Due to the popularity of last year’s walking tour, the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx announced it will host Lost at Sea II, offering visitors a new, fascinating look at maritime disaster victims buried at Woodlawn. Leading the tour, which takes place Sunday, July 26, will be Dr. J. Joseph Edgette, Titanic scholar and professor emeritus at Widener University. According to Dr. Edgette, this summer’s Lost at Sea will be the most intimate look yet at the tragic events.
“This year, we’ll be exploring one of the oldest parts of Woodlawn, which allows us to include stories and memorials we have not visited on previous maritime disaster tours,” said Dr. Edgette.
The victims of several tragic voyages – including the RMS Titanic (April 15, 1912), the RMS Lusitania (May 7th 1915), SS General Slocum (June 15, 1904), the SS Morro Castle (September 8, 1934) and the USS Jeanette (June 13, 1881) – will be featured in the tour. Dr. Edgette will recount fascinating stories, including that of Colonel Archibald Gracie IV, one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster, whose gravestone inscription honors him as a “Hero of the S.S. Titanic.” He’ll also feature U.S. Naval officer George Washington DeLong striking memorial, which depicts an arctic explorer searching for his way home.
Dr. Edgette, a nationally known leader in the field of cemetery studies, is the Chairman of the Cemeteries and Gravemarkers Area of the American Culture Association. He has spent over a decade documenting the memorials to those lost on the Titanic and has written numerous papers on the artists, architects and craftsmen responsible for some of America’s most interesting monuments. He currently serves on the Board of the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia and is Vice President of the Friends of the Woodlawn Cemetery.
Lost at Sea II begins at 2:00 p.m. Tour participants should assemble at the cemetery’s Webster Avenue office, where Dr. Edgette will give a talk and share interesting historical images prior to beginning the tour.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. To make reservations or for additional information please contact the Friends of the Woodlawn Cemetery at (718) 920-1470 or friends@thewoodlawncemetery.org, or visit www.thewoodlawncemetery.org.
The Woodlawn Cemetery is located at Webster Avenue and E. 233rd St. and is easily accessible from Metro North, the Major Deegan, Bronx River Parkway and the IRT #4 Subway.
About The Woodlawn Cemetery
The Woodlawn Cemetery was established in 1863 to provide a more accessible, peaceful burial ground for Manhattan residents. Located just 30 minutes from Manhattan just below Westchester County, the 400-acre cemetery is the final resting place for more than 300,000 historically relevant American figures of various races, cultures and religions, including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Herman Melville, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Celia Cruz and many others. Today, Woodlawn continues to provide a full line of memorial products and services to meet the needs of its diverse New York community, including private and community mausoleums, cremation services and in-ground burial options.
About the Friends of Woodlawn
Established in 1999, the Friends of Woodlawn is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting The Woodlawn Cemetery as a historical, educational and cultural resource. New members are always welcome.
