Philadelphia - Laurel Hill Cemetery

[Diane Merkel]

Laurel Hill Cemetery is the eternal home of Benny Hodgson.

As she weaved among the headstones at Laurel Hill, [Susan] Bové said she felt the energy of the place. Around her were the graves of Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; David Rittenhouse, astronomer and inventor; Hugh Mercer, a Revolutionary War brigadier general; and Henry Disston, a business magnate.

Thirty-one Civil War generals, including George Gordon Meade, the Union hero of Gettysburg, also are there, along with Benjamin Hodgson, a soldier killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and six Titanic passengers.

"It's really amazing," Bové said. "Some places have a pulse. Ironically, cemeteries have a pulse, too."

The group of seven investigators was guided by Laurel Hill's executive director, Ross L. Mitchell, who provided a history of the cemetery's occupants while describing the meaning of grave-marker carvings.

"Ivy represents eternal life," he told the researchers. "A broken urn means somebody met a violent death. A broken column is a life cut short. And a drape over the top of the stone is a mourning symbol."

Article: www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20071015_A_spirited_stroll_into_citys_past_life.html