Francis Julius LeMoyne
Encyclopedia
Francis Julius LeMoyne was a 19th-century American medical doctor and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 from Washington
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Responsible for creating the first crematory
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....

 in the United States, he was also an abolitionist, founder of Washington's first public library (known as Citizen's Library), co-founder of the Washington Female Seminary
Washington Female Seminary
The Washington Female Seminary was a Presbyterian seminary for women operating from 1836 to 1948 in Washington, Pennsylvania.The movement to create an institution to teach women began in 1835 and the Seminary opened 1 year later in 1836. The two founders were abolitionist F...

, and an instrumental benefactor to the LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School (now LeMoyne-Owen College
LeMoyne-Owen College
-External links:*...

), to which he made a $20,000 donation in 1870. He graduated from Washington College (now Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...

) in 1815.

Crematory

Fearing that decomposing bodies in local cemeteries were contaminating the water supplies and making the citizens sick, Dr. Lemoyne set out to build the first crematory in the United States. The crematory was finished in 1876 on his own land, perched atop a location known locally as Gallow's Hill. The first cremation took place on December 6, 1876. In 1901, after 41 more cremations were performed (with Dr. LeMoyne being the third), the crematory was closed.

Today, the structure can be found in the same location off of South Main Street.

Lemoyne House

The LeMoyne house, built by father John Julius LeMoyne in 1812, was a stop on the underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

. It was Pennsylvania's first of six National Historic Landmarks of the Underground Railroad to be registered. It still stands today at 49 East Maiden Street, near the campus of Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...

, where it has been converted into a museum. The house also serves as the center of the Washington County
Washington County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...

Historical Society.
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