Once upon a time (1750, to be exact), a boy was born in the Bordeaux region of France, by the name of Etienne Girard. His mother died when he was 10 years old. He had an "uncongenial" stepmother and was compelled to leave home for the sea at the edge of 14.
This becomes very important later.
He made his first fortune in international shipping and trading. In the year 1776, he entered Philadelphia's harbor and got stuck inside of a British blockade of the city. He decided to stay and open a shop and became involved in the Revolutionary War effort. His contribution consisted mostly in helping Alexander Hamilton in the creation of the young country's monetary system.
He also created the first private bank in the country - The Bank of Stefan Girard (note the name change). His second fortune was in banking...
Although described as "hard as iron, and as cold", Stefan was famous for his activities in the Yellow Fever Epidemic n 1793 when he personally cared for the sick and dying, turning a mansion in the city into a hospital, administering it himself.
He was blind in one eye. He was married and by all accounts was devoted to his wife.
They were childless. This becomes very important later.
Obviously, he was a person people were curious about, since we have so many references to his activities and his life. He was also the richest man in the US, worth almost $7,500,000 at his death in 1831.
There was a lot of curiosity about his will and what would happen to his fortune when he died. He teased everyone by talking about the changes he was making - he seemed to get a kick out of it.
In the end, he arranged for many personal and institutional bequests, but the bulk of his fortune went to the creation of a residential school for orphaned white boys.
Boys like the boy he was, with nowhere to go. To get an education, so important to making their way in the world. Boys like the children he and his beloved Mary Lum never had.
Stefan's money was left in trust to the City of Philadelphia to build the school, and the trust is still administered by the City. It was the largest single act of philanthropy up to that time in American history. Girard College "an independent college prepatory 5-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia". It opened in 1948 and is still in existence today. The school attempted to break the trust in 2014, to change it to completely college prep and to become a day school, but the judge declared that the original 1831 trust was airtight and could not be changed. The school had to remain a boarding school (hence the 5 days a week) and it had to offer a k-12 educational track. 95% of the graduates go on to higher education.
What does all of this have to do with cemeteries and Laurel Hill Cemetery in particular?
Originally children who died at the school were buried on the school grounds. In June of 1848 (note that there was a Cholera Epidemic that year), the Board of Directors decided to allow the burial of boys who died while students of the College on the College grounds. To this day, anyone who is or was a student is guaranteed a burial spot provided by the school with all burial expenses paid IF they are buried on school property (later this includes the College's plot at Laurel Hill Cemetery). If not buried there, the families are provided with a coffin.
In 1882, the College purchase a large plot in the Laurel Hill Cemetery for the students of the College. All of the bodies buried at the College were moved to Laurel Hill in that year, 58 in all. The records in the Cemetery archives list them all by name, along with the dates they attended the College, the date of their death, and sometimes the cause of death.
Diptheria, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever, Dysentery.
Dysentery. Dysentery. Dysentery.
Rows and rows of children...
I picked out a student at random to see what the archives had to say about him. William J. Beatty, born March 23, 1847. Died July 3rd, 1857, aged 10 years. Admitted to the College September 25, 1854. Re-interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery March 7, 1882
The wide expanse of the Girard College plot.
Spring and summer see the grass as green and lush. A lovely spot for children.
In 1844, Kenneth O. Steele, aged 16 years, was buried there. A hand-written note is in the archives from the Director of the school, saying "...it means a great deal to us to be able to bury him in the sunshine instead of placing his coffin in the receiving vault." Normally since the ground was still frozen, the body would be stored in the receiving vault (a building on the cemetery grounds for that purpose) until a grave could be dug. But the cemetery made special arrangements to bury the young man right away, "in the sunshine".
The most recent burial was in December of 2016 - Khalif Dennis, aged 38, a former student.
Each year, the students at Girard College come to the cemetery for a Remembrance Day Memorial Service, the last one in the archives dated 12/13/2016. Speeches, poems and songs. I love this, that the students are reminded of their fellow students.
Remembrance - what the cemetery is all about.
You know that I always think about the meaning of any burial. This one is a strong reminder to me of the history of Stefan Girard - his own lonely childhood, his struggle to bring himself up in the world alone, his childless state. What would he think of his legacy? I know that he would be proud to have provided a home for these kids, in life and even in death.
Stefan is buried at the College, but I think we should all remember him this way and thank him for his generosity to the students of Girard College and to the City of Philadelphia.
