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Civil War/Maple Grove Cemetery
« on: September 13, 2013, 02:20:16 PM »
Civil War veteran finally gets headstone in Hackensack cemetery
Friday, September 13, 2013
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

Though he found his final resting place in Hackensack's Maple Grove Cemetery almost a century ago, Civil War veteran Joseph Braxmeier will finally have a headstone for his grave thanks to his great-great-granddaughter, Barbara Ulrich-Giaimo.


Joseph Braxmeier, a Civil War veteran, is buried in a plot that doesn't bear his name at Maple Grove Cemetery since he died in 1904. He finally received a headstone in a ceremony.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARBARA ULRICH-GIAIMO


Barbara Ulrich-Giaimo, left, great-great-granddaughter to Joseph Braxmeier, a Civil War veteran buried in Hackensack's Maple Grove Cemetery, and Eileen Sleckman, president of the Kady Brownell Tent of the Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War say a few words at the dedication ceremony.
DANIELLE PARHIZKARAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Barbara Ulrich-Giaimo, left, great-great-granddaughter to Joseph Braxmeier, a Civil War veteran buried in Hackensack's Maple Grove Cemetery, and Eileen Sleckman, president of the Kady Brownell Tent of the Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War say a few words at the dedication ceremony.

The fact that a relative was buried in an unmarked grave was news to Ulrich-Giaimo, who was informed of this by her aunt.

"I was amazed," she said. "Every generation has one person who keeps the family history alive. That was my aunt and now it is me."

After months of research and reaching out to the Veterans Administration for a headstone for the grave, Ulrich-Giaimo finally got her wish: to have her great-great-grandfather honored and remembered.

"The number one reason why I felt it was important for Joseph Braxmeier to get his headstone was he fought in a war for this country and was ready to lay down his life for the United States," she said. "I don't know what his personal thoughts were on slavery and the Civil War but, as an immigrant, he was ready to lay down his life for this country."

While the headstone was placed on Braxmeier's grave in August, it was dedicated on Sept. 7 in a ceremony that featured Ulrich-Giaimo and the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Also in attendance to honor Braxmeier's memory were the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in period attire.

Rev. Michael Gerhardt of Hackensack's Christ Church blessed the headstone.

As a hospital chaplain, Gerhardt worked with a number of veterans. Because of his line of work he felt a kinship with what he termed "warriors."

"I know a lot of veterans," he said. "We see them as warriors but when they come home they lead lives. There is a transformation of the warrior into peacefulness and a need for feeling secure. Events like this remind us that these individuals are humans."

Braxmeier was born in Germany in 1830 but immigrated to the United States in 1853, settling in Catskill, N.Y., where he became "a shoe maker by trade," according to Ulrich-Giaimo, who is also a member of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865. Braxmeier joined the Union Army during the Civil War and was assigned as a private in Company B, of the 41st New York Infantry.

The Daughters of Union Veterans is an organization open to daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters of "honorably discharged soldiers and sailors who served in the Union Army, Navy, or Marine Corps and Revenue Cutter Service during the Rebellion of 1861-1865," according to the organization's website.

In the later part of his life, Braxmeier moved with his wife, Marianna Glasteter, and daughter, Mary, to Bogota, in 1890. After his death on May 7, 1904, Braxmeier was interred in Maple Grove Cemetery without a headstone, however, a stone marked Wehrmaker — the surname of his son-in-law Henry — was placed on the plot, Ulrich-Giaimo said.

"Back then there were family plots, with the last name," Ulrich-Giaimo said referencing a possible theory as to why her great-great-grandfather was without a headstone. "I guess his family didn't have enough money to buy a headstone placed on his grave."

According to Ulrich-Giaimo, she, along with the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, hope to keep the rich history, both of their family and those who perished during the war alive.

"I do not want the spirit of these people to be forgotten."

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com

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