Evergreen Cemetery: Hometown History

By Mary Casey-Sturk

Where can you find the final resting place of the founders of Fort Thomas, Wilder and Newport? A visit to Southgate’s Evergreen Cemetery provides that answer as it is the final resting place for them and other well-known locals.

For many with loved ones at Evergreen Cemetery, it’s a lovely setting to grieve and remember, but the Cemetery also provides an opportunity to explore local history. 

History of the Cemetery

The Cemetery is the largest in Campbell County and encompasses 250 acres. It was founded in the 1840s to replace the Newport Cemetery. Within the Cemetery are many notable graves as well as the Shaler Battery. The Shaler Battery was built to defend Cincinnati during the Civil War by the Black Brigade, one of 28 batteries constructed for this purpose from 1861-1863. The battery was named for Dr. Nathaniel Burger Shaler, a prominent physician who offered his family’s hilltop vineyard for this purpose and later the Cemetery purchased this property for an addition. Today, a bandstand is within the battery’s boundaries. The name “Evergreen” was made official in 1879 and in 1902 the chapel was constructed. 

The Black Brigade of Cincinnati was a military unit of African American soldiers organized in 1862. While the history of the Brigade is very complex and well worth researching to learn more, it was through their efforts constructing fortifications such as the Shaler Battery along with miles of roads, rifle pits and more at the border of Northern Kentucky that thwarted a major threat to Cincinnati during the Civil War. 

More recently Hollywood history was made when the Cemetery was the setting for the funeral scene in 1988’s “Rain Man”, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, which was filmed throughout the area.

Notable Graves

Samuel Bigstaff

Samuel Bigstaff (1845-1912), the founder of Fort Thomas is buried here in the Webster crypt (which belonged to his wife’s family). Bigstaff was a local real estate developer, entrepreneur and attorney who initially found himself in the area as a Confederate Prisoner of War in the Newport Barracks- he was just 17 years old. After the Barracks were wiped out during the flood of 1884, it was he who suggested to General Philip Sheridan that the military move operations to higher ground (the District of the Highlands), which became the Fort Thomas Military Post. He also had a role in the development of Cote Brilliant, the Central and Shortway Bridges, and the first golf course in the area.

David Leitch

Wilder, originally called Leitch’s Station, was founded by David Leitch (1753-1794), a native of Glasgow, Scotland who came to America at a young age. After serving in the colonial militia during the Revolutionary War, he purchased 33,000 acres in Campbell County (now part of Wilder, Highland Heights, and parts of Kenton County). This included Leitch’s Station along the Licking River, which was later renamed Wilder. He passed at age 41 and his widow, Keturah Moss Leitch inherited the land and later married General James Taylor, Jr. Originally, Leitch was buried in the yard of the home he shared with Keturah but she had him reburied in Evergreen and was later buried beside him.

General James Taylor, Jr.

When he married the widowed Keturah Moss Leitch, it was a union of the two wealthiest landowners in the area that encompassed Newport, Bellevue, Southgate, Wilder, Fort Thomas, Highland Heights, Cold Spring, and Alexandria. Taylor (1769-1848) was an American banker, Quartermaster General, one of the wealthiest early settlers in Kentucky and a founder (often listed as the founder) of Newport. Wikipedia notes: “On April 1, 1792, just short of his 23rd birthday, Taylor left his father’s plantation for Kentucky accompanied by three slaves, Moses, Humphrey and Adam, and others. They reached Newport but couldn’t find lodging, so he stayed in Cincinnati. His enslaved men worked through the summer to clear 16 acres in fields along the Licking River, plant crops, and build a small cabin on lot no. 6 at the southwest corner of Second Street and Central Avenue.” Taylor became the driving force behind the settlement’s development and in 1794 James Taylor tapped his connections with Kentucky’s leaders to lobby at Frankfort for acts incorporating Newport and creating Campbell County, Kentucky. The Taylor family had two cousins, James Madison and Zachary Taylor, who later become presidents of the United States.

George Washington, Jr. 

While President George Washington is famously buried at his home, Mount Vernon in Virginia, he has a relative at rest in Northern Kentucky. The great-great-grandson of Samuel Washington, George’s brother, was also named George and is also buried at Evergreen Cemetery. George Washington, Jr. was born in Newport in 1843 and died in 1905. 

Brent Spence 

The namesake of the much-maligned bridge, Spence (1874-1967) was a native of Newport and a longtime Democratic Congressman, attorney, and banker. A law graduate from the University of Cincinnati, he was very active in local and state politics. In 1930, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served until he was 88 years old.  Spence chaired the U.S. House Banking and Currency Committee, supported the New Deal and he attended as a delegate the 44-nation Bretton Woods Conference (1944) to promote fair commerce, which led to creating the International Monetary Fund and Bank. 

William Horsfall

14-year-old Horsfall (1847-1922) ran away from home and became a drummer in the Civil War. Catching a ride on the steamship, Annie Laurie, docked in Newport, he served in the army until March 1866. His story begins on December 31, 1861, when he joins the 1^st Kentucky Infantry Regiment that served in the Union Army which was organized in Cincinnati.

Early in his army career, he saved the life of a high-ranking Union officer during the Siege of Corinth and was given the Medal of Honor. After the war, he lived the rest of his life in Newport. His grave is in the Civil War Soldier and Sailors Lot near the front of the Cemetery and there is a plaque in his honor. 

Elsewhere in the Cemetery you will find Thomas M. Doherty, Spanish American War Medal of Honor recipient.

Other notable locals include members of the Weidemann family, major league baseball player Jesse Tannehill, and Henry Youtsey, who was an alleged political conspirator, and a key figure in the assassination in 1900 of Kentucky Governor William Goebel, for which he served 18 years in prison.

Whether you are coming to visit the famous or infamous, the Cemetery is steeped with history and its hillsides are pleasant for peaceful walks. There are many markers within the grounds that you can follow to create your own historic walking tour.

Major David Leitch’s resting place. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, he founded Wilder, KY (originally known as Leitch’s Station).

George Washington, Jr. The great-great-grandson of Samuel Washington, George’s brother, was also named George and is buried just uphill from the entrance of Evergreen Cemetery.

A tall monument-topped with an eagle, marks the resting place of General James Taylor, Jr. .

Samuel Bigstaff, the founder of Fort Thomas is buried in the Webster crypt (which belonged to his wife’s family). Follow the marker to its hillside (and slightly hidden) location.