All Faiths Cemetery

The All Faiths Cemetery is located in Middle Village, Queens, New York. The 225-acre (91 ha) cemetery was established in 1850 by Lutheran pastor Frederick W. Geissenhainer, and incorporated in 1852.^[1]^[2] It is also known as the Lutheran Cemetery or Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery. Approximately 540,000 burials have been conducted at All Faiths since its founding.^[3]

History[]

In 1847 the New York state legislature passed the Rural Cemetery Act, which allowed non-profit organizations to incorporate and sell burial plots. Seeing an opportunity to provide a lower-cost alternative to existing cemeteries such as Green-wood in Brooklyn, the Rev. Dr. Frederick W. Geissenhainer, the pastor of St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, conferred with representatives of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church (his prior parish.)^[4]^[5] While St. Paul's decided against investing in this endeavor, St. Matthew's and Dr. Geissenhainer pursued the purchase of land in Queens in 1850. The parcels owned by St. Matthews and Dr. Geissenhainer were held and developed separately; he incorporated as the "Lutheran Cemetery" (although members of all faiths were accepted) on March 22, 1852. Additional acreage was purchased over the next few years, and the Lutheran Cemetery bought the St. Matthew's land in 1868.^[1] Burials at the Lutheran Cemetery started at $2.50, and plots could be obtained for $7.00.^[1]

Notable burials and memorials[]

PS General Slocum Steamboat Fire Mass Memorial – commemorates the 1,021 victims of a 1904 disaster, 61 of whom are buried at All Faiths Cemetery.
John Kissel (1864–1938) – U.S. Congressman.
John Herman George Vehslage (1842–1904) – U.S. Congressman.
Frank T. Hopkins (1865–1951) – horseman and endurance rider.
Carrie Nye (1936–2006) – actress.
William Johnston "Buffalo Bill" Hogg (1881–1909) – Major League Baseball player.
Charley Jones (1852–1911) – Major League Baseball player.
(1831–1887) – Brigadier General in the Union Army in the Civil War.^[6]
(1845–1912) – U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
William Lord (1841–1915) – U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
Charles Stephen Schepke (1878–1933) – U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
Christian Streile (1838–1886) – U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
George Uhrl (1838–1911) – U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.
Otto Botticher (1811–1886) – artist, lithographer and Civil War veteran.
Fred Trump (1905–1999) – father of Donald Trump, the 45th U.S. President.
Mary Anne MacLeod Trump (1912–2000) – mother of Donald Trump, the 45th U.S. President.