Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Community, Conservation & Citizen Science | Page 15

William Cummings
(1840–1910)
Lot 322, Chestnut Avenue
William Cummings was a gas fitter
from Boston. In 1862, he enlisted
in the Union Army, serving as a
Private in Company H of the 24th
Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry. He was discharged for
disability in May 1864 in Fort
Monroe, VA, shortly after participating in
ferocious fighting on Drewry’s Bluff, VA, in
which the 24th took terrible losses: 11 killed,
and 54 wounded or missing. Cummings
appears to have been institutionalized
following his discharge, and he died in 1910
at the Boston State Hospital.
Emily Parsons
(1824–1880)
Lot 608, Greenbriar Path
Emily Parsons trained as a nurse
in the early 19th century—a rarity
for women at the time. In 1861,
at age 37, she became a nurse for
the Union army. She served at
Fort Schuyler Military Hospital
on Long Island, Lawson Hospital
in Missouri, and the hospital
steamship City of Alton, which
travelled the Mississippi River
providing medical care to soldiers,
including during the Battle of
Vicksburg. She aided the escape of many African
Americans from slavery during that time. Parsons
was placed in charge of the Benton Barracks
Hospital in St. Louis, where she helped reduce
death rates and improve conditions for African
American patients. After the war, she returned to
Massachusetts and opened Cambridge Hospital—
now Mount Auburn Hospital.
Frank Howard Nelson
(1843–1862)
Lot 2845, Ivy Path
Frank Howard Nelson
was born in Boston and
served as the Lieutenant of
19th Regiment, New York
Infantry. He fought and died
in the Battle of Williamsburg,
VA, at the age of 19. Nelson
is buried elsewhere, but a
cenotaph honoring him was
placed in his family’s lot. His
marble headstone is topped
with a carved military-
themed motif.
Mason Rea
(1838–1864)
Lot 669, Cypress Avenue
Mason Rea served as 1st
Lieutenant of the 24th
Massachusetts Volunteer
Regiment K. He was killed in
action at Drewry’s Bluff, VA, on
May 16, 1864, at age 26. Rea’s
remains were first interred on
the battlefield, but were later
moved to Hollywood Cemetery
in Richmond, VA, in 1865. Rea’s
family placed a marble cenotaph in his memory at
Mount Auburn, featuring a sword and flag in relief
diagonally across the front.
2017 Volume 2 | 13