Author: Father Pitt

  • Schoenberger Monument, Allegheny Cemetery

    The top has broken off this ornate Gothic monument, and the fallen cap is just leaning against the base right now. The statue inside is also headless. John and Margaret Schoenberger were neighbors of the Allegheny Cemetery, and after Margaret died John sold their estate to become part of the cemetery grounds. This monument probably dates from Margaret’s death in 1876.

  • Alfred E. Hunt Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    Alfred E. Hunt was a pioneer in the aluminum business; he founded the company that became Alcoa and made aluminum a useful commodity rather than a laboratory curiosity. Oddly, although Hunt died in 1899, his mausoleum was not built until 1930. Father Pitt does not know the reason for the long delay. Inside this simple Ionic structure is a beautiful patterned stained-glass window.

    The pictures in this article are released under the Creative Commons CC0 Universal Public Domain Declaration, so no permission is needed to use them for any purpose.

  • Armstrong Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    A curious combination of the Egyptian and the Romanesque. The doorway and sloping sides suggest the Egyptian style; the botanical ornaments and rusticated stone suggest Romanesque. Inside is a stained-glass window with symbols of Christian victory.

  • Rev. Frank Ferenck Stump, Homewood Cemetery

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    Another variation on the popular rustic stump, this one with an open book hanging from a rope for the inscription. The monument tells us that the Rev. Frank Ferenck was a Hungarian Reformed minister; and there is an epitaph in Hungarian, which is a language of which Father Pitt is almost entirely ignorant. Google Translate thinks it means “the beloved Pastor fish temples.” 

  • Moore Monument, Homewood Cemetery

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    A rustic boulder with an angel in high relief presides over matching rustic headstones. It probably dates from about 1899.