I am an avid genealogist. The past is very important to me. I spend a lot of time in cemeteries photographing tombstones to upload on the website FindAGrave.
I enjoy recognizing long dead people by putting memorials to them online. However, every once and a while something grabs me about a specific grave. It could be the name, or the dates or a ceramic photo. In those cases, I feel compelled to dig a little deeper. That's what this series of blogs is about: The tales behind those graves. Some of my subjects will be heroes. Some will be villains. Some will be victims. And some will linger in between those extremes, like most of us. However, don't be surprised if the tales are inherently tragic. These are grave tales. They all end in death.
I have to credit my faithful reader Ann Lynch for clueing me onto the grave of Maria Monteferrante at my intended resting place Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. She heard the statue above the tombstone was that of a young girl who was playing in her kitchen and was tragically burned. She said her great-grandmother used the unfortunate girl as a cautionary tale. That sounded like an urban myth to me, but it turns out to be true. I had previously noticed the statue myself during my ramblings through the cemetery, but I never associated it with an individual person or a specific tragedy. Now I know the truth.
Here's little Maria's sad story:
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 23 February 1928, Thursday:
BOY, 11, TEARS BURNING DRESS FROM MOTHER
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Beats Out Flames--Calls Neighbors To Help Take Her To Hospital.
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GIRL IS SCALDED IN TUB OF WATER
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Another Injured As Gas Stove Explodes--Both In Critical Condition.
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Conrad Himmer, 11 years old, late yesterday beat out flames and tore a burning dress from his mother in their home, 929 North Caroline street. Although the mother, Mrs. Minnie Himmer, was reported in a serious condition, physicians at St. Joseph's Hospital said her chances for recovery were good. Mrs. Himmer was burned when her clothing was ignited by a gas stove in the kitchen.
Conrad, home from No. 94 School, Chase and McDonogh streets, heard his mother's screams and ran to her aid. After tearing the burning dress away and beating out the flames, he called for assistance from neighbors to take his mother to the hospital. At the hospital it was found that Mrs. Himmer was burned severely on the back and legs.
Two Girls Burned.
Two girls were reported in critical condition at the Johns Hopkins Hospital last night from burns received received several hours earlier. One child, according to the police, fell into a tub of hot water and the other was burned when a gas stove exploded.
Lillian Szlechelka, 3 years old, 500 block South Bond street, is the girl who fell into a tub of hot water prepared by her mother for washing clothes.
Gas Stove Explodes.
Mary Monteferrante, 5 years old, 200 block South Eden street, was burned on the face, neck, chest, arms and hands when a gas stove exploded and ignited her clothing.
The child was standing near the stove when the blast occurred. She was burned seriously before relatives in the house were able to subdue the flames.
We get a little more details in the evening edition of the paper. Sadly, neither of the little girls would survive their injuries.
The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 23 February 1928, Thursday:
INJURIES FATAL TO THREE SMALL CHILDREN HERE
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Girls, 3, 6 And 8, Victims Of Hits Received in Accidents.
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THIRD DEATH BLAMED ON CRASH LONG PAST
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Child Became Ill After Scare By Drunken Woman.
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The deaths of three girls as the result of accidents were reported to the police today.
Mary Monteferrante, 6 years old, ventured too close to a gas stove and her clothing was ignited. She died at Johns Hopkins Hospital from burns on the face, limbs and body.
Lillian Czlschetka, 3 years old, fell into a pot of boiling water which her mother, Mrs. Mary Czlschetka, had place on the floor and filled with soiled clothes.
The third victim, Sophie Adjent, 8 years old, died of convulsions today at her home, 415 South Bond street. The convulsions were caused, Coroner George C. Blades said, from pressure on the brain, with which the child had suffered since an automobile accident in 1925.
Visiting At Time.
The accident in which the Monteferrante girl was burned happened at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Rose Moneteferrante, 318 South Eden street. The child's home was at 215 South Eden street.
The Czlschetka girl lived at 518 South Bond street. Her mother had left the kitchen and had warned an elder daughter, Mary, 5 years old, not to let her sister get near the pot of hot water. In some manner, however, the baby eluded the sister's vigil.
Sophia Adjent was playing in the dining room of her home last night with her 6-year-old sister, Helen, members of her family said, when an intoxicated woman passing by broke the window.
Illness Mysterious.
Sophia ran to a corner, sat down in a chair and became very quiet. A short while later she became ill. Sophia's father, Ludwig Adjent, called Dr. C.J. Feinglos, 2002 East Pratt street, when she became worse. Upon his arrival Dr. Feinglos pronounced the child dead.
Dr. Feinglos said that he was unable to tell just what had occasioned the child's death. He presented a report of the death to Dr. George C. Blades**, coroner at large, who said brain pressure caused by an automobile accident in 1925 was responsible.The statue above the grave apparently captured Maria's likeness. The family wasn't rich. Her father wasn't a banker or stockbroker. He was a bricklayer. Yet he and his family cared enough to take the considerable expense memorialize their lost daughter with a life-sized statute. You don't see that much nowadays.
That said, little Maria wasn't mentioned in the death notice of either of her parents. It seems odd to me that the family saw fit to honor her with a statue, yet failed to mention her in the death notices. Maybe it was simply their tradition only to mention living survivors. They couldn't have forgotten her....
I know I won't.
Remember, there is a story behind every grave. You never know what you're missing when you walk past one...
**This is Dr. Blades second appearance in my grave tales. He lived near the Capital City Garage and ran over to administer aid first after the shoot-out which resulted in the death of Maurice Goldberg, my previous subject.
Addendum:
After posting this blog, I got a direct message on Facebook from Sally DeMarco, a member of the Monteferrante family. Here is her message:
Just in case you did not see my response to your Graveyard post, below is the information that I posted about our late family member, Maria Monteferrante. Maria Monteferrante is my husband’s, Dr. Frank Monteferrante and his brother, Dr. Mark Monteferrante’s late aunt. Maria was spending the day at her aunt’s house, she got too close to the wooden stove, her clothing caught on fire, and she died. Her father also named Frank, commissioned the statue of Maria.
According to my husband, it is the only statue of a person in the cemetery. The cemetery at the time did not allow statues of the deceased. Maria’s dad told them that it was a statue of an angel, and the statue was allowed to be mounted. My late Father in law Paul, Maria’s brother spoke about her often. He told us that his parents mourned her death until the day that they died. We visit the cemetery and we always place flowers on her grave. Her parents, along with her brother, are also buried at Holy Redeemer cemetery.
A later message gives more details:
Maria was left at her Aunt Rose’s house as you mentioned when she died. Aunt Rose along with the rest of the family were devastated. According to my husband, not to make Aunt Rose and her family upset, they deliberately left off Maria’s name in the obituary. They never talked about the incident in the presence of Aunt Rose and her family.
My father in law, her brother Paul, always spoke about the tragic death of his sister during our immediate family’s weekly Sunday Italian dinners. He said that the pain and heartbreak of Maria’s death was the cause of his mother’s death. Maria was never forgotten by her parents, brothers Paul and Nick, and now my husband, his brother, and me. Her memory lives on in the Monteferrante family until this day.
Thanks, Sally!
Sally later supplied me with two pictures. The first one here is an actual photograph of little Maria herself.
The second photograph is of the unnamed artist and the original form of the statue and monument.
Sally provided the information and photographs to keep Maria's memory alive. Maria was a sweet girl and her family mourns her to this day.
I'm glad I could help share her with the world.
Grave Tales:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Learn more about the book, click
Here.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An IntroductionThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The HouseThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is UsThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, ArrivalThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, MethodologyThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's TaleThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
Let's stay in touch:
Have you heard of the Freeman graves in Warthan Cemetery, Fresno County, California?
ReplyDeleteI happened upon their story in Find A Grave. You may find it interesting.
Thanks. I will check it out. Feel free to place a link to the story here!
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