"Buried Philadelphia: The Cemeteries and Burial Grounds of the City of Brotherly Love" - Interview with the Author

My friend Jenn O’Donnell has a new book out, entitled, Buried Philadelphia: The Cemeteries and Burial Grounds of the City of Brotherly Love (Fonthill Media, 2025). After purchasing a copy of the book, I had some questions! Photographing and researching cemeteries in Philadelphia has been one of my passions, so I was surprised by how much I did not know! Jenn graciously agreed to an interview. Here’s a synopsis of her book, followed by my interview. All photos are Jenn's and can be found in her book. Enjoy!

Explores the city's cemeteries, blending history, art, and recreation in forgotten burial grounds transformed into urban green spaces.

Many of Philadelphia’s oldest graveyards have been lost to time in the name of progress and expansion. The cityscape changes, the remains of the dead are moved (or not) to new locations, and new buildings are erected. Modern Philadelphia still contains dozens of burial grounds, from the tiny Colonial-era churchyards of Old City to the sprawling acreage of the once rural cemeteries fashioned after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, numerous remaining cemeteries in the city are simply running out of space and as lot sales and burials dwindle, so does the money for upkeep and maintenance.

1.        Welcome Jenn! Can you tell us why you wrote this book?

I’ve been interested in photography since high school when I took three years of classes learning to shoot and develop film and make prints in a darkroom. As an adult I developed an interest in cemetery photography after realizing these places are some of the most beautiful and peaceful spots around. When the publisher of the Buried America series approached me asking if I would be interested in doing a book about Philadelphia cemeteries, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!

2.        People likely think of cemeteries as stagnant, or at least staid, entities. You obviously know differently. Can you share some insight with us into what it takes to keep a cemetery from falling apart …and why it is that we should care.

I describe myself as a taphophile, someone who enjoys and appreciates cemeteries. I don’t consider myself morbid, just fascinated by the human desire to bury our loved ones in graveyards and erect varied monuments in their memory. Cemeteries are full of art and history, and are a reflection of the society in which they exist. That’s why I care, and why I think others should as well.

Mary Adele Hirst monument, Cathedral Cemetery, West Philadelphia

Many people think a cemetery is forever, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. All of them need fairly massive amounts of labor and money to keep their grounds looking nice and the gates open, so when normal revenue streams dry up and the space is filled, the cemetery needs to find alternatives to pay the bills.

Bald Cypress tree in West Oak Lane's Northwood Cemetery

3.        You talk about “recreational opportunities” offered by cemeteries. Does it bother people, in your experience, when cemeteries host concerts, tours, or craft markets?

There is certainly a small, but sometimes very vocal group of people who think any activity in a cemetery that isn’t directly related to a funeral or mourning should be barred from cemeteries and there are plenty of cemeteries that do not allow recreational activities on their grounds. However, Victorian-era rural cemeteries were intended to be places where people could enjoy the grounds and sculpture, have a picnic, or otherwise relax. I find more often than not, people are intrigued by the idea of spending leisure time at their local cemetery—even more so when they realize most modern cemeteries cannot survive without the interest and support of their neighbors.

4.        Your great experience volunteering in cemeteries provides us with many behind-the-scenes glimpses at these properties that most people have never thought about. For instance, you say it is a common misconception that all graves have a marker of some sort, and that Woodlands Cemetery has “grave gardeners.” Can you share with us any other behind-the-scenes cemetery stories not in your book?

In my experience, Jewish cemeteries are the most welcoming to researchers or photographers. Mikveh Israel required picking up gate keys to access the Spruce Street and Federal Street cemeteries, and they seemed excited that I was interested in including their historic properties in my book. Active cemeteries can sometimes be provincial places, but the greater-Philadelphia area’s Jewish cemeteries were so accommodating. I didn’t have time to visit the third Mikveh Israel cemetery on Market Street, but I hope to sometime soon.

5.        “About the Author” says that you’ve photographed over 150,000 headstones for findagrave.com. That is a staggering number! Tell us a bit about that.

Entrance to the 1692 Hood Cemetery, Germantown

I joined findagrave.com in 2008 because I was interested in genealogy and found the website a great way to search for new information. The website is collaborative, and users from all over the world add information and take photos of graves for other people. After having some photo requests fulfilled for my own ancestors, I thought, “I can do this for other people” so I started fulfilling requests at my local cemeteries. That led to me photographing as many graves as possible when visiting a cemetery, something findagrave.com members refer to as “mowing the rows”.

6.        Looking through “Buried Philadelphia,” one sees a great variety of gravemarker styles. Do you have a favorite?

My favorite marker styles are white bronze monuments (referred to as “zinkies”) or tree stump tombstones. Porcelain portraits are a close third. I find each of these styles a unique departure from a basic flat or slant marker that you see by the thousands in most cemeteries. White bronze monuments fascinate me because they are made of metal panels and are hollow. Not only have they stood the test of time, but it’s fun to knock on them and hear the reverb.

7.        Being a cemetery traveler myself, I was fascinated by your photo of the silver-painted cast-iron angel grave marker on page 64. That is quite unique. May I ask where you found her?

Cast iron marker, St. Dominic Cemetery

I came across that cast-iron angel at Saint Dominic Roman Catholic Church Cemetery https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1973644/saint-dominic-roman-catholic-cemetery in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philly.  A lot of the monuments in this cemetery are what I would consider pretty standard looking, but there are some definite gems like this one.

8.        Related to my opening remarks, I am curious what you see as the future state of Philadelphia cemeteries. What do you think these wonderful memory gardens will look like in 20 years?

I think most cemeteries, especially those in Philadelphia, are reaching a point where they are quickly running out of space for new lot sales and interments. Some have pivoted to less space intensive options like columbaria or niches for cremains, but I think all of them will face challenges as income declines. In the next 20 years, I think we will see more cemeteries facing dereliction or abandonment if they don’t come up with new ways to bring in money. Some cemeteries that are planning ahead have looked for new ways to keep their properties relevant that have nothing to do with burials such as events and programming.

Obelisks in Cathedral Cemetery, West Philadelphia

9.        I’m sure there are many fascinating stories you can tell about your cemetery travels, your volunteer work, and so on. Do you have any speaking engagements scheduled, now that your book has been published? I am sure that people would like to ask you questions!

I do not have any speaking engagements scheduled that I can share, but I’m working on scheduling some with local organizations. I’ll be sure to share any confirmed dates on my Instagram account @cems_and_things.

10.   Are there any other books that you are working on?

I’m working on a second book for Fonthill Media/America Through Time’s Buried America series tentatively titled, “Philadelphia’s Mount Moriah Cemetery: The Ruin and Rebirth of the City’s Largest Cemetery”.  I’ve been volunteering at Mount Moriah for well over a decade and as the current board president it’s a subject I’m quite knowledgeable about. This book will hopefully hit stores sometime in 2026.

11.   Would you like to leave us with any parting comments about Philadelphia’s cemeteries?

Many of Philadelphia’s cemeteries have seen better days and there are some that don’t regularly have visitors anymore. My hope is that my book sheds a little light on why these places are important to the fabric of the city and that the photos are intriguing enough that more people will become cemetery explorers.

To purchase a copy of Jenn’s book, Buried Philadelphia: The Cemeteries and Burial Grounds of the City of Brotherly Love, please visit:

https://www.amazon.com/Buried-Philadelphia-Cemeteries-Grounds-Brotherly/dp/1625451504

On behalf of the Cemetery Traveler readership, I would like to thank Jenn O’Donnell for spending some time wish us and with her great success with this and her next book!

A Hearse of a Different Color

Hot on the heels of my interview with Shawn Koenig, hearse collector (last blog I posted on March 15, 2025), I thought I’d be writing about this image. Its a photograph I submitted for consideration in a curated art exhibition. The show is called “Chrome,” and is being held at  Box Spring Gallery in Philadelphia. 

Box Spring Gallery: “Chrome,” April 2025 Exhibition

The visual elements and design of the automobile as encountered on the street, in motion, or as imagined.

Here was my artist’s statement about the piece:

The smooth rounded curves of this ghostly antique hearse contrast with the rigid tombstones in this dream-like scene. The roof's banded chrome and the vehicle's grill serve to accent its gently arched back. However, this offers little solace as even at a glance, the viewer knows this 1947 Pontiac Superior hearse gave many their last ride. Since Victorian times, hearses have been regally designed with only a few chrome flourishes (usually the decorative "S" shaped landeau bars on their sides). This particular model is banded with an unusually aggressive chrome strip across its roof, which seems to symbolically separate the driver from the driven, the living from the dead.

I shot the image on expired 35mm film with a Nikon F3 camera – if that means anything to anyone anymore. An expired hearse in an expired graveyard shot on expired film with an expired camera. The film was Fujicolor, maybe ten years out of date (hence the reticulation, or severe graininess of the image). Here’s the original image below, which I desaturated digitally to make the monochrome version. The black and white submission was turned down.

Maybe there wasn’t enough chrome. Maybe the color version would have appealed more to the jury. Maybe the jury thought the subject matter too morbid. Maybe it did not blend well with all the other chosen entries. These would be all on the wall next to each other. Curators have an amazing ability to create a flow, a collection of work that complements each other. Perhaps the hearse just didn’t add anything to the overall body of work. Were there too many hearse submissions?

Maybe, just maybe, my photograph simply wasn’t good enough. As an artist, you need to consider such a preposterous idea. The curator is expecting to sell the artwork on display (and they always get a commission), so they need to consider the salability of the piece.

My photograph below is what they chose to be in the exhibition, a digital photograph of a non-hearse, for which I am immensely grateful. Public hangings are an experience unto themselves, especially group shows. You get to see other artists’ interpretations of the same theme and usually meet them to talk shop if there is an opening reception. Always inspirational.

I had submitted both photographs, in case the hearse was deemed inappropriate for the exhibition. And so it was. I love all these images, I love the design of both automobiles. So if you want to see my non-hearse photograph in all it’s 11x14 matted and framed glory, details for Box Spring Gallery’s opening reception at the Crane Arts Building are shown below. Crane Arts in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood is home to several galleries, all of which host opening receptions for new shows on the same night. So it’s a lot of fun - wine and cheese, crudité, me, and so on. Sometimes the patrons are as interesting to view as the art.

The 2nd Thursday Opening Reception is on April 10, 6–9 pm at Box Spring Gallery, 1400 N. American St, #100C, Philadelphia, PA 19122. The exhibition will run from April 10 – May 3, 2025. 

https://boxspringgallery.com

A juried prize will be announced. Two participating artists will be selected to show their work in a July 2025 two-person exhibition at Box Spring Gallery.

If I happen to be chosen, I do have a few hearse images I will try to weasel into the exhibit!

A bit of background on my non-hearse photograph:

Who would not hit the brakes while driving up South Jersey's Black Horse Pike when presented with this scene of incomparable beauty? In 2023, a vintage 1963 Studebaker Avanti was parked in front of the vintage (defunct) Studebaker dealership in Pleasantville, New Jersey. I have always thought the Avante to be one of the most striking automotive designs ever. I'd love for you to see its subtle chrome accents against the sensual lines of its gold fiberglass body, but monochrome better expresses its aggressive and sinewy contours. Juxtaposed against the 1927 Spanish Revival stucco building, the design of this automobile appears all the more exotic. Only 2500 Avantis were made between 1962 and 1963.

Interview with the Hearse Collector

We have a special treat for readers of “The Cemetery Traveler” … an interview with my friend Shawn Koenig, hearse owner, historian, collector, and exhibitor. Shawn graciously shares his journey with professional cars, including his extensive collection and involvement in the MPCC, while providing unique stories about his experiences with hearses.

Before we begin, Shawn, do you have any opening remarks?

Shawn's 1969 S&S Cadillac Kensington when it was owned by a BBQ business

 

Hi, I'm Shawn Koenig. I purchased my first hearse in August 2002 and my love for professional vehicles only grew from there. I still own that 1983 S&S Victoria to this day. My collection has continued to grow over the years. I travel all over the U.S. going to different events for hearses and professional vehicles. I've also done a lot of searching across PA and nearby states trying to find them sitting "in the wild" so to speak, whether it be by chance or following a lead. I do my best to show that these cars have history and craftsmanship worth preservation, but I also appreciate the spooky side of their appeal as well. Most of all, I want to keep these cars in a positive light for everyone since a lot of funeral cars and even ambulances aren't always viewed in the most appealing manner. While I like a nicely done custom coach, I do prefer mine as close to stock as possible.

1.      How many hearses do you own?

I technically own 3 actual hearses. But to many who are not well versed in types of professional vehicles, several of my other cars would be viewed as hearses too. Also in my collection are a flower car, a combination coach, an ambulance and my most recent purchase - a removal van. The latter is now one of my daily driver vehicles.

Shawn's 1969 S&S Cadillac Kensington when it was in ambulance service

2.      Why do you own hearses?

I wanted to get a hearse from a very young age. After getting my first, I got more into learning history and facts about professional vehicles as a whole. The more I learned, the more I wanted. So, as the opportunities arose for me to add to my collection, I did. There are many different models and types just from each coach builder. Each vehicle is individually made and can be unique unless part of a fleet. There are professional vehicles out there that are just 1 or 2 of a kind. They are among the rarest cars and I  still love soaking up more information about them.

3.      How did you get interested in hearses (professional cars)?

As a young child of course thought the Ecto1 from Ghostbusters and the hearse Dracula drove in the movie The Monster Squad were the best ever. When I was 8 years old, one of my brothers was just getting his license and he wanted a hearse. We went to look at one in a junkyard locally. It was a black 1959 Cadillac limo-style combination coach. I couldn't tell you who the coach builder was, at 8 I didn't exactly have the wealth of knowledge I do now. But I knew when I saw it, it was the coolest, biggest car I had ever seen and that I wanted one too. Ultimately our dad said no to my brother. When I was 20, I had the ability to buy one for myself. I still own that coach and I've been hooked on them since.

Russ Slegel with his 1947 Superior Pontiac Limo-Style Funeral Coach

4.      Can you tell me your most interesting hearse story?

I'm sure I have a million little stories about having a hearse. Everything from weird stares while doing things like loading groceries in the back, horror to see a casket inside while stopping to get a bite to eat, parking lot photoshoots by strangers or cheesy comments. 

But my best story, I suppose isn't really mine, but that of a great friend, Russ Slegel, who is no longer with us. Russ was an essential part of the Mohnton Professional Car Club (MPCC) becoming an official club. He helped with so much during its inception and kept things organized. Russ had a great love for Laurel Hill Cemetery [LHC][Philadelphia] and is the reason the annual MPCC is now held on these breathtaking grounds. We had a few club visits to LHC and then teamed up with them for their event "History of Hearses." It was after this that Russ helped me secure a yearly date for the annual club show. The first show in LHC was in 2012, this would have been the 4th annual show for MPCC. The show has been held here every year since, with the exception of one, when Covid forced it to be held elsewhere. 

Sadly, Russ passed away in 2017 after a battle with his health. He decided that he would leave his hearse to Laurel Hill. Russ owned a 1947 Superior Pontiac Limo-Style Funeral Coach that was completely customized in a street rod style. The only thing original on it is the sheet metal. He bought it to do street rod funerals, but only ever did one. In July of 2018 we delivered his hearse to LHC. Tyler Verrecchia, current president of MPCC, did the actual towing. I led the procession which included 3 other hearses besides myself and Russ' being towed. We met an addition 3 hearses at LHC. 

Russ' final wish was that he stayed with his beloved coach- so he has. Some of his cremains reside inside FYNLRYD (his coach) at Laurel Hill. His family spread some of his ashes on the cemetery grounds at the MPCC show that year, as well. You can usually see FYNLRYD out for special events like the annual MPCC show, if you want to say hello to Russ.

5.      Have you ever broken down in a hearse, and had to call for roadside assistance? Get a tow? Flat tire? 

Almost all of mine have seen some time on the back of a rollback for one reason or another. That's just something that comes with the territory of owning any vehicle really. Sometimes, with very cautious driving, I am able get them home, to a mechanic or to a friend's place to get the repairs completed. Other times it's just something as simple as a tire blowout or broken belt, which I can usually do myself on the spot.

6.      Did you ever have a mechanic refuse to work on one of your cars?

I never had any mechanic refuse to work on them. In fact, most are very intrigued and think they are cool. Just in the last year I've had a mechanic with a local garage ask me when he was going to get to work my hearses when I stopped in at his shop for other business. He had seen them passing by often and thought they were great. I do some simple repairs and maintenance myself as well and have some really great friends who are mechanically inclined that help out when they can too.

7.      I believe you once told me that ambulances performed double duty as hearses a long time ago?

Shawn Koenig's combination coach

Yes, many funeral homes used to provide ambulance services to their community and most often offered this free of charge. Certainly, a far cry from the cost of an ambulance ride today. A lot of funeral homes could not afford 2 separate vehicles to be able to offer these services to the community, so the coach builders built a dual purpose funeral car called the combination coach. The car could be used as a hearse or ambulance. It had features like a siren in the grill, demountable emergency lights, cot bar, casket rollers that flipped to roll the stretcher in and foldable jump seats for the person attending to the patient. Some had removable landau bar panels for funerals which were replaced with signs in the windows to denote ambulance use.

8.      Other people obviously own hearses and regularly display them in shows (like at Laurel Hill). Are you all part of a club?

Sean Koenig

I personally started the Mohnton Professional Car Club (MPCC) in 2008. I also started the annual show held at Laurel Hill Cemetery with help from another MPCC member Russ, who got us a secured deal to hold the event there. I mentioned this previously. I was president of the MPCC until 2021 when I stepped down and took some time away. I still maintain great friendships with a lot of members and will come out in support of their events when I am able. I very much still support the club whenever I can. 

I more recently started Shawn Koeing's Professional Car Club (SPCC). Yes, my last name is spelled wrong on purpose.  It was started as more of a joke than anything, on a friend who seemed to think I was my own hearse club and also just couldn't seem to get my name right. It's not a very formal club and just focuses on having a few fun events throughout the year. Always accepting new members though!

I'm in two larger organizations as well, the National Hearse and Ambulance Association (NHAA) and the Professional Car Society (PCS). The latter does also have a yearly meet up which always brings out some amazing vehicles.

 Abby Bart's 1981 Thacker Mercury Station wagon-based first call car/hearse

9.      You obviously know a lot about hearses. Whenever I photograph one and post it on social media, you are my go-to person to identify its make, model, and year. I appreciate that. I assume all hearses are custom-made from … station wagons? Or am I incorrect?

While it might seem like most hearses are built off station wagons due to their general shape, this is not typically the case. Hearses are custom built by multiple coach builders. While some did start as station wagons, most did not. Coaches built on station wagon bodies are considered a more affordable economy version of the vehicle. They were commonly used as first call cars, as well. Cadillac and also Packard  (when they were still operating) had a commercial chassis that they sent to a coach builder to build on. The commercial chassis was a longer frame with everything up to the firewall complete with the dash, front seat, tail lights and bumper in a box. Everything else is basically hand built,  something that makes each coach unique, as I have already said. In most cases the bumper is cut for the license plate too. Currently, Cadillac sends an incomplete car to the coach builders for them to customize. There are so many ways professional cars were built, it's really it's own subject.

10.  You post photos on social media of cemeteries you’ve visited. Can you describe your interest in cemeteries?

I find cemeteries to be so peaceful and serene. So many are truly like outdoor art galleries, showcasing phenomenal skill and artistic abilities in the creation of the final resting places for loved ones. I love looking at all the different stones and mausoleums. The meaning behind motifs, symbols and designs on stones is another great rabbit hole of information to dive into. It's a bonus to me when they say something interesting or have pictures. My fiancé is currently on the hunt for stones with recipes, so we can try them out. Cemeteries are something else that I was drawn to early in my childhood and carried through into adulthood. 

Once I started visiting, I couldn't get enough and wanted to see more. I always have some sort of camera on hand to capture not only the interesting stones and mausoleums, but also little oddities and quirks, the visiting wildlife and so on. Finding and visiting cemeteries is one of my favorite pastimes. Obviously they are a great backdrop for a professional car photo shoot too.

11.  You also post photos of other people’s hearses that you see at shows, or rusting behind someone’s garage. Is there a “Holy Grail” of hearses? Do you have a favorite?

I guess the "Holy Grail" for a lot of people would be any 1959 Cadillac based procar, with that large fin and bullet tail light rear. Another would be any of the carved panel coaches. I personally like 1960-61 Cadillac based hearses, specifically S&S or Eureka built models. I would be happy with any coach builder version though. A 1959-60 Flxible Buick hearse. Flxible built a majority of Buick based coaches at that time and are now out of the procar business completely.  I would also like matching flower cars and family cars to go with each of my 1969 S&S models.  A 1974 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Criterion is one of my favorite ambulances. I like the styling of these a lot. I have so many on my wishlist, but I am happy with what I currently own.

1959 Superior Cadillac Royale Landaulet owned by Scotty Adams

12.  Do you have a 2025 schedule of appearances you’d like to share with our audience? 

There are so many great hearse and professional car events, I make it to as many as I can. Some great ones are coming up this year: 

Parking lot picture of Hearsemania 2024 in Mansfield, OH. 

6/13/25 to 6/15/25 is Hearsemania at the S&S/Superior plant in Lima, OH. Hearsemania is always a good time, but this year is going to be something really special for professional car collectors. I'll be making the trip out. 

Saturday 8/9/25 is the 17th Annual MPCC Professional Car Show at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, PA. This is a do not miss show. Besides the great showing of cars in a stunning cemetery, they have raffles, snacks and a scavenger hunt that is really fun. I always make sure to get to this show.

8/12/25 to 8/16/25 is the PCS International Meet in Latham, NY. This meet brings out so many great vehicles too. They plan different events and outings over the course of the week leading up to the main show day. I'll be making the trip for a few days for this one.

Saturday 8/23/25 is Rats N Reapers Hearse and Rat Rod Show in Hagerstown, MD. This is a new show this year, but I have a good feeling that it's going to be a fun time with cars, vendors, food and entertainment too. I plan on making it out.  

October 2025 TBA The Hearse Show at The Haunt in Schaefferstown, PA. This will be the 4th year I'm putting this show on. Last year we had a great turnout with 22 procars. It takes place at a spooky little haunt that is completely volunteer run with all proceeds going to local fire companies and charities. I'm hoping to get a date nailed down and start promoting shortly. 

Another event that needs mentioning but that I won't be able to attend this year is Hearsefest in Fowlerville, MI Saturday 9/20/2025. This event is huge and definitely a must see for anyone who has a love for hearses.

PLEASE join me in thanking Shawn Koenig for taking the time to answer my questions and to provide us all with his great stories! I met Shawn at the Oddities Bazaar Market in Adamstown, PA, in May of 2021 where he was part of that event’s hearse show. Please come to one of the events he mentions and show and his cars some love!

All photos except for the lead photo were provided by Shawn Koenig.

The Grave of Rufus Weaver

Chances are you have no idea who Rufus Weaver was. Or why I spent so much time trying to locate his weed-covered headstone in Philadelphia’s Mount Vernon Cemetery. You might not even be aware of the difficulties of doing ANYTHING in Mount Vernon Cemetery. This is because for the twenty years leading up to 2020, the cemetery had been locked up tight and neglected. Trees and weeds grew rampant, there were few visitors and fewer burials. The landscape in 2018 looked like what you see in the image below. Mile-a-minute weeds encapsulate all but the highest monuments, creating natural burrows for wildlife.

In winter, weeds form cage-like enclosures around the tombstones

"Harriet"

In 2018, I attended a lecture at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, where I first locked eyes with Harriet Cole. Among the amazing and varied archival holdings of the institution is the world’s first dissected and preserved nervous system, “Harriet.” Created by the anatomist Rufus Weaver (1841–1936), it was displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. More on Harriet later. For now, let’s talk about Dr. Weaver’s earlier pursuits.

Dr. Weaver is buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery, in Philadelphia. I am not sure how I found out the section he is buried in. Generally, it is a bit of a challenge finding ANY specific grave in a cemetery, no matter how accurate the plot map is, no matter how well the cemetery sections are physically marked. Mount Vernon, however, was a forsaken-by-the-owner overgrown Victorian cemetery with no access. But I gained access in 2020, determined to find his grave.

Cemetery map in Mount Vernon

I had a two-by-three foot paper map to go by, but since the place was so overgrown, I couldn’t tell where one section ended and the next began. Section markers were hidden by weeds. It took three visits to the cemetery to find Rufus. This over the course of six months – about the same amount of time it took Weaver to create Harriet in 1888. During each visit, I would hack through the ball of dried weed-webs to gain access to a particular gravemarker, usually to find that it belonged to someone else. I probably machete-hacked through nearly twenty such weedballs before I found him. 

Weaver's stone covered in weeds

His is a basic stone, engraved with his and his wife Madeleine's birth and death dates. There is no indication that we was such a man of science. At right you see his stone prior to me uncovering it (when I made the photo, I wasn't sure it was his). Below, you see the stone after I cut away the weeds from its face. Click here for a link to the Instagram video of me in the act of uncovering Dr. Weaver's gravemarker.

Anatomist and Lecturer

Dr. Rufus B. Weaver, a native of Gettysburg, PA, was a professor of human anatomy at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia from 1879 to 1897. Hahnemann Hospital no longer exists, by the way, and Hahnemann Medical College is now known as Drexel University College of Medicine. Weaver earned a BA degree from Pennsylvania College in 1862 and graduated with a degree in medicine from Pennsylvania Medical College in 1865. In 1869, he became involved in a gruesome project begun by his father – repatriating thousands of Confederate dead from their Gettysburg battlefield graves to their southern states of origin, which you will read about below. At Hanemann Medical College he was appointed Demonstrator and Lecturer of Anatomy in 1879 and went on to become chairman of the Department of Practical Anatomy in 1897.

Archival photo at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia

“Whenever a grave was opened…”

One of the projects Rufus was involved with was begun by his father. After the Civil War ended, the elder Weaver was contracted by South Carolina’s Ladies' Memorial Association to move the bodies of thousands of Confederate soldiers from their burial places in the north to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA. He died before completing the project. Rufus took over, even at great personal expense. I became aware of all this during a visit to Hollywood Cemetery in 2021.  It was there that I saw the bronze commemorative marker shown below, laid flat in the ground in the Confederate dead section. I photographed it at the time, and wanted to transcribe all the text here, for you, but then ….   

Who knew there was such a thing as the “Historical Marker Data Base?” Certainly not me. I searched online for a transcription of the marker, so I could just copy/paste and not have to type all that text. Not only did I find the transcription of the plaque’s wording here but also a photo of the same memorial plaque – this one standing in Gettysburg, PA!

"Rufus Benjamin Weaver, a native of Gettysburg, was a college student at the time of the battle in 1863. His father Samuel Weaver, a local photographer, supervised the collection and reburial of the Federal troops in the National Cemetery. Because of Samuel Weaver's experience and the fact that he and Dr. J.W.C. O'Neal had mapped all the known Confederate gravesites on the Gettysburg Battlefield, a number of Southern ladies memorial associations turned to him for help in returning the remains of fallen Confederate soldiers to the South. Unfortunately in 1869, before he could begin the hard work of disinterring and shipping the remains of Confederate soldiers, Samuel Weaver was killed in a railroad accident. The Southern ladies memorial associations then turned to his son to complete the task.

In 1871, now a doctor of anatomy, Dr. Rufus Benjamin Weaver took on the difficult job of exhuming, collecting, boxing, and shipping the remains of Confederate soldiers. Whenever a grave was opened, Dr. Weaver was present to ensure that all remains possible were recovered. Dr. Weaver was supposed to be paid the agreed price of $3.25 for each body he was able to recover, however the Southern ladies memorial associations were unable to pay more than 50% of what he was actually owed. Despite this fact, Dr. Weaver continued the noble work of repatriating the remains of 3,320 Confederate soldiers to the South. The majority of the remains, 2,935, went to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA. The remainder were dispersed between Raleigh, NC, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, and a few to other locations.

In grateful appreciation, Freeman's Battery Forrest's Artillery, Camp 1939 Sons of Confederate Veterans, acknowledges a debt of honor owed by all Southerners, and in appreciation of the generosity and humanity of his deeds, erects this marker to Dr. Rufus B. Weaver."

Rufus Weaver's gravemarker in Mount Vernon Cemetery

One would expect more than a modest tombstone to be erected to this man, who performed such a humanitarian and herculean task. One would also expect it not to be lost to history, lost in a neglected cemetery. The dried mile-a-minute weeds were stiff and strong enshrouding every headstone in the section of Mount Vernon where Weaver is buried. It was winter when I labored to locate his stone, so at least there were no leaves to hide what was beneath. You would think this would have been an advantage, but the dried weed cages were so thick, you could not see the headstone or monument through it. I had never seen a photograph of his stone, or monument, so I hacked through weed cages of various sizes in the area where I suspected it was located. 

I finally found the stone during my third trip to Mount Vernon and cleared the weeds from it on March 18, 2020. One can only hope that his grave secures a prominent place on the cemetery tours conducted by the Friends of Mount Vernon Cemetery. 

Weaver's stone askew on its base

In May of 2020, The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, Inc. (of which I am a volunteer Board member) spent a day clearing the Drew and Barrymore plot near Rufus’ stone. Since I had last been to Mount Vernon two months prior, Rufus’ stone had become shifted off its base, likely knocked askew by heavy equipment that had been used to clear trees and brush. The stone was not damaged so the Friends volunteers reset it squarely back onto its base.

Repositioning Dr. Weaver's headstone, May, 2020

Nervous System – The Dissection of Harriet Cole

According to ScienceDirect.com:

About seventeen years after his grave repatriation work in Gettysburg, Weaver began work on the pièce de résistance of his anatomy career, his dissection of the entire cerebrospinal system. Weaver named the dissection “Harriet” after Harriet Cole, an African-American scrubwoman who worked in the anatomy lab at Hahnemann Medical College where Weaver instructed. "Harriet, who suffered from tuberculosis, donated her body to science just before her death in 1888 at the age of 35.”

It is interesting wording, “donated her body to science.” This would imply her conscious decision to do so. The literature actually states:

“At the time of Harriet Cole's death in 1888, laws set forth by the Pennsylvania State Anatomical Board and the Anatomy Act of 1883 governed unclaimed human remains. In accordance with these laws, unclaimed persons at PGH [Philadelphia General Hospital] were transferred to area schools for "the advancement of medical science."

"Harriet" dissection at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia

People generally do not know that the cadavers used in medical schools in the late 1800s were procured in this manner. Grave-robbing, body-snatching “resurrectionists” were no longer needed. So “unclaimed” people in effect “donated” their bodies to science. The records show that Harriet died and her body went unclaimed. Therefore, it became available for medical study. That may be how Weaver acquired it. As a result, Harriet’s is the first complete human nervous system ever dissected and preserved for study. As such, she has become famous in anatomical textbooks throughout the world.

The hundreds of Harriet’s hand-preserved and painted nerves reminded me of the complex, seemingly randomly-growing weeds that imprisoned Weaver’s stone – almost like the individual axons and dendrites of Harriet’s nervous system. Why was I driven to find and free his grave marker? Weaver needs to be more widely appreciated as his accomplishments furthered the scientific study of the human body. Now that Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia has its own Friends group caring for the cemetery, Weaver’s grave can become part of the historic tours conducted on the property. For access to Weaver’s and other gravesites at Mount Vernon Cemetery, please visit the Instagram and Facebook pages of “The Friends of Mount Vernon Cemetery.” Cleanup and tour dates are frequently announced.

References and MUCH Further Reading:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X17300250

https://drexel.edu/legacy-center/the-collections/historical-human-remains/harrietcole-details/

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=77608

Skull Art and Other Transgressive Behavior

One frigid morning in January, I headed out to my local cemetery to do some photography. There was snow and ice all over the place, so why would I not head out to my local cemetery to do some photography. In fact, weeks later an ice storm was forecast for the following day and my brother told me to be careful - I told him I was prepared: I knew which cemetery I was going to visit.

On this particular January day, I was rather careful each time I stepped out of the car, cautious with each step. Last year, I slipped on the ice in a cemetery and tore my rotator cuff. Took eight months for that to heal. Had my hip replaced at the end of April 2024, so I really did not want to break any more body parts. Still, I am always looking for a new place to spend the rest of my sins.

I did not want to slip, fall, and crack my skull. Actually, either of my skulls. Today was BYO Skull Day at the cemetery, and I had two of my largest with me. One might be a quondam deer, the other a pit bull. Of the roughly ten skulls I own, all but one was found in an abandoned cemetery. The largest, an antlered deer, I severed from its spinal column with an ice chopper (in an abandoned cemetery). Yes, I know, you have questions. Really wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds – most of the flesh had been either eaten away or rotted off the bones by the time I got to it. Most of the other skulls were picked clean and bleached white by the sun by the time I found them. Takes forever for that to happen. It intrigues me that people go to such extremes to strip flesh from bones. 

Assuming I haven’t lost you by this point or severely grossed you out, lets get to the photography part. I was hoping there would be snow on the statues but there was very little. Still, the snow on the ground lent a stark, uncluttered backwash for the photography I’d planned. Well, “planned” is a strong word. Planned in the sense that I brought my skulls and some cameras. I began by looking for skull settings, i.e. statues of appropriate scale to maybe hold one of the skulls. That’s a photo of St. Lucy above holding a skull as opposed to holding her own disembodied eyeballs (look that up, I’ll wait…… I think my image is actually less bizarre than what the statue is really meant to portray.) 

For what I was doing in this cemetery today I wished I could have visualized the end product or at least recognized what step I was at in the process. Pursuing a new artistic endeavor like this is like brushing your teeth with your less dominant hand. Awkward. But you know, nothing great ever came from people who operated solely in their comfort zone. My friend Jason calls this “leaning into your limitations.”

Physically, being there that day was far from comfortable. It was almost too cold to think. Temperature was about twenty degrees Fahrenheit and even though I was wearing long underwear and had chemical warming pouches in my shoes and gloves, my fingers got cold, red, and numb on many occasions. I had to repeatedly jump back into the running SUV and blast hot air out the dashboard vents onto my numb fingers.

I would drive to a statue, decide whether it was skull-worthy, then perhaps spend twenty minutes staging a photo. On two occasions, police cruisers drove by. I assume they just figured I was some photography nut photographing statues. And of course they would be right. I kept the skull of the moment close to my chest so they wouldn’t see it as they drove by. I assume, I hope, they would’ve stopped to question me if they thought any skullduggery was afoot.

Maybe I’m channeling my inner Joel-Peter Witkin with all this, but I’m sure Witkin did all his startling, grotesque, and macabre body parts-photography in a fancy studio, with assistants - not outdoors in below-freezing winter. Maybe we’re searching for a similar grail here, I don’t know. The process of arranging skulls on cemetery statues got me thinking about Witkin’s process, what he may have been thinking or planning. The viewer typically only sees the final product. 

But art “is an event in itself, something that comes into being,” says Karl Ove Knausgaard, in his New Yorker (Feb. 3, 2005) article, Private Eye. The piece is about how a particular artist creates presence in her painted portraits. Without a doubt, a Witkin still life, or one of my images here clearly imply presence of the artist in the creation of the piece. What I’ve done should elicit a different reaction from the viewer, different from the viewer seeing a simple photograph of a gravestone. The viewer certainly can feel my “presence” in these images.

As with any still life, the material world is supposed to suggest something else. If Witkin’s and my photographs seem about as joyous as the Doomsday Clock to you, consider this other skull fun: see how artist Filip Hodas creates “cartoon fossils.” There are in fact, people even more deviant than I. Visit this website to see his lovely work!

Glenn Hendler asks in his book, Diamond Dogs, is there any way to ‘use’ a medium without being at the same time ‘in’ it? He wrote this about the David Bowie album of that name. He describes Bowie’s music on this album as having “randomness balanced with an assertion of control.” I think that might be an honest description of my own photographs. Like Bowie as he was writing these songs, I think I’m trying to stimulate my own imagination. Maybe what you see here is merely a step in a much longer process, rather than a final product. I’m not a U2 fan, but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

Staged still lifes can be beautiful, but random beauty can be startling. A week after my photo shoot at this cemetery, I visited another snow-covered one, where I saw the most beautiful red fox break the stillness of the snowscape with its gentle trotting. It was so fluid and graceful as it padded through the snow between the tombstones, it seemed random, but for the fox, it was probably the same path it took every afternoon. The fox trotted up the small hill toward a mausoleum. It turned around, looked at me, and flopped down in the sun alongside the mausoleum. Seemingly random nature can be more beautiful than anything a human can create.

It made me feel better about my progress, transgressive as my behavior may be. As Douglas Adams said in his novel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” 

For reference and further examination:

Joel-Peter Witkin | Artnet

Karl Ove Knausgaard Latest Articles | The New Yorker

A 3D Artist Imagines the Realistic Fossilized Skulls of Endearing Cartoon Characters — Colossal

Post-COVID Death Photography

Scary. Biblical fear. I felt it when I left the theater after seeing the fifth Hunger Games movie, “Spiders and Snakes.” I was headed for the bathroom and this rush of humanity was coming at me as people were exiting the other indoor movie theaters. Strangers all around me, tributes – and I feared any one of them would come at me with a trident. Fear is situational. Like the first time I visited the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. After seeing so many parts of dead bodies, I was startled on the bus ride home whenever one of the passengers moved. And I couldn’t eat sausage for a month. COVID was less scary than either of those situations. Deadlier, but less scary. 

Recently I had to think about the art I’ve created since COVID, in the four years since 2020. Why? Well, this group I belong to, The Philadelphia Photo League (est. 2012) is putting together an exhibition and a book of work (a “Members Journal”) to showcase what we’ve done, what we’ve created in the past four years: 

“Your images contribute to a powerful narrative of creativity and resilience, reflecting the transformative years from 2020 to 2024. We’re honored to have you as part of this celebration of photographic artistry and storytelling.” - The Photo League

In addition to choosing five of my photographs that are representative of my past four years’ worth of photography, I put together an under-100-word bio. Basically, that amounted to one sentence for each of the five images. I naturally had more to say - hence, this blog post! The five images you see in this article are the five I submitted for the League project. The exhibition of the members’ work will occur in a Philadelphia-area gallery sometime in the spring of 2025. This was a good exercise to gather my thoughts regarding what I’ve done and what I might do in the future. What you’ll notice (surprise, surprise) is that all my artwork has to do with death. Scary stuff to the unsuspecting, perhaps.

The first image that you see above, “COVID Death,” is a digitally-manipulated photograph of an physically manipulated scene in a cemetery. I brought the skull. Remember social distancing during the winter/spring of 2020? People were advised against indoor gatherings, even with extended family members. Many people much more normal than I took to cemeteries as a place to go. It was one of the few safe havens to spend time - you could be there with family and friends, you were outdoors, and all the strangers observed the six-foot social distance rule – they were six feet under.

I took many of my skulls (like guitars, you never admit how many you actually own) into the basement during lockdown and photographed some still lifes (is it lives?). But there's a limit to how creative you can get in your basement. So I took them to cemeteries and created images like the one you see above. I even loaned my skulls to a photographer friend of mine to do similar work. Funny, no one ever had any issue with me playing with skulls in a graveyard, but masks are another thing altogether. Remember how polarizing they were? "You have no right to make me wear a mask," and all that? (Obviously the anti-maskers never thought about why surgeons and dental hygienists wear masks…). Anyway, the social media audience went ballistic when I published photos of masks on cemetery statues. Puzzling, but hey, art is what you can get away with, as Andy Warhol said.

Another COVID-sprung idea I had was to get people who only knew each other through social media, together physically, to tour some local cemeteries. Actual reality is much preferable to virtual reality, I’ve always thought. In the spring of 2020, when everything was going sideways, I wanted to merge social media with actual human interaction. People were missing that. I invited local Instagram cemetery photographers who only knew each other through that platform, to one cemetery to meet, trade stories, learn from each other. About eight people met at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia. My friend Jenn (@cems_and_things) organized a meetup group on Instagram so we could communicate better. She invited others. 

That first meetup was so wonderful that we all agreed to continue meeting in cemeteries, making photographs, and enjoying each other’s company. This has been going on for four years now. The photo you see above was made in December 2024, in Riverview Cemetery, Trenton, New Jersey. We do a group photo every time we meet. Membership has expanded to about twenty people and we average about eight people per meetup. We try to do this every few months. Wonderful friendships have developed and I must say, this has been a great catalyst for my creativity!

 “No Indoor Gatherings During COVID Pandemic”

 “No Indoor Gatherings During COVID Pandemic” is a photo I made in February of 2021 during a COVID surge where there was lockdown and no indoor gatherings. After a snowfall in Philadelphia, I photographed this temporarily closed church in Bridgeport, PA. I think it speaks volumes about our social situation at that time, when virtual meetings via the internet were becoming the norm and physical meetings were abruptly stopped – this included gatherings in places of worship. To this day, virtual meetings have replaced a percentage of physical meetings, sometimes for our benefit (efficiency), sometimes to our detriment. In certain situations, virtual meetings cannot replace physical meetings – dating comes to mind.

“Gardel Monument.” Mount Vernon Cemetery, Philadelphia

“Gardel Monument” is an image I made in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Philadelphia, in February 2022. It is one of the most interesting monuments in any Philadelphia cemetery, but few people have ever seen it. Why? Well, Mount Vernon has been closed to the public for decades. Its grand entrance stands at the intersection of Ridge and Lehigh Avenues, directly across from Laurel Hill Cemetery. Many people think it is an extension of Laurel Hill, but it is not. It is derelict and had not been maintained. 

Abandoned cemeteries have always piqued my curiosity, and I have photographed, researched, and lectured about them over the years. My virtual lectures on the destruction of Philadelphia’s Monument Cemetery (est. 1837, destroyed 1956) were popular during COVID, when podcasts and virtual gatherings became the norm. Abandoned cemeteries loomed large in my four-year odyssey. I was approached to write a book on the topic in 2023, and completed it in 2024. Abandoned and Forgotten Cemeteries of Philadelphia and its Environs will be published in 2025 by Fonthill Media. 

I researched many other cemeteries for the book, some that were saved like Mount Vernon, some that were not so lucky. The book also covers cemeteries that have disappeared – either moved or simply built over. I met many interesting people and dragged some friends into the fray as I visited (and revisited) many of these sites as I conducted my research.

While it was never legally abandoned, Mount Vernon Cemetery was locked up and left to ruin from around 2000 to 2020. Nature grew and wreaked havoc, endangering monuments and statuary while thieves stole bronze doors from its mausoleums. It was derelict to the degree that in the past, it might have been levelled and a strip mall built over it. In 2020, a Friends group and a conservation group stepped in to stabilize the cemetery and its buildings, essentially pulling it back from the brink of destruction (and pulling it away from its former owner). It is quite the cosseted property at this point.

"Snow Flower"

Lastly, the photo you see here, “Snow Flower,” was in two art exhibitions in 2024. First in a group show sponsored by the Montgomery County Guild of Professional Artists at 431 Gallery, King of Prussia, PA, and later in the year in a two-artist exhibit at Box Spring Gallery in Philadelphia. In the latter show, entitled, “Ghosts,” I had nine snow-related cemetery images on display. I’ve slowly begun to get back into public display of my photography, with gallery shows and events like the annual “Market of the Macabre” at Philadelphia’s Laurel Hill Cemetery. 

To summarize, I’ve been fairly active, artistically, since COVID. Physically, not so much. The pandemic stifled a lot of things in the world, but it did invigorate my creativity. I hit 64 years of age in 2022 and health-wise, the wheels began to fall off. George Harrison was quite prescient in the Beatles’ song, When I’m Sixty-Four. In February 2024 I fell on the ice in a cemetery and tore a rotator cuff. That April, I got a hip replacement. So while I’m still active artistically, my days of jumping off walls into abandoned cemeteries are over. But for all you youngsters out there reading this, please jump off as many walls into abandoned cemeteries as you can. And as they say in the Hunger Games, may the odds be forever in your favor.