Pan-American Exposition - LINKS ................Pan Am's Who's Who .................. Forest Lawn Cemetery - LINKS
Leaders of the Pan-American Exposition
Buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York
Reprinted from Spring 2001 "The Gate,"
published by Forest Lawn Cemetery
On this page:
Gravestones in Forest Lawn Cemetery read like a Who's Who of the Pan-American Exposition. Leaders of the Buffalo community served in many capacities to ensure the success of the only world's fair staged in Buffalo. All but two of the 25 officers who served on the Pan-American Exposition Board of Directors occupy gravesites in Forest Lawn.
And 22 members of the Board of Women Managers of the fair are also buried in Forest Lawn. These women played a major role in engaging exhibitors and promoting attendance. They were influential in persuading eight million people to attend the fair
Members of these two Pan-Am officer groups are listed below along with the locations of their gravesides in Forest Lawn, in case you'd like lo pay a visit.
Frank Burkett Baird
(b.1852 d.11/15/1939), Section 31, Lot 19,
was an iron-manufacturing tycoon, a great civic leader, and a trustee of Forest Lawn. He organized Tonawanda Iron & Steel Co, in 1899. Baird's singular accomplishment, however, was as "Father of the Peace Bridge." That bridge, which opened the way for vehicular traffic between U.S. the and Canada, was dedicated on August 7, 1927
George K. Birge
(b.1850 d.2/17/1918), Section 23, Lot 23,
was the nationally known manufacturer of wallpapers, as well as president of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company A classical peristyle in white marble with twelve Doric columns and a sarcophagus resting in the center of the round open platform constitute the supremely elegant Birge Memorial.
George Bleistein
(d.4/21/1918), Section H, Lot 150.
John M. Brinker
(d.6/9/1903), Section 20,1 Lot 176.
William 1. Buchanan
(d.10/16/]909), Section H, Lot 29,
was Director General of the fair.
Conrad Diehl
(b 1843 d.2/20/1918), Section 8, Lot 268,
was mayor of Buffalo at the time of the Pan-American Exposition. In 1899, he resurrected the original plans for the world's fair and formally invited President and Mrs. William McKinley to attend. He was standing next to the president when he was shot.
W. Caryl Ely
(d.12/14/1921),.Section H,Lot 140.
Edwin Fleming
(d.8/1:3/1923), Section FF Lot 238, was secretary of the Board of Directors.
Henry Montgomery Gerrans
(b.1853 d 5/13/1939),
cremated at Forest Lawn His firm, Gerrans & Association built the town of Cody Wyoming. He was a personal fiend of Buffalo Bill Cody. Later, he was president of the Iroquois Hotel in Buffalo.
Charles W. Goodyear
(b.1846 d.4/15/1911), Section H, Lot 168,
was a prominent Buffalo lawyer and a partner with his younger brother, Frank, in the Buffalo and Susquehanna Coal and Coke Company. A close friend of Grover Cleveland, Goodyear and his wife were the first guests of President Cleveland in the White House. A giant block of granite constitutes the Goodyear family monument.
Harry Hamlin
(b 1855 d.6/3/1907), Section One, Lot 49,
was killed in an automobile accident. In 1892, he was made vice-president of operations at Buffalo Grape Sugar Company (later American Glucose). He also bred horses in East Aurora.William Hengerer
(b.1839 d.12/3/19O5), Section 8, Lot 177,
was president of Wm. Hengerer & Company.William H. Hotchkiss
(b.1864 d. l 1/30/19l8), Section H, Lot 154,
was a prominent Buffalo lawyer, who drafted a reform of primary election law and the first motor vehicle laws. He became president of the Automobile Club of Buffalo, the New York State Automobile Association, and the American Automobile Association.John Hughes
(d.6/24/1914), Section 16, Lot 157.Charles R. Huntley
(d.9/17/1926), Section 26, Lot 315,
was president of Buffalo General Electric. He set up the wiring and an electric fan at the John G. Milburn residence for President McKinley's comfort after the shooting.Joseph T. Jones
(d 12/6/1916), Section 3, Lot 32.
Henry J. Pierce
Section 10, Lot 736.
John Newton Scatcherd
(d.9/23/]917), Section 12, Lot 73,
was a prominent Buffalo businessman and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Pan American Exposition. He was the first owner of the Ellicott Square Building.
Robert E. Schelling
(d.12/17/1916), Section 8, Lot 121,
was a highly successful Buffalo corporate attorney.
Carlton Sprague
(d.11/21/l916), Section X, Lot 8.
George Urban,Jr.
(b.1850 d.2/23/1928), Section 9, Lot 125,
was a pioneer the development of electric light and power. He organized and led early area electric light companies that later became Niagara Electric Corporation.
George L. Williams
(d.3/6/1919), Section 26, Lot 398,
was a Buffalo banker who became treasurer of the Pan-American Exposition. He hired the famous New York City architect, Stanford White, to design his house on Delaware Avenue at North Street The opulent house is as palatial as it gets in Buffalo. The grandest party ever conceived for this ultimate of party mansions was planned by George and Annie Williams and scheduled for the evening of September 1901. The huge guest list included the social and commercial elite of Buffalo a dignitaries from New York State and Washington, D.C. The honored guest was to be President William McKinley The giant crystal chandelier in the entrance hall was lowered from the attic and fitted with new candles ready to illuminate the illustrious guests. Dramatic flower bouquets filled the parlors and dining rooms. Cases of spirits and wines awaited the crowd, and the kitchen bust with elaborate and sumptuous food preparation. At 4:00 p.m., the president was shot in the Temple of Music at the fair, and just two hours before the guests w scheduled to arrive, the grandest party ever planned for 672 Delaware Avenue had to be canceled.
The Board of Women ManagersKate Louise Hamlin
(d.9/13/1932), Section One, Lot 111-114,
was the president of the Board of Women Managers for the Pan-American Exposition.
Wife of William Hamlin and the daughter of George B. & Sarah Gilligan Gates.
Eleanor Silliman Rogers
(d.7/11/] 930), Section One, Lot 71,
was the vice-president of the Board of Women Managers for the Pan-American Exposition. She was the wife of industrialist William Rogers.
Marian deForest
(d 2/17/1935), Section One, Lot 6,
was secretary of the Board of Women Managers for the Pan-American Exposition.
Harriet Buell Mynter
(d.5/3/1923), Section 9, Lot 227,
was the wife of Dr. Herman Mynter, who was the first doctor on the scene after President McKinley was shot and was one of the attending doctors at the president's surgery.
Evelyn Rumsey Cary
(b.1855 d.4/20/1924), Section X, Lot 1,
was the artist who designed the Art Nouveau Pan-Am poster depicting an Indian princess at Niagara Falls (the original Maid of the Mist). She was the aunt of sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey, and the wife of of Dr. Charles Cary.
Elizabeth McGowan
(d.7/21/1911), Section 14, Lot 422.
Harriet Taggart Mack
(d.8/2/1954), Section 10 1/2, Lot 481.
Ida C. Bender
(d 6/11/1916), Section O, Lot 55.
Malima Waterman
(d.7/23/1911), Section FF, Lot 3.
Emilie Davis Root
(d.9/7/1916), Section One, Lot 15.
Louise McKenna Griffin
(d 5/28/1921), Section 26, Lot 6.
Susan Fuller Albright
(b.1897 d.6/19/1928), Section H, Lot 165 (photo),
was the wife of John J. Albright, who established the Albright Art Gallery (now the Albright Knox Art Gallery).
Harriet Austin Townsend
(b.1839 d.12/29/1916), Section P, Lot 8-11,
was a leading force for women's rights. She organized and became president of Buffalo Women's Education and Industrial Union. Her organization caused addition of kindergartens, domestic science classes, and gym dress reform Buffalo schools.
Frances Stanton
(d.2/1/1926), Section 10, Lot 869
Minnie LeRoy Becker
(d.8/18/1925), Section 40, Lot 1006.
Minnie Levyn Desbecker
(d 10/5/1903), Section FF, Lot 24.
Carrie Van Ness Moot
(d.10/20/1946), Section FF, Lot 180.
Katherine Lorenz Pratt Horton
(d.8/27/1931), Section X, Lot 23.
Minnie Hauenstein
(d.3/20/1929), Section F, Lot 25-26.
Delia Austin Avery (d.11/23/1922), Section One, Lot 44.
Martha Guthrie Gray (d.8/13/1931), Section Q, Lot 7.
Kate C. Tremaine Bush (d.12/12/1934), Section F, Lot 63.
