Bergh Mausoleum

Henry Bergh Vault Style Mausoleum
August 29, 1811 – March 12, 1888
Green-Wood Cemetery
Brooklyn, New York

Henry Bergh was born into a wealthy family. After Henry graduated from college he worked in a shipyard owned by his father. His father sold the shipyard a few years later, and gave Henry a substantial inheritance, some of which he used to tour Europe with his new bride Catherine. While in Europe he observed that animals, and in particular work animals, were often treated better than they were in the United States. Bergh found his calling, and in April 1866 he founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). In 1874 he was instrumental in establishment of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and in 1878 of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

When Bergh died on March 12th 1888, his body needed to be put in the receiving vault in St. Marks Church in Manhattan until the roads could be cleared of snow. Three days later, the funeral procession, with Mayor Abram Hewitt as a pallbearer, and other luminaries including circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum in attendance, made its way to Green-Wood. In 2006 a large bas-relief was installed at the base of Bergh’s pyramidal mausoleum. For the first time in over 100 years, the public was invited to bring their pets into Green-Wood.
Text and copy © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page

[address cemetery=”Green-Wood Cemetery” street=”Willow Avenue” city=”New York” state=”New York” zip=”11218″]