William Freame Johnston

November 29, 1801 – October 25, 1872

Mary Ann Montieth Johnston

1814 – May 18, 1898

Major William Graham McCandless

July 10, 1838 – January 17, 1909

Elizabeth Freame Johnston McCandless

April 1, 1842 – February 23, 1922

Two Pennsylvanian prominent families united—Johnston and McCandless.  William Freame Johnston was an attorney and politician, elected to the state Assembly and state Senate and was eventually elected Governor.  After a successful term as Governor, he went on to prove his ability in business in several different industries—oil refining, iron manufacture, and salt production.

Johnston’s daughter married William McCandless.  William McCandless was an officer in the Civil War.  After he mustered out with an honorable discharge he went into business as president of the American Window Glass Company.

Their Neo-classic monument features the Doric order characterized by columns that are usually fluted with a slightly curved and unadorned capital.  The architrave is enhanced with triglyphs and a repeating motif of circles in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Between the columns, the monument features a classically dressed angel standing in a field of lilies. The lily, as a funerary symbol, has many meanings including purity, innocence, virginity, heavenly bliss, majestic beauty, and Christ’s resurrection. 

The Easter Lily has long been associated with the Christian religion, commonly referred to as “White-Robed Apostles of Christ.” Early Christians believed that lilies sprouted where Jesus Christ’s sweat and tears fell to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Christians also believe that the trumpet-shaped blossoms announce the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The bronze inset was cast at the T.F. McGann & Sons Foundry in Boston, Massachusetts.  Unfortunately, there is not an artist’s signature on this piece.