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1999), pp. xvii–xxii, 3–7.] In February 1850, a board of trustees, led by East Tennessee University president William B. Reese, was appointed to buy land and sell lots for a new cemetery.
The site of Old Gray Cemetery was previously pastureland located just outside Knoxville's northwestern city limits. Only a mile from the city's downtown area, it was considered ideal for a suburban cemetery. The first land for the cemetery was purchased in December 1849, and landscape architect Frederick Douglass was hired to come up with a groundplan. At the suggestion of Reese's wife, Henrietta, the cemetery was named after English poet Thomas Gray, author of ''
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem's origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742 ...
''.
[Old Gray Cemetery – History]
3 September 2008. Retrieved: 2 May 2010.
The cemetery was dedicated on June 1, 1852, with the sale of the first 40 grave lots.
The first burial had, however, occurred on July 15 of the previous year, after a local man named William Martin died of wounds from a cannon explosion during the city's
Fourth-of-July celebration. Martin's grave was not marked, but a small marble memorial in the northwest section of the cemetery recalls the incident.
Many of the cemetery's early burials were victims of Knoxville's 1854
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic. The cemetery also contains several dozen victims of the
New Market train wreck
The New Market train wreck happened when two Southern Railway passenger trains traveling at great speed collided head on near New Market, Tennessee, on Saturday, September 24, 1904, killing at least 56 passengers and crew and injuring 106.
Trai ...
of 1904. In 1912, the cemetery witnessed one of the largest funeral processions ever conducted in the South, when some 40,000 mourners attended the burial of former Tennessee governor
Robert "Fiddlin' Bob" Taylor (Taylor's grave has since been moved to
Johnson City.)
Layout
Old Gray Cemetery is shaped like an awkward pentagon, with a "handle" opening toward its main (eastern) entrance on Broadway. Secondary entrances are located in the northern corner along Tyson Street and in the western corner along Cooper Street. A paved avenue connects all three entrances, and paved roadways twist and turn throughout the cemetery. Roads, trees, and grave plots all follow the natural topography. The National Register-listed St. John's Lutheran Church stands opposite the cemetery's main entrance.
The cemetery's administrative office is located just inside the main gate. Beyond the entrance, the main avenue splits around a circle, which once contained the Albers Fountain.
The cemetery's perimeter is partially surrounded by a low stone wall, and partially by an iron fence, with double-iron gates and marble posts at the main entrance, and walk-through gates at the secondary entrances. The cemetery's northwest wall is shared with the adjacent
Knoxville National Cemetery
Knoxville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Established during the Civil War in 1863, the cemetery currently encompasses , and as of the end of 2007, had 9,006 inter ...
.
Monuments
Unlike many modern cemeteries, where the gravemarkers are carved from granite (which is more durable), most of the decorative monuments at Old Gray are carved from marble. While not as durable as granite, marble is softer, and thus lends itself to more elaborate designs. Victorian angels—guardians of the dead—are the most common type of sculpture.
Obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
s—which were popular grave monuments during the late 19th-century—are also found throughout the cemetery. Other notable markers include
Woodmen of the World
WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members.
...
monuments—carved to depict undressed tree logs—where were given to the order's members as part of a life insurance policy.
Elaborate crosses are also common, including several
celtic cross
The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...
es.
One of the most notable sculptures is the Horne monument, which is a near life-size statue of a Confederate soldier guarding the graves of Confederate veterans William and John Horne. A statue carved by Italian sculptor Antonio Bebelotti graces the graves of the parents of art collector Eleanor Swan Audigier, who obtained the statue while living in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. The obelisk of Frank S. Mead, carved by Knoxville sculptor D. H. Geddes, was used on advertisements by Mead's marble company.
Notable interments
For years, visitors to the Old Gray Cemetery have commented on the various "adversaries" buried within sight of one another. Among the most well-known of these are Knoxville businessman
Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr.
Joseph Alexander Mabry IIFred Brown ''Knox News'', June 5, 2011 (January 26, 1826 – October 19, 1882) was an American folk figure and businessman active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the mid-nineteenth century. Mabry earned a fort ...
, his son Joseph Alexander Mabry III, and
Mechanics' National Bank president Thomas O'Connor, all three of whom were killed in an 1882 shootout discussed in
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's ''
Life on the Mississippi''. The family plots of two bitter Civil War rivals, pro-Unionist William "Parson" Brownlow and pro-secessionist John Hervey Crozier, are separated only by a roadway. Two other Civil War adversaries, Union Army major
Eldad Cicero Camp
Eldad Cicero Camp, Jr. (August 1, 1839 – November 21, 1920) was an American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the vicinity. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of th ...
and Confederate colonel Henry Ashby, are also buried at Old Gray, the latter having been killed in a scuffle with Camp in downtown Knoxville in 1868.
Cornelius Coffin Williams (1879–1957), father of playwright Tennessee Williams, is buried in the cemetery, and his funeral is discussed in Williams's "The Man in The Overstuffed Chair."
[Tennessee Williams, "The Man In the Overstuffed Chair." ''Collected Stories'' (New York: New Directions Books, 1985), p. xvi.] Eliza Boond Hodgson (1810–1870), mother of author
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...
, is also buried at Old Gray, her grave being one of the few surviving relicts of Burnett's years in the city.
[Jack Neely, ''The Marble City'', p. 17.] Author Peter Taylor mentions a 1916 funeral at a "Knoxville cemetery" for a fictitious politician in his novel, ''In the Tennessee Country'', which may be an allusion to the lavish funeral of his grandfather, Governor Robert Love Taylor, which took place at Old Gray in 1912 (Lot 407).
[Jack Neely, ''Knoxville's Secret History'' (Scruffy Books, 1995), pp. 56–57.]
*
Alexander O. Anderson
Alexander Outlaw Anderson (November 10, 1794May 23, 1869) was an American slave owner and attorney who represented Tennessee in the United States Senate, and later served in the California State Senate, and on the California Supreme Court.
Earl ...
(1794–1869), U.S. senator
*
Henry Ashby (1836–1868), Confederate colonel
*
Richard W. Austin
Richard Wilson Austin (August 26, 1857 – April 20, 1919) was an American politician, attorney and diplomat. A Republican, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1909 to 1919, representing Tennessee's 2nd district. ...
(1857–1919), U.S. congressman
*
Lloyd Branson
Enoch Lloyd Branson (1853–1925) was an American artist best known for his portraits of Southern politicians and depictions of early East Tennessee history.
One of the most influential figures in Knoxville's early art circles, Branson rec ...
(1853–1925; Lot 916), Knoxville artist
*
William G. "Parson" Brownlow (1805–1877; Lot 57), Tennessee governor and U.S. senator, editor of the ''
Knoxville Whig''
*
Eldad Cicero Camp
Eldad Cicero Camp, Jr. (August 1, 1839 – November 21, 1920) was an American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the vicinity. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of th ...
(1839–1920), Knoxville businessman, founder of the Coal Creek Coal Company
*
William Caswell (1846–1926), Confederate general
*
William Montgomery Churchwell
William Montgomery Churchwell (February 20, 1826August 18, 1862) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives. He also served as Confederate States Army officer during the American Civil War.
Biography
Ch ...
(1826–1862; Lot 43), U.S. congressman, president of the failed Bank of East Tennessee in the 1850s
*
John Hervey Crozier
John Hervey Crozier (February 10, 1812 – October 25, 1889) was an American attorney and politician active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, during the mid-nineteenth century. Described as "an orator of uncommon brilliancy" and "one of ...
(1812–1889; Lot 35), U.S. congressman
*
Perez Dickinson (1813–1901), Knoxville businessman, founder of the city's Board of Trade
*
Hubert Frederick Fisher (1877–1941) U.S. congressman, football coach (University of Tennessee 1902-1903)
*
John M. Fleming
John Miller Fleming (December 12, 1832 – October 28, 1900) was an American newspaper editor, attorney and politician, active primarily in Tennessee during the latter half of the 19th century. He rose to prominence as editor of the ''Knoxvill ...
(1832-1900), newspaper editor and state legislator
*
Margaret Elizabeth Crozier "Lizzie" French (1851–1926; Lot 302), women's suffragist leader, founder of Knoxville's
Ossoli Circle
The Ossoli Circle is a women's club located in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1885 as a literary society, the club is a charter member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, and the first federated women's club in the South.K ...
*
William Henry Fizer (1861–1937), Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who won the
1907 Kentucky Derby
*
William Heiskell
William Heiskell (1788 – September 9, 1871) was an American politician, active primarily in Tennessee, in the mid-19th century. He served a tumultuous term as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives in the months following the Civ ...
(1788–1871; Lot 186), post-Civil War Speaker of the
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Constitutional requirements
According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
*
Leonidas Houk (1836–1891), U.S. congressman
*
Thomas William Humes
Thomas William Humes (April 22, 1815 – January 16, 1892) was an American clergyman and educator, active in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the latter half of the 19th century. Elected rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in 1846, Humes led ...
(1815–1892), president of East Tennessee University, oversaw school's transition into the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
*
Peter Kern (1835–1907), Mayor of Knoxville and founder of Kern's Bakery
*
Joseph Knaffl
Joseph Knaffl (October 9, 1861 – March 23, 1938) was an American art and portrait photographer, active in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his 1899 portrait, "Knaffl Madonna," which has be ...
(1861–1938), photographer
*
Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr.
Joseph Alexander Mabry IIFred Brown ''Knox News'', June 5, 2011 (January 26, 1826 – October 19, 1882) was an American folk figure and businessman active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the mid-nineteenth century. Mabry earned a fort ...
(1826–1882), Knoxville businessman, builder of
Mabry-Hazen House, helped establish
Market Square
The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.[Horace Maynard
Horace Maynard (August 30, 1814 – May 3, 1882) was an American educator, attorney, politician and diplomat active primarily in the second half of the 19th century. Initially elected to the House of Representatives from Tennessee's 2nd Cong ...]
(1814–1882), U.S. congressman and postmaster general
*
Charles McClung
Charles McClung (May 13, 1761 – August 9, 1835) was an American pioneer, politician, and surveyor best known for drawing up the original plat of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1791. While Knoxville has since expanded to many times its original s ...
(1761–1835), pioneer surveyor who laid out Knoxville in the 1790s; grave moved here by his descendants in 1904
*
Lee McClung
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...
(1870–1914),
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
football standout and 22nd
Treasurer of the United States
The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage produc ...
*
Charles McClung McGhee
Charles McClung McGhee (January 23, 1828 – May 5, 1907) was an American industrialist and financier, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the latter half of the nineteenth century. As director of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Geor ...
(1828–1907), Knoxville railroad magnate, founder of
Lawson McGhee Library
The Lawson McGhee Library is the main library of Knox County Public Library in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's po ...
*
Frank Seymour Mead (1864–1936), Knoxville businessman, founder of Republic Marble Company
*
Thomas A. R. Nelson (1812–1873; Lot 882), U.S. congressman
*
William Rule (1839–1928), Knoxville mayor, founder of the ''Knoxville Journal''
*
Edward J. Sanford (1831–1902), Knoxville businessman
*
William Henry Sneed
William Henry Sneed (August 27, 1812 – September 18, 1869) was an American attorney and politician, active initially in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and later in Knoxville, Tennessee, during the mid-19th century. He was a member of the United S ...
(1812–1869), U.S. congressman
*
Peter Staub
Peter Staub (February 22, 1827 – May 19, 1904) was a Swiss-born American businessman, politician, and diplomat. He immigrated to the United States in 1854, and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1856, where he lived for most of the remainde ...
(1827–1904), Knoxville mayor and businessman, established Staub's Theater, Knoxville's first opera house
*
Oliver Perry Temple
Oliver Perry Temple (January 27, 1820 – November 2, 1907) was an American attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter active primarily in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century.Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country ...
(1820–1907; Lot 488), attorney, judge, and economic promoter
*
Jacob Montgomery Thornburgh
Jacob Montgomery Thornburgh (July 3, 1837Rothrock (''French Broad-Holston Country'', p. 497) lists July 5 as his date of birth. Thornburgh's grave monument at Old Gray Cemetery gives July 3 as his date of birth.– September 19, 1890) was an ...
(1837–1890), U.S. congressman
*
William Isaac Thomas
William Isaac Thomas (August 13, 1863 – December 5, 1947) was an American sociologist, understood today as a key figure behind the theory of symbolic interactionism.
Collaborating with Polish sociologist Florian Znaniecki, Thomas developed and ...
(1863-1947), Professor of Sociology
*Charles McGhee Tyson (1889–1918),
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 ...
pilot who was shot down and killed while patrolling the North Sea in 1918 and later became the namesake of
McGhee Tyson Airport
McGhee Tyson Airport is a public/military airport 12 miles south of Knoxville,. Federal Aviation Administration. effective November 15, 2012. in Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee, United States. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles Mc ...
*
Lawrence Tyson
Lawrence Davis Tyson (July 4, 1861August 24, 1929) was an American general, politician and textile manufacturer, operating primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As s btigadier general, he commanded ...
(1861–1929),
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 ...
general and U.S. senator.
*
Catherine Wiley
Anna Catherine Wiley (January 18, 1879 – May 16, 1958) was an American artist active primarily in the early twentieth century. After training with the Art Students League of New York and receiving instruction from artists such as Lloyd Bran ...
(1879–1958), Knoxville artist
*
Joseph Lanier Williams
Joseph Lanier Williams (October 23, 1810December 14, 1865) was an American politician that represented Tennessee's third district in the United States House of Representatives.
Biography
Williams was born near Knoxville, Tennessee on October 2 ...
(1810–1865), U.S. congressman.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Old Gray Cemetery
Old Gray Cemetery Home Page
Cemeteries in Tennessee
1850 establishments in Tennessee
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
Geography of Knoxville, Tennessee
Tourist attractions in Knoxville, Tennessee
Protected areas of Knox County, Tennessee
National Register of Historic Places in Knoxville, Tennessee
Rural cemeteries