NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED srH'LK.MKNT. › lccn › sn83030214 › ...NEW-YORK TRIBUNE...
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NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED srH'LK.MKNT. BONES OF JOHN PAUL JONES AND ROBERT EMMET. Unavailing Search for Them The Former in an Abandoned Cemetery in Paris Where Emmet 1* Believed to Have Bun li urial. JOHN PAIL JONES'S i;( RIAL PLACK. \u25a0' . •\u25a0• The merit of locating the Fife of the burial of John Paul Jones is mainly due to a Paiisian archoeo.ogist, M de Ricaudy, who, in IM<H, discovered the long sought for remains of M. de Ricaudy; after long researches, '\u25a0>uiid the correspondence of the gatekeep r of nietery for foreign Protestants, and also \u0084s( ertained from a certified copy — probably the only one extant— of the acte de decis, or docu- ment attesting the death, that John Paul Jones lied at Paris In tlie house formerly numbered Pat is. tober 24. "Where was John I.m. lonea buried?" is a questicji that has for man) rears been asked by American visitors to Paris, and was not satis- factorily answered until October, 18119 when, at the Instigation of Henry Vlgnaud, who, bi Iteing aecretao of the 1 nlted Statea Embassy !.-\u25a0:.. is an eminent archaeologist, several learned rocleties Instituted a systematic Bearch for the l.urial place of the founder of the American :,\.iy. It may now be accepted as an historical f \u25a0. -ii.it the body of John Paul Jones reposes beneath the house bearing No. 1 Rue dea :;. iu:e.s Saint-Martin, built on a corner of a <.:...t'-ry discontinued as such in 17.).".. where It \u0084in buried on July 20L 1788. There is no evide of the bodj ever having been exhumed. I have several times visited the I remises, but am convinced that any ef- Lorts to identify or recover the bones uould be useless. The result of all Investiga- tions SO Ear made has been to locate an ares t about twenty yards square, in which were dried a great number of bodies, Including that . f John Paul Jones. The subsoil of this area . i.nsiMs of what Is technically known as "corps* loam" — a special condition pec liar to oversat- urated graveyards. Excavation baa disclosed the presence in this gelatinous corpse loam of many fragments of human skulls, shin bones md shoulder blades. Any approach to Identifl- ition is out of the question. There is no docu- mentary evidence that John Paul Jones's body : s placed at the time of burial in a lead cof- or that it was clothed In naval uniform, .. which case the metal buttons, sword, brass ickles or other Imperishable relics might be covered and serve to establish an approxl- ate Identification. The only practical suggi - .on for commemoration of the unmarked grave 1 f John Paul Jones is to obtain possession of he dilapidated houses and sheds that now and on the site and replace them by a monu- •nt. The site is In an out of the way part of the < i»y. far from the American quarter of Paris, situated behind the great Eastern Rail- way station (dare de lEst), and rarely visited > any one. It is in the midst of the work- . en's district. No doubt the municipal au- !i."ities of Paris would gladly co-operate in ii) definite proposition having for its object the commemoration of the grave of the distin- il -i ed American. Thorough researches in the archives of the National Library, of the Protestant churches in Paris, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in those of the foreign embassies and legations and 42 Rue de Tournon, on July 18, 1792 nir.-t >*-<r ,f tbe French Republic), In the forty-nTta year of his age. Tl use >f death is formally re- corded a;- drops j/ of tli chest C"*hy trot d< "). '11. si ol the runeral Is stated by ili'- Frew h authorities to have been defrayed by the French Government John Paul Jones waa a Prol nd his death occurred dur- ing the mosl stormy period of the French Revo- lution. It should be n<.^l that tn>' original rec- ord of her with all d« umei lating t^ the burial of Protestants in Paris, was destroyed in 1871, when the Hotel de \'ilie and the building In the Avenue Victoria where the municipal archive* were kept were burned by the Commune. Tbe confusion In regard to where John Paul Jones was buried, noticed in the works of his American and Fit inh biog- raphers, is due to obstacles that would have proved Insurmountable had riot M. <!•• Ricaudy chanced to find in the archives of the I'rottFtant Church of the Oratoire \u25a0 voluminous corre- ence relating to an Impecunioua gatekeep- er (concierge) of a little known cemetery in Paris, who applied In vain for th.- payment of his salary to tin- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to ih. municipality of I'aris and to the Protes- tant Consistory. To appreciate the difficulty of Undine the remains of a I'rotestar. t buried in i during the last century it may be neces- sary to refer for a moment to a dark and in- I page of Fren< h history. The burial of Protestants, whether native or foreign, w;:s actuallj prohibited In France by a tyrannical decree issued l>y Louis XIVin 1956, shortly after th« revocation of the Edict of Nantes. For nearly a century Protestant clandestinely buried in cellars or in private land; sometimes In sites adjoining the embas- sies of foreign Protestant powers, like tl England, Holland or Sweden, but more fre- quently In Catholic cemeteries, furtively and with the connivance of concierges or gate- Owing to the Btrong remonstrances made by M. Opp, the Dutch Ambassadoi in Paris, a concessii n was obtained foi for foreign Protestants. Under the ministry of Neeker himself a Protestant and native of Switzerland -the lot of foreign Protestants In France was considerably lightened; but Prot- estant funerals even at th:it period were often grossly insulted and desecrated bj Ibe populace. At the outbreak of the Revolution tbe archives of the Church of the Oratory show that the Protestant Conventional, Rabaut St. Etienne, begged Pastor Marron not to ask for any meas- ures to insure the greater toleration and liberty of Protestants, because "all his colleagues had such bitter antipathies to the Protestant re- ligion." cllassnev in. the rei::ai:..: . '....:.• 1 1 I lush burying ground in an historu \ .»e. At ibJa place Addisori and Swift !i\- . l>r. Madden aa] it :s r- . . body was taken bf Bhjai . I . Of the paths at th- p- i::t where . I. now marks th- tra.'. I .. ti-: \u25a0 e\«'r, he found ahsotutel] !:\u25a0 I .riling :isai'i to St. I' . -. >.n — i»nin| the tecoida more Ckdrj . that Caen was OOCe an CBtnUKCt ::\u25a0 \ \u25a0 ks] I | FYiar's-st. at the SOJ I oj came evident t«> Dr. Bmna t that thai \u25a0• estraan referred to by .MhM- d, and ! on *— «**-aj the iiimmi on II ttaxs, \u25a0.it the li-ht Of the estJi nip Btai wall." titt.'d a prooa pot, -; this entrance a* the one. Hut th< . : that be con . njare as awn money es ttaaa hi tha search, and i-luraed to AlUTlha In ej:i::-^- his» account he sail!. "I b« !;we this work will i'<- taken up aifain m on, ctthe* by tha ijnVtTr.- meat or a syndicate, and that the tr 1 .;.- >;r.i\e ot Kmnvet will bo found where Ihave indicated. At any rate, it is not at St. Mi«tuas or Cssau> nevin." Dr. Emmet's first worh « - 1- ..- vault at St. Pen ;'\u25a0 '' \u25a0 working Cot four :: \u25a0•\u25a0 01 1 < sit* noa the part the cemetery. la th I .... - buried at «nj . 1ku!l vrap] • i ... - - tor at on c coo 1. . • star, l; ..- ksoi \u25a0 . \u25a0 - :. Bake I •\u25a0:' D tnefs head 1 t!,.mi,'r.t the head BBJght have hi tor that purpose and br . " ceivlng vault after th-- burial I \u25a0 y. The condition of the Hltoia • ' thfa (Hiirklyproved th.v it had • . - \u25a0 advanced age, arheroaa Bmmet «a live at the t:::.e Ol his CSSCUt Then he began the search fur \u25a0 ' vault An old chsrefe wcorJ ejga . Richard Isaddes emcod th.s tomfi of the entrance to the ><\u25a0::\u25a0 : . I • • wall. An excavation of nity fjfed I location failtd to reveai it. SJkJ St. i abandon for the nr.:e l> St. Mlh. ins brought like fsajoßa fjndei Ihf slab so long considered bf ",.ir.y aa U tic headstone of Kmr:. t th- bSC - • : - . J girl were found, and dt < , . •.:..\u25a0 ! - man who had bscfl fully s-.\ cut> -;i'. c scan oM .a the time of his death. Hi&tor] states that on th- day "f ..*. .• - Cmmefa body was p. .. I n \u25a0\u25a0...: it St. Pt.tJ r's Beyond thai tt.ere hsnoevid bat the tratiitior. is. th..; it sa aacrt .• night a !boa .• \u25a0 : that th»- authorities \u25a0etc exceed •... • Bb a I - Meads, should r.<-: k:. \u25a0 aras laid. - - \u25a0 I \u25a0 ! \u25a0 c. 'tyr lies in Hal family vault b EMMET'S GRAVE. The craves of heroes have been to hen wor- shippers of ail ages shrines of peculiar >\. . Hen..- a search for the tomb of a peavtai Mai, whenever, as often, tliat sa. red ape 4is obscured by tradition, in a quest of peevdtal interest. Bud a task has boea that of I>r. Thomas Addis Ilm- met, of No. 81) Madison-a\e., who has Just re- turned from a three months' hunt for the grave oX his great- uncle, Kobert Emmet That fa- It interesting to note thai several i from this diary of Gouverneui M I the information addui id by Ike Parisiasi ar^ h.<- ologists from independent bout Gouverneur Morris, who Bras Mink United States in Paris at the Usbc •>:' Paul Jones's death, \ it>ited him on his deata the afternoon of July 18, 171)2, and drew US his will for him, "when his. extremities had alreadj become cold." Fur some unexjilai: Gouverneur Morris did not attend John Pan: Joni s'a funeral, although he ! -id for son been on friendly tl rms with him. The ccresaoay was, according to Gouvernewr Morris. .. modest and stmpkl one, for the fortune of tho de- ceased "was far from abundant," and the min- ister did not feel authorized to spend the money that belonged to John Paul JosmbsTs estate, wh> h was awaited with linpalifSM e by Jonesfs rela- tives, or the money of the I'nit-d BtS "such follies." It would appeal from this thai the funeral expense was not defrayed by th-> Frenrh Government, as the French authorities \u25a0SScrt, nor uiiil. r sack circu: . ,\ as U likely that the body was clothed la a naval uni- form, the buttons ( f which might at th>» ; time serve to identify ren... ; in the abandoned cemetery. c. I. B, The commodore'a burial betas, one of the list that took place to the cemetery <>f the Roe dc b Grange aux Belles, ii la believed that his body lies near the former entrance. lm:r. \u25a0 d-.ai.!> after the discontinuance of the cemetery th>- land was sold by the government, and has not since changed hands. The spot when John Pacd Jones's body posea was used aa a stable 1": the carts 'of a night s.>:i reounrer, an.l auise quently by a brandry estabUshment When a slight excavation was made to place the befZei for the laundry, some bonea and human • were unearthed. Th>- place is no* ••< • iiii» •! I > a photographer. Excavations have b.-.-n made. but have led to no result except the unearthlnaj of human Lories that cannot be Identified. By an odd coincidence the stri 1 which lea I the Rue dcs Eclusea Saint-Martin, opposite No. 1 (beneath which are th< bonea oi John Paul Jones), ia named Rue '\u25a0•".\u25a0 1 d'A/.ir. after Queen Marie Antoinette's weU known pfaysii ;.m. who accompanied Gouverneui Horrhi duiliiaj ma visit to John Paul Jones when he I.iv on bla deathbed in the afternoon of July IS, IT.C aa related in the second %•>..:.-\u25a0 of the diary vi Gouverneur Morris. among tbc records of the Paris c^meterl**. Bad among the documents collected by Charles Read, the English archaeologist, enabled M. \u25a0!•\u25a0 Ricaudy to affirm positively that John I'm! Jon- a v. is luri'-l in th- cemetery which was opened t.. {>>:• igi Protestants In KBI, and situ- ated to the in rthwesi of the Hospital St. Louis, on the sit. now cccupied by Utc one and two story buildings and sheds numbered 41, {•"» -••\u25ba and 47 Roe de la Grange aux Belle* and No. 1 Roe dea Eclusea Saint-Martin. The area of this abandoned cemetery i* 2£oo s'iua-.- Bcetrea The buildings are ol Inconsiderable value. T " cemetery was closed in 1T1»::, shortly after Jo!- Paul Jones v. as buried th< r \u25ba \u25a0 . DEATH MASK OF ItOHKItT KMMKT. Taken by the elder IVtrle. s
Transcript of NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED srH'LK.MKNT. › lccn › sn83030214 › ...NEW-YORK TRIBUNE...
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NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED srH'LK.MKNT.
BONES OF JOHN PAUL JONES AND ROBERT EMMET.
Unavailing Search for Them The Former in an Abandoned Cemeteryin Paris Where Emmet 1*Believed to Have Bun liurial.
JOHN PAIL JONES'S i;( RIAL PLACK.\u25a0' . •\u25a0•
The merit of locating the Fife of the burialof John Paul Jones is mainly due to a
Paiisian archoeo.ogist, M de Ricaudy, who, inIM*-f death is formally re-corded a;- drops j/ of tli chest C"*hy trot
d< "). '11. si ol the runeral Is statedby ili'- Frew h authorities to have been defrayedby the French Government John Paul Joneswaa a Prol nd his death occurred dur-ing the mosl stormy period of the French Revo-lution. It should be n' original rec-ord of her with all d« umeilating t^ the burial of Protestants in Paris, wasdestroyed in 1871, when the Hotel de \'ilie andthe building In the Avenue Victoria where themunicipal archive* were kept were burned bythe Commune. Tbe confusion In regard towhere John Paul Jones was buried, noticed inthe works of his American and Fit inh biog-raphers, is due to obstacles that would haveproved Insurmountable had riot M. r. Madden aa] it :s r- . .body was taken bf Bhjai . I .Of the paths at th- p- i::t where . I.now marks th- tra.'. I .. ti-: \u25a0e\«'r, he found ahsotutel]
!:\u25a0 I.riling:isai'i to St. I' . -.>.n
—i»nin| the tecoida more Ckdrj . that Caen
was OOCe an CBtnUKCt ::\u25a0 \ \u25a0 ks] I |FYiar's-st. at the SOJ Iojcame evident t«> Dr. Bmna t that thai \u25a0•estraan referred to by .MhM-d, and !on *—«**-aj the iiimmion II ttaxs,\u25a0.it the li-ht Of the estJi nip Btaiwall." titt.'d a prooa pot, -; thisentrance a* the one. Hut th< . : thatbe con . njare as awn money es ttaaa hi thasearch, and i-luraed to AlUTlha In ej:i::-^-his» account he sail!. "Ib« !;we this work willi';r.i\e otKmnvet will bo found where Ihave indicated.At any rate, it is not at St. Mi«tuas or Cssau>nevin."
Dr.Emmet's first worh « -1-..- vault at St. Pen ;'\u25a0 '' \u25a0
working Cot four :: \u25a0•\u25a0
01 1 < sit* noa the partthe cemetery. la th I.... - buried at «nj
. 1ku!l vrap] • i... - -tor at on c coo 1. . •
star, l; ..- ksoi\u25a0 . \u25a0 - :.Bake I•\u25a0:' D tnefs head 1t!,.mi,'r.t the head BBJght have hitor that purpose and br . "ceivlng vault after th-- burial I \u25a0 y. Thecondition of the Hltoia •
' thfa(Hiirklyproved th.v it had
• . - \u25a0advanced age, arheroaa Bmmet «alive at the t:::.e Ol his CSSCUt
Then he began the search fur \u25a0'
vault An old chsrefe wcorJ ejga .Richard Isaddes emcod th.s tomfiof the entrance to the >
St. Mlh.ins brought like fsajoßa fjndei Ihfslab so long considered bf ",.ir.y aa Utic headstone of Kmr:. t th- bSC
- • : - . Jgirl were found, and dt -;i'. c scan oM.a the time of his death.
Hi&tor] states that on th- day "f ..*. .•-
Cmmefa body was p... I n \u25a0\u25a0...:it St. Pt.tJ r's Beyond thai tt.ere hsnoevidbat the tratiitior. is. th..; it sa aacrt .•
night a !boa .•\u25a0 :that th»- authorities \u25a0etc exceed•... • Bb a I
- Meads, should r.\. .Hen..- a search for the tomb of a peavtai Mai,whenever, as often, tliat sa. red ape 4is obscuredby tradition, in a quest of peevdtal interest. Buda task has boea that of I>r. Thomas Addis Ilm-met, of No. 81) Madison-a\e., who has Just re-turned from a three months' hunt for the graveoX his great- uncle, Kobert Emmet That fa-
It interesting to note thai several ifrom this diary of Gouverneui M Ithe information addui id by Ike Parisiasi ar^ h.:' PaulJones's death, \ it>ited him on his deatathe afternoon of July 18, 171)2, and drew US hiswill for him, "when his. extremities had alreadjbecome cold." Fur some unexjilai:Gouverneur Morris did not attend John Pan:Joni s'a funeral, although he !-id for sonbeen on friendly tl rms with him. The ccresaoaywas, according to Gouvernewr Morris. ..modest and stmpkl one, for the fortune of tho de-ceased "was far from abundant," and the min-ister did not feel authorized to spend the moneythat belonged toJohn Paul JosmbsTs estate, wh> hwas awaited with linpalifSMe by Jonesfs rela-tives, or the money of the I'nit-d BtS"such follies." It would appeal from this thaithe funeral expense was not defrayed by th->Frenrh Government, as the French authorities\u25a0SScrt, nor uiiil.r sack circu: . ,\as Ulikely that the body was clothed la a naval uni-form, the buttons ( f which might at th>» ;time serve to identify ren... ;in theabandoned cemetery. c. I.B,
The commodore'a burial betas, one of the listthat took place to the cemetery f the Roe dc bGrange aux Belles, ii la believed that his bodylies near the former entrance. lm:r. \u25a0 d-.ai.!>after the discontinuance of the cemetery th>-land was sold by the government, and has notsince changed hands. The spot when John PacdJones's body posea was used aa a stable 1":the carts 'of a night s.>:i reounrer, an.l auisequently by a brandry estabUshment When aslight excavation was made to place the befZeifor the laundry, some bonea and human •were unearthed. Th>- place is no* ••< • iiii»•! I>a photographer. Excavations have b.-.-n made.but have led to no result except the unearthlnajof human Lories that cannot be Identified. Byan odd coincidence the stri 1 which lea Ithe Rue dcs Eclusea Saint-Martin, oppositeNo. 1 (beneath which are th< bonea oi JohnPaul Jones), ia named Rue '\u25a0•".\u25a0 1 d'A/.ir. afterQueen Marie Antoinette's weU known pfaysii ;.m.who accompanied Gouverneui Horrhi duiliiaj mavisit to John Paul Jones when he I.iv on bladeathbed in the afternoon of July IS, IT.C aarelated in the second %•>..:.-\u25a0 of the diary viGouverneur Morris.
among tbc records of the Paris c^meterl**. Badamong the documents collected by CharlesRead, the English archaeologist, enabled M. \u25a0!•\u25a0Ricaudy to affirm positively that John I'm!Jon- a v. is luri'-l in th- cemetery which was
opened t.. {>>:•igi Protestants In KBI, and situ-ated to the in rthwesi of the Hospital St. Louis,on the sit. now cccupied by Utc one and twostory buildings and sheds numbered 41, {•"» -••\u25ba
and 47 Roe de la Grange aux Belle* and No. 1
Roe dea Eclusea Saint-Martin. The area of thisabandoned cemetery i* 2£oo s'iua-.- BcetreaThe buildings are ol Inconsiderable value. T
"
cemetery was closed in 1T1»::, shortly after Jo!-
Paul Jones v. as buried th< r \u25ba \u25a0.
DEATH MASK OF ItOHKItT KMMKT.Taken by the elder IVtrle.
s
