James H. Adcock (1897-1920) was a veteran of World War I as part of the Rainbow Division. On May 4, 1918, he married Rose Sloan, a tobacco worker, in Clark County, Indiana. Two years after their marriage, James died of a gunshot wound to the chest. His death certificate noted probable suicide, but a few days later, Rose was arrested for his murder. The following information is from the “Courier-Journal.” Rose’s sister, Mrs. Grace Jeffries, and her father, Mr. Newton Sloan, were arrested as accessories to James’s murder. On the night of James’s death, neighbors said they heard shouting coming from the couple’s home on Rowan Street. Then they heard a gunshot. A wounded James ran from the home as Mr. Sloan threw bricks at him. James ran into a neighbor’s house and said, “my God, don’t let her shoot me again.” Two days later, James died of his injuries at City Hospital. According to James’s family, Rose and her family led James to believe he was going to get well and persuaded him to say he had attempted suicide. Rose and her family were acquitted. The monument of James H. Adcock is simple in nature. Ferns accent the upper corners of the stone. James lived and died during the Victorian Era. At that time, ferns represented sorrow and sincerity towards other people. 

This monument for Susanna Maria (Frank) Kessler (1813-1890) features a tall column with a curtain with tassels draped over it. In the 19th century, drapes and curtains were placed over items in houses to signify that the house was in mourning. Curtains on a headstone can mean something similar or also symbolize the veil between Heaven and Earth. Susanna immigrated from Germany to the United States with her husband John Henry Kessler and son Phillip Louis Kessler. Upon immigration, she began using a more Americanized version of her name, Mary S. Kessler. According to her “Courier-Journal” obituary, “Mary S. Kessler… died at her home on the corner of Logan and Cain Streets. She was the oldest person living in Germantown, having resided there continuously for the past thirty-six years.” Census records and city directories corroborate the length of time the family lived in Germantown. They first lived on Milk Street, which was located between Shelby Street and Dandridge Avenue. Milk Street was renamed Oak Street in 1895 because it was essentially an eastern extension of Oak Street. Today, this area of town is the border of Shelby Park and Germantown. 

Joseph and Mary Weingartner (1825-1882) (1827-1912) immigrated to the United States from Switzerland. They were married prior to immigration, so Mary’s maiden name is unconfirmed. He was a shoemaker, and she was a homemaker. Together they had eight children. During the Civil War, Joseph became a soldier for the United States Army. At the age of 36, he was discharged due to health complications of heart disease and tuberculosis. He was described as being 5’10” tall with gray eyes and black hair. Mary and Joseph spent a large part of their lives in the Germantown Neighborhood. Joseph died in 1882 at the age of 57 while Mary died in 1912 at the age of 84. The Weingartner monument is a beautiful representation of funerary symbolism. A vase of flowers crowns the top of the monument, which remind us of the beauty of life and respect for the dead. A tassel/drapery motif encases the names of the dead. Large, bold, artistic lettering depicts the family surname WEINGARTNER. Buried at this site you will find Joseph, Mary, and four of their children: Benjamin, Charlie, Eddie, and Louisa. 

This monument for Susan B. (Eads) Neff (circa 1857-1887) features a sheaf of wheat. Typically, this can indicate a long life, but it can also represent immortality, resurrection, and the Body of Christ. Susan was the youngest daughter of Isaac and Mary (Redman) Eads. In 1884, Susan married Edward W. Neff, a railroad worker. In 1887, Susan died at the age of 30 of puerperal pneumonia, which affects women after childbirth. It is unclear what happened to her child as it was not found in other records. Susan’s widower Edward remarried to Margaret (Schuarer) Haupt and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery. Susan’s parents were buried next to her.

James Thomas Clark (circa 1836-1910) and Mahala W. (Reynolds) Clark (circa 1839-1915) were married in 1863 and had eleven children. James was documented as a house painter on the 1870 and 1880 Federal Census, but in 1900, he was identified as a sawdust peddler. Mahala was a homemaker. The couple’s headstone is a beautiful tribute to life and family. One side simply identifies James and Mahala. The opposite side is ornate. It bares columns and capitals, signifying strength and a complete life. The capitals support a frieze of Calla Lilies. The lilies are bound by a ribbon, acknowledging James and Mahala’s marriage of over 50 years. Beneath the Calla Lilies, large lettering tells us “FATHER AND MOTHER” are “AT REST.” The words “AT REST” are intended to comfort the living who come to visit the dead.

Today the International Order of Odd Fellows celebrates its 200-year anniversary. The order was founded in the US on April 26, 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland. The Odd Fellows are a non-political and non-religious fraternal organization. They are often referred to as the Triple Link Fraternity because of their symbol of three interlocking rings representing friendship, love, and truth. The rings are depicted on Jacob Decker’s headstone as he was a member of the organization. Fraternal organization symbols are commonly seen on 19th and 20th century headstones. Jacob Decker (1847-1912) was born in Germany and immigrated to America with his parents at the age of three. According to the 1870 census, Joseph was a gilder; his father John was a tailor; and his mother Elizabeth was a homemaker. On December 15, 1874, Jacob married Anna Magdalene “Lena” Horstman, who was also a German immigrant. The couple spent a large portion of their lives living on Hull Street in Louisville’s Phoenix Hill neighborhood. They had three sons and two daughters (John Henry, Johanna, Caroline, Adam, and Rudolph). Jacob died in 1912 of heart disease at the age of 65. Lena lived for 19 more years and died of asthma at the age of 81. They are buried together at Eastern Cemetery. 

For Workers’ Memorial Day, we are featuring James F. Matthis (1852-1903), the son of undertaker David Matthis and Elizabeth Smith. They lived in Elizabethtown, KY. In 1871, Matthis married Lucy Farris, and they had four children (Margaret, Henry, James, and Mary). After Lucy’s death in 1884, Matthis married Emma Dougherty Moore in 1886. Together they had two children (James and Emma). They lived in Louisville where Matthis worked as an engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad. According to the “Courier-Journal,” on May 15, 1903, James and fireman John Kerr were working the Passenger Train No. 102, north bound from New Orleans to Louisville. As the train approached the depot at McHenry, Ohio County, KY, witnesses said the train “seemed to leap from the tracks.” The train wrecked and derailed. Matthis and Kerr were trapped underneath and killed. The passengers, mail clerk, and baggage master were injured but lived. It was believed that the wreck was caused by something on the track. Kerr, a 26- year-old who lived in Louisville with his parents, Henry and Bridget Kerr, was buried in St. Louis Cemetery. He had been a fireman for four years. Matthis had worked for Illinois Central Railroad for 32 years and had been an engineer for seven years. Members of the Brotherhoods of Locomotive Engineers and Locomotive Firemen attended the funerals. In October 1903, Matthis’s widow, Emma, sued the Illinois Central Railroad and Columbus Givens, the man in charge of the coal station at McHenry. She claimed the engine was defective and that Givens failed to clean the coal off the tracks, which is what caused the wreck. The outcome of the suit is unknown. 

International Fire Fighter Day (IFFD). We are celebrating the life of Louisville Fire Department Sergeant Jesse B. Taylor, Jr. (1937-1971). Jesse had public service instilled in him as his father, Jesse B. Taylor Sr., was a homicide detective for the Louisville Police Department. He also had two brothers who were fire fighters. In addition to being a fire fighter, Jesse was a Navy veteran, a Mason, and a Vice President of the Emmanuel Baptist Church Brotherhood. Jesse was married to Carrie Miles. Together the couple had four children and made their home in Louisville’s West End. In a 1969 interview, Jesse told the “Courier-Journal,” “I know most of the people in the West End, most are good, some are bad. Whoever they are, I just talk their language and tell them to let us do our job.” According to the article, Jesse used his communication skills to ease racial tensions amongst young African Americans in Louisville, paving the way for a smoother response from the fire department. Additionally, he played a key role in the development of the Park DuValle Health Center Ambulance Service. Jesse suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 33 while playing in a Fire Department basketball tournament at St. Ann’s Church gym. At the time of his death, he was assigned to Engine 22 located at 3627 West Broadway. Image from “Courier-Journal” May 30, 1968.

National Nurses Day. We are celebrating the life of Registered Nurse Bertha Mae Thomas (1880-1985). Bertha was the first African American Registered Nurse in Kentucky. She was a former supervisor at the former Red Cross Hospital, a former visiting nurse for the Metropolitan Insurance Co., and a former matron of Golden Chapter 80 of the Order of the Eastern Star. Additionally, Bertha was a former recording secretary of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses of America. For much of her life, Bertha lived with her mother and sisters at 1768 W. Ormsby Avenue in the Park Hill Neighborhood. Bertha’s sisters Minnie and Calvin later lived in Chicago, Illinois and passed away before her. At the time of Bertha’s death, she was living with friends Roosevelt and Phyllis Tucker in Chicago with no family survivors. Image of Bertha is from the “Courier-Journal” February 27, 1953 when she won a service award. Thank you to all of the nurses past and present. You’re amazing!

National Teacher Appreciation Day. We are celebrating the life of Aurealia M. (Elliott) Eaves (1917-1982). Aurealia was a teacher for the Jefferson County Board of Education. She taught at the Jeffersontown School in 1963 when it merged with the previously segregated Ingram School, which was for African American children. Aurealia was one of the few African American teachers to transition to an integrated school. Even though Brown v. Board of Education concluded that public schools could not be segregated in 1954, Louisville was one of many cities that did not integrate schools until the 1960s. Aurealia had married Montest L. Eaves, an L&N Railroad worker, in 1941, and together they had four children: Montest Jr., Ethel, Althea, and Minnie. Three of those children, Montest L. Eaves, Jr., Ethel (Eaves) Minnis, and Minnie Eaves, all went on to be teachers as well. This image of Aurealia is from “Courier-Journal” October 27, 1963 article about school integration.

On Armed Forces Day we are celebrating the life of Air Force Staff Sergeant Walter Lee Garrison, Jr. (1931-1975). He was the son of Walter and Mamie (Fountain) Garrison who lived at 709 Roselane Street in the Smoketown Neighborhood. From 1949 to 1953, Walter served in the Air Force during the Korean War. This war was a turning point for many African Americans in the Armed Forces as the US Department of Defense allowed African Americans to serve in all combat and combat service elements. By June 1950, almost 100,000 African Americans were on active duty in the Armed Forces, which was about 8% of the total manpower. Walter was one of those African Americans. He also worked as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service and was a member of the Green Street Baptist Church and Chestnut Street YMCA. Walter had a daughter, Tia Lynn, with Lois (Mason) Everett. Walter died at Norton Hospital at the age of 44 after an illness. Thank you for your service.

On Armed Forces Day we are celebrating the life of Navy Yeoman First Class Charles Edwin Snyder (1892-1961). He was the son of John Snyder and Mary King who lived on 16th Street in Louisville. Charles’s Navy career spanned 12 years and 23 ships during both World War I and World War II. According to his draft card, Charles was tall and slender with dark hair and brown eyes. He was aboard the Navy replenishment ship Salinas when the ship was torpedoed by German submarines in October 1941. After retirement, he worked as a repairman. Charles died in 1961 at the VA Hospital in Louisville at the age of 68. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was survived by three daughters and a son. Thank you for your service. 

We are celebrating the life of Army Nurse Anna Reid Carfield (1891-1943). She was the daughter of James Carfield and Mary Ann Hegerty who both died when Anna was a young girl. It appears that Anna was raised by her sister Edna and her husband Fred Herman, and Edna was twenty years Anna’s senior. Anna became a nurse for the Army Nurse Corps and was stationed to Base Hospital No. 40, Barrow Unit, in Lexington. On July 12, 1918, she traveled to New York where she boarded the Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic, which transported troops to Europe during World War I. Much of the Barrow Unit was located in Southampton, England where a hospital opened at manor house Sarisbury Court, but some of the Unit members served in France as well. Anna served her country from April 6, 1918 through April 29, 1919. The American Red Cross recruited over 22,000 professionally-trained female nurses to serve in the US Army between 1917 and 1919. Over 10,000 of those women served near the Western Front. By the 1920s, Anna was a practicing nurse in the Lexington area where she remained until her death of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 52. Anna never married and was survived by her sister and three brothers. Thank you for your service, Anna. 

On Armed Forces Day we are celebrating the life of Marine Corporal Henry E. Tribue, Jr. (1934-1969). He was the son of Henry E. and Geneva (Brown) Tribue who lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. From 1952 to 1955, Henry served in the Marines during part of the Korean War. After training at Camp Lejune in North Carolina, Henry was sent to the Atomic Energy Commission Proving Grounds to observe a series of atomic tests. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. After his service ended, Henry and his wife Eva Dathright lived at 2310 Mellwood Avenue in the Clifton Heights Neighborhood. He worked as a foreman at the Ford Motor Company Truck Plant. Henry died at the age of 35 of gunshot wounds received at home in an argument. Tribue was survived by his wife, parents, and five siblings. Thank you for your service, Corporal Tribue. Image from “Indianapolis News” April 22, 1953.

For Memorial Day, we are featuring Private Kermit Caswell (1918-1944), the son of Hart County farmer John S. Caswell and Elizabeth (Bowman) Caswell. Kermit was the eldest of the five Caswell children and worked as a farmer. On November 6, 1942, Kermit enlisted in the Army. His enlistment records say he was 5’5” tall and weighed 116 pounds. Kermit was assigned to the 95th Infantry Division, which sailed to England on August 10-17, 1944. Then on September 15, 1944, the Division moved to France where they entered combat east of Moselle and south of Metz on October 19, 1944. The Division pushed toward the Saar during November and December 1944. Sadly, Kermit was killed in action on December 15, 1944 while in service of his country. His remains were not returned to the Caswell family for burial until April 1949, which is when his obituary was published. Thank you, Private Caswell for your sacrifice. You will not be forgotten.