Woodmere is one of the most historic cemeteries in the Detroit area. Before becoming the
automobile capital of the world, Michigan became known for tobacco, lumber, and other industries.
Many who helped develop these Michigan businesses and put Detroit on the map are interred at
Woodmere. In 1896, many of the Civil War soldiers buried at Fort Wayne 's cemetery were
disinterred and reburied at Woodmere in the U.S. Army section. However, there are many Civil War
soldiers whose remains have been buried throughout the cemetery. This list is continually updated
when more names of those who played a significant part in the making of Detroit are revealed.
MICHIGAN NOTABLES AND CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS BURIED AT WOODMERE CEMETERY
Section A1
Finney, Seymour (1813-1899)
alderman; built barn used in Underground Railroad (Lot 747)
Hess, Julius (1841-1899)
enlisted as lieutenant in 1 New York Engineers in Civil War; discharged as artificer; prominent
Detroit architect; erected Michigan building in Philadelphia for centennial exposition (Lot 750)
Section A3
Burton, Charles F. (1849-1911)
patent lawyer; brother of Clarence M. Burton (Lot 62)
Smith, Sanford A. (1841-1894)
Civil War soldier, Company E, 3rd Michigan Cavalry; Battery C, 1st Michigan Light Artillery (Lot 391)
Section A4
Henkel, Peter (1824-1904)
fire commissioner; alderman; prominent merchant; original stockholder of Woodmere Cemetery
(mausoleum)
Tarbell, George (1823-1882)
original stockholder of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 445)
Section A5
Brush, Henry (1849-1879)
Detroit architect (Lot 1007)
Duvall, William O. (?-1882)
abolitionist (Lot 1154)
Hudson, Elon W. (1817-1901)
prominent Detroit vessel owner; donated land on West Fort Street for Grace Episcopal Church;
president and stockholder of Woodmere Cemetery Association (Lot 1156)
Matthaei, Frederick (1892-1973)
founded American Metal Products; formed Detroit Olympic Committee; helped build Washtenaw
County Humane Society; founded Matthaei Botanical Gardens; trustee of Evangelical Home for Children
and Aged (Lot 1197)
Neuhauser, Anthony (1856-1917)
well-known in business and political circles; involved in wire trade (Lot 724)
Richardson, David M. (1826-1889)
state senator; match manufacturer merged with Diamond Match Company; stockholder and vice
president of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 919)
Scripps, James E. (1835-1906)
state senator; founder of Detroit Evening News; vice president of Detroit art museum; park
commission; art commission (mausoleum)
Swain, Isaac (1807-1880)
lumber and flour baron; president and stockholder of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 1184)
Section B
Bacon, Irving Reuben ( ?-1962)
Detroit newspaper cartoonist and private artist for Henry Ford; founder of Detroit’s Adcraft Club (Lot
9)
Bennett, Amy Smith (1866-1946)
founder of Baldwin Mission which became St. Mark’s Methodist Church; wife of John Bennett (Lot
280)
Bennett, John (?-1910)
physician; Detroit school inspector; Detroit coroner (Lot 280)
Bristol, Jacob (1833-1915)
enlisted as 2nd lieutenant, 5th Cavalry in Civil War; promoted to 1st Lieutenant and then to brevet
captain; department head of Mutual Life Insurance Company (Lot 234)
Candler, Claudius (1845-1910)
president of Calvert Lithographing Company; helped found Grace Protestant Church; president of
Detroit Casket Company (Lot 176)
Dailey, Joseph William (1848-1921)
president of Marine Saving Bank of Detroit; founder of Grand River Street Fairway; built Dailey
building (Lot 211)
Farwell, George (1863-1921)
general manager of Farwell Estates, Ltd.; established first auto showroom in Detroit; built Farwell
building (Lot 248)
Farwell, Jesse H. (1843-1904)
president of Farwell Transportation Corporation; president of Evening Journal Corporation; owner of
Dominion Organ and Piano Corporation, Toronto, Canada; Woodmere Cemetery stockholder (Lot 248)
Hargreaves, George Thomas (?-1942)
assistant managing editor of The Detroit News and Detroit Tribune; business manager of King
Features Syndicate; World War I Navy lieutenant commander (Lot 153)
Jenness, John (?-1906)
state senator (Lot 219)
Kaple, John (1817-1902)
vice president of Michigan Savings Bank; president of Detroit Casket Company; director of Michigan
Mutual Life Insurance Company; postmaster (Lot 176)
Langdon, George C. (1833-1909)
Detroit mayor 1878-1879 (Lot 244)
Mendelssohn, Lydia (1856-1901)
wife of Fisher Body Corporation head, Louis Mendelssohn (mausoleum)
Munger, Louise (?-1923)
Detroit Public School teacher and principal; Munger Elementary School bears her name; no
headstone (Lot 221)
Tireman, Joseph (1784-1882)
owned farmland where street, named after him, was put through (Lot 233)
Towar, Albert (1845-1933)
served in Civil War as assistant paymaster general for Army; retired with rank of colonel (Lot 220)
Towar, George (1835-1913)
served in 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry as assistant surgeon; president of Towar Creamery
Company (Lot 220)
Section D
Bagley, John J. (1832-1881)
tobacco baron; city alderman; Detroit police commissioner; Michigan governor; president of
Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company; president of Detroit Safe Company; vice president of American
National Bank; president of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 149)
Bagley, John N. (1860-1929)
Woodmere Cemetery board of directors; president of John J. Bagley Tobacco Company; son of
John J. Bagley (Lot 149)
Bagley, Paul F. (1869-1931)
president, treasurer, and stockholder of Woodmere Cemetery; president of Bagley Land Company;
son of John J. Bagley (Lot 149)
Brodie, William (1823-1890)
physician; surgeon of 1st Michigan Infantry; nominated brigade surgeon by President Lincoln (Lot
166)
Field, Moses (1828-1889)
U. S. Representative; University of Michigan board of regents; stockholder of and helped found
Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 164)
Griffin, Levi T. (1837-1906)
U. S. Representative; attorney (Lot 186)
Hosmer, George S. (?-1921)
Detroit judge; son-in-law of John J. Bagley (Lot 159)
Kercheval, Benjamin Berry (1793-1855)
alderman; Kercheval street named for him; originally buried at Elmwood Cemetery (Lot 163)
Lathrop, Rufus G. (1872-1937)
attorney; secretary of Street Railway Commission; secretary-treasurer and stockholder of
Woodmere Cemetery Association (Lot 105)
Smith, Martin S. (1834-1899)
founder of jewelry store; director of Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company; partner of Alger,
Smith, and Company; Woodmere Cemetery board of directors; president of American Eagle Tobacco
Company; president of Michigan Consolidated Milk Company; stockholder and treasurer of, and helped
found, Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 187)
Vernor, James (1843-1927)
inventor of Vernor’s Ginger Ale; city alderman; city councilman; Civil War soldier (Lot 146)
Walker, Charles Irish (1814-1895)
University of Michigan professor; attorney; author; judge; secretary and stockholder of Woodmere
Cemetery (Lot 92)
Welbon, Isaac (?-1910)
Civil War soldier, 16th Michigan Infantry (Lot 179)
Section F
Avery, Darius Newell (1846-1899)
vice president of Detroit Belle Isle and Windsor Ferry Company; president of Forest Lawn Cemetery
(Lot 75)
Avery, George (1854-1910)
mayor of Port Huron; president of Detroit Belle Isle and Windsor Ferry Company; president of Forest
Lawn Cemetery Association; president of Detroit House of Correction; stockholder of Woodmere Cemetery
(Lot 75)
Avery, Newell (1817-1877)
lumber baron (Lot 75)
Bishop, Jerome H. (1846-1928)
Wyandotte mayor; superintendent of Wyandotte Public Schools; board of education president (Lot
73)
Bryant, Melvin (1837-1917) and Martha (1839-1911)
parents of Clara Bryant Ford (wife of Henry Ford) (Lot 135)
Ferry, Dexter (1833-1907)
founder of D. M. Ferry and Company; president of First National Bank of Detroit; president of Union
Trust Company; president of American Harrow Company; president of National Pin Company; president of
Standard Accident Insurance Company; president of Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company; helped
found Wayne County Savings Bank; helped found Grace Hospital (Lot 49)
Higgins, Frederick W. (1821-1910)
superintendent of Woodmere Cemetery; president of Woodmere Village; superintendent of
Woodmere school board; helped found and was vice president of American Cemetery Superintendents
Association (Lot 156)
Hoff, Grace Whitney (1862-1938)
president of Detroit YWCA; founded student hostel in Paris; received French Legion of Honor
award; Woodmere Cemetery stockholder (Lot 122)
Jacklin, Major Rufus (1842-1906)
Civil War soldier, Union Army, 16th Michigan Infantry 1861-1865 (Lot 118)
Murphy, Simon (1815-1905)
lumber baron; owned Penobscot building; shareholder of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 48)
Murphy, William H. (1855-1929)
president of Detroit Symphony Society; founded Murphy Power Company; helped found Lincoln
Motor Company; treasurer and vicepresident of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 48)
Newcomb, Jr., Cyrenius A. (1871-1951)
president of Newcomb Endicott and Company; vice president of German American Bank (Lot 52)
Newcomb, Sr., Cyrenius A. (1837-1915)
founder of Newcomb Endicott Company; vice president of Anderson Electric Car Company (Lot 52)
Pridgeon, Jr., John (1852-1929)
Detroit mayor 1889-1890; Woodmere Cemetery stockholder (Lot 72)
Ten Eyck, Conrad (1782-1847)
state legislature; Michigan U. S. marshal; county treasurer; county treasurer; Dearborn Township
supervisor (Lot 99)
Whitney, David (1830-1900)
lumber baron; owned steam barge fleet; home is now The Whitney restaurant; stockholder and on
board of directors of Woodmere Cemetery (mausoleum)
Winters, Matthew (1864-1917)
secretary and superintendent of Woodmere Cemetery (Lot 156)
Section G
Greusel, Isaac (?-1939)
Civil War sergeant, Company E and Company D (Lot 62)
Greusel, Sr., John (1809-1886)
Springwells Township clerk; Michigan representative senator (Lot 61)
Greusel, Nicholas ( ?-1940)
Civil War colonel (Lot 61-62)
Leland, Henry M. (1843-1932)
invented electric barber hair clippers; founder of Cadillac Motor Car Company; founder of Lincoln
Motor Company (Lot 119)
Mackenzie, David (1860-1926)
principal of Detroit Central High School; dean of City of Detroit College; founder of Detroit Junior
College (Lot 17)
Phelps, William (1816-1879)
member of state legislature; appointed paymaster in the army by President Lincoln with rank of
major; promoted to lieutenant colonel by President Johnson; appointed as aid-de-camp on staff with rank of
colonel by Governor Crapo; Detroit alderman; originally buried at Elmwood Cemetery (Lot 41)
Section H
Bigelow, Albert (1840-1913)
1st sergeant in Civil War; lumber dealer (Lot 64)
Fletcher, Levi (?-1911)
Detroit Fire Department captain who died in the line of duty attending to a fire of the Griswold Motor
and Body Company (Lot 5)
Goldsmith, Oliver (1827-1911)
Detroit cigar manufacturer; director of the Detroit and Cleveland Navigating Company, the Detroit
Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills; vice president of
Woodmere Cemetery Association (Lot 107)
Haberkorn, Christian H. (1856-1915)
founded Haberkorn Investment Company; treasurer of Grosse Pointe Park Corporation (Lot 25-26)
Malcolmson, Alexander Y. (1865-1923)
vice president and treasurer of Ford Motor Company; president of Harian Gas and Coal Company;
founder of Malcolmson Coal Company; founder of United Fuel and Supply Company (Lot 66)
Norris, Philetus W. (1821-1885)
founded Norris (now Hamtramck), Michigan; member of Ohio legislature; superintendent of
Yellowstone National Park (Lot 74)
Raymond, Henry (?-1904)
Civil War soldier; commissioned officer; 23rd Michigan Infantry, Bay City, 2nd lieutenant (Lot 69)
Section I
Conner, Horace (1836-1903)
Civil War soldier (Lot 119)
Hunt, Lynn Bogue (1877-1960)
artist for Field and Stream and National Wildlife Federation (Lot 223)
Section J
Osmun (Osman), Gilbert (1845-1930)
Secretary of State; state editor of Detroit News; given honorary title of major by General Russell
Alger, governor of Michigan, when acting as his private secretary; enlisted as drummer boy in 69th New
York Infantry; commander of Detroit Post of G. A. R. (Lot 23)
Section L
Fox, Charles (1842-1903)
enlisted as 1st lieutenant in 10th Regiment New York in Civil War; promoted to major (Lot 56)
Griesinger, Louis (?-1902)
established Windsor’s British American Brewery closed in 1969 (Lot 118)
Section M
Borgman, Martin (?-1913)
Civil War veteran, 16th Michigan Infantry (Lot 49)
Hughes, William F. (?-1901)
Civil War soldier, Co. C, 24th Michigan Infantry (Lot 105)
Thon, John F. W. (1823-1875)
Wayne County treasurer; founder of Thon Funeral Home, Wyandotte (Lot 151)
Section N
Liggett, Ella M. (1849-1921)
headmistress of Liggett School (Lot 261-271)
Liggett, James D. (1821-1897)
founder of Liggett School; editor; lawyer; minister (Lot 261-271)
Liggett, Jeanette M. (1857-1948)
headmistress of Liggett School (Lot 261-271)
Shaw, Virginia (1865-1949)
active prohibitionist; leader in Detroit civic and women’s groups (Lot 209)
Wilkes, Gilbert (?-1901)
commander of Michigan Naval Reserve in Spanish-American War; president of Gilbert Wilkes and
Company (Lot 203)
Section NF
Barlow, Adolph (1845-1934)
5th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in Civil War; charter member of Temple Beth El (Lot 143)
Butzel, Fred (1877-1948)
president of Ford Republic for Boys; president of Parkside Hospital; vice president of Graduate
School of Jewish Social Work (Lot 119)
Butzel, Henry M. (1871-1963)
served on Michigan Supreme Court; founder of Legal Aid Bureau; president of Detroit Bar
Association; secretary of Truscon Steel Company (Lot 119)
Heineman, David E. (1865-1935)
city controller; president of Heineman Realty Company; state legislator; Detroit common council
(mausoleum)
Himelhoch, Israel (1886-1973)
president of Himelhoch Brothers and Company; helped found Better Business Bureau; president of
Temple Beth El; trustee of Detroit Symphony Orchestra (Lot 76)
Kahn, Moritz (1879-1939)
vice president of Kahn Brothers architectural firm; brother of Albert Kahn (Lot 130)
Lambert, Benjamin (1862-1926)
chemist; helped incorporate Michigan Cremation Association; director of Michigan Pharmaceutical
Society (Lot 31)
Rothschild, Sigmund (1837-1907)
tobacco baron (mausoleum)
Siegel, Benjamin (1860-1936)
founder of B. Siegel and Company (mausoleum)
Siegel, Jacob (1841-1924)
founder of American Lady Corset Company (mausoleum)
Strasburger, Louis (?-1900)
enlisted in Confederate Army when 13 years old; member of Maryland militia; member of Hebrew
Relief Society (Lot 21)
Weiss, Joseph M. (1856-1937)
Chippewa County prosecutor; circuit court commissioner; state senator; formed group becoming
Detroit’s first professional baseball team, Cass Base Ball club; credited for being first to throw curve ball;
attorney; state senator; Michigan State House of Representatives; president of Detroit Amateur Baseball
Association; vice president of Detroit Amateur Commission; formed Michigan Naval Reserve (Lot 18)
Wurzburger, Alexander (1861-1939)
studied with Paderewski and Gabrilowitsch; played with New York Philharmonic Orchestra and
Minneapolis Symphony (Lot 65)
Section O
Dibble, Fred B. (1875-1937)
Hamtramck Village police chief and city council member (Lot 42)
Section Allendale
Buick, David D. (1854-1929)
invented bathtub enameling; founder Buick Car Company (Lot 631)
Taggart, Charles (1873-1948)
6th U. S. Cavalry, Troop I soldier; Spanish-American War soldier (Lot 834-835)
Section Beth El
Applebaum, Issac (1854-1928)
president of Detroit Car Building and Equipment Company; president of Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw
railroad; secretary-treasurer of Toledo-Detroit Railway Company; realtor (Lot 95)
Franklin, Leo M. (1870-1948)
Temple Beth El; director of World Union of Progressive Judaism; president of Detroit Public Library
Commission; helped found Detroit Round Table of Catholics, Jews, and Christians (Lot 193)
Himelhoch, Rose Phillips (1885-1973)
second wife of Israel Himelhoch, educator (Lot99)
Rosenberger, Oscar (1874-1918)
president San Telmo Cigar Company; trustee of Temple Beth El (mausoleum)
Section Ferndale
Ford Hunger March victims: Joseph York, Joseph Bussell, Kalman Leny, Joseph
DeBascio
killed March 7, 1932; historical marker located on River Rouge bridge (Lot 18)
Slovik, Private Eddie D. (1920-1945)
only World War II U. S. soldier executed for desertion (Lot 22)
Section G. A. R. (Grand Army Republic)
Bissell, George W. (?-1905)
Woodmere stockholder
Section Greenlawn
Collins, Ammi (?-1922)
Civil War soldier, Company C, 24th Michigan Infantry (Lot 132)
Section Hillcrest
King, Joseph Michael (1924-1944)
World War II Air Force Staff Sergeant; plane crashed in New Guinea; remains not found until 2001;
burial at Woodmere Cemetery on April 13, 2007 (Section 828)
Bella, Ziggy (Julius Margitza) (?-1989)
Hungarian violinist (Lot 282)
Section Indian Hill
Bennett, Charles (1854-1927)
played for the Milwaukee Grays, Worcester Ruby Legs, Detroit Wolverines, and Boston Beaneaters;
invented first chest protector; Bennett Stadium named for him (Lot 286)
Egan, Aloysuis (Wish) (1882-1951)
played for Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers; Detroit Tiger’s scout (Lot 321)
Section Lake View
Krapp, Eugene (1887-1923)
known as 'Rubber' Krapp; pitcher for Cleveland Indians starting in 1907; Buffalo Buffeds/Blues 1911-
1915 pitcher; part-owner of Krapp Brothers Auto Sales Company (Lot 56)
Schemanske, Frederick (1903-1960)
played for Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers baseball teams (Lot 542)
Section North Lake
Carhartt, Hamilton (1857-1937)
founder of Hamilton Carhartt Manufacturer, Inc.; vice president of Art Commission (mausoleum)
Scotten, Daniel (1819-1899)
tobacco manufacturer; Woodmere Cemetery Association board of directors and stockholder; builder
of Cadillac Hotel (Lot 5)
Slocum, Giles Bryan (1808-1917)
helped found Vistula and Toledo, Ohio; served on board of directors of the Detroit, Monroe, and
Toledo Road railroad; helped build Toledo and Canada Southern railroad; Elizabeth Park in Trenton,
Michigan was formerly owned by Slocum known as Slocum Island (mausoleum)
Section Oakview
Cobo, August (1864-1946) and Elizabeth (?-1927)
parents of Detroit city treasurer and mayor, Albert Cobo (Lot 35)
Section Parkview
Riopelle, Jr., Oscar (?-1964)
Detroit traffic court referee; World War II army captain; descendant of family for whom Riopelle
Street is named (Lot 35)
Riopelle, Sr., Oscar (?-1959)
Republican Michigan senator; Detroit attorney; school inspector for Springwells Township; treasurer
of Delray Village; justice of the peace; Detroit city alderman; descendant of family for whom Riopelle Street
is named (Lot 132)
Stellberger, William (1865-1936)
played for Providence Grays baseball team (Lot 86)
Section South Lake
Hopkins, George H. (1842-1906)
private secretary to Governor John Bagley; lawyer; director of Commercial National Bank; vice
president of Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company; Woodmere Cemetery board of directors and
stockholder (Lot 375)
Lambert, Walter C. (1863-1934)
Wyandotte physician and mayor; trustee of tubercular sanitorium in Howell; Wyandotte General
Hospital chief of staff (Lot 271)
Vreeland, Michael (1838-1876)
Union Civil War soldier, 4th Michigan Infantry Volunteers, promoted to brevet brigadier general (Lot
370)
Zeschin, August (?-1926)
World War I soldier (Lot 291-292)
Section West Ridge
Vartanian, David (1890-1966)
Titanic survivor (Lot 620)
Section Five
Burroughs, George (1832-1930)
Civil War soldier, Company L, 2nd Regiment, U. S. Colored Cavalry (Block 28, Grave 160)
Sockman, Francis (1844-1938)
Civil War soldier, Co. C, 12th Regiment, West Virginia (Block 11, Grave 45)
Chapel/Crematorium Niches
Erichsen, Hugo (1860-1944)
physician, writer; founder and president of Cremation Association of America; newspaper reporter
Kiefer, Herman (1825-1911)
physician; founder of German American Seminary of Detroit; member of board of education;
member of Detroit Public Library Commission
