The Fella Who Started It All

Sidney W. Saunders Tomb

Monroe City (aka Old City) Cemetery

Monroe, Louisiana

I discovered Sidney and grave walking when I went to Monroe City Cemetery as a college student in the early 1980's. I was working on my black and white photography portfolio when a friend suggested I go "see" Sidney and use him as a subject.  The best part...he had a sordid tale behind his final repose...Victorian soap opera played out tragically in my hometown! Here's what we know about Sidney with kudos and credit to Ouachita Parish historian/librarian Lora Peppers:

A native of Mississippi and raised in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, Sidney went on to become a private in the Confederate Army and was wounded during the Battle of Vicksburg. After the war, he became a businessman in the river boom town of Monroe owning saloons as well as a grocery store. It was, however, the saloon business with a suspected sideline of gambling and prostitution that made Sidney a pariah of Monroe society. He just wasn't ever going to hold a respectable position as far as the upper echelon of Monroe folks were concerned. Making matters worse, he shows up with a bride named Annie Livingston who came with a child believed to by Sidney's named Willie St. John. The rumor was that Annie was a prostitute and not officially married to Sidney. 

It only gets worse.

In 1886, young Willie passes away at the age of 12. Then came the fire that ravaged Sidney's empire. More rumors surfaced about Sidney being an arsonist in order to make a monetary gain from insurance claims. Such indignations only made Annie more defiant to overcome them. Unfortunately, the same indignations only broke Sidney's spirit. He purchased a plot at the Monroe City Cemetery in late January of 1889 and he killed himself with gunshot to the head on February 1. Annie took the proceeds of Sidney's estate after wrangling with Sidney's siblings over the proper inheritance dispersement. She commissioned the Muldoon Monument Company to build a grand tomb...and societele statement...for Sidney. Sidney's statue holds the marriage license so hotly contested in his hand and faces the "high society" section of Monroe in a stance that is permanant and unforgettable. The carved license is an exact replica of their real marriage license in wording. There are basement style doors in the ground to the antechamber that holds the caskets of Sidney and Willie. Also Sidney's writing desk and chair are inside and it is said Annie spent many hours sitting at it between her husband and child. Annie's sewing machine and Willie's bicycle are purported to be inside the tomb as well as Annie's casket after her death by fire in 1926.

The Saunders monument is inventoried and cataloged by the Smithsonian (url: http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!335352!0#focus). As if the backstory and the impressive nature of the monument itself wasn't enough, the gut-wrenching "stream of consciousness" speeches of Annie's words engraved into the monument are forever heartbreaking:

SIDNEY W. SAUNDERS

1846-1889

IS IT IN HEAVEN

A CRIME TO LOVE TOO WELL?

TO BEAR TOO TENDER

OR TOO FIRM A HEART?

(Side panel:)

WILLIE ST. JOHN

SON OF/W S & A SAUNDERS, DIED MAY 13 1886

WILLIE, MY BELOVED TREASURE

MY BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL LOVING JEWEL

MAMA'S WEARY HEAVY HEART

IS YEARNING TO BE AT REST WITH THEE

OH! ART THOU MY PRECIOUS ANGEL

LONGING TO BE WITH ME YOUR LONELY

UNHAPPY MOTHER

(Left panel on rear of monument:)

SIDNEY I COULD HAVE WELL FORGIVEN

THAT LAST SEEMINGLY CRUEL ACT OF THINE

FOR YOU WANTED ME WITH YOU IN HEAVEN

HAD YOU WITH YOUR LIFE TAKEN MINE

TREMBLING AND ALONE I TREAD

LIFE'S DREARY STRAND

BESET ENVY, STRIFE, AND JEALOUSLY

BUT 'MID IT ALL, GOD AND LOVE OF THEE

HAS STAID MY HAND

TO RAISE THIS MARBLE TO THY MEMORY

(Right panel on rear of monument:)

MY HUSBAND, MY GOD IN MERCY PARDON ME

IF WHEN HERE I COME TO WEEP AND PRAY

ALL MY SOUL AND THOUGHT SHALL BE OF THEE

AND WRAPT IN THEE IDOL FROM THE MAKER STRAY

FAREWELL, THIS MONUMENT IS NOW MY LAST ADIEU

TILL IS HEAVEN WE MEET NO MORE TO SEPARATE

I SAY IN HEAVEN

FOR WHERE'RE YOU ARE, OUR BOY AND YOU

THERE IS MY HEAVEN

FOR THAT ALONE YOUR FAITHFUL, LOVING WIFE

PRAYS, WATCHES AND WAITS

To find Sidney head east on DeSiard from the river, turn into the west entrance of the cemetery. The tomb is not far into the cemetery on the left near the fence, you can't miss him.

UPDATE:I posted this photo on a facebook page about Monroe, Louisiana. Here is a firsthand account from Herbert Otwell who posted about actually peering into the antechamber of the Saunders graves: " I was a supervisor on nights several years ago and we found the lock on the doors missing. We opened then but couldn't go inside because there was about 15'feet of water in the crypt. There are two caskets in the tomb but they are under water." I replied " Thanks for the post, Herbert! How sad it's underwater...I'd heard there were possibly three caskets: Sidney, son Willie St. John and Sidney's wife. His wife, Annie E. Livingston Saunders Hardin, was rumoured to have been interred there after she died from severe burns in 1926. It's also been reported that Sidney's writing desk, chair, her sewing machine and Willie's bicycle were in the tomb as well. " His response: The water was very clear and we could see the contents. There was only two caskets, one had pretty much disenegrated, the other looked to be in good shape. There was nothing else such as chairs, sewing machines, etc in there. There is a space for a third casket but it was vacant. The area down at he bottom is not real big and there was a There was a casket in the space directly in front of the steps and one to the left, which would be north. There was nothing in the space to the south."

The Burning Candle of Forest Park

Simmons-Eason Family Plot

Forest Park East Cemetery

Shreveport, Louisiana

This is a unique idea for a monument and it's placement within the plot. It's centered between two families plots, Simmons on one side and the Easons on the other. The monument itself is beautifully made: red granite flame, white marble candle/holder and a rough cut black granite base. The detail is amazing: a flowery vine twines around the candle and there is even a wax drip sculpted down the side. This is located right by the huge viaduct that runs through the older section (turn left as you enter the main gait and it's in front of the duct on the right).

Anything goes at Hasley Cemetery

Random Family Plots (and I ain't namin' names)

Hasley Cemetery

West Monroe, Louisiana

Hasley Cemetery is located in West Monroe, Louisiana on Arkansas Road. It's the cemetery where my dad is buried along with several other relatives, friends, and neighbors. The funny thing is the city of West Monroe seemingly has no zoning ordinances at all. You may see a great little neighborhood with charming houses, then a mobile home, a used car lot...or car junk yard. The same goes for Hasley Cemetery apparently. Several family plots have the addition of aluminum carport covers over them. I am not sure of the reason, I suppose it provides relief from inclement weather and protection of the grave itself. On the other hand I hate the cookie cutter style of cemetery where the flowers MUST be in a regulation style vase and no tchockes allowed. Personally I feel if you buy that real estate, it is yours to decorate however you please. But the covers, I dunno...it just looks like a "you might be a redneck if..." punchline to me.

A strange thing happened at the Strange Cemetery

Mathews Babies
Strange Methodist Cemetery
Strange, Louisiana


It's funny how you can live all of your life and think you know all about your family who belongs in it, but then you don't. My mom, sister and my youngest went what we call "cemetery hoppin'" early in the summer. My mom is the lone survivor of the Riddle family, the last one left behind, now the keeper of the family stories. My Aunt Grace, the most glamorous and an absolute clean-freak Riddle girl, had had two babies not make it much past their hour of birth. I had no idea until we were headed down the logging trails of the Jackson/Bienville/Natchitoches parishes and my mom said, "Let's go to the Strange Cemetery where Grace's and John's babies are buried." I had little cousins I never knew about! Well after zipping down this road and that, we finally found the way to the little Strange Methodist Church tucked away in a haze of driven over dusty roads and little hills and many trees. The old section is across the street from the church with a horse gate as point of entry. I was determined to get into this section even if it meant squeezing between barbed wire or scaling over the huge gate. I had to meet my cousin/babies! My mom could not remember where the little boys were buried, but I was grateful for the shady section in 100 plus degree Louisiana heat so I could roam the rows. Okay, too much about all the suffering I endure while grave walking, I did find the babies and I absolutely was enthralled at their tiny little homemade sandstone markers. I'd never seen markers like those and from what I remember about sandstone in geology 101, it will eventually erode away. When I took the shot of Billy G. Mathews and moved over to take the other baby's, my camera went a little nuts and kept taking photos with my finger off the shutter button. Okay, weird, never happened before or since...then I load the pics on my computer and guess what? The computer shut down not once, but twice. I then go to their Find-A-Grave memorial (someone had already done their page, but I added the photo), and my computer froze. To the left is one of the shots my camera took by itself. Here's the inscriptions from the graves:

Billy G. Mathews Infant of
Son of John John and Grace
and Grace Mathews Mathews
Born 1933
Aug 4 1935
Died
Aug 20 1935

Sometimes history repeats itself...

Svarvo Family Tomb

Forest Park Cemetery

Shreveport, Louisiana

My oldest daughter and I had gone to check in on my in-laws graves at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, Louisiana. Heavy rains have made several of the cemetery's winding roads impassable in a low profile vehicle, so I was forced to take a different road out. My daughter yelled, "It's John-John!" Well, no, it's actually Carl Svarva, Jr. Carl's little salute was immortalized in marble forty three years before the beloved John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s salute toward his father's casket broke a nation's heart. Carl Jr. is buried between his parents, Carl (who changed his given name spelling from Karl to Carl) and Elizabeth Green Svarva. Here's the stats I could find on the Svarva family: Carl Sr. was born 15 November 1870 in Namsos Norway. He passed away 23 January 1918 (a possible Spanish influenze death, as I think anyone who died in 1918 did since I had two great grandparents meet that end). Carl's wife was Elizabeth M. Green Svarva and she was born in Georgia to a French father and German mother, and yes, this is the right date: 7 November 1846 making her fourteen years older than her husband. Carl (Karl) and Elizabeth married in 1895. The 1900 census has them listed together, as husband and wife, just as their tombs do. Carl has his occupation listed as a storekeeper and their address was 1929 Texas Road in Ward 4 of Shreveport. Carl is also listed in a Louisiana Supreme Court case Banahan Vs. Svarva (property dispute) which was heard two years after his death. Carl Jr. was born on 4 August 1915 and passed away in Calcasieu Parish on 4 June 1920. I will assume he was adopted since Elizabeth would have been 67 years old at his time of birth. Carl Jr. was no doubt loved and adored since it is his likeness featured on the family tomb. The engraved arch above his statue states: "Pappa's little man and Mama's baby." There is no record of the Svarva family in 1910. After the deaths of her husband and son, Elizabeth at age 73 alone is listed in the 1920 census as a boarder with a Morris family on Allen Avenue. She passed away on 8 November 1922.

UPDATE: An ancestor named Shannon commented below with corrections and additional information:

Shannon said...
Carl Svarva was the nephew of John Johnson who arrived first in this country from Norway. He was a green grocer. John Johnson was my ggg grandfather. As the family story goes, the little boy died of yellow fever and was much beloved by his adopted parents. The statue was ordered from Europe with the boys exact measurements and possibly even a death mask. It was supposed to be an exact likeness. He is wearing a WWI uniform, which is why he is saluting. Elizabeth Green was the sister of Ella Green, who married Carl's uncle, John Johnson. Carl Svarva got off the boat in NY with a postcard attached to his chest as to where he was to be sent. He arrived safely in Louisiana and began to make a life for himself. To provide even a little more history. Elizabeth Svarva was not a boarder with the Morris Family in the 1920 census. The Morris Family was living in Elizabeth Svarva's house. Mr. Morris was the butler and chauffeur for the Svarva family. When Elizabeth passed she was supposed to leave her wealth to a younger relative by the name of John Edward. To everyone's surprise, the Morris Family inherited everything. Elizabeth's family called on a lawyer to determine if anything could be done and apparently it could not so the matter was dropped legally. The Morris Family boarded with Elizabeth and the house on Allen Avenue was hers.