Lakeview Cemetery

Bridgeport, Connecticut

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Lakeview Cemetery entrance

Lakeview Cemetery, originally named Pembroke Burial Ground, is a large cemetery located at 885 Boston Avenue in a rather run-down section of Bridgeport. The earliest graves date from around 1800 - the cemetery was officially established in 1810 - but there are two graves lost among the multitude, that date from the mid-1700s. (These graves belong to Mr. & Mrs. Sherman, pictured, below.) The cemetery's 51 acres are packed with monuments from different eras, many crammed on top of one another, with no rhyme or reason as to why certian areas are jammed with mixed-era burials while other areas remain sparse. The right-hand side of the cemetery has mostly recent burials against the fence, that give the cemetery a garish, carnival-like feel. All manner of ornamentation, tchotchkes, and large flags (with huge portraits of the deceased) adorn the fence. The best way I can describe the cemetery is...bizarre (see the photo of the "chair", below). Aviation pioneer, Gustave Whitehead, who supposedly took to the skies before the Wright Brothers, is buried here. (His memorial follows.) Lakeview also has two extensive sections for war veterans, many who died in service. While most veterans are from the two World Wars, there are also veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Mexican Border service, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Just a few blocks away is Saint Augustine Cemetery.

Interesting inhabitant of Lakeview Cemetery: Theophilus Judd. Although born in Fairfield County, Judd fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the Battle of Gettysburg, wounded Confederate prisoners were detained in West U.S. Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. On 31 August 1863, to secure his release, Judd had to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America. He returned to Bridgeport, Connecticut and remained here until his death on 11 May 1910 (aged 71 or 72 years). I was unaware of his story at the time of my visit and therefore did not photograph his grave.

Curious as to why Bridgeport - Connecticut's most populous city that can trace its earliest European settlement to 1644 - only has one cemetery with stones dating from the 1700s? Visit the page, The Mystery of Bridgeport's Missing Cemeteries.

Estimated number of interments, as of January 2024: over 38,000.

A few photos were taken 4 April 2011; the majority were taken 26 July 2021.

Rebeckah Sherman space saver Benjamin Sherman

The two oldest stones I found at Lakeview.

"Here lyes ye Body of

Mrs. REBECKAH SHERMAN

Wife to Mr. BENJAMIN SHERMAN

Who Died August 5th 1739

Aged 75 Years."

"Here lyes Buried ye Body of

Mr. BENJAMIN SHERMAN

Who Departed this life

Aug.st 29th 1741

in ye 80th Year of his Age."

Edmund & Ellen Wilmarth

"FLT

Edmund D. Wilmarth

Jan. 31, 1841

Aug. 23 1885"

(FLT stands for Friendship, Love and Truth and signifies

membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.)

"Ellen E. Bennett

His wife

Mar. 27, 1841

Apr. 8, 1905"

Gustave Whitehead space saver

Arguably the most famous inhabitant of Lakeview.

"Gustave Whitehead

Jan. 1, 1874 Oct. 10, 1927

Father of Connecticut Aviation

On Aug. 15, 1964 this headstone was erected

by the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association

as a tribute to the efforts and genius of

Gustave Whitehead, aviation pioneer, inventor, designer

and builder of many early aircraft and engines.

Whitehead constucted the first airplane in Connecticut.

A student of the German aeronautical pioneer, Otto Lilienthal,

he claimed to have successfully flown his Number 21 and 22

airplanes at Fairfield, Bridgeport and Lordship

during 1901 and 1902."

""First in Flight"

1901

Gustave Whitehead

Recognized by:

The "Bible" of aviation, Jane's All the World's Aircraft

in their 100th edition (2013 - 2014)

The Connecticut General Assembly, June 25, 2013

& the Governor of Connecticut,

Dannel P. Malloy, June 26, 2013"

Whitehead's earliest flight predates the Wright Brothers'

by two years. Whitehead was brushed aside when the estate of

Orville Wright stipulated that the Smithsonian National Air

and Space Museum, as a condition of owning and displaying the

Wright Brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer, must recognize and label it

as the first heavier-than-air machine to make a manned, powered,

controlled and sustained flight. If the Smithsonian acknowledged

Gustave Whitehead's achievement, the institution would lose the

right to display the Wright Brothers' flying machine.

2nd Lt. Earl Chambers

"Korean Campaign

Earl F. Chambers

2d Lieut.

Co. B 502d Airbne. Inf.

Died July 27, 1953

Age 21"

Chambers was killed, according to his fellow platoon members,

the night of the ceasefire. He was supposedly the last officer

killed during the Korean War.

Chambers was awarded the Purple Heart,

the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal,

the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal,

the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the

Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

Corp. Birden Lawson

"Vietnam

Birden J. Lawson, Jr.

Corporal

187th Inf. 101st Abn. Div.

Died May 18, 1969

Age 20"

Corporal Birden J. Lawson, Jr. was killed by North Vietnamese forces

while trying to take Hill 937 (Dong Ap Bia or "Hamburger Hill"), Thua Thien province,

South Vietnam. He was awarded the Purple Heart and his name appears

on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

All photos copyright by the author, 2021. Not to be used or reproduced without permission.