The base is in fine shape, but the marble mourner is woefully eroded. It is a peculiar property of stone mourners, by the way, that, no matter how symmetrically classical the base of the monument may be, they always sit or stand on piles of rustic stone.
Father Pitt could not find a Michaelofski headstone in this plot, or any other inscription on the monument. It seems almost as if the plot was purchased, and this expensive monument erected, and then no one was ever buried here. The cemetery records compiled by Mr. Norman J. Meinert list a John Michaelofski as having died in 1918, but the date comes from “death notices,” not a stone in the cemetery. A kind correspondent has pointed out that an Anna Michaelofski is recorded in county death certificates as having died in 1915; she was also buried in this cemetery.
3 responses to “Michaelofski Monument, Chartiers Cemetery”
A search of PA death certificates fron 1906-1944 on Ancestry.com shows one Michaelofski who died in the Pittsburgh area. Anna Michaelofski died in 1915 at the age if 54 and was buried in Chartiers Cemetery.
Thanks very much; the article is revised to include that information. The mystery is just a little deeper now. We still wonder why no headstone or inscription, and why doesn’t your search turn up the John Michaelofski said in the cemetery records to have died at 47 in 1918? Did he die elsewhere—in World War I, perhaps? If you find any more information, please let us know. At present all we can say with certainty about any Michaelofskis buried here is that they had good taste in sculpture, though the choice of materials was regrettable.
I’m a big fan of this site, especially since you also show an interest in the people as well as the headstones! An additional search shows that John Michaelofski did die in Pittsburgh. His name is spelled Michaelofsky on his death certificate, and he died in 1918 at the age of 47 of pulmonary tuberculosis and was buried in Chartiers Cemetery. I found a few others with a similar name in Chartiers Cemetery: Edward Michalowski (d. 1920), Wilhemina Michaelofsky (d. 1929), and George Michaelofsky (d. 1936).