(1832-1907): Six Months Pregnant and Burying the Dead at Gettysburg
Stepped in to serve as cemetery caretaker since her husband was off fighting for the Union
Often referred to as “Angel of Gettysburg”
Elizabeth Masser and Peter Thorn emigrated to the United States from Germany and were married in Gettysburg in September of 1855, the same year that the cornerstone for the local cemetery was laid. A few months later, Peter was hired to be caretaker of what was to be called Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg.
An archway with interior living space for the caretaker was built as a gateway into the cemetery grounds. Elizabeth’s parents lived on one side of the archway building; Peter and Elizabeth lived on the other. (Today there is a caretaker house built behind the arch on the right side.)
Six years later when the Civil War began (1861), the Thorns had three sons. By 1862, Peter felt it was his duty to join the Union Army, and he enlisted with the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry, leaving the cemetery caretaking duties to Elizabeth and her father. At the time, the cemetery was averaging about five burials per month.
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