Montgomery Cemetery

I grew up in a little town in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Our county seat was less than a half hour drive from home in Norristown. Norristown is "famous" within the Civil War community for being the home of a few Civil War generals. Well one day, after searching for hours, I stumbled across the final home of these same generals.

Montgomery Cemetery sits off Main Street in West Norriton on a little road called Hartranft Ave (hmmmm...wonder where they got that name from?????). The road has row homes on either side and as you approach the cemetery, you get the feel that this isn't really a good neighborhood. Whether the neighborhood is good or not, I don't know, but you do get that feeling that you should be hiding your valuables. At the very end of the street is a big metal archway that leads into Montgomery Cemetery.

The very first time I went there, the cemetery scared me. Not that I expected to find ghosts or anything, but most of the headstones were turned over, the grass hadn't been cut and was close to waist high, and not a soul in site. I went in and started looking around. I had a map of the cemetery and it described where some of these Civil War generals were buried. I had a difficult time finding any of them.

The first one that I found was my hero, General Winfield Scott Hancock. The mausoleum was off to the left at the base of a small hill. From the rest of the cemetery, you could not see this mausoleum as it was built into the hill and is facing away from the cemetery. It took me about a hour to locate it, but when I did, I was extremely glad. There is a story as to why Gen. Hancock is buried where he is and here is what I know. The General's daughter, Ada Elizabeth (I really like that name), got sick and died when she was 18 years old. Before she died, she told her father that she didn't want to be buried in the ground....something about being buried in the ground scared her. Ada and her father were very close (daddy's little girl) and he wanted to grant her final wish. At the time of her death, General Hancock was having some financial difficulties (he was taking care of his alcoholic twin brother, Hilary) and didn't have the money to buy or build a mausoleum, so he had her placed in an underground mausoleum. This was only to be temporary. In the meantime, General Hancock was able to raise enough money (through borrowing) to build this mausoleum. He then removed his daughter from the other grave and put her in this one. When General Hancock died in 1886, his wife knew that he really wanted to be buried in the mausoleum with his daughter, and thus he was placed. The General and Mrs. Hancock's son Russell had died prior to General Hancock and was buried where he was living, in St. Louis, MO. Mrs. Hancock was from St. Louis. When she died, she was buried with her son in St. Louis at the family cemetery. And General Hancock was buried in Montgomery Cemetery with his daughter, Ada. John Hancock (no, not THAT John Hancock), the Generals younger brother, wanted to have him removed and placed in Arlington National Cemetery, because as a war hero, that's where he belonged, but Almira (the Generals wife) insisted that this is where he really wanted to be buried. General Hancock grew up in Norristown, although he was born in Montgomery Square, PA. As a matter of fact, the home in which he grew up was about 100 yards away from the Cemetery, although it has been torn down. And the reason the mausoleum is facing AWAY from the rest of the Cemetery: so he can face his beloved Norristown.

I also found the grave of Samuel K. Zook. General Zook was killed in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg. He grew up on the actual fields of Valley Forge, just outside of Norristown. When he was killed at Gettysburg, he was brought back to Norristown to be buried. He is buried right next to his father.

John F. Hartranft, another Civil War general, is buried in his family plot at this cemetery. Gen. Hartranft also served as governor of Pennsylvania. He is buried in a large plot that is surrounded by a cement wall and is in the very back corner of the cemetery facing the Schuylkill River. There are about 15 or more people buried in this plot. There is a large obelisk in the middle of the plot with the Generals face and name on it, but the headstone is placed next to the larger monument. John F. Hartranft was not at Gettysburg as the previous two were.

There are also two other generals buried here: Adam Slemmer and another one that I neither remember the name of nor have I found his grave. These both were lesser generals in the Civil War.

Off to the right, when you enter and about halfway down to the end, is a large area of nothing but Civil War burials. This is a plot of about an acre just full of Civil War soldiers. I think that next to visiting General Hancock, this is my favorite spot in the entire cemetery. There are a couple of hundred men buried here. Its amazing to stop and look at their names.

This cemetery is large. I think I read that it is 70+ acres. I've spent hours just wandering around looking at names and dates....wondering who these people were and what is their story? The cemetery is owned by the Historic Society of Montgomery County but the majority of the work the has been done over the years, has been done by The W. S. Hancock Society: a wonderful group who has spent years trying to promote the name of General Hancock. Today when you go there, the headstones are uprighted (not all, but quite a few are back where they should be), the grass gets mowed a few times a year, and there are people visiting.

If you are ever in the area, this cemetery is worth an afternoon of exploring!