2024 Turner Cemetery History Walk
The Sixteenth Annual 2023 Turner Cemetery Walk took place on Saturday, October 12. The history walk was self-guided, with placards set up throughout the cemetery with information about the history of the cemetery, the people buried there, and the area surrounding it. The annual history walks are now held in conjunction with the Squirrel Hill Historical Society. Visit its website at squirrelhillhistory.org
Turner Cemetery is a historic half-acre graveyard dating from 1785 to the 1880s, containing the remains of Native Americans, early settlers of Squirrel Hill, and military veterans from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. It is located on land originally owned by Simon Girty, which later passed into the hands of his half-brother, John Turner. It has military tombstones installed to honor veterans of the Revolutionary War and other early wars and for Mary Girty Turner, the mother of John Turner and Simon Girty.
“All’s Well That Ends Well for the Once-Missing Bell”
So said KDKA’s Ross Guidotti when he came to Turner Cemetery to cover the story of the stolen MSBA church bell. Ross seemed to relish sprinkling his report with words like “ring,” “chime” and “Quasimodo.”
The 2,000-lb. bronze bell had sat in Turner Cemetery, 3424 Beechwood Boulevard, ever since Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church had been deconstructed in 2020. The bell wasn’t easy to see from the boulevard through the shrubbery and red wrought-iron fence, so church members thought it was safe from theft. They were proved wrong on the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday, February 12, when thieves stole the bell.
When I drove on Beechwood past the cemetery just before sunset, I noticed large clumps of dirt on the sidewalk. I thought that was odd, so when I got home, a friend and I walked down to the cemetery and took a closer look. It was then that we discovered the bell was missing and called 911. The police responded quickly, checking nearby houses to see if any had cameras that might have gotten pictures of the theft. Turner Cemetery caretaker and researcher Mark called KDKA’s Ross Guidotti, who came the next morning to interview him and report on the missing bell. The report aired on the evening news. Because of the publicity, the thieves ditched the bell in the woods in the small Pittsburgh neighborhood of St. Clair near Mt. Oliver across the Monongahela River, where a passerby spotted it and called police. The bell was taken to a safe location for storage.
It took a chain of caring people to recover the bell.
Ross asked Mark, “What’s next for the bell?” Mark told him the church plans to build a new church where the old one had stood since 1908, but if that doesn’t happen, hopefully the bell will be put on display in the cemetery again, but in a more secure setting.
The inscription on the historic bell, cast by the Meneely Bell Co. reads:
“Thy Kingdom O Christ, is a Kingdom of ALL ages, and Thy Dominion lasts throughout all Generations.” “Presented to the Mary S. Brown Memorial M. E. Chapel, Pittsburgh, Pa. by W. Harry Brown, 1908.” (The well-known pyramid mausoleum in Homewood Cemetery is his.)
MEMORIAL DAY SAR CEREMONY, MAY 30, 2022, 1:00 p.m.
On Memorial Day 2022, the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) held a ceremony in Turner Cemetery honoring REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN ABRAHAM BOOCHER and TURNER CEMETERY FOUNDER JOHN TURNER, WHO FOUGHT IN THE INDIAN WARS.
Turner Cemetery researcher Mark Pearson worked with an organization called “Shrouded Veterans,” whose avowed purpose is “rescuing neglected war graves,” to research our soldiers’ credentials and get government-issue tombstones—the same kind as in Arlington National Cemetery—for three of them: Henry Boocher, Revolutionary War; William Craig, War of 1812; and John Turner, who fought in the Indian Wars after the French and Indian War. On Memorial Day, May 30, 2022, SAR held a patriot grave rededication ceremony in Turner Cemetery, complete with re-enactors in period uniforms who gave a rifle salute to the fallen veterans.
TURNER CEMETERY ON YOUTUBE
If you’d like to see a YouTube presentation about Turner Cemetery, you can view “Turner Cemetery’s History and Significance,” presented by SHHS vice-president and Turner Cemetery researcher Helen Wilson on YouTube. In the presentation, she explains how the cemetery relates to the early development of Squirrel Hill and talks about new discoveries being made there. To view the presentation, go to the Squirrel Hill Historical Society website, squirrelhillhistory.org, click on the menu item “SHHS Program Videos by Topic,” and then choose the link “Cemeteries of Pittsburgh.”
STATUS OF THE MARY S. BROWN MEMORIAL-AMES UM CHURCH
As of June 2020, Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church has been demolished and, sadly, nothing remains of the building. A smaller building, more suited to the needs of the congregation, will hopefully rise in its place. It will be the fifth church on the site since the original church was built a short distance up the slope in 1843.
The demolished church was erected in 1908. It had been deteriorating, so the small congregation decided it couldn’t keep paying for upkeep on a building much too large for the number of people attending. They reluctantly decided to close the church and build a new one. The final church service held in the stately old building was on July 28, 2019. In August, two yard sales were held to find new homes for the furniture, appliances, kitchen utensils, dishware, tools, decorative items, and all the other items accumulated over more than a century of the church’s existence.
Construction Junction dismantled the pews, organ, wainscoting, and other parts of the building to sell at its shop. The two gorgeous transcept windows have been sold except for the panels showing the previous churches on the site and the serene one of Jesus holding a lantern aloft. Along with the two bronze military plaques and original lintel, the windows will be housed in the new church.
While the process of deconstruction and construction takes place, the MSBA congregation is sharing space with the West Homestead UM Church at 515 W. 8th Ave., West Homestead, PA 15120. Services are at 10:30. All are welcome.
DEDICATION CEREMONY FOR THE SIMON GIRTY PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL MARKER
September 30, 2017
The Ninth Annual Turner Cemetery History Walk was held on the gorgeous last day of September 2017. It was a rousing success. Squirrel Hill resident and Squirrel Hill Historical Society member Eric Marchbein, whose interest in Simon Girty has been longstanding, applied for and was successful in gaining approval for a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission roadside marker for the complex and controversial frontiersman who originally claimed and owned 140 acres of what is now Squirrel Hill and Greenfield, including the land where Turner Cemetery is located. When Simon Girty and two of his brothers decided to fight on the British side in the American Revolution, they couldn’t return to Squirrel Hill after the war, and their half-brother John Turner eventually became the owner of the land.
The Turner Cemetery History Walk festivities began at 10:30 with a gun salute by the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment re-enactors and Mary S. Brown-Ames Church’s bagpiper, Ben. Afterwards, the string band Tamsula, Withers, Wig & Kristy played period music for the enjoyment of all present.
The marker dedication ceremony began at 11:30 in the church meeting hall with a welcome by Sandy Rim, Chair of The Friends of Turner Cemetery and board member of Mary S. Brown-Ames Church.
Next, Eric Marchbein spoke about the process of getting the marker and acknowledged the people who helped him with the research proving the 140-acre tract in Squirrel Hill where the marker will be placed was indeed land once owned by Simon Girty. The marker will be placed on the sidewalk outside the cemetery in the near future. The exact date will be announced here as soon as the date is set.
Eric then introduced the speakers:
- Andy Masich, PA Historical and Museum Commission and Heinz History Center President
- State Senator Jay Costa, 43rd Senatorial District
- Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who presented a proclamation honoring Simon Girty and congratulating the Squirrel Hill Historical Society on receiving and dedicating the historical marker
- Corey O’Connor, Pittsburgh City Council, District 5, who presented a proclamation recognizing September 30 as a “Day of Reconciliation between the descendants of the Indians and Settlers who once lived here”
- Timothy Truman, author of the graphic novel Wilderness: The True Story of Simon Girty, Renegade
- Dr. Charles McCollester, author of The Point of Pittsburgh
- Phillip W. Hoffman, author of Simon Girty, Turncoat Hero
- Dr. Jay Toth, Tribal Archeologist of the Seneca Nation of Indians
After the speakers were finished, Eric acknowledged Girty family descendants who were present and asked several of them to come forward to unveil the historical marker.
After the ceremony, the authors signed their books and chatted with people about the significance of Simon Girty’s controversial life and how he was perceived through different lenses: British, American and Native American.
In addition to Hoffman and McCollester’s books, the sales table sold local history books, CDs by the band, a documentary DVD about Simon Girty produced by one of his descendants, and postcards and booklets about Mary S. Brown-Ames Church and Turner Cemetery. Other tables offered homemade soups and baked goods.
Meanwhile, outside in the cemetery, military re-enactors from the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment were encamped, and placards scattered around the cemetery offered information about the early settlers buried there and about local history. Attendees also could view the displays about the cemetery in the church and view the gorgeous stained glass windows, Civil War plaque, the massive bell, and the lintel stone of the first church on the site.
OTHER NEWS ABOUT TURNER CEMETERY
Discovery of New Tombstones in Turner Cemetery and Finding of More Burial Records
Turner Cemetery is beautifully maintained by dedicated members of Mary S. Brown-Ames Church, especially by cemetery researcher Mark Pearson. In 2017, Mark announced he had found a buried headstone and foot stone. The letters on the headstone are illegible, but the footstone has the letters T. J. McC. Comparing those initials with our admittedly incomplete cemetery records, we found the name John T. McCaslin on the list. If this connection is correct, it is a major find because McCaslin was the son of John Turner’s wife Susanna’s sister Fanny Clark and her husband, John McCaslin. The Turners had no children, and Susanna’s sisters gave her several of their children to raise. The Turners’ favorite, reportedly, was John T. Caslin, whom the Turners referred to as their “adopted son.”
The finding of the T. J. McC foot stone illustrates the fate of some of the burials at Turner Cemetery. The website findagrave.com reports that John T. McCaslin died March 13, 1846, and his body was moved to Allegheny Cemetery, Section 3,grave 348, in 1911 by his daughter, Mary Fritz.
Mark also found another buried stone, which had been broken into pieces. The words are mostly illegible, but “??? Robert, son of ???” “died April ? 1857,” and “aged 7 months and three days” can be read. The tombstone, which appears to be white marble, is a sad testament to infant mortality in the nineteenth century.
Mark also found listed in 1879-1905 Pittsburgh Deaths, burial records for an adult woman and a number of children buried in Turner Cemetery, whom researchers had no prior knowledge of beforehand. The burial records are:
Mary Ann Bell Evans, born 1876, died August 10, 1877, parents, B. and Mary A. Evans.
Matti Emma Jammison, born 1855, died May 15, 1877, aged 22 years, father J. A. Jammison of Saltworks Station.
Three Robinson children, Harry H. Robinson, born 1871, died June 28, 1873; Mary Klein Robinson, born May 1878, died Sept. 27, 1878; and Jennie Harris Robinson, born May 1878, died Sept. 30, 1878. Their parents were Francis G. and Jane Robinson.
Edward L. Smeltz, born 1969, died May 21, 1873. His parents were John and Sarah Smeltz.
Elmer James Coumony, Born 1892, Died December 28, 1892, Aged 7 months, parents James and Margarett Ann Coumony.
William Harman Thomas, born June 1880, died April 12, 1881. His parents were John and Amanda Thomas.
Henry Garrett, born 1884, died Sept. 8, 1884. His parents were Henry and Emma Garrett.
Mary Freese, born 1847, died Sept. 18, 1884.
Charles S. Gisbert, born Oct. 30, 1892, died December 10, 1892. His parents were Charles and Amanda Gisbert.
The last five burials have special importance because before their records were discovered, the last burial we knew of in the cemetery was that of Edward Schenley Eddy in 1880.
New Book: SQUIRREL HILL: A NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY
Five members of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, including Turner Cemetery researcher Helen Wilson, have written Squirrel Hill: A Neighborhood History, which was published by The History Press in June 2017. The book contains several chapters on the early development of Squirrel Hill, including stories of the Girtys, Turners, and their friends and neighbors. The book will be on sale at the History Walk for $22 (SHHS members, $20). It is also available at most Pittsburgh bookstores and at arcadia.com, amazon.com, and other online booksellers.
Helen Wilson also collaborated with her son Todd on the book Images of America: Pittsburgh’s Bridges in 2015. It is part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, filled with photographs and other illustrations. Pittsburgh’s Bridges presents a history of 144 bridges within Pittsburgh’s borders, including those around the area where Turner Cemetery and MSBA Church are located. The book shows the sequence of bridges at various sites and explains the reasons behind their unique designs. The book was released on October 26, 2015. For more information or to order, go to amazon.com or click on this link: http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781467134248/Pittsburghs-Bridges
DESCENDANT OF THOMAS GIRTY VISITS TURNER CEMETERY
In the spring of 2014, Ken Girty, descendant of Simon Girty’s brother Thomas, whose half-brother was John Turner, visited the cemetery and gave a talk in the church community room about his family’s turbulent history. Unlike the other Girty brothers Simon, George and James, Thomas remained loyal to the United States during the Revolutionary War. After the war he moved a bit north and established a trading post at Girty’s Run, buying land and eventually owning most of what is now Oakmont. The Girtys were half-brothers to John Turner.
A few weeks after his visit, Ken Girty invited the North Hills Past Finders to come to Turner Graveyard with an assortment of metal detectors to examine the graveyard for artifacts. The major find was an ax and possibly a chisel dated to between 1850-1860. Several churches were built on the site beginning in 1842, so it is possible the tools were used to build or maintain one of the structures.
When Ken Girty died in 2017, his cremated remains were buried in Turner Cemetery, coming home to rest in his family’s ancestral family plot.
We received the results of the Mercyhurst study of Turner Cemetery. As expected, the fluxgate gradiometer (magnetometer) scans showed anomalies that could mean burials, and, also as expected, most of the anomalies did not correspond to the present locations of the tombstones, since we knew they were moved around through the years. We are hoping Mercyhurst returns to study the upper half of the half-acre graveyard. We are also trying to find a way to have ground-penetrating radar scans done, which are more accurate. We have no plans to do any excavations in the graveyard. We would just like to mark the graves to honor those buried there.
Click on this link for the Turner-Mercyhurst Press Release.
Click on this link to see the article about the Mercyhurst study that appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on May 6, 2013.
Here is some general information about the Turner Cemetery/Mary S. Brown-Ames Historical Site.
Turner Cemetery and Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church are located at 3424 Beechwood Boulevard on the border between the Squirrel Hill and Greenfield neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. The Turner Cemetery/Mary S. Brown-Ames Historical Committee (TC/MSBA) is researching the site because of its historical and genealogical importance. The cemetery dates to 1785 and provides information about many of the earliest settlers of Squirrel Hill. The adjacent church was built in 1908, but several churches preceded it on the same plot of land.
The churches on the site have been known by various names, which are listed on the page about the church. Click on the MSBA Church tab to go to that page. The present church, now known as Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church, was originally named Mary S. Brown Memorial Chapel.
The purpose of this website is to disseminate information about the cemetery and church, collect additional information, enable correspondence among interested people, and work toward preserving the site for the future.
So what makes this site so important? The short answer is that the cemetery and church, taken together, form a strand of Pittsburgh’s history extending from the area’s earliest days to the present and relating to every part of it. The cemetery and church have ties to Native American prehistory, the settlement of the area by colonists from Europe, the first wars fought by the new United States, the Civil War, industrialization, urbanization and, since the church is still a living ministry, events spanning the 20th century. We’re now into our third century at the same location!
Today the cemetery and church site now faces the dilemma of being a priceless treasure in need of restoration and conservation.
15 Responses to Home