Crown Hill is proud to be a part of Indianapolis heritage and history. Especially during the month of February, please be sure to visit the Notable African-Americans at Crown Hill Cemetery. The Crown Hill Heritage Foundation has prepared an updated list for your convenience.
Notable African Americans at Crown Hill Cemetery_2012
Crown Hill Cemetery is rich with Indianapolis 500 history. The four founders of the Indy 500 are buried within the beautiful grounds of the cemetery. Crown Hill Cemetery is also the final resting place to Indy 500 winners, drivers, mechanics, car owners, Speedway General Managers, and more.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. To honor the anniversary, we would like to encourage you to visit our cemetery and remember those who have made the Indy 500 the greatest event in racing. The Crown Hill Heritage Foundation has prepared a list of the Indianapolis Auto Greats and Crown Hill Funeral Home is available for assistance.
Goethe Link, one of the founders of the IU School of Medicine and himself a practicing surgeon until his 88th year, bought his wife Helen a bushel of daffodil bulbs one day in the 1940s, thinking they would be a welcome addition to their 50-acre home high on a hill south of Mooresville.
Helen, whose fondness for daffodils went back to childhood and memories of her mother, planted about a thousand bulbs over the next several years, but that was just the beginning. Over the years, she developed many of her own hybrids and at its peak, there were 17 acres and 1,100 varieties of daffodils in bloom each spring, including the bulbs Goethe brought home all those years ago.
The monument for Goethe and Helen Link, surrounded by dozens of Helen's daffodils. ©Marty N. Davis
Goethe Link (1879 – 1981) and Helen Link (1912 – 2002) are buried on the east side of Section 67. The Indiana Daffodil Society planted dozens of Helen’s daffodils around the Link monument.
For more information and pictures of the daffodils, visit Crown Hill Heritge Foundation’s website.
Tthe 2011 Calendar of Tours & Events for Crown Hill Funeral Home, Cemetery, & Heritage Foundation is now available! Please note that dates and times may change. For the most current information, please visit the “Upcoming Events” page on our website.
For a recorded message with updates and details for an upcoming tour or event, please call our Special Events Line at (317) 920-2726.
For the calendar, click here.
The month of March is Women’s History Month. Crown Hill Cemetery is the final resting place to many women who made their mark on Indianapolis history. It is especially important this month to note that the first burial in Crown Hill Cemetery was a woman.
Crown Hill Cemetery was founded on September 25, 1863 and the first burial followed on June 2, 1864. Lucy Ann Seaton died at age 33 of “Consumption”, or Tuberculosis. The Seaton family was new to Indianapolis and her husband John, a Civil War Union Captain, advertised her funeral in the newspaper seeking people to attend, which many did. Their daughter, also named Lucy, was buried alongside her mother just four months later.
The carving at the top of Mrs. Seaton’s monument is of a weeping willow tree, a symbol often used to depict sorrow and mourning. A touching epitaph from her young bereaved husband is recorded on the last line of her monument: “Lucy, God grant I can meet you in heaven.”
In an era where opportunities were limited to African Americans, John Morton-Finney was able to earn eleven bachelor’s degrees and five law degrees. During his life, he learned to speak six languages. His love for learning led him to a life of educating others and possibly to be the longest practicing attorney in the United States with 85 years of practice.
John Morton-Finney served in the 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment from 1911-1914. After an honorary discharge, he received his first degree from Lincoln College in Missouri. When World War I began, he left his one-room schoolhouse to serve the Army again. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the WWI black Army unit known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The Buffalo Soldiers were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army.
After the war, he received more degrees in mathematics, French, and history. While at Lincoln, he enrolled in the French class of Cornell graduate, Pauline Ray. Morton-Finney won the professor’s heart and the two were married. Their daughter, Gloria Ann Morton-Finney, would become a well-known Indiana educator. The couple moved to Indianapolis in 1922.
John Morton-Finney (1889-1998)
Morton-Finney was hired by the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) system in 1922. In 1927, he was hired as one of the first teachers at Crispus Attucks High School. He taught Greek, Latin, German, Spanish, French, Mathematics, and History. He invited presidents of black colleges to speak at Crispus Attucks and made it possible for the students to obtain college scholarships.
In 1935, he earned his first of five law degrees. Morton-Finney practiced law until he retired at the age of 106. He was Indiana’s oldest practicing attorney and believed to be the longest practicing attorney in the United States with 85 years of practice. He became a member of the National Bar Association’s Hall of Fame.
Morton-Finney’s love for learning continued throughout his life. In addition to his degrees from Lincoln College, he received a degree from Indiana University School of Law. At the age of 75, Morton-Finney earned a degree at Butler University. In 1991, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Martin University.
He was aptly recognized for his hard work and achievements. Among his achievements, he was a special White House guest of President George Bush. The IPS School Board unanimously voted to rename the Center for Educational Services to the Dr. John Morton-Finney Center for Educational Services in honor of his 47 years of teaching. In 2003, the IU Board of Trustees approved a residential house on the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus to honor Dr. John Morton-Finney.
John Morton-Finney died two years after retiring from law at the age of 108. He received a full honor military memorial service and was laid to rest at Crown Hill Cemetery, Lot 445, Section 46-B.
James Baskett was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 16, 1904.
Due to financial reasons, Baskett stopped studying pharmacology and moved to New York City. He joined the company of Bill Robinson, also known as Mr. Bojangles. Baskett received much success as an actor in New York. He appeared in Broadway with Louis Armstrong in the all-black revue Hot Chocolates in 1929. He also acted in several all-black films made near New York, including Harlem is Heaven starring Bill Robinson in 1932.
After moving to LA, Baskett landed a supporting role in Straight to Heaven (1932) starring Nina Mae McKinney, and bit parts in the films Revenge of the Zombies (1943) and The Heavenly Body (1944). Baskett then met comedian Freeman Gosden and was invited to join his cast. He portrayed fast-talking lawyer Gabby Gibson in the Amos ‘n’ Andy radio show from 1944-1948.
James Baskett (1904-1948)
In 1945, James Baskett landed the role he would become most famous for, Uncle Remus. Baskett auditioned for the voice of the talking butterfly in the Disney feature film Song of the South (1946),based on the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris. Walt Disney personally met with Baskett and was so impressed by Baskett’s talent, he hired him on the spot for the lead role of Uncle Remus. He was the first actor to be hired by Walt Disney for a full-length, live-action film. Baskett was also given the voice role of Brer Fox, one of the film’s antagonists. In addition to the roles, Baskett sang the now well known song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” for the film. Unfortunately, Baskett was unable to attend the film’s premiere in Atlanta, GA because he would not have been allowed to participate in any of the festivities in what was then a city racially segregated by law.
On March 20. 1948, James Baskett was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for his performance as Uncle Remus. He was the first male performer of African descent to win an Academy Award.
“To James Baskett for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world in Walt Disney’s ‘Song of the South’.”
James Baskett died from heart disease at the age of 44 on January 9,1948. He is fondly remembered by Disney animators and was a personal favorite actor of Walt Disney. But by the years preceding 1998, the film was one of the few from their catalog which Disney would not sell and it was almost impossible to see his performance. The image of a slave singing “Plenty of sunshine heading my way” and “It’s the truth, it’s actual, Everything is satisfactual” has become offensive to many. To Baskett’s acting credit, he became a Disney Legend in 2010. His portrait hung in Crown Hill Funeral Home, until there were several compaints that the Song of the South was offensive.
James Baskett’s final resting place is in Crown Hill Cemetery, Lot 602, Section 37. As a tribute to his acting legacy, his tombstone mentions the honorary Academy Award he won.
Julia Carson worked hard to make a difference in the Indianapolis community. Her hard work led her to a career in political service and the ultimate position of US Congresswoman. She was the first woman and the first African American to be elected to the 7th District. Following in Katie Hall’s footsteps, Carson was the second African American elected to Congress from Indiana.
Born Julia May Porter, her family moved from Louisville, Kentucky to Indianapolis, Indiana. She worked various jobs to help support her family while she was growing up. In 1955, she graduated from Crispus Attucks High School. She then went on to attend Martin University in Indianapolis and IUPUI. While in college, she was a member of the sorority Zeta Phi Beta.
Julia Carson (1938-2007)
In 1965, Carson was hired by newly Congressman Andrew Jacobs to do casework for his office in Indianapolis. After proving herself, Jacobs encouraged Carson to run for the Indiana House of Representatives. In 1976, Carson was elected to the Indiana Senate where she would serve for 14 years. Later, Carson would serve for six years as Trustee for Center Township and was responsible for running welfare in central Indianapolis.
In 1996, Andrew Jacobs retired. Carson ran as his replacement in the then 10th District winning the Democratic endorsement. In the general election, Carson defeated Republican Virginia Blakenbaker to serve in the United States House of Representatives for Indiana’s 7th congressional district from 1997 until her death in 2007. Within the Committee of Financial Services, Carson served on the United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. Within the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Carson served on the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
During 2007, Julia Carson was being treated for a leg infection and was later diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Carson had battled cancer before, but had gone into remission. Julia Carson died on December 15, 2007.
Julia Carson’s funeral was held on December 22, 2007. Her casket was taken to the Indiana Statehouse by horse-drawn military caisson. She was the ninth Hoosier to lie in repose at the Statehouse Rotunda. Thousands of citizens were able to pay their last respects and the funeral services were aired live in central Indiana. At Crown Hill Cemetery, her graveside ceremony included a three-volley solute. Julia Carson’s final resting place at Crown Hill is Lot 172, Section 78.
A special election was held on March 11, 2008 to determine her replacement. Carson’s grandson Andre Carson won the election, defeating Republican Jon Elrod and Libertarian Sean Shepard.
Charles Isham Taylor (1875-1922)
Charles Isham Taylor, also known as C.I. Taylor, made a remarkable impact on black baseball during his lifetime. After attending Clark University in Atlanta and serving in the Spanish-American War, Taylor would begin his long managerial career.
In 1904, Taylor was a playing-manager for the Birmingham Giants. After five seasons in Alabama, Taylor moved the team to West Baden, IN and changed their name to the “Sprudels”. As the playing-manager, Taylor was the second baseman for the Sprudels. Taylor transferred the franchise to Indianapolis in 1914. The team was sponsored by Indianapolis’ American Brewing Company and called the ABCs. In Indianapolis, Taylor was able to develop the ABCs to be a powerhouse, rivaled only by Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants. In 1915, the ABCs would defeat the Chicago American Giants in the Negro World Series. The ABCs would successfully defend their title in 1916.
As a proud team owner, Taylor’s ABCs were always a classy ball club. The ABCs traveled first-class and were always well dressed on and off the field. Even when he disagreed with an umpire, Taylor maintained his composure and always kept his temper.
World War I had an impact on the ABCs. Seven men from the team were drafted into military service. As a proud Spanish-American veteran, Taylor personally toured DC with the mean, pointing out various government institutions and instilling in them a sense of their duty to their country.
In 1920, the Negro National League was formed, and Taylor was named Vice President of the League. The ABCs were a member of the NNL from 1920-1926. The 1922 season was their most successful in the NNL, finishing second with a 46-33 record.
At the early age of 47, Taylor passed away. His widow continued to operate the team for three years before it folded in 1926. His brother Ben served as a playing manger for a year after his death. Taylor’s discipline, patriotism, and baseball strategy are among his many legacies. To carry on his legacy, the Negro League Museum annually honors a “Manager of the Year” with the “Charles Isham ‘C.I.’ Taylor Award”.
C.I. Taylor’s final resting place is in Crown Hill Cemetery, Lot 55, Section 53.
On April 16, 2010, Crown Hill dedicated a time capsule to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). The time capsule was placed behind the Heroes of Public Safety monument and also features a time capsule for the Indianapolis Fire Department. The law enforcement capsule is to be opened every 25 years, with the first opening to be on April 16, 2035. Officer David Moore helped write the inscription on the law enforcement capsule. On January 26, 2011, Officer Moore lost his life after being fatally injured while on duty. Officer Moore is to be buried in the new Heroes of Public Safety section, appropriately near the time capsule.
