We all know our city is flush with living and breathing people doing incredible things but did you know we also house some pretty cool dead people as well? From political figures to movie stars, Cleveland has a wide variety of note-worthy people buried right here in the city’s cemeteries.
We all know our city is flush with living and breathing people doing incredible things but did you know we also house some pretty cool dead people as well? From political figures to movie stars, Cleveland has a wide variety of note-worthy people buried right here in the city’s cemeteries.
By Brandon Koziol
Carl B. Stokes (1927-1996) – Lakeview Cemetery
Mayor Stokes that is! He served as the first black mayor of a major American City (Cleveland, 1968). (Photo via Cleveland Memory Project)Bob Feller (1918-2010) – Gates Mills
Batter up and a strike out! Bob “Bullet” Feller is a Cleveland Indians pitcher who’s said to be the best Indians player of all time. The National Baseball Hall of Famer was the first to pitch “a complete game no-hitter on opening day,” according to his website (Photo via Boston Public Library, Flickr CC)James A. Garfield (1831-1881) – Lakeview Cemetery
Who said Clevelanders can’t be President? Naysayers can step aside because James A. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States. He now rests right here at a must-see monument in Lakeview after being assassinated just 200 days in office. (Photo via Cleveland Memory Project)Edwin Converse Higbee (1837-1906) – Lakeview Cemetery
Responsible for spreading department stores throughout northeast Ohio, Higbee became a stepping stone for Dillards. He started out with a dry-goods and clothing store called Hower & Higbee. Long after his death, the Higbee name remained until Dillards bought the company.John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) – Lakeview Cemetery
He’s basically THE Captain of Industry back in the booming age of oil and machinery. Rockefeller is the brainchild of Standard Oil, becoming a tycoon and philanthropist. (Photo via Bruce Fingerhood, Flickr CC)Chief Thunderwater (1865-1950) – Erie St. Cemetery
Credited for being the inspiration for Chief Wahoo, he’s a famous Iroquois Chief from New York who came to Cleveland and worked to preserve his people’s rights and culture. He also improved their welfare and image among white Americans. (Photo via
Elizabethe, Flickr CC)George Washington Crile (1864-1943) – Lakeview Cemetery
No, not that George Washington. Crile holds the title of the first physician to perform a successful blood transfusion. He’s also a co-founder of the Cleveland Clinic. Who would’ve known?(Photo via Wikimedia)Frankie Yankovic (1915-1998) – Calvary Cemetery
We built this city on Polka? Cleveland’s the choice home to this American Polka King who had 200 recordings and one landed him the first ever Grammy for Best Polka Recording in 1968. (Photo via Wikimedia)Raymond Johnson Chapman (1891-1920) – Lakeview Cemetery
Raymond was a Cleveland Indians’ shortstop, and the only player in Major League history to die from being hit by a pitch. Today, his gravestone is adorned with baseball memorabilia. (Photo via Wikimedia)Charles J. “Cupid” Pinkney (1888-1909) – Lakeview Cemetery
Charles is another baseball player to die from being hit by a pitch, but he never made the majors. Cupid played second base for the Ohio Central League and was a reported fan favorite.The Holidays with Helen!
Sat. Dec. 8
Scene Archives PhotoMay Allison (1890- 1989) – Gates Mills South Cemetery
May Allison graced the silver screen with movies such as The Telephone Girl and I Want My Man. She has 59 credits to her name, according to IMDb. (Photo via Wikimedia)Gloria Pressman (1923-1991) – Lakeview Cemetery
Who is Gloria Pressman? It’s still up for debate. She’s thought to be star of early Little Rascals films and later Jazz vocalist. Some believe and others think her fame was invented after her death.John Patterson Green (1845-1940) – Woodland Cemetery
Green served as the first black state senator in Ohio, and was the man who introduced a bill to make Labor Day a state holiday in 1890. The U.S. Congress adopted it as a national holiday in 1984.Liberty Holden (1833-1913) – Lake View Cemetery
As former owner of the Plain Dealer, Liberty Holden was a successful investor. He kicked off the morning Plain Dealer and had a hand in constructing the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Photo via Elizabeth R., Yelp)Joc-O-Sot (1810-1844) – Erie St. Cemetery
As one of Cleveland’s most notorious ghosts, Indian Sauk Chief got his start fighting in the Black Hawk war against the U.S in 1830. He sustained a gun shot wound but survived and joined a vaudeville troupe in Cleveland to raise money for his tribe. The chief died in the Warehouse district, but wanted to return to his home in Minnesota. It’s said his ghost still roams Erie Cemetery.(Photo via
Elizabethe, Flickr CC)Simpson Thorman (1811-12-1881) – Mayfield Cemetery
Simpson is the first permanent Jewish resident of Cleveland, coming all the way from Unsleben, Bavaria. (Photo via Daniel L., Yelp)Newton D. Baker (1871-1937) – Lake View Cemetery
Before Baker’s fate in Lake View, he served as the Secretary of War for President Woodrow Wilson and Cleveland’s mayor from 1912 to 1916. (Photo via Wikimedia)Eliot Ness (1903-1957) – Lakeview Cemetery
Eliot Ness was an iconic prohibition-era investigator in Chicago and later became the director of public safety in Cleveland. Most importantly, he’s the namesake of the greatest amber lager in history.Charles Good (Uknown) – Woodland Cemetery
Charles Good is a black Civil War veteran. He’s one of 86 others who were buried there as well. (Photo via Tom Gill, Flickr CC)Ernest R. Ball (1878-1927) – Lakeview Cemetery
Although not Irish himself, Ernest ball was an american songwriter born in Cleveland who’s most famous for his composition, “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”(Photo via Wikimedia)
