Endnotes: Winter 2020Western New York Heritage Article Effects Positive Change
By Douglas W. DeCroix
Readers may remember that our Winter 2019 issue featured William Greco’s story of Grace Taylor, the first African American to receive a 24K gold Jesse Ketchum Medal from the Buffalo Public Schools for her scholarship in 1884. Well, Jeff Reed, President of Mount Calvary Cemetery, Inc. certainly does.
After reading Greco’s story (along with a follow-up piece that Sean Kirst penned in The Buffalo News) and learning that Grace had been interned with no grave marker in Ridge Lawn Cemetery (which is one of several properties operated by Mount Calvary), he wanted to do something about it. “We believe that every life has a story to tell,” Reed explained. “It was important to take action to memorialize this pioneering woman.”
Getting in touch with author William Greco, Reed was able to reach out to Dr. Sandra Anderson Garcia, a direct descendant of Ms. Taylor’s, who related important biographical information about her ancestor and her family, filling in the necessary dates along with other facts about this remarkable woman.
Reed then worked with the Stone Art Memorial Company to create a flat granite marker—at Mount Calvary’s expense—for Grace Taylor, as well as for the nearby grave of Ida Fairbush, Buffalo’s first African American teacher. Taylor’s marker features a facsimile of the Jesse Ketchum Medal. The two markers were installed at Ridge Lawn in October 2019.
Grace’s grave marker includes a reference to her scholarship as well as a facsimile of the 24K gold Jesse Ketchum Medal she was awarded.
Credit: Western New York Heritage photograph, 2020
With the markers in place, Reed hopes that the memorialization process will continue into the future. Tentative plans include a possible graveside ceremony with future Jesse Ketchum Medal awardees as part of a collaboration with the Buffalo schools to ensure that these important figures in Western New York’s history continue to be remembered and with the hope that their stories will continue to inspire future generations of Western New York students.
At Western New York Heritage, we are humbled to know that our efforts to share such pieces of our region’s rich and diverse heritage can effect such positive change in our community. This is a perfect example of what “pride of place,” that is central to our mission statement, is all about. We would like to applaud Jeff Reed and Mount Calvary Cemetery for their community spirit, as well as author William Greco for his tireless efforts to share the inspiring story of Grace Taylor and for his assistance and leadership in helping to make this project a reality. We are also extremely proud of the long-standing relationship we share with Jeff and Mount Calvary Cemetery, as our offices have long stood just inside the gates of the Buffalo Cemetery, another of Mount Calvary’s properties.
