The Washington herald., 1913-02-02
UNITED STATES HAS DONE LITTLE
TO HONOR IT'S DEAD PRESIDENTS
eesOns Arlington Settle Question of
Ownership of Historic Monticello Recalls the Fact that
Former Executives Sleep in Obscure Graves

Guilty In finding the exact location OF the
body of the President.
where Monroe Is Buried.
James Monroe. the fifth President of
the United States. was first buried in
vault 147 in the Second Avenue Gene
! terry between Second and Third Streets,
New York City, and there his body
lay for twenty-seven years until o'clock
on the morning of July 2. 1883. when It
was exhumed and later in the day was
transferred with much ceremony under
| the escort of the Seventh Regiment to
the steamer jamestown, by which il was
conveyed to Richmond, Va, where il was
reinterred in the Presidents plot OF
Hollywood Cemetery in a vault of brick
and granite five feet underground. and
covered by huge block of polished Vir-
ginia marble on which rests the sarcoph-
agus, a granite block wrought into the
shape of a coffin. An inscription on
metal plate attached to the side of the
sarcophagus notes the fact that the body
OF Mr.. Monroe was removed from New
! York by order of the General Assem-
bly, to this cemetery "as an evidence
of the affection of Virginia for her good
| and honored son." lnclosing the monu-
ment is highly ornamented cage OF iron
built in the form of Gothic temple
after the style of the monument of
Abelard and Heloise in Pere la Chase,
Paris. In November, 1903 the remains
OF Mrs. Monroe were removed to Rich
| mond and deposited in the tomb with
her husband. the expenses being borne
by the Virginia Legislature.
Andrew Jackson is buried in his gar
den at the Hermitage, his home near
Nashville, and under a monument Of
| most attractive and artistic design. The
grave and the place are under the i'm
mediate care of an association of pa
trlotic women, who have converted the
residence into a museum where relics
OF the most strenuous man of his times
are guarded with most affectionate care.
Martin Van Buren, was buried In the
Reformed Church Cemetery at Kinder
hook. Columbia County. n. Y. and his
grave is marked by a plain granite shaft.
William Henry Harrison was first
buried in the Congressional Cemetery at
Washington on April Z, 1Sil, but In July,
OF the same year. was removed to North
Bend, Hamilton County, Ohio, where he
has since rested. The site OF his grave
is within a few hundred yards OF the
mansion in which he resided for many
years. near to the Ohio River and COM
| manding a view of ideal beauty. The
land was decided to the State OF Ohio
by the Presidents son, John Scott Har-
rison. on condition that the tomb should
be kept in repair. 1t is explained: THE
tomb is not a monument; there has been
no contribution received from the public.
and no dedicatory exercises ever held
| since the remains of the President were
placed here in lS4l."
TyIer's Grave Neglected.
John Tyler, tenth President OF the
United States, has been one of the most
shamefuIly neglected OF all the Presi-
dents. Buried in Hollywood Cemetery.
Richmond, with great honOrs, for more
| than thirty-seven years his grave was
not marked by even the simplest stone.
More than fifty years ago the Virginia
| Legislature passed resolutions author
| izing the Governor to erect a suitable
monument at his grave from the funds
| of the State; but the State was, newer
| ''in funds" and it was not until Octo-
ber, 1892 that the Hollywood Cemetery
Company placed a modest stone of gran
| lite at the neglected grave. In 1899
resolution to appropriate. $4,000 for the
building of a suitable monument to Mr..
| Tyler was introduced in Congress, but
nothing was ever done with IL. In his
will Mr. Tyler empowered my dear wife
to make out OF my estate suitable pro-
vision for my burial, and let my body
be consigned to the tomb in the earth
Of the county where ! was born;" my
wife will select the spot in Sherwood
Forest Chis residenceD, and mark II by
an uncostly monument of granite or
marble" But for the interposition OF
the State authorities of Virginia MIR.
| Tyler would have been buried at his
home in Sherwood Forest.
Grave of James h. Polk.
James Knox Polk. eleventh President
OF the United States. was first buried
in the old family tomb in the yard OF
the Polk mansion at Nashville, but in
September. 1895, was removed and rein
| TERED in the grounds of the State Capitol
at Nashville. The old monument was
| taken down and re-erected over the new
graves made for Mr.. Polk and his wife
in the capitol grounds. The monument
| is an artistic affair in the Grecian-Doric
style. and is cared for by the State.
Zachary Taylor was first buried in the
Congressional Cemetery at Washington,
but was afterward removed TO the Tay-
| lor cemetery in one of the suburbs of
Louisville, Ky. The grave is marked by
an imposing granite shaft surmounted by
a marble statue of the President in the
full uniform of his rank as general, and
was erected by the state.
Millard Fillmore was buried in Forest