Woodlawn Cemetery Noteworthy Interments

Among the thousands of departed loved ones resting at Woodlawn Cemetery are those whose names are recognizable for their extended contributions to local and national history.  Following are a few of these individuals, many of whom have schools in Washington, D.C., named in their honor:

U.S. Senator Blanche K. Bruce

Blanche K. Bruce was born a slave in 1841.  By 1864, he had organized and taught at a school in Hannibal, Missouri. He later became Sergeant at Arms in the Mississippi State Legislature, a member of the Mississippi Levee Board, Sheriff and Tax Collector of Bolivar County, and County Superintendent of Education.  In 1875, Bruce was elected to the U.S. Senate and served until 1881.  He held several political positions in Washington, D.C., and was a trustee of Howard University and of the public schools of the District of Columbia.

James F. Bundy, born during slavery in 1862, was educated at Oberlin College and later at Howard University. In 1890, he was appointed Secretary/Treasurer of Howard University Law School, where he served until his death in 1914.

W. Bruce Evans, born in 1866, graduated from Howard University Medical School in 1891. He developed Armstrong High School, the District’s first technical school, and was its initial principal in 1901.

John R. Francis was born in 1859 in Washington, D.C.  He subsequently graduated from Howard University and later from the University of Michigan School of Medicine.  He was the first Assistant Surgeon at Freedmen’s Hospital and in 1894 became Acting Surgeon-in-Chief.  From 1886-1889 he was a trustee of the public schools of the District of Columbia.

John Mercer Langston, born during slavery in 1829, became a lawyer, educator and representative in Congress from Virginia. He was also Inspector General of the Bureau of Freedmen (1868), Dean of the Howard University Law School (1869-1879), Vice-President and Acting President of Howard University (1872), and a delegate to the Republican National Convention (1876).

Winfield Scott Montgomery, born in 1853 in Mississippi, served in several prestigious positions elsewhere before making Washington, D.C., his home in 1892.  During a long career in the D.C. school system, he earned a medical degree from the Howard University School of Medicine in 1890.

Adapted from material written by Paul E. Sluby, Sr., C.G.