The Search for Osteologist Charles Edmund Mirguet (1860 – 1929)

Etched in Stone

• By DAVID PIERCE –

David Pierce’s bi-monthly Etched in Stone explores New York’s Buried Past by researching and sharing stories from his ancestors who are buried in New York. The images he provided for this piece are all at least 100 years old.

MOTIVATION

Inevitably, the day to day lives of our ancestors fade over time along with the cemeteries and gravestones that mark their final resting places. Older burial grounds become neglected, forgotten and many, for better or worse, fall into ruin; some disappear forever.  

Sharing New York’s buried past helps preserve the rich histories of brave men and women who have gone before us. Lives of great expectation, long lives and short lives, lives of joy and sorrow, lives of triumph and tragedy, lives of gain and loss…are all shared and preserved when descendants honor their ancestors through recognition, research and reverence.

WINTER

Wintertime slows the pursuit of knowledge and discovery within the stone-cold cemeteries of New York State.  In this season, snow and bitter winds hide the historical treasures of New York’s buried past, as those who have passed before us slumber beneath. During this quiet season, focus shifts to indoor research and reflection on yet another ancestor with a fascinating journey through life.

THE CEMETERY

The remains of Charles Edmund Mirguet lie in the Mirguet family plot, in Section C of Rochester, New York’s Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.  Sprawling on 340 acres, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery has been the final resting place of thousands of souls for nearly 150 years. Since 1871 the cemetery has been dedicated to providing a sacred place to gather with family and friends to pray, remember, and celebrate life.

In a February 21, 1929 Rochester Times Union article announcing his funeral, Osteologist Charles Edmund Mirguet was described as a “Famed Rochesterian, Scientist of Smithsonian Institution.” The article further reported that he “Gave All His Life to Osteology.”

What is Osteology?

Derived from the Greek words osteon (bone) and logos (knowledge), Osteology is the study of bones through the subdisciplines of anatomy, anthropology, paleontology and biophysics. The science involves the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth and other related components. Osteologists are trained to read and translate a bone’s story. This rare skill provides information that helps us better understand ancient cultures, solve mysteries, and learn about animals.

The story of Charles Edmund Mirguet is a noteworthy story of American opportunity; an immigrant’s rags to riches story of coming to America to work hard and attain the American Dream. Born in Nancy, France, Charles Mirguet received his early education there. He was brought to this country as an orphan by his aunt and uncle when he was just eight years old, and soon settled with them in Rochester, New York.

Services Much In Demand

In his later teens, Charles Mirguet was employed by Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in Rochester. Without formal education, he gained expertise through his 35 years of on-the-job experiences at Wards. With the passing of years and with his valuable experience, he gained an enviable reputation which extended far beyond Rochester. He specialized in osteology, and his services as an expert were in demand in many scientific quarters.

In 1911, as his reputation spread worldwide, Charles Mirguet was hired by the Smithsonian Institution and moved to Washington D.C. while still maintaining a home in Rochester for his wife Eleanor and several of their seven children. For his special use, a one-story bungalow was built in the central quadrangle of the Smithsonian Institution where he had his quarters. This workshop residence soon became a mecca for scientists following numerous lines of endeavor. Here Charles Mirguet spent most of his waking hours for eighteen years.

His activities were many and varied. He mounted bone structures of animals from many quarters of the world, the basis for study by experts in many government departments. To those who were given access to this laboratory, it rapidly became one of the most interesting spots in Washington, not only because of the variety of material on view, but also because of the colorful fund of information which Charles Mirguet was able to supply.

Managed Smithsonian Displays

Charles Mirguet had a share of every important scientific activity of the Smithsonian in his 18-year career there. He prepared, installed and managed Smithsonian displays at the St. Louis and San Francisco international expositions. In previous years he had done similar work for the Ward’s Natural Science Establishment at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and the Pan American Exposition at Buffalo in 1901.

Unsuccessful effort had been made to preserve the famed horse Rienzi, on which General Sherman made his ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek. Charles Mirguet accomplished the task. To this day, that mounted horse is one of the sights at the Armed Forces History Exhibit at The Smithsonian in Washington. In 1923 Mirguet traveled to Walnut Point, Virginia to collect the skeleton of a 75-foot sperm whale that was beached. This was another object of scientific curiosity in Washington. When the Barnum & Bailey’s famed sacred white elephant became old and ugly and was killed, the hide was turned over to him for mounting and is now a museum piece.

Housed Spirit of St. Louis

In late Summer 1928, when Charles Lindbergh’s plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, was turned over to the Smithsonian, Charles Mirguet was called upon to aid in finding a place for it among the other aviation relics. That was only a few weeks before he came back to Rochester, in the Fall of 1928, on a leave of absence because of ill health. He spent several months in Rochester and had planned to return to his post in Washington when his illness took an unexpected turn for the worse, resulting in his death on February 20, 1929.

Charles Edmund Mirguet traveled an inspirational life journey from an orphan in France to a renowned and celebrated American Smithsonian Institution scientist from Rochester, New York. This was his realization of the American Dream—like so many others in the history of the United States. Over ninety years has passed since his death, and yet his legacy remains intact in the displays and archives of the Smithsonian Institution.

How ironic and full-circled that all that remains of Charles Mirguet, a celebrated osteologist, is his skeleton buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.  As seasons change and years pass, the story of Charles Edmund Mirguet will fade away, but for this moment in time, his life will be remembered, etched in print and preserved, as a small piece of New York’s buried past.