Showing posts with label Graceland Cemetery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graceland Cemetery. Show all posts

22 November 2017

Rehanging a Flag at Graceland Cemetery

"You can't keep me down!" Even with one arm; yesterday my father and I took my brother and his wife from Texas on an ancestral graveyard tour. Sounds like fun! Well it was! Expand your horizons! Hahaha! We stopped at a total of four cemeteries and Graceland Cemetery on Delaware Avenue in Albany was one stop. Graceland is the burial spot for a number of ancestors and other relatives of mine. However we stopped there to check out the Spanish-American War veteran's plot.

My father, a veteran himself, has turned the Spanish War Vet's final resting spot into a project for himself. On his own time and with his own dime he cleaned all of the marble grave stones himself. I believe there are approximately 96 grave stones. Many of these stones are crooked due to the passage of time and the frost uplifting the stones. But the stones are now bright white like you would see at any of the veteran's National Cemeteries.

On  Veteran's Day, Dad stopped by Graceland Cemetery and was disgusted by the way that the flag was flying. It was hanging on by one grommet and appeared to be torn. We took the flag down to inspect it. Fortunately a hook which holds the flag to the hoisting rope was broken. We made a quick repair to the hook (which will need to be replaced) and sent the flag back into the air.

Unknowing to me, my sister-in-law, Ashley, was taking photos and also a video of the action. A short video on this was just made and is below. The aggravating part of this venture was the fact that Dad called the organization that is supposed to maintain the plot and mentioned to them the condition of the flag. Well, ten days passed and the flag was still in the same condition. Sometimes if the right thing needs to be done, you just do it yourself. We felt good afterward!


25 October 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 2; George Washington White

The ancestor biography for week 2 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is about one of my great grandfathers, George Washington White.

George Washington White

George Washington White was born on 22 February 1871 at 116 Spring Street, Albany, New York. He was a son of Charles William White (1835-1917) and Mary A. Wilson (1838-1908) both of whom were Irish immigrants.  Charles and Mary were married in Albany on 23 September 1861.  They had many children; all born in Albany.

  • Mary A. (1862-1918)
  • Charles William (1863-1937)
  • James Lincoln (1864-1885)
  • Robert (1866-1908)
  • Joseph (1868-1954)
  • Margaret Agnes (1869-1939)
  • Emma (1873-1874)
  • Christopher (1875-1877)
  • Bella (1877-1877)
  • John Bridgeford (1880-1903)
George first appeared in the Albany City Directory in 1893 through 1895 as a moulder.  In 1898 as an iceman.  From 1900 to 1904 he was working as a fireman for both the New York Central Railroad and the Hudson River Railroad.  In 1905 until his death he was a locomotive engineer for the New York Central Railroad. George's older brother Charles William White, Jr. was also an engineer with the NYCRR.

George W. White 3rd from left

George married Clara Boyd Hitchcock (1882-1966) in Albany on 20 July 1904.  They had the following children;
  • Margaret Agnes (1905-1984)
  • Clara Edna (1906-1978)
  • Mary Wilson (1908-1973)
  • George Edward Kirk (1910-1982)
  • Marie Mulder (1912-1976)


George and Clara's children in 1911.  Left to right Mary, George, Margaret, and Clara.

On 10 June 1935 George Washington White passed away at age 64 and was buried in Graceland Cemetery on Delaware Avenue at the city limits.  Below is a photo of his memoriam medals from the railroad  union local that he was a member of.

Brotherhood of Locomotive Fireman & Enginemen


George Washington White gravestone