County of structure: St; Louis Independent City
Location of structure: Linden, Memorial & Magnolia (inside cemetery), W. Florissant Ave., St. Louis
Built: 1865
Architect: George I. Barnett
Architectural Style: Classical
This 53 foot tombstone actually is erected over an underground crypt. The crypt houses the body of John O'Fallon and several other family members. There are also over 20 family members interred in the ground within the family circle but outside the crypt circle.
The Seven Virtues on Grave Stones
HOPE
In art, Hope is often seen with wings. In Funerary Art she seldom has wings, which probably upset the balance of groupings of Virtues. But she is almost always seen with an anchor, an ancient symbol of hope. Artistic depictions of her may show her with a ship on her head, an allusion to the hopeful voyage to the next realm, or with a basket of flowers." ~
Stories in Stone, by Douglas Keister, 2004, page 103
Tombstone Text:
COLONEL JOHN O'FALLON,
BORN IN JEFFERSON COUNTY KENTUCKY,
NOVEMBER 17, 1791,
IED IN ST LOUIS MISSOURI,
DECEMBER 17, 1865.
In Peace and in war he fulfilled every duty of a citizen
and soldier and lived and died without a blemish on his name
"31. Col. John O’Fallon, philanthropist; founded city’s Polytechnic
Institute & Pope Medical College
George I. Barnett, architect
Built: 1865
Granite. 50-foot tall fluted classical column with 13-foot standing female holding an anchor and a cross symbolizing hope. In 1865, was
noted as the largest private funerary memorial in the United States." - NRHP Nomination Form
JOHN O'FALLON
A successful railroad tycoon and banker, and nephew of William Clark, the pedestaled figure marking his grave in the middle of this round lot is called "Hope" which faces the river and was designed by George I. Bennett." ~ Bellefontaine Cemetery Brochure
"John O'Fallon (1791-1895) was a nephew and later adoptee of William Clark and a former Captain (not Colonel) in the U.S. military. He fought in the War of 1812 and a series of battles with Native Americans commonly termed Indian Wars. After President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act (1830), John O’Fallon helped his uncle remove Native Americans from their lands east of the Mississippi River. He amassed great wealth through the machinations of white settler colonialism, first by supplying colonial expeditions hastened in large part by his uncle, William Clark, and later through investments in enslavement, land, banking, and railroads which built on these networks. Though he attained the military rank of captain O'Fallon gave himself the title colonel, believing it more befitting his stature, and contemporaries and public memory have largely obliged." ~ Washington University & the Slavery Project
"John Benjamin O’Fallon was born on 17 November 1791 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. He died on 17 December 1865 at the age of seventy-four in St. Louis. O’Fallon, Illinois, and O’Fallon, Missouri, are named after him.
"John received his education in law at an academy (which later became Centre College) in Danville, Kentucky, financed by his uncle, William Clark. In 1810, John went to Lexington, Kentucky, to further his education. While there, he studied law under Robert Todd, whose daughter would later marry Abraham Lincoln.
"John joined the army in 1811 and was severely wounded at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was promoted to ensign in the First U.S. Infantry in September 1812 and served throughout the War of 1812 under Gen. Benjamin Harrison, who became a close personal friend. John was based in St. Louis by 1813 where, assisted by his uncle, Gen. William Clark, he worked for the Missouri Fur Company
"John was promoted to first lieutenant in the 24th U.S. Infantry and in August 1818 he was again promoted to the rank of captain in the 2nd U.S. Rifle Regiment. He resigned his commission in the army later that year. In 1821, John was an elected a member of Missouri’s first state legislature. He was the first president of the St. Louis branch of the Bank of the United States, and in 1857, Col. O’Fallon donated more than $1,000,000 to establish the O’Fallon Institute at what is now Washington University in St. Louis." ~ St. Louis Genealogical Society