
Past and Current
Projects

Harry T. Burleigh Family Monument
Completed in 2023
Harry Thacker Burleigh (December 2, 1866 – September 12, 1949) an Erie native, was an American classical composer, arranger, and professional baritone singer with a voice ranging between the bass and tenor voice-types. He was the first African American composer who was instrumental in capturing and developing spirituals as a unique early American style of music. Burleigh’s grandfather, Hamilton Waters, taught Harry and his brother Reginald traditional spirituals and slave songs. He began his singing career with his family quartet performing with Erie’s best vocalists at church gatherings, community celebrations, and civic events before leaving Erie in 1892.
At the age of 26 he was accepted to the prestigious National Conservatory of Music in New York where he received a scholarship. While cleaning the Conservatory halls he would sing and as a result drew the attention of the Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak. Burleigh’s music influenced Dvorak and other composers. For 52 years he was a soloist for St. George’s Episcopal Church in New York City, until his retirement in 1946. Ten of his relatives from the Burleigh, Waters, and Elmendorf families are buried at the Erie Cemetery in unmarked graves. It is time to recognize and honor Harry’s family.
To properly do so, in 2023 a granite monument was produced and centrally located on the lot in section 37. The names & dates of Burleigh’s family members are listed on both sides of the new monument. On August 5, 2023 several of Mr. Burleigh’s relatives joined us at the Erie Cemetery to honor this special man and his family.





The Burleigh Monument Dedication
War of 1812 Monument in Erie Cemetery
Completed in 2013
The ECA Corporators funded the placement of the War of 1812 Memorial in the Erie Cemetery, on a lot where soldiers and sailors had been reinterred with great ceremony in 1859.
Their graves were never marked and had been mostly forgotten. The War of 1812 played a critical part in Erie’s growth and development and is an important period of local history. The improvement of this site helps to preserve and better present this history for future generations.





Marker Cleaning and Restoration
Ongoing
The Foundation provided the resources to purchase D-2, a biological cleaner that removes molds, mildew, and lichens from markers. To date, Erie Cemetery Association volunteers have cleaned over 100 markers and monuments in Section A and Section G. In addition, Erie Cemetery Association Foundation Board members have volunteered to systematically walk through each section of the Erie Cemetery to document what markers and monuments are in need of repair. The Foundation has also purchased a tripod hoist lift to enable Erie Cemetery Association grounds crew to reset markers. Over 20 gravesites have been reset to date.

Erie Cemetery Association Arboretum
Completed and Ongoing
In 2024, the Erie Cemetery Association properties were collectively designated a Level I Arboretum by ArbNet. ArbNet and arbnet.org were launched in 2011 by the Morton Arboretum to establish an interactive community of arboreta designed to support the common purposes and interests of tree-focused public gardens. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program establishes specific standards of professional practice with four levels of accreditation. Since its inception, ArbNet has accredited over 700 arboreta, across 40 countries. Well known cemeteries that are ArbNet accredited include the Arlington National Cemetery (Level III) and the Mount Auburn Cemetery (Level III).
The criteria for Level I accreditation requires over twenty-five labeled specimen trees or woody plants, designated staff support, public education activities, parent organization board support, and an arboretum plan. The geo-located specimens designated for accreditation for the Erie Cemetery Arboretum are located at the Erie Cemetery, Laurel Hill, and Winter Green Gorge properties. The number of specimens well exceeds Level I requirements. The Erie Cemetery Association arboretum plan and support is under the supervision of the Erie Cemetery Association Foundation. The Erie Cemetery arboretum plan seeks eventual accreditation to at least Level II.



Future Projects

Pierre Simon Vincent Hamot Fence Repair
Born in Paris, this French immigrant and skilled businessman began in the salt trade and soon became one of Erie’s most successful merchants. One of Erie’s first philanthropists, he donated the land overlooking the bay at State and 2nd streets for Hamot Hospital, now UPMC Hamot.
The Hamot family plot at the Erie Cemetery was once enclosed with a wrought iron fence, which was typical of the Victorian era. Over the years, parts of the fence were destroyed or damaged. Since a portion of the fence still remains, the Foundation is evaluating how to best preserve the remaining fence and install signage that informs about it.



The Scott Mausoleum
William L. Scott came to Erie at the invitation of prominent Erieite Charles M. Reed. He was involved with coal mining and railroads, earning the names of “Coal King” and “The Railroad King”, served two terms as Mayor of Erie and two terms as a Congressman from the area. The Scott Mausoleum, the grandest memorial in the Erie Cemetery, was erected in 1889. 7 members of the Scott family and their descendants are interred inside it. The beautiful structure was made of granite and includes stained-glass windows and an interior altar. Over time, the condition of the mausoleum has deteriorated and a significant investment is now needed to preserve it.
Quotes have been obtained to stop significant water intrusion to the interior of the structure. All exterior mortar joints need to be repointed and tuckpointed. Cost estimates range from $40,000 to $66,000 for the exterior, $45,000 to repair the stained-glass windows and over $25,000 to address the interior. Although the Scott family had left funds for the maintenance of the structure, those funds have been exhausted. Since the restoration of the Scott Mausoleum is outside of normal operating expenses for the Erie Cemetery Association, the Foundation would need to raise the necessary funds.






Captain Daniel S. Dexter and Matthew Griswold Headstones
Evaluating options for the repair of the Captain Daniel Dexter and Matthew Griswold headstones.
Master Commandant Daniel Singer Dexter was born in Rhode Island in about 1793. He joined the U.S. Navy at about 7 years of age in 1800, and sailed as a midshipman with the CONSTITUTION and “Old Ironsides”. At about age 10 he sailed with the fleet to the Mediterranean Sea in the efforts to curb the Tripoli pirates. During the War of 1812, he was stationed in New Orleans, commanding several vessels there—and was frustrated by the necessity to relaunch the boats from completely dry land following hurricanes! In 1814 he was assigned to the Erie Naval Station, and in Nov. 1815 was placed in command of the station and for a time, including the fighting brigs NIAGARA and LAWRENCE. He served here in Erie as Master Commandant until his death by drowning on October 10, 1818. He was reinterred here after the cemetery opened in 1851. Daniel S. Dexter was a serviceman typical of his time: he joined the Navy at an age that we find unbelievable, with the plan to make the Navy his life. Since his stone is placed prominently at the center circle of the cemetery, the decision was made to add this to our list of restoration projects, in part since it highlights the difference in how children were raised two hundred
years ago and the present day.
Matthew Griswold was born in Lyme, Connecticut and moved to Erie in the 1860s. He was the co-founder of Griswold Manufacturing with his cousins J. C. and Samuel Selden. In the 1870s the company began to manufacture skillets, pots, and other cast-iron products for which it became well known. Griswold Plaza in Erie was named in honor of his efforts to develop downtown Erie with a post office and a railway station. Griswold also served two non-consecutive terms in the U. S. Congress. His son, Matthew Griswold Jr. also served as president of Griswold Manufacturing and through his friendship with Francis Pratt, a classmate at Yale, was instrumental in bringing General Electric to Erie according The Journal of Erie Studies published by the Erie County Historical Society, now the Hagen History Center.
Captian Daniel S. Dexter


Matthew Griswold
