The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1929-06-07
The "Coneressionsl Buyinq Ground". Washington D. c.

the Fortieth congress. In the com.
pliers note it is called proof ed
ition,' and has approximately 235 BIZ
ographies of senators, representatives,
and territorial delegates.
'1t is referred to as being incom,
plete, and in 1868 was replaced by a
second edition which contained a few
more sketches. The directory for the
third session, printed in 1869, contains
approximately $50 biographies.
'The work of preparing and pub
fishing a biographical directory to in
clude all the preceding congresses was
first undertaken by Charles Lanman
in 1859. 1t bears the imposing title,
Directory of the United States Con-
gress." There have been at least six
subsequent editions, which were in
tended to give up-to-date and authen-
tic biographical data. Since Mr.. Lam
mans last volume, however, the sue
ceeding compilers appear to have done
little more than to add such informa-
ton as could be obtained from the
congressional directories published
during each session of congress. 1t
seems that no effort to correct, revise
or perfect the work of former COM
pliers was ever attempted, and thus
original errors were perpetuated."
Filling in some of the BLANKS" in
the new directory would have been
easy, though, for the compilers, if all
of the dead congressman had been
buried in the congressional cemetery
established for that purpose in the
early days of the Republic. That Gem
etery is one of the most interesting
and historical spots in the city of
Episcopal church in Washington first
established this burying ground, and
few years later it was chosen as
place of burial for senators and repre-
senatives who died while in Office.
Since that time 100 government Off
Gals have been buried there and mon
uments have been erected over a hun
dred of those graves. In addition So
cenotaphs have been placed in honor
of members of congress who have been
buried in other cemeteries.
Up to 1885 practically every MEM
Der of congress who died in Office was
buried there. Means of transporta-
ton were so limited that few families
were able to convey the bodies of
their dead from the capital. But as
transportation facilities grew better
this practice finally ceased. By an
act of May %, 1876, congress abolished
the custom of erecting cenotaphs and
provided that thereafter monuments
should be authorized only when the
deceased congressman was actually
buried in the cemetery.
The first congressman to be buried
was Ezra Darby, of New Jersey, who
died January %, 1903. George Clin-
ton, Vice President of the United
States, was first buried there, and
years elapsed before his body was TAX
en- to his old home in New York. But
other notables still sleep there. One
Of them is Tobias Lear, the faithful
private secretary to George Washing
ton. Near by are the graves of Push
Ma-Ta-Ha, the noted Choctaw chief !;
Scarlet Crow, another famous Indian
warrior; William Writ, an attorney
general of the United States, and Abel
P. Upshur, former secretary of state
and secretary of the navy. One monu-
ment has a particular romantic interest.
Beneath it, side by side in a single
grave, rest the bodies of Capt. Beverly
Kennon and Abel Parker Upshur, vic
tins of an explosion of gun aboard
the American frigate, Princeton" in
1914. Both were natives of Virginia,
and the two men formed a friendship
in early youth that lasted until the
grave.