Bellefontaine Cemetery (established in 1849) and the Roman Catholic
Calvary Cemetery (established in 1857) in
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
are adjacent burial grounds, the location of numerous historic and extravagant graves and mausoleums. They are the necropolis for a number of prominent local and state politicians, as well as soldiers of the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
The cemeteries were established after the
choleraCholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through eating food or drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae from other cholera patients...
epidemic of 1849, to ensure that burials were made further from the river and water supplies.
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Bellefontaine Cemetery (established in 1849) and the Roman Catholic
Calvary Cemetery (established in 1857) in
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
are adjacent burial grounds, the location of numerous historic and extravagant graves and mausoleums. They are the necropolis for a number of prominent local and state politicians, as well as soldiers of the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
The cemeteries were established after the
choleraCholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through eating food or drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae from other cholera patients...
epidemic of 1849, to ensure that burials were made further from the river and water supplies. The original St. Louis cemetery was by Old Cathedral in
Downtown St. LouisDowntown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment and the anchor of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Interstate 64 to the south, Jefferson Ave. to the west, the river front to the east, and Cole St. to the north...
near the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
. Bodies from that cemetery (including that of city co-founder Auguste Chouteau) were moved to Bellefontaine.
Burials from an African-American cemetery discovered during construction at Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport were reinterred here in the 1990s.
Bellefontaine
Bellefontaine Cemetery at 4947 W Florissant, St. Louis, is the burial grounds for prominent pioneers to the West. It is also the resting place for several victims of the 1855 railway accident known as the
Gasconade Bridge train disasterThe Gasconade Bridge train disaster was a rail accident at Gasconade, Missouri on November 1, 1855.At the time of the disaster, the Pacific Railroad was being built west from St. Louis towards the Pacific Ocean, and had been completed to Jefferson City, 125 miles to the west.On November 1, an...
. Also buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery are a number of the famous
BuschAnheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the United States. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other countries...
and Lemp family of brewers.
Notable Bellefontaine burials
- Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton , nicknamed "Old Bullion", was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms...
(1782–1858), U.S. Senator
- Henry Taylor Blow
Henry Taylor Blow was a U.S. Representative and Ambassador from Missouri.Born in Southampton County, Virginia to Captain Peter and Elizabeth Blow, owners of the famous slave Dred Scott, Blow moved with his parents to Huntsville, Alabama, where his father unsuccessfully tried farming. In 1830 the...
(1817–1875), politician, statesman
- Susan Blow
Known as the "Mother of Kindergarten" Susan Elizabeth Blow was a United States educator who opened the first successful public Kindergarten in the United States....
(1843–1916), educator
- Francis E. Brownell
Francis Edwin Brownell was a soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor for killing the murderer of Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, colonel of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Brownell's actions marked the first action in the American Civil War to merit the award.-Life:Brownell enlisted as...
(1840-1894), soldier during the American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, Medal of Honor recipient
- Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War...
(1818–1898), American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
general (Union)
- William Seward Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs I was an American inventor, born in Rochester, New York.William Seward Burroughs was a son of a mechanic, and he worked with machines while growing up. While he was still a small boy, his parents moved to Auburn, New York, where he and his brothers were educated in the...
(1857–1898), inventor
- William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer.Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, drawn from his experiences as an opiate addict, a condition that marked the last fifty years of his life...
(1914–1997), author
- Adolphus Busch
Colonel Adolphus Busch was the German-born co-founder of Anheuser-Busch with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. His great-great-grandson, August Busch IV is now on the board of Anheuser-Busch InBev.-Biography:...
(1838–1913), brewing magnate
- Robert Campbell
For a list of other individuals by the same name, see Robert Campbell.Robert Campbell was an Irish immigrant who became an American frontiersman, fur trader and businessman. His St...
(1804-1879), frontiersman, banker, real estate mogul, steamboat owner
- William Chauvenet
thumb|William Chauvenet was an early American educator. A professor of mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and surveying, he was always known and well-liked among students and faculty.- Education :...
(1820–1870), scholar, educator
- Martin L. Clardy
Martin Linn Clardy was a nineteenth century politician, lawyer and railroad executive from Missouri.-Biography:...
(1844–1914), U.S. Representative
- William Clark (1770–1838), explorer
- Charles B. Clarke (1836–1899), prominent architect, designer of the Fagin Building (1888)
- Nathan Cole
Nathan Cole was a nineteenth century politician, merchant and businessman from Missouri.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Cole attended common schools as a child and later took a partial course at Shurtleff College. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in St...
(1825–1904), U.S. Representative and Mayor of St. Louis
- Alban Jasper Conant (1821–1915), artist, author, educator
- Phoebe Wilson Couzins (1842–1913), pioneer suffragette
- Ned Cuthbert
Edgar Edward "Ned" Cuthbert was an American professional baseball player.Cuthbert's baseball career began in 1865 with the Keystone Club of Philadelphia. After two seasons as a second baseman and outfielder with the Keystones, he moved across town to the West Philadelphia club, playing only four...
(1845–1905), baseball player
- James Eads (1820–1887), engineer and inventor
- Aaron W. Fagin (1812–1896), milling magnate, millionaire, and builder of the Fagin Building (1888)
- Gustavus A. Finkelnburg
Gustavus Adolphus Finkelnburg was a nineteenth century politician, lawyer and judge from Missouri.-Biography:...
(1837–1908), U.S. Representative and Federal JudgeIn the United States, the title of federal judge is usually given to a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution....
- Della May Fox (1870–1913), actress, singer
- David R. Francis
David Rowland Francis was an American politician. He served in various positions including Mayor of Saint Louis, Governor of Missouri, and United States Secretary of the Interior. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Russia between 1916 and 1917, during the Russian Revolution of 1917. He was a...
(1850–1927), statesman, United States Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
- Frederick D. Gardner
Frederick "Fred" Dozier Gardner , an American businessman and coffin and hearse manufacturer from St. Louis, Missouri, served as the Governor of Missouri from 1917 to 1921.-Political career:...
(1869-1933), governor of Missouri and St. Louis funeral director and coffin manufacturer
- Jessie L. Gaynor (1863–1921), composer of children's music
- Henry S. Geyer
Henry Sheffie Geyer was a politician, lawyer, and soldier from Missouri. Born in Frederick, Maryland, he was instructed privately, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1811 and practiced law in Frederick...
(1790–1859), U.S. Senator, lawyer
- James Eads How
James Eads How was an American organizer of the hobo community in the early 20th century. He was heir of a wealthy St. Louis family, but chose to live as a hobo and to help the homeless migrant workers...
(1874–1930), son of wealthy St. Louis family, known as the "Millionaire Hobo"
- Benjamin Howard
Benjamin Howard was a Congressman from Kentucky, governor of Missouri Territory and a brigadier general in the War of 1812....
(1760–1814), first governor of Missouri TerritoryThe Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri.-History:...
- Anthony F. Ittner
Anthony Friday Ittner was a nineteenth century politician and brick manufacturer from Missouri.-Biography:...
(1837–1931), MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
politician, brickA brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using mortar.-History:The oldest shaped bricks found date back to 7,500 B.C. They have been found in Çayönü, in the upper Tigris region, and in south east Anatolia close to Diyarbakir. Other more recent findings,...
manufacturer
- Caroline Janis (1864–1952), painter and sculptor, member of "The Potters"
- Albert Bond Lambert
Albert Bond Lambert was a prominent St. Louis aviator and benefactor of aviation.Lambert was a Police Commissioner of St. Louis and a local industrialist. In 1906 he became interested in aviation, and took ballooning lessons. In 1907 he was one of the founders of the Aero Club of St. Louis...
(1875–1946), aviator
- John Edmund Liggett (1826–1897), owner of Liggett and Myers Ciggarettes
Liggett Group, formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Durham, North Carolina, though its manufacturing facility is 30 miles to the west in Mebane, North Carolina...
, South St. Louis
- Theodore Link
Theodore C. Link, FAIA, was a German-American architect.Born in Germany, Link trained in engineering at the University of Heidelberg and, later, at the Ecole Centrale in Paris before emigrating to the United States. He moved to St. Louis in 1873 to work for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad...
(1850-1923), architect of St. Louis Union StationSt. Louis Union Station, a National Historic Landmark, is a former passenger train terminal in St. Louis, Missouri. Once the world's largest and busiest train station, it was converted in the early 1980s into a luxury hotel, shopping center, and entertainment complex...
- Naphtali Luccock
Naphtali Luccock was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1912.He was born on 28 September, 1853 in Kimbolton, Ohio. He entered the Traveling Ministry of the Pittsburgh Annual Conference of the M.E. Church in 1874. Later he was transferred to the St...
(1853–1916), a BishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Methodist Episcopal ChurchThe Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
- James Smith McDonnell
James Smith McDonnell was an aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas....
(1899–1980), founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
- John McNeil
John McNeil was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his role in the Palmyra Massacre and other acts of alleged brutality.-Early life and career:...
, Civil War general (Union)
- Charles Nagel
Charles Nagel was a United States politician and lawyer from St. Louis, Missouri. Born in Colorado County, Texas to Dr. Hermann and Friedericke Litzmann Nagel, he served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1881 to 1883, was president of the St...
(1849-1940), last United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor, lawyer
- Trusten Polk
Trusten Polk was elected both Missouri Governor and U.S. Senator in 1856.-Biography:Polk was born in Bridgeville, Delaware. A Democrat, he served as Governor of Missouri from January 5, 1857, until February 27 when he resigned to become a U.S. Senator...
(1811–1876), elected both governor and U.S. senator in 1856
- Sterling Price
Sterling Price was a lawyer, politician, and militia general from the U.S. state of Missouri, an American Army general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general during the American Civil War....
(1809–1867), American Civil War general (Confederate)
- Mary Marshall Rexford (1915–1996), Red Cross worker and the first woman to land on Utah Beach
Utah Beach was the codename for the right flank or westernmost of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...
on D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
- James McIlvaine Riley
James McIlvaine Riley entered the Virginia Military Institute in the fall of 1866. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Riley was always a favorite with classmates, and was a good public speaker and athlete. He was a member of VMI's first baseball team in the fall of 1866, playing second base and...
(1849–1911), Co-founder of Sigma Nu International Fraternity
- Irma S. Rombauer
Irma Starkloff Rombauer was the author of The Joy of Cooking. It is one of the world's most-published cookbooks, having been in print continuously since 1936. She graduated from the all-girls preparatory school Mary Institute in 1901 and later attended Washington University in St. Louis...
(1877–1962), author of The Joy of Cooking
- James Semple
James Semple was a United States Senator from Illinois.Born in Green County, Kentucky, he had some private education as well as public schooling before enlisting in the Army in 1814 and being an ensign in the Kentucky Militia in 1816. He moved to Edwardsville, Illinois, in 1818 and to Chariton,...
(1798–1866), Illinois state senator
- Henry Miller Shreve
Henry Miller Shreve was the American inventor and steamboat captain who opened the Mississippi, Ohio and Red rivers to steamboat navigation. Shreveport, Louisiana, is named in his honor....
(1785–1851), inventor
- Luther Ely Smith
Luther Ely Smith was a St. Louis, Missouri lawyer, civic booster and is called by the National Park Service the "father of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial."-Early life:Smith was born in Downers Grove, Illinois...
(1873-1951), founder of Jefferson National Expansion MemorialThe Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was designated as a National Memorial by Executive Order 7523, on December 21, 1935, and is maintained by the National Park Service .The park was established to...
- Theodore Spiering
Theodore Bernays Spiering was an American violinist, conductor and teacher.Spiering was born in Old North St. Louis, Missouri, where at age five he took his first lessons in violin from his father, concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He made his first public appearance at age seven...
(1871–1925), violinist, conductor, and teacher
- Edwin O. Stanard
Edwin Obed Stanard was a nineteenth century politician, businessman and teacher from Missouri.Born in Newport, New Hampshire, Stanard moved to Iowa Territory with his parents in 1836, completed preparatory studies and moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1853. He taught school in Illinois in 1854 and...
(1832–1914), Lieutenant Governor of Missouri and U.S. Representative
- George Strother
George French Strother was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia. He was the father of James French Strother and great-grandfather of another named James French Strother....
(1783–1840), Virginia congressman and lawyer, collector of public money in St. Louis (reinterment)
- Sara Teasdale
Sara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sarah Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri....
(1884–1933), Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
- Charlotte Dickson Wainwright, within architect Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the Chicago...
's 1892 Wainwright Tomb
- Erastus Wells
Erastus Wells was a nineteenth century politician and businessman from Missouri. He was the father of St. Louis Mayor Rolla Wells....
(1823–1893), U.S. Representative and businessman
Calvary
Calvary Cemetery, at 5239 W. Florissant Avenue, is a 477-acre (1.9 km²) Roman Catholic cemetery established in 1857. It is the burial place for several members of the Chouteau family. They were co-founders of the city of St. Louis. Their descendants were part of the ceremony for the
Louisiana PurchaseThe Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of the French territory Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
. Some of the old burials and tombstones were transferred to Calvary Cemetery from much older Catholic cemeteries originally existing in what is now the downtown area of the city near the Old Cathedral and the Mississippi River.
Notable Calvary burials
- Mary Odilia Berger
Mother Mary Odilia Berger founded the Sisters of St. Mary which became the Franciscan Sisters of Mary which established hospitals throughout the Midwest.Her baptismal name was Anna Katherine Berger...
(1823-1880), founder of Franciscan Sisters of MaryThe Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women based in St. Louis, Missouri that founded hospitals throughout the Midwest....
, which operates hospitals in Midwest
- Lewis V. Bogy
Lewis Vital Bogy was a United States Senator from Missouri. Born in Ste. Geneviève, he attended the public schools, was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment, studied law in Illinois, graduated from Transylvania University Lewis Vital Bogy (April 9, 1813 – September 20, 1877) was a...
(1813 - 1877) United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
- Mickey Carroll
Mickey Carroll was an American actor and one of the last surviving munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life and career:...
(1919-2009), MunchkinMunchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue....
in The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical / fantasy film directed mainly by Victor Fleming from a script by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, and others and based on the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum...
- Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels, mostly of a Louisiana Creole background...
(1851-1904), author
- René Auguste Chouteau
René Auguste Chouteau was a trader with Indians and an influential figure in early St. Louis....
(1740-1829), fur trader, cofounder of the city of St. Louis
- Black Eagle (unknown-1831), Nez Perce
The Nez Perce are a tribe of Native Americans who live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. An anthropological theory says the tribe descended from the Old Cordilleran Culture, which moved south from the Rocky Mountains and west in Nez Perce lands.The tribe currently governs and...
leader
- Speaking Eagle (unknown-1831), Nez Perce leader
- Daniel M. Frost
Daniel Marsh Frost was an antebellum officer in the United States Army and then a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was one of a handful of Confederate generals born in the North, and commanded the Missouri militia during the Camp Jackson Affair in...
(1823 - 1900), CSA General
- Robert E. Hannegan
Robert Emmet Hannegan was a St. Louis, Missouri politician who served as Commissioner of Internal Revenue from October 1943 to January 1944. He also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1944 to 1947 and United States Postmaster General from 1945 to 1947...
(1903 - 1949), Saint Louis politician
- John Baptiste Charles Lucas
John Baptiste Charles Lucas was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.John B. C. Lucas was born in Pont-Audemer, Normandy, France. He attended the Honfleur and Paris Law Schools, and graduated from the law department of the University of Caen in 1782...
(1758-1842), U.S. Representative who donated the land for the Old CourthouseThe Old Courthouse was a combination federal and state courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri that was Missouri's tallest habitable building from 1864 to 1894 and now is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.-History:Land for the courthouse was donated in 1816 by Judge John Baptiste Charles...
- Thomas Caute Reynolds
Thomas Caute Reynolds was a lawyer and politician. He was Lieutenant Governor of Missouri as the state considered secession and then was the second Confederate Governor of Missouri...
(1821-1887), second Confederate governor of Missouri
- Dred Scott
Dred Scott , was a slave in the United States who sued unsuccessfully in St. Louis, Missouri for his freedom in the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857...
(1799-1858), freed slave, subject of important U.S. Supreme Court case
- William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
(1820-1891), American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
general (Union)
- Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams , né Thomas Lanier Williams, was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards for his works of drama...
(1911-1983), Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright
- Carl Whitney
Carl Whitney was a Negro League baseball player.In 1942, Whitney played as a reserve outfielder for the New York Black Yankees, a team co-owned by financier James "Soldier Boy" Semler and famed toe-tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. He is interred in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri....
(1919-1986), Negro League baseball player
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