Welcome to Forest Glen Cemetery (also known as Saint John the Evangelist Cemetery). This is our first multi and will hopefully be the first of several highlighting notable gravesites in the region.
N 39 0.ABC W 77 3.DEF
Stage 1 will bring you to the marker for Daniel Carroll. Born into the prominent Carroll family, Daniel was a cousin of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (a signer of the Declaration of Independence and namesake of multiple U.S. counties) and a brother of Archbishop John Carroll (the founder of Georgetown University). A slaveholder and important landowner, in 1787 Carroll was a delegate to the Constitiutional Convention. While there he was outspoken in favor of a centralized national governement (a view he shared with his friend James Madison). After being one of only two Catholic signers of the U.S. Constitution, Carroll served one term in the House of Representatives. Due to his status as one of the region's elite, Carroll was one of three commisioners in charge of surveying the new District of Columbia. Daniel Carroll was also a friend and business partner of George Washington, as both were some of the wealthiest men in the area.
A = the number of letters in the first word on the second line of the small plaque.
B = the number of letters in the third word on the third line of the big plaque.
Stage 2 will bring you to the gravesite of Robert Brent. A nephew of Daniel Carroll, Brent became wealthy by selling Aquia Creek sandstone to the government for use in the construction of the Capitol, White House and other buildings in the new capital city. When Washington D.C. was incorporated in 1802, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Brent as its first mayor, a post he would hold until 1812. While serving as mayor, Brent established the first D.C. public schools, fire and police departments, and tax system. In 1817, Brent's daughter Eleanor (who is buried with him) married Congressman Joseph Pearson. As a present to the newlyweds, Brent commissioned noted architect Benjamin Latrobe to design and build the Brentwood Mansion. In later years this mansion would become a hub of the D.C. social scene. Although it no longer exists, Brentwood Mansion would give its name to the Brentwood neighborhood of D.C. as well as the town of Brentwood in Prince George's County. Although originally buried at Brentwood Mansion, in 1915 Robert Brent's remains were transferred to Forest Glen Cemetery.
Nearby Robert Brent, you will find the grave of Colonel John Carroll Goodfellow.
C = The digit of the day that Colonel Goodfellow died minus 1.
Stage 3 will bring you to the grave of Frederick Nicholas Zihlman. Although born near Pittsburgh in 1879, Zihlman grew up in Cumberland, Maryland. Working in a glass factory from an early age, Zihlman rose through the ranks of his union, eventually becoming the president of the Maryland State Federation of Labor in his late twenties. After serving in the Maryland State Senate for eight years, Zihlman was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916. A Republican, Zihlman chaired the House Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department from 1919 to 1923. However in 1929, Zihlman's career was tainted by scandal when he was accused of bribery. While a House inquiry acquitted Zihlman after finding the evidence against him unsatisfactory, the episode damaged Zihlman to the point that he was defeated in a subsequent bid for reelection. After leaving Congress, Zihlman lived the last few years of his life in Cumberland where he died at the age of 55 in 1935.
Next to Zihlman is the grave of William J. Callaghan.
DEF = The year of William J. Callaghan's birth minus 1542.
The final is a short drive away.