History
In 1892, Wooldridge lost the last of his sisters, leaving him with no immediate family; he was a lifelong bachelor. This prompted him to buy a lot at Maplewood Cemetery.
The monuments were gaining attention even in Wooldridge's lifetime, as represented in the November 7, 1897 issue of Republic. Stories told of the monuments include the Minnie statue actually representing a childhood sweetheart whose early death due to horse riding prompted Wooldridge's bachelorhood (family records say it was of a niece) and that Wooldridge was such a miser that money was buried with him in his tomb.
Read more about this topic: Wooldridge Monuments
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“I saw the Arab map.
It resembled a mare shuffling on,
dragging its history like saddlebags,
nearing its tomb and the pitch of hell.”
—Adonis [Ali Ahmed Said] (b. 1930)
“History takes time.... History makes memory.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)