Gravely Speaking

ERWIN J. GNAU

Son of

J. & E. M. GNAU

BORN

April 2, 1889

Died

Sep 1, 1891

NORMA C. GNAU

Dau of

J. & E. M. GNAU

Born

Oct. 12, 1884

Died

Sept. 1, 1891

The sweet carving of a little girl hugging a lamb atop the highly-ornamented white marble gravestone in the Greenwood Cemetery at Tell City, Perry County, Indiana, marks the grave of Erwin and Norma Gnau. The sweetness and serenity of the sculpture does not hint at the tragedy of their painful and untimely deaths.

The September 2, 1891, Wednesday Edition of the Evansville Courier, screams the headline, SEVEN ARE DEAD that tells the sad story:

“A Traveling Man Tells of the Scenes and Incidents That Followed the Disaster.

The death list of disaster Monday on the Cannelton branch of the Air Line road has been increased to seven. The correct list of fatalities are as follows:

Miss Emma Nermer, Fulda, Ind.

Miss Emma Schuh, Tell City.

Mrs. John Gnau, Troy

Little Norma Gnau, Troy.

Little Irwin Gnau, Troy.

Mural Durbin, boy, Hawesville, Ky.

Peter Gaesser, Tell City

The home of John Gnau , in Troy, is one of mourning. The wife was terribly scalded by escaping steam. She suffered intense agony and the physicians pronounced her case hopeless. She lingered in intense suffering until yesterday morning, when death came to her relief. Little Irwin Gnau died shortly after being taken home and little Norma Gnau, a bright little girl, was also so badly burned that she died yesterday. Three bodies now lie in the house made desolate by death….

Engineer App arrived in this city yesterday by boat. He went at once to his home and is not badly injured, beyond a number of burns and bruises.

A force of men are at work at the scene of the wreck and at last account it was nearly cleared. The engine is badly damaged.

WAS AT THE WRECK

A Description of the Scene Following the Disaster.

Mr. Schroeder, a travelling salesman, arrived in the city yesterday from the scene of the disaster. To a COURIER representative Mr. Schroder, while at the Lottie, told what he saw of the wreck. He said that he was near Troy when he heard the engine whistle for brakes. He did not hear the crash, but soon learned that the wreck had occurred. He hastened to the scene and arrive a half hour later it had occurred. All had been removed from the fated coach, which was then a smoldering wreck. The wreck occurred on one of the worst curves of the road. Mr. Schroder made an examination of the rails and found that for some distance pieces were cut out at regular intervals. This went to show conclusively that a flange had broken. The notches in the rails were so large that a finger could be placed in the depression. The point where the engine trucks climbed the rails was plainly discernable.

            Mr. Schroder said that when the passenger coach followed the engine into the ditch the front end was shoved in. The smoking apartment, occupying about one-third of the car, was in front. In this were a number of gentlemen. When the coach landed on top of the aperture made in the front of the car. One was Editor Bott of the Tell City Anzeiger. Another was Mr. Kasser, at traveling man, who is large and fleshy and has but one arm. The third was a man whose name is unknown. All three found themselves in the ditch among the wreckage….

The death chamber was near the partition in the car. Here Miss Nemer last her life. She was sitting near the partition and was caught in the wreckage. The engine was immediately beneath. The steam pipe leading to the whistle broke and the unfortunate young lady was roasted to death. Mrs. Gnau and her children was sitting near Miss Nemer and they also received the full steam from the engine….”

According to the article on the Find-A-Grave site for Emma Gnau, mother of Edwin and Norma, as she was being carried out of the train car in terrible pain blinded by the steam injuries she pleaded with those around her to save her children. She, nor her children survived the accident. Emma, a 38-year mother was laid to rest next to two of her children after a requiem in the St. Pius Church of Troy. She was survived by her husband, John, and her son, Oscar.

Nearly three weeks later, after investigating the accident, the county coroner came forward with his assessment of the accident which was reported in the September 20, 1891, Sunday Edition of the Evansville Courier. The paper ran the headline, “THE AIR LINE WRECK” and sub headline, “Coroner Cluthe’s Verdict Censures the Railroad Company”.

CANNELTON, IND., Sept 19—[Special]—Coronoer Cluthe’s verdict in the late disaster, wherein eight people were killed on the Air Line five miles west of this place, reads about as follows:

“I, William Cluthe, coroner of Perry county, Indiana, find that Emma Schuh, Carrie Nemer, Mrs. Gnau, Norma Gnau, Edwin Gnau, Arthur Keck and Mrs. Chamier came to their death by scalds, burns, bruises, inhalation of steam, in a railroad accident on the L.E. & St. L. Railroad.

“I further find the point where the accident occurred was on a high curve without sufficient grade on the road-bed. I will also censure the company on the high rate of speed called for in the schedule time.

“I also found rotten and broken ties near the place of the wreck.”

According to the coroner, the railroad itself had been at fault for the accident that shattered the Gnau family forever. The little girl and the lamb are reminder of the innocent lives lost that day leaving no hint of the tragedy that caused their deaths. The lamb is the symbol of the Lord, the Good Shepherd. It also represents innocence, likely the reason why this motif almost always adorns the tombstones of infants and young children.

Melvin Brothers Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts

ASA HEALD MELVIN

BORN SEPTEMBER 26, 1834

KILLED IN BATTLE BEFORE PETERSBURG VA

JUNE 16, 1864

JOHN HEALD MELVIN

BORN JULY 27, 1841

DIED IN A MILITARY HOSPITAL AT

FORT ALBANY VIRGINIA

OCTOBER 13, 1863

SAMUEL MELVIN

BORN APRIL 9, 1844

TAKEN PRISONER AT HARRISS FARM VA

MAY 19, 1864

DIED AT ANDERSONVILLE GA.

IN MEMORY OF THREE BROTHERS BORN IN CONCORD

WHO AS PRIVATE SOLDIERS GAVE THEIR LIVES

IN THE WAT TO SAVE THE COUNTRY

THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR SURVIVING

BROTHER HIMSELF A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE SAME WAR

“I WITH UNCOVERED HEAD

SALUTE THE SCRED DEAD

WHO WENT AND WHO RETURN NOT”

When James Melvin came back from the Civil War after serving in the 6^th Massachusetts Infantry, he was not joined by his brothers, Asa, John, and Samuel. They had all served in the 1^st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery unit which took heavy losses throughout the war. John was the first to perish—he at a military hospital in Fort Albany, Virginia. Asa died on the battlefield during an assault on Petersburg, and Samuel, who had been captured, died at the infamous and reviled Andersonville prison.

James, the fourth and youngest brother, later became a successful businessman and commissioned Daniel Chester French to design a memorial to his three fallen brothers. Daniel Chester French was arguably the most noted sculptor of his day, creating such monumental works as Minute Man at Concord, Massachusetts, the Marshall Field Memorial in Graceland Cemetery at Chicago, and his most famous work—the Seated Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, D.C.

To create what he titled, Mourning Victory, French hired Audrey Munson to model for the sculpture. Though, Munson, is not a household name like Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bundchen, or Christy Brinkley, some say, Munson was America’s first supermodel. Her likeness can be found today in statues in New York, Wisconsin, California, and as far away as the Netherlands. Audrey became the model of choice for acclaimed artists, such as, Alexander Stirling Calder, Karl Bitter, Sherry Edmundson Fry, Adolph Alexander Weinman, and of course, Daniel Chester French.

Audrey Munson in the silent film, Heedless Moths, 1921

Not only was she a model to be found on statues from coast to coast, but she posed for the Walking Liberty dollar designed by Adolph Alexander Weinman. It is believed, she is the model for the Liberty Dime, too, which he also designed.

Walking Liberty Dollar designed by Alexander Weinman

Her likeness can be found on magazine covers of the time and she also worked in the fledgling movie industry appearing in four silent movies—Inspiration in 1915, Purity in 1916, The Girl o’ Dreams in 1916, and Heedless Moths in 1921. Audrey Munson was the first actress to appear fully nude in a film—Inspiration.

Sunset magazine, (October 1915) her image in a sculpture by Alexander Weinman

The sculpture by French for the Melvin Brothers Memorial is titled Mourning Victory. It features a woman as the allegorical figure of victory. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which has a replica of the statue in marble in their collection, describes the statue, “The massive figure of Mourning victory emerges from the block of stone projecting two moods: melancholy, in her downcast eyes and somber expression, and triumph, in the American flag and laurel she holds high. French captured the sense of calm after the storm of battle, which must have referred to the pride, after the sorrow of grieving, felt by the surviving brother.”

The monument is a tribute not only to the Melvin Brothers and to the soaring talent of French, but to Audrey Munson, who was the muse for so many artists of her day.

In 1922, Munson attempted suicide. Nearly ten years later, her Mother petitioned to have Munson committed to an insane asylum, which is where she spent the last 65 years of her life—dying at the St. Lawrence State Hospital in Ogdensburg at the age of 104 years old. Munson is buried in the New Haven Cemetery at new Haven, New York, in an unmarked grave. Her image, however, lives on.

Killed at New Albany

North Y. while on duty for the

Monon R. W. Co.

EMORY L.

SON OF J. N. & E. A.

TITZEL

BORN

SEP. 15. 1880

DIED

DEC. 20. 1902

HIS LAST TRIP

C. R. Salyards of Orleans, Indiana, carved the train on top of the gravestone for Emory Titzel in the Mount Carmel Cemetery at Stinesville, Bean Blossom Township, Monroe County, Indiana.

Emory Titzel was a brakeman on the Monon Rail Way Company when he was killed in a accident.

In addition to the intricate carving of the train engine, there is a glassed compartment in the center of the gravestone that housed the flowers from the funerals. The flowers have long since decomposed.

Even though the train marked the untimely death of Emory Titzel and his “last trip” on the Monon, other children of Joseph Newcomer and Edwina Ann (Williams) Titzel are memorialized on the stone:

MARY

FAY

MATTHEW

BORN APR. 22

1898

DIED AUG. 23

1909

IN

DENVER

COLO.

SALLIE E.

DAU OFN. & E. A.

TITZEL

BORN

FEB. 1. 1875.

DIED

SEP. 5. 1875

FILOMENA BUCCOLA REMEMBRANCE OF MY DAUGHTER

JULIA AGE 29 YRS.

questa fotografia

presa dopo 6 anni morta

BUCCOLA

On moonless nights when there is a gentle rain, there have been reports in the Mount Carmel Cemetery at Hillside, Illinois, of a mist with a faint light emanating from the haze. Inside the mist is the apparition of a bride hovering above the ground—always looking downward as if she has lost something—or someone. Upon investigation the visage is almost always spotted near the gravesite of Julia Buccola Petta and her stillborn son. Julia Petta is legend here, known simply as the Italian Bride. Her macabre story is one of heartbreaking sadness and mystery.

The story starts in 1909, when Enrique Buccola immigrates to Chicago to join his brother, Giuseppe from Palermo, Italy. Both brothers work in the fashion industry—Henry as a tailor and Joseph as a clothing designer.

Because of the brothers’ success, they bring over other members of the family to join them. Rosalia was the first sister to join them. In 1913, their mother, Filomena and their sister, Julia, immigrate to America, too.

On June 6, 1920, Julia married Matthew Petta at the Holy Rosary Parish. Nine months later, on March 17, 1921, Julia died giving birth to a stillborn son, Flippo. Julia was buried in her wedding dress with her son in her arms. Her mother, Filomena, was beside herself with grief.

Filomena began having dreams that her daughter was still alive. The dreams went on and were so vivid and real to her that after six years, she mustered the courage to have her daughter’s body exhumed so she could see once and for all that the dreams were not real—that Julia and her son had died.

The casket was opened and to the surprise of everyone, Julia’s body was nearly as she was buried—still with rose-colored cheeks and soft supple skin except where her son lay. He had decomposed. Many believed that Julia’s preserved body was a sign that she was a saint.

To honor her daughter, Filomena talked one of her sons into paying what was reported to be an astronomical sum at the time for an elaborate monument to be sculpted in Julia’s likeness. Julia stands atop the base in the wedding dress she had been married in and eventually buried in.

On the face of the stone is a porcelain photograph of Julia not only in the dress, after which the sculpture was modeled, but also a porcelain photograph of Julia on the day her body was exhumed after six years of being entombed.

The stone has the inscription:

FILOMENA BUCCOLA REMEMBRANCE OF MY DAUGHTER

JULIA AGE 29 YRS.

questa fotografia

presa dopo 6 anni morta

BUCCOLA

Of note, is the fact that Julia’s married name, Petta, is not mentioned on the gravestone. Also the epitaph, written in Italian, reads:

questa fotografia

presa dopo 6 anni morta

Which translates roughly into English as:

this photograph was

taken 6 years after she died

The story became a local sensation. It was not long after that people told stories of seeing the apparition of the bride in the flowing white wedding gown in the cemetery. Even to this day, there are reports of the bride in the mist.

DR. OSCAR SCHULTZ

NOV. 9, 1848

FEB. 11, 1890

LOUISA HIS WIFE

MAR. 9, 1850

MAR. 6, 1903

The representation of Hope can be easily found in American cemeteries.  Hope is most often portrayed as a woman standing and leaning against an anchor.  In the example above, from the Bellefontaine Cemetery at Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana, the allegorical figure of Hope is holding a chain that connects to the anchor.

The anchor is an ancient Christian symbol that has been found in early catacomb burials.  The anchor was used by early Christians as a disguised cross.  The anchor also served as a symbol of Christ and his anchoring influence in the lives of Christians.  Just as an anchor does not let a moored boat drift, the anchoring influence of Christ does not allow the Christian life to drift.

A TRIBUTE TO

THE MEN OF MONROE COUNTY

WHO IN THE SPIRIT OF LOYALTY

SERVED THEIR COUNTRY

IN THE WORLD WAR 1917 – 1918

AND LOVING MEMORY OF

THOSE INSCRIBED BELOW

WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE

Memorial Day is a time to stop and remember the ultimate sacrifices that American soldiers gave for the freedom of their fellow citizens. Tributes to those soldiers can be found in town squares and cemeteries all across a grateful nation.

The tribute here is honoring soldiers from Monroe County, Indiana, who fought in World War I. In 1923, the memorial in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Bloomington, Indiana, was commemorated depicting “The Spirit of the Doughboy.”

Erected by

Public

Donations

In memory

Of the

Veterans

Of the Spanish-

American

War 1896 – 1902

Dedicated

9-26-1926

The Spanish-American War monument in the Bohemian National at Chicago, Illinois, was designed by Theo Ruggles Kitson. The eight-foot statue weighs a whopping 600 pounds. The statue, dubbed the Hiker stands atop a 25-ton boulder.

On the highest hillock in the Walnut Hill Cemetery at Petersburg, Pike County, Indiana, stands a monument and cannon to those who served in the Civil War. The column rests on a four-sided plinth. Two sides have bas-reliefs of eagle, flag, and shield.

The other two sides have the following inscriptions:

IN MEMORY

OF THE

MOTHERS, WIVES,

AND DAUGHTERS

FROM 1861 – 1865

—

IN MEMORY

OF THE

SOLDIERS

OF THE

CIVIL WAR

IN PIKE Co.

No other war was like the American Civil War for Americans because every sailor or soldier, every collateral death, every field or railway yard that was destroyed, every city or town devastated by artillery was American.  And, more Americans were killed in the Civil War than any other war that Americans have fought in.

Total American Deaths by War

Civil War                        625,000

World War II                  405,399

World War I                   116,516

Vietnam                            58,151

Korean War                      36,516

Revolutionary War           25,000

War of 1812                      20,000

Mexican American War    13,283

War on Terror                      6,280

Spanish American War       4,196

During the Civil War Americans were fighting against Americans. Brothers against brothers—cousins against cousins, every casualty and every fatality was an American. The war tore the country apart and threatened the existence of the Republic.  Cemeteries throughout the United States pay tribute to the soldiers that fought to preserve the Union, often with special sections where soldiers are buried.

PVT. MICHAEL

KOKOSKA

CO. L. 127 INF.

He gave his life in Honor

Of our Country

Born Sept. 28, 1892

Died June 27, 1918

in France

Many cemeteries feature memorials to soldiers. Some statues commemorate all of the soldiers who served in a war, some commemorate an individual soldier.

This memorial in the Bohemian National Cemetery at Chicago, Illinois, was erected in honor of Private Michael Kokoska, the son of Joseph and Majdelena Kokoska, Bohemian immigrants. Kokoska served in the Great War where he was killed in France and temporarily buried in the Morvillars Military Cemetery. His parents petitioned the Quartermaster of the Army to have their son returned to America for reburial. His monument is a testament to his loyalty and patriotism.