Look It Up Yourself!

An article in Sunday's Washington Post mentions some of the more interesting stones in Congressional Cemetery, now celebrating its 200th anniversary.

Even the more recent deceased, such as historian Ruth Ann Overbeck, who died in 2000, lie under tombstones that make you think. Under Overbeck's name are no birth and burial dates, just an admonition and a life's philosophy: "Look it up!" [Link]

Okay, I did. She died April 2, 2000, at Sibley Memorial Hospital at age 64 years, survived by husband Robert J. Hughes.

Washington Has Its Limits

Abstracting several metric tons of deeds has given me an appreciation of the science of surveying, so I was fascinated by this website about the Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia.

They created the boundary lines of the capital by clearing 20 feet of land on each side of the boundary and setting a uniquely marked stone at each mile interval. On each stone, the side facing the District of Columbia displayed the inscription "Jurisdiction of the United States" and a mile number. The opposite side said either "Virginia" or "Maryland," as appropriate. The third and fourth sides displayed the year in which the stone was placed (1791 for the 14 Virginia stones and 1792 for the 26 Maryland stones) and the magnetic compass variance at that place.

The boundary stones are the oldest federal monuments. Although several have been moved or replaced, 38 boundary stones remain in or near their original locations, including all 14 in the land that was returned to Virginia in July 1846. A 39th is in storage and the 40th is marked by a plaque.

[via Neatorama]

Capital Improvements Are Needed

The Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D. C., is celebrating its bicentennial this year. The resting place of such notables as J. Edgar Hoover, Mathew Brady, and John Philip Sousa has been the victim of neglect for decades.

Several thousand tombstones need to be reset or have fallen down. A third of the 60 original crypts collapsed long ago and are gone. And of those remaining, about two-thirds "need serious work," [cemetery board vice-chairman Patrick] Crowley said in an interview. "We keep our fingers crossed they don't come down."

Despite its name, the cemetery was not established by the government, but was among the first private cemeteries in Washington, open to the celebrated as well as the common deceased. Lore is that it was dubbed the Congressional Cemetery in hopes of securing federal funding. [Link]

The cemetery's website hasn't been neglected. In fact, it's one of the best I've seen, with photos of stones and vaults, digitized death certificates and obituaries, interment records, and family histories.

Bodies Dug Up in Front of White House; Karl Rove Not a Suspect

From the Washington (D.C.) City Gazette of Aug. 10, 1821:

DISINTERMENT.

In paring off the rising ground for the purpose of graduation, on the avenue, in front of the President's house, the labourers came to a spot where five graves were opened. One of the coffins was in perfect preservation, and the remains of a corpse was exposed exhibiting long dark hair, perfectly strong and neatly folded up under the scull. It is said to have been the burying ground of the Peerce family of Bladensburg, and that the bodies have been interred about forty years. Their remains were gathered together, and put into a coffin for re-interment.