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Show THE DEAD PRESIDENTS. Proposition" to Bemove Remains to Arlington. (Washington Star.) Twenty men have in turn been elected elect-ed president of the United States. Five men who were elected vice president have come' into the highest office through the death of the head of the nation. Of these twenty-five men so honored twenty-three have responded to the final summons. A bill is now before congress looking to the gathering gather-ing into Arlington cemetery of the dust of these presidents of the United States. Not everybody can name the twenty-three or tell where the honored dead lie sleeping. Most of them are interred in-terred at their old " homes, among the friends of their youth. The tomb of Washington has been the mecca of the . patriot for many years. The t resting places of Lincoln, Lin-coln, the liberator: of Grant, the soldier sol-dier president, and of Harrison and McKinley are probably known to all, but the world "little notes nor long remembers" the going of its great men. Their deeds remain embalmed in history, his-tory, but their dust might have been scattered to the four winds of heaven for aught the great world knows. The resolution before congress, in its provisions for the removal to the national na-tional capital of the remains of those who once presided ojver the destinies of the country, excepts the name of Washington, who, it is well known, sleeps in the spot of his own selection, at Mt. Vernon. Even if Washington had not expressly and explicitly directed di-rected where his body should lie in death, it is not at all likely that Virginia Vir-ginia would ever consent to give up the sacred dust of her distinguished son. Nor is it any more probable that Illinois would yield to the request for the dust of Lincoln, Ohio of Garfield or McKinley, or Indiana her Harrisons. So it is with the other states. They feel a proprietary right in their hon ored dead, and would not yield these up to other keeping. Many attempts have beer made to have the remains of Washington placed in the gloomy mausoleum under the dome of the capitol. but these have always al-ways failed, and probably the matter will never be broached. Mount Vernon, which Washington loved, is one cf the most beautiful spots in the United States. In a great marble sarcophagus, bearing tne coat-of-arms of the United States and festooned fes-tooned flags in exquisite sculpture, is the dust of the first president of the United States. Inaugurated April 30, 17S9, Washington served two terms, dying two years later, Dec. 14, 1799, at Mount Vernon. This great marble coffin cof-fin bears the single deeply cut word, "Washington." By its side is another marble coffin, where "Martha- Washington" Wash-ington" also sleeps. A single block of Pennsylvania marble, mar-ble, eight feet in length and two feet in height, is hollowed out for each sarcophagus. sar-cophagus. They were made from a design de-sign by William Strickland, the sculptor sculp-tor being John Strickland of Philadelphia, Philadel-phia, and were presented to the relatives rela-tives of Washington by Mr. Strickland. Strick-land. As ordered by Washington In his will, his body was taken from the old vault at Mount Vernon and placed in the new one. upon its completion. This occurred oc-curred Oct. 7, 1837. On the archway is a plain marble slab, on which' is inscribed: in-scribed: "Within ..this inclosure rest the remains of General George Washington,"' Wash-ington,"' and that Is all, except a line or two of Scripture on a tablet within. In remarkable contrast to this simple sim-ple epitaph is that of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and that of his son, John Quincy Adams. In Quincy, Mass., under, the portico of the "Stone Temple," or Unitarian Uni-tarian cljurch, are the tombs of the Adamses,, father and son. the second and the sixth presidents of the United States. The tomb is in the cellar under the portico, which forms the. entrance to the church, and is an apartment walled up with huge blocks of roughly" hewed granite. Over it is a granite slab, which has great iron hinges of rust-eaten rust-eaten wrought iron, and a huge padlock pad-lock in its clasp. Within the rock-ribbed rock-ribbed home the body of John Adams lies in a lead casket incased in a sin gle block of hewn-out granite. Over this tomb an odd Gothic structure has been built. It has a tower and a peaked roof supported by fQur pillars. In the church a big memorial tablet, at the right of the pulpit, recites the honors of Adams, his Virth and death, and above it is a fine bust executed by Greenough. , - The epitaph on this tablet tells of an era in history that it is meet to remember remem-ber today. "Beneath these walls," it says, "are deposited the mortal remains re-mains of John Adams, son of John and Susanna (Boylston) Adams, second president of the United States. Born Get. 30, 1735. On the 4th day of July. 1776, he pledged his life, fortune and sacred honor to the independence of his country. On the 3d of September, 17S3, he affixedhis seal to the definite treaty with Great Britain, which acknowledged acknowl-edged that independence, and consummated consum-mated the redemption of his pledge. On the Fourth of July, 1826, he was summoned sum-moned to the independence of Immortality Immor-tality and to the judgment of his God. This house .will bear witness to his piety: this town, his birthplace, to his munificence; history to his patriotism: posterity to the depth and compass of his mind." Then follows a long inscription to his wife, Abigail Adams. This memorial was erected by John Quincy Adams, who only a few years later was laid to rest in the same vault, with his wife at his side. In turn, his son. Rev. C. F. Adams, erected erect-ed a marble tablet in the "Stone Temple," Tem-ple," which occupies a position at the left of the pulpit. It recites that John Quincy Adams was the son or John and Abigail (Smith) Adams: that he was the .sixth president of the United States, born July 11. 1767, and that on the 24th of December, 1S14, he signed the second treaty with Great Britain which restored peace within her borders. bor-ders. It relates, in conclusion, that "on the 23d of February, 1848, he closed six-tee six-tee nyears of eloquent defense of the lessons of his youth- by dying at his post in her great national council." This last has reference to his being stricken with death while in his seat in the old house of representatives. A brass plate, bearing his name, marks the spot where he fell. Thomas Jefferson, the third presj-dent presj-dent of the United States, sleeps under the trees at Monticello, his old home near Charlottesville, Va. Aliens own the old place, but reverence the honored hon-ored dead. The family cemetery in which the Jeffersons sleep is surrounded surround-ed by a brick wall about ten feet high. On the north side, in a shaded, secluded spot, Jefferson's body servant. Warm-ely. Warm-ely. dug the grave of his old master, according to instructions left by Jefferson. Jef-ferson. The monument that was placed above the grave was of coarse granite. It was designed by Jefferson himself, buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence; of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Free-dom, and Father of the University of Virginia. Born April 2, 1743; Died July 4, 1826." The fourth president, James Madison, is buried on the place whtch he owned at Montpelier, Orange county, Va. His monument is a tall granite shaft, bear-difficulty bear-difficulty that the leveled mound was at last located, and the monument, reared by private subscription, placed above it. The body of James Monroe, the fifth president, was first interred in the Second avenue cemetery, between Second Sec-ond and Third streets, New York city, where it rested for twenty-seven years. July 2, 1858, the body was taken with high honors aboard the s-teamer Jamestown, James-town, the members of the New York senate acting as escort, and carried to Richmond, Va. Here, July a, the body was placed in the president's plot in Hollywood cemetery in a brick vault covered by .a block of polished marble, on which .rests the sarcophagus. The' inscription.' on' : the metal recites the xiate of 'his birth.' April 2S, 1758, and his death in New .York. City, July 4, 1831; also the fact that he was governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802, and president presi-dent from 18i7 to 1S25. Inclosing the whole, to keep vandals from marring it, is a beautiful Gothic cage of wrought iron. Mrs. Monroe's body lies unmarked in loudoun county, Va. GRAVE OF "OLD HICORY." Andrew Jackson, seventh president, lies under a Doric colonnade dome at the Hermitage, his old home on the Cumberland river, almost within sight of Nashville, Tenn. The brief inscription inscrip-tion says that "General Andrew Jackson Jack-son was born March 15, 1767; died June 8, 1845," His wife lies beside him. "Martin Van Buren, VHIth President Presi-dent of the United States; Born Dec. 5, 1762; Died July 24, 1862," is the short inscription on the plain monument marking a low mound in the Reformed cemetery at Kinderhook, N. Y. The tall granite slab also marks the grave of Mrs. Van Buren. , William Henry" Harrison, ninth president, presi-dent, was laid to rest in Congressional cemetery April 7, 1841. In July, 1841, his remains were taken to North Bend, O., and placed in the family vault. This vault is on a hill in the middle of a big pasture, sloping to the Ohio river, and is near the old Harrison homestead. It was. a few years ago, surrounded by an old board fence, and vault rnd fence vied with each other in tumble-down appearance. No inscription in-scription of any kind is visible. The land was deeded to the state by John Scott Harrison, father of the late Benjamin Ben-jamin Harrison, with the understanding, understand-ing, it is said, that the tomb should be kept in repair.- The state seems to have forgotten this trust. The tenth president, John Tyler, sleeps beside Monroe in the president's plot in Hollywood cemetery, Richmond. Neither monument nor stone marks uis grave, unless very recenuy constructed. con-structed. The state obligated itself to efect a monument about thirty years ago. Tyler was born March 29, 1790, and died January 17, 1862. James K. Polk, eleventh president, i is buried in the homestead yard in Nashville, Tenn., under a limestone, monument of square design in Grecian Doric style. The inscription recites that he was born Nov. 2, 1795, and died June 15, 1849. Geneial Zachary. Taylor, twelfth president, who died July 13, 1850, was first buried in Congressional cemetery, Washington, D. C, but was later taken to Louisville, Ky., where hi3 grave in the Tyler cemetery is marked by a tall shaft, surmounted by a life-sized figure of himself in a full uniform. He was born Nov. 24. 1874. Millard Fillmore, thirteenth president, presi-dent, is buried in a beautiful spot in Forest Lawn cemetery, near Buffalc, N. Y. A plain monument of polished red granite bears the name "Fillmore," and the simple inscription, "Millard Fillmore, born January 7, 1800; died March . 1874." Franklin .pierce sleeps in his native state (New Hampshire), in Minot cemj etery, Concord. Although the fourteenth four-teenth president, the modest inscription inscrip-tion on the cross crowned monument of Italian marble, only tells that Frank Pierce was born Nov. 23, 1804, and died Oct. 8, 1869. In Woodward Hill cemetery, Lancaster, Lancas-ter, Pa., rests the dust of James Buchanan. Bu-chanan. The Romanesque monument of Italian marble bpars the inscription: "James Buchanan, fifteenth president of the United States. Born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, 'April 23, 1791. Died at Wheatland, June 1, 1868." Springfield, Ills.,; holds the shrine of Lincoln. The monument lately rebuilt is an imposing pile. The beautiful marble mar-ble sarcophagus, has upon it the word "Lincoln," and the single sentence, "With malice toward none, with charity chari-ty for all." It needs no other inscription. inscrip-tion. The natiorrAv-Jll doubtless ever remember re-member Incidents" of the day of his death, April 15,;i865. Andrew Johnson's grave is in Greenville, Green-ville, Greene county, Tenn., and a mag-, nificent monument marks the last resting rest-ing place of the "Seventeenth president of the United States, born Dec. 29, 180S; died July 31, 1875." This monument was erected by his children. . - General Grant, the great soldier president, pres-ident, sleeps under an imposing monument monu-ment in New York. City. The soldiers of the country have always felt that the "greatest soldier of them all" should rest in . Arlington. The long struggle with the grim chieftain, death, ended at Mt. McGregor, N. Y., July 23, 1885, and the eighteenth president of the United States was' "mustered out." '' The nineteenth president was Rutherford Ruther-ford B. Hayes, born Oct. 4, 1822; died at Fremont, O:, Jan. 17, 1893. His dust rests under a beautiful monument at Fremont. ' ' In Cleveland, O., under a magnificent monument, General James Abram Garfield Gar-field sleeps the sleep that knows no waking. He was born Nov. 19, 183t, and was assassinated while president, dying Sept. 19, 1881.' Chester Alan Arthur, the twenty-first president, is buried in Rural cemetery, at Albany, N. Y., ' under a beautiful memorial stone. He w"as born Oct. 5, 1830, and died Nov. 18, 1886. Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third president, was born at the old homestead home-stead at North Bend, O., Aug. 30, 1833. He died March 13, 1901, and is buried in Indianapolis. William McKinley, twenty-fifth president, pres-ident, was assassinated Sept. 7, 1901, and died Sept. 14. He sleeps in a beautiful beau-tiful spot In the cemetery at Canton, O., his monument as yet only the memory mem-ory of his gentle nature, the fragrance of his kindly deeds. |