History of Old City Cemetery and St. John's Episcopal Cemetery
Unfortunately, there is little information left on the formation of Old City Cemetery and St. John's Episcopal Cemetery.1 What is known about Old City Cemetery, currently situated west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and north of Park Avenue in Tallahassee, Florida, is that the Territorial Legislative Council created the cemetery in 1829 outside of the city limits and that most of the grave-markers from that time were made from wood. By 1840, the city started to maintain a public burial land. While information on the cemeteries remains scarce, I did locate an excerpt of a letter written by Charles Hutchinson in 1840 to his sisters in regards to the burial of their brother, Henry Hutchinson, in Old City Cemetery via the City of Tallahassee's website. In 1840, almost a year after the death of his brother, Charles Hutchinson erected a wooden head and footboard to mark Henry’s final resting place in Old City Cemetery. Charles sent a map to his sisters along with a description of the burial site. He stated that the cemetery “has been considered public land until about 4 weeks since, when the streets were cut thro’ and the land on either side sold at auction—that on which our brother remains was purchased by the corporation for a graveyard, & that on the north side was purchased by the members of the Episcopal Church, for a similar purpose.” After the yellow fever epidemic of 1841, the city set out lots and arrangements based on religion and race. Caucasians were buried on the east side and African Americans, regardless if freed or not, were buried on the west side, which accounts for the open space in that area since many African Americans would not have been able to afford the marble markers which crowd the east side. In the 1890s, a Jewish section was established on the west side of the northeast section, an area that is marked by Professor John Grant’s gravestone, but many of those graves have reportedly been relocated to Jacksonville. Just north of Old City Cemetery and West Call Street, lies St. John’s Episcopal Cemetery. St. John’s Episcopal Church, situated at the northeast corner of Monroe Street and East Call St, established this cemetery in 1840 to bury members of their congregation. Charles Hutchinson mentioned quite a bit in his letter to his sisters in regards to the first burial that took place in St. John’s. He wrote: Mrs. Gamble is first & only one buried in that yard [St. John’s]—she was a member of that church—you will observe that the grave of our brother & Mrs. Gamble are nearly opposite. Mrs. G’s is about 10 feet from the corner & our brothers is about 15 feet—Our brother’s paling is about one foot inside the line where the fence is to run—As yet neither of the grave yards are enclosed, but are to be so immediately … [Mrs. Gamble’s husband] has been at work for two days past beautifying the grave setting out grass & roses etc. He is going to get tombstones and an iron railing in New York this summer. It appears that Mr. Gamble, or someone within their family, was successful in obtaining the tombstone for his wife. At the far southeast corner, right inside of the fenced in cemetery, there stands a rather large pedestal obelisk erected in the memory of Mary S. Gamble who died in 1840, the beloved wife of James Gamble. 1 According to the City of Tallahassee website, most of the information was lost in a fire years ago. "Old City Cemetery," City of Tallahassee, https://www.talgov.com/pm/pm-occhist.aspx. All further information gathered from their site. Their information was garnered from records reviewed at the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board, which no longer existed after the 1990s. Most of the HTPB's materials transferred over to the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation, but they are missing many items due to theft or wear and tear. |
Sacred
To the memory of Mary S. Wife of James B. Gamble And daughter of Gen. Ewd. & Mrs. E. B. Walts, Of Virginia; She was born in Botetourt County Va Sep. 26, 1814 And died in Tallahassee, Florida May 22 1840 She had been a sincere member of the Community the last nine years of her life. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. |