Ancestors and Stars at Hollywood Cemetery

Ancestral Burial Sites #1

Beauty and Family at the Nation’s Second-Most Visited Cemetery

John and Sarah Johnson

Among the stars interred at beautiful and historic Hollywood Cemetery lie the remains of an ordinary working-class couple with common names: John Henry Johnson (1816-1889) and Sarah Ann Melvin Johnson (1818-1883), our 3rd great-grandparents. Their daughter Margaret Alice (1844-1910) married George Thomas Turner (1842-1888), a Civil War soldier and lawyer. Maggie and George’s daughter Lillian Melvin Turner (1872-1936) is in turn the mother of our beloved maternal grandfather, Leon Harman Grayson (1906-1993). John and Sarah’s plot lies at the base of the main tourist path, and millions have likely glanced at their striking eight-foot high monument on the way toward their more famous neighbors. According to the Hollywood website,

“Hollywood Cemetery ranks as the second most-visited cemetery in the nation, right behind Arlington National Cemetery. …The natural and architectural beauty of Hollywood Cemetery sets it apart from the grid-like layout of many cemeteries today. Known as a “garden cemetery”, Hollywood’s paths wind through the 135 acres of valleys, hills and stately trees. The skillful design, faithful stewardship and nature’s beauty have made this cemetery one of the most historic and beautiful cemeteries in the United States.”

 

Not that Hollywood

Hollywood Cemetery is located not in California, but rather among rolling hills in historic Richmond, Virginia, overlooking the city and the scenic James River. The cemetery dates to 1847, and was named for the abundance of holly trees on the property. We visited the cemetery on a recent sunny, cold, and breezy March weekend, and were somewhat surprised by how stately the Johnson monument is, and how well it has weathered. According to U.S. Census reports and their respective death notices, John worked in tobacco factories for at least forty years, eventually rising to management, while Sarah was “keeping house” during their entire marriage. They had six children between 1844 and 1854, the oldest of whom is our direct ancestor Margaret. Only the four girls survived into adulthood, while two sons apparently died as children. Unlike the more prominent members of the community, there is no evidence that the Johnson family owned slaves. The Johnsons were Methodists, and John was a member of the Odd-Fellows fraternal order. Their third daughter Ella Melvin (1850-1935) was later buried with her parents, as was her German-born husband Didrich Tidemann (1838-1895), also listed as a “tobacconist” when the couple lived with the Johnsons in the 1870 census. Sarah is memorialized on the front of the monument, John on the right, while Didrich’s name is etched on the back. Ella is not mentioned, except in the cemetery records. Margaret is buried with her husband George at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.

 

Famous Neighbors and Blood Ties

Needless to say, the Johnsons are not the reason for the popularity of Hollywood Cemetery, though a primary reason for its appeal is  blood relatives. Hollywood is the final resting place of two U.S. presidents, the only Confederate States president, six Virginia governors, two U.S. Supreme Court justices, and twenty-two Confederate generals, notably George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart. Most impressive is “The Pyramid,” a ninety-foot high monument to the eighteen thousand Confederate soldiers buried nearby, including two thousand killed at Gettysburg to whom burial was denied at the National Cemetery there. President’s Circle is the main draw, however. There lie James Monroe (1758-1831), re-interred from New York to Virginia in 1858, and John Tyler (1790-1862). We have always been told that President Monroe is our first cousin six generations removed. Our ancestor Susannah Monroe Grayson (1695-1752, also spelled Susanna or Susan), daughter of Andrew Monroe and Elinor Spence, is believed to be his aunt. However, as there are multiple Susan[nah] and Andrew Monroes in Colonial Virginia, some credible sources claim the president is likely a more distant cousin. In either event, President Monroe is certainly a blood relative.

Tippecanoe and Tyler Too

In a more dubious way, we are also related to President Tyler and even his immediate predecessor William Henry Harrison, both of whom were born in 18th century Virginia. President Tyler was famously called “His Accidency,” because when President “Tippecanoe” Harrison died from pneumonia in 1841 a mere 31 days after his inauguration, “Tyler too” became the first vice-president to assume the office. Susannah Monroe was twice widowed before she married Benjamin Grayson (1684-1757), having previously had two sons from her first husband Charles Tyler. According to “The Grayson Family,” an unpublished history dating to the early 1800s:

“The sister of Benjamin Grayson married Mr. Harrison, the ancestor of Col. Burr Harrison of the Revolutionary Army and of Matthew Harrison, lawyer of Dumfries [VA]. …The family of President Tyler are the stock of Susanna Monroe’s first husband, as was President Harrison of the same stock as the ancestor who married the sister of Benjamin Grayson.”

This account is based on family oral history, though the author of this statement was Lund Washington, who was married to Susannah’s granddaughter (and our aunt) Susannah Monroe Grayson Washington (1768-1822) at the time. Phew! Is your head spinning yet? If we are unable to do so, perhaps future generations will be able to separate fact from legend. In the meantime, even though William Henry Harrison is buried in Ohio, Hollywood Cemetery still remains one of only three places (Arlington in Northern Virginia and United First Parish Church Quincy, Massachusetts are the others) where multiple U.S. presidents are interred. Not to mention an ordinary working-class couple with common names. The next time you are in Richmond, stop by and say a prayer with them on your way to President’s Circle.