Hip To Be Square

When you drive through the gates of Oakwood Cemetery at the Comstock Avenue entrance, keep to the road on the right and soon you'll see this imposing, angular mausoleum located up a slight grade, tucked back near the treeline.

This art deco structure is the final resting place of Alexander Timothy Brown (1854-1929), his wife, Mary Lillian Seamans Brown (1863-1932), their youngest son Julian Stephen Brown (1887-1929), and eldest son Charles Seamans Brown (1885-1953) along with his wife, Iola Warrior Brown (1889-1968).

Alexander Timothy Brown

Mary Lillian Seamans Brown

Charles Seamans Brown

Julian Stephen Brown

Unfortunately, my searches for a photograph of Iola Warrior Brown have been fruitless so far. As of this writing, she exists in name only.

The Brown mausoleum has always held a fascination for me, tall, bold and boxy, the upper level with its twelve skinny panes of stained glass. So different from the curvy, softer-edged monuments nearby.

I've watched Brown through the years as it became covered in a tangle of foliage and vines, then trimmed clean. When the doors had glass in the windows, and then no glass, courtesy of those who wreak destruction on beautiful objects.

I started photographing the doors long ago, watching as they aged and developed an ever-changing patina. They're tiny in comparison to the bulky stone that surrounds them.

The windows are small and narrow and the bottoms are just a couple of inches higher than eye level for me. The bars that define the panes always prevent any of my camera lenses from fitting in to photograph what's hiding amid the blackness. So I've always stayed to the outside and the doors.

I'm a camera purist, but, recently, decided to change my tactic and forgo my Nikon and fancy lenses and use the Galaxy cellphone to see what I could find in the darkness.

Between my hand and the phone, I still could not reach inside the windows. But, reaching up, holding the phone upright against the outside, and using a flash I was finally able to catch the glimpse I wanted.

Inside were six crypts, five of them the Browns, and an oval medallion on the back wall. But, is it a wall or some type of doorway because of the vertical split in the middle? Could the medallion be a seal? And what does the figure on the medallion represents? Is he a soldier? A blacksmith?

All of the men interred here were men of industry. Perhaps this plaque is a representation of that?

Sadly, the floor is littered with pieces of stone that have fallen from above. It's apparent no one has been inside for a very long time, and it probably isn't safe to do so now.

I couldn't photograph much more than that from outside, even with a flash. But, I did catch a shadow of something mysterious hanging in the center of the tower. How would I be able to get a photo? Walking inside would never be an option.

Then I thought of a selfie stick

Coming back a couple of weeks later I brought the stick, cellphone, and a roll of clear packing tape. Fingers crossed for positive results.

Popping the phone into the brackets and adding a healthy amount of packing tape for security, slipping the phone sideways through one of the window openings, I rotated the lens upward and pulled the trigger. Flash.

What I discovered was something beautiful and out of the ordinary. Hidden away from all eyes in the upper tower area was a large ball, suspended in the center, with color from all twelve windows bouncing gloriously on it.

What was it made from? How heavy could it be? The color appears blue, but it could be silver. Was there a purpose beyond just a decoration?

So many questions still need to be answered.

This narrative isn't over. Alexander, Charles, and Julian are fascinating stories on their own.

Sometimes when things rise to the surface they only make you want to dig deeper, and that's where I will go in a later post.

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@ 2022 Christine Shephard Photography

No portion of this article or copyrighted photos may be used without express written consent from Christine Shephard Photography.

Photographs of the Brown Family courtesy of Find A Grave.