Glenwood Cemetery Lockport, New York

01/23/2026

01/07/2026

As we gain more day light, please be patient with us as we figure out the steps necessary to keep our gate open as long as possible. Right now it's open from approx 8am until at least 3:30 - 4pm. 24 hour access is no longer feasible due to a few bad apples. We understand it's frustrating, but the sanctity of our grounds is our highest priority. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

12/29/2025

Please DO NOT attempt to come to the cemetery today. Glenwood Ave is inaccessible, from both directions, due to trees and wires down. There are also multiple trees down in the cemetery. Stay home, stay warm, stay safe!

11/21/2025

Another early 20th century postcard of a tree-lined street in Lockport. This shows Locust Street looking south from Willow Street. This end of Locust was originally an extension of Washburn Street but around 1868, the residents of this stretch of the street petitioned the Lockport Common Council to consider it as a continuation of Locust Street rather than Washburn Street. The house on the left was built by Thomas Throne Flagler in 1862. Flagler was the editor of the Niagara Courier newspaper, president of the Holly Manufacturing Co. and the Niagara County Bank, in addition to several others. He also served in the U. S. Congress and in the NYS Assembly. Flagler died in 1897. The home was purchased by Charles Bishop in 1901 and was occupied until his death in 1934. Bishop was General Manager of the American District Steam Co. After his death, it was rented out for a several years and then acquired by William R. Kenan in 1947 to give him more privacy. In 1962, he was forced by the city to tear it down due to its deteriorating condition. The Flagler/Bishop carriage house now the Kenan Education Building.

The first house on the right, was the home of William H. Lee, President of the Lockport Felt Co. He also held that position in several other companies, as well as serving as State Senator in the NYS Assembly. The house was built in about 1911. Lee died in 1954.

The next house on the right with the large portico, was most notably the residence of Jesse and Arabella Peterson. It had been built in 1863 by Hopkins C. Pomeroy and occupied until his death in 1890. The Petersons purchased the home in 1910 and added the columned front porch a few years later. Jesse Peterson was founder and president of Indurated Fibre until his death in 1921. Arabella organized the SPCA of Niagara County in 1888 after having witnessed two men beating a work horse on the streets of Lockport. After her death in 1929, the organization moved to Niagara Falls where it is still located today.

11/17/2025

Dr. Walter J. Leake
1863-1944
Section 16 Lot 87 Grave 2

Walter J. Leake, was one of the young and progressive dentists of Lockport, was son of Rev. Robert N. and Margaret (Morgan) Leake, and was born in the town of Williamsville, New York, November 20, 1863. Rev. Robert N. Leake was born near London, England, in 1833, and at sixteen years of age came to this country, where he has resided ever since. He married Margaret Morgan, who was born and reared near the world's metropolis in the west of England. Walter J. Leake grew to manhood in western New York, received his education in the public schools of this State, and in 1883 commenced the study of dentistry with the late Dr. Charles Watts, of Lockport. After completing his full course of reading and practice work in 1888, he entered the dental department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated during the year of ’89. He then entered into partnership with his preceptor, Dr. Watts, under the firm name of Watts & Leake. This partnership continued until the death of Dr. Watts, which occurred May 20, 1891. Since then Dr. Leake continued in active practice without any partner. He watched closely the rapid advance of his profession, and made himself acquainted with all its improvements and late invented apparatus. He was the first president of the Lockport Dental Association and he belonged to the Rotary Club, and served as the director of the Lockport YMCA. Dr. Leake retired in 1936 after practicing for more than 50 years.

11/14/2025

For many decades Grace Episcopal Church in Lockport maintained a cemetery on the north side of Lincoln Avenue near Pine Street.
Early church ledgers record hundreds of burials there, the first mentioned being “Mrs. Mary D. Charles, a Communicant” buried in the “church burying ground” on October 15, 1837. Over the next few decades many of Lockport's prominent residents were buried in the cemetery.

In the center of the old cemetery stood a large mausoleum which held the entombed remains of General John Jackson and members of his immediate family.

As early as the 1880's church elders appealed to state officials for permission to move the remains from the cemetery to another area cemetery to make way for residential growth of the city. In 1889, a bill granting permission to move the cemetery passed both the State Senate and the State Assembly. A newspaper article at the time states “The title to this land is held by Messrs. Moody, the well-known nurserymen on Pine Street. Church elders finally authorized the removal of remains on July 25, 1930.

A newspaper article from that time reads as follows:

OLD EPISCOPAL CEMETERY TO MAKE WAY FOR ADAVANCE OF PROGRESS – NOTABLES BURIED THERE.

After resting undisturbed for more than seventy years in the old Episcopal cemetery on Lincoln Avenue, near Pine Street, the last earthly remains of upwards of one hundred early Lockportians are about to be removed to a new lot in Glenwood cemetery to make way for the residential growth of the city. Instead of a desolate area overgrown with trees, shrubbery, grass and weeds, the new location will be suitably marked and placed in perpetual care.
The land occupied in the old cemetery was conveyed to Grace Episcopal Church in 1837 by the late Judge Elias Ransom Jr., whose body lies in the Ransom plot at the northeast corner of the grounds. Judge Ransom died November 23, 1863 and his wife died on December 30, 1875. Four other members of the family, Charles W. and Benjamin Ransom, James and Laura Gladigott share the plot which is surrounded by an iron fence and marked by individual headstones as well as a larger monument. Time and the elements have left their marks even on the granite shaft but the names are still discernable as is the brief epitaph, “Thy Work Shall be Rewarded”.
In the center of the old cemetery is a large stone vault containing the body of General John Jackson, Lockport's first baker, who died April 17, 1875. Whether General Jackson fought in the Civil War or how he obtained the title is not clear, but an article in the”Souvenir History of Niagara County” contributed by the late Joshua Wilber, early Lockport historian, says this about him: “John Jackson, the pioneer baker of Lockport, came from Boston Massachusetts in 1821 and commenced business. His location was on Buffalo Street about on the site of Darrison's flour and grain store. Here, according to the statement given the writer by a pioneer of 1822, Jackson had a small building in which he mixed his dough, and sold his bread and crackers. His first bake oven was made of clay, and built on a platform resting on a large stump in Buffalo Street, in front of the premises. Sticks were inserted in the clay as the oven was formed, and when it was fired these sticks burned, leaving the oven like one solid brick. His brother, Uriah Jackson, was a baker, and worked for John. They used a handstamp and cut out the crackers one at a time.
Ultimately John Jackson built and owned all the buildings to the northwest corner of Main and Cottage Streets, including the corner. General Jackson later in life was extensively engaged in business here and in the west.
The Jackson tomb was undoubtedly once a memorial of beauty with a cross or mage in a niche over the entrance and surrounded by a lawn and iron fence. The image and fence have long since disappeared and until a few years ago when it was cleaned away, wild vegetation almost completely covered the vault.
Besides the body of General Jackson the vault contains the bodies of five other members of the family, Francis R. Jackson who died February 17, 1863, Andrew Jackson who died April 7, 1857; Louisa Jackson who died November 8, 1855; Abigail Burrill who died August 7, 1860 and Mary L. Platt who died July 27, 1855. The caskets were placed in the vault against the wall and sealed in with a brick wall.
While the caskets in the vault are still in good condition, investigation has shown that those in the earth outside have crumbled away and the bodies, except for a few of the larger bones have returned to the dust “from when they came”. Whether the plot was used for burials before it was turned over to the church in 1837 is not known but the stones indicate that some persons buried there died many years before. They may have been originally buried elsewhere and later moved to the plot.
The oldest stone on the grounds bears the inscription “Charlotte, daughter of George and Lydia Trowbridge, September 11, 1811. Another old stone indicates that the occupant of the grave beneath died in 1818.
A tale of sorrow is recalled by one stone which indicates that three Blackley boys, aged 7 months, 10 years and 23 years, respectively, all died in the month of October 1855. While reading the stone it is easy to imagine some plague such as smallpox or cholera swept the family carrying off the children in rapid succession.
In another part of the cemetery a plain stone slab announces that Dr. H. Thomas lies there. He died February 27, 1840 at the age of 40 years.
Many persons buried there came from England and the phrase “Native of England” and “Native of Cornwall” is a familiar expression on the stones.
One of the best preserved tombstones bears the inscription “Joseph Scott, 75, died August 25, 1866”. The stone was cut by Williams and Mathers, Lockport. Their trademark is lightly cut on the base of the stone.
Although some burials were made later the cemetery has not been regularly used for the past seventy years and the stones indicate that most internments were made during the Civil War period. Gradually the cemetery fell into neglect; small saplings sprang up and grew into aged trees. The roots now practically cover many graves.

Michael Niethe is the former superintendent of Glenwood Cemetery and a current trustee of the Glenwood Cemetery Association.

11/13/2025

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” — Hebrews

The anchor has long symbolized the steadfast hope found in Christ. Early Christians, facing persecution, adopted the anchor as a discreet emblem of their faith—its form cleverly disguising the cross. It often served as a secret sign, guiding believers to hidden places of worship. In the ancient world, the anchor also represented safety and hope, a fitting metaphor for spiritual steadfastness.

The most stylized form, known as the Mariner’s Cross, merges the imagery of an anchor and a cross. This symbol emerged during the Roman persecutions and is also called Saint Clement’s Cross, in honor of Pope St. Clement I, who served as Bishop of Rome from about 91 to 101 AD. One of his most revered acts was writing a letter to the Corinthians—one of the earliest known Christian documents beyond the New Testament.

More literally, the anchor functions as an occupational symbol of seamanship and may mark the grave of a sailor. It is also sometimes used as a tribute to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors.

Further reading
https://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/st-clement-of-rome-died-110-ad.html

11/12/2025

Please take notice that hunting, scouting and gutting of deer, or other wildlife, is STRICTLY PROHIBITED inside the cemetery, and in the cemetery owned wooded area West of the cemetery (all the way to Michigan St.) This is considered trespassing and the local authorities will be called.
This is yet another reason we are closing cemetery gates at 3:30pm. Our priority is the sanctity of the grounds and safety of staff and visitors.