Discover the stories of our most well-known permanent residents.
Mary Elizabeth Johnson Lord died on May 26, 1885. Born in Buffalo in 1812, she was the daughter of the first Mayor of Buffalo, Ebenezer Johnson. In 1828, she married Reverend John Lord, who later would later become a Presbyterian minister and the founder of the Central Presbyterian Church in Buffalo. Mary Lord, with others, established the second Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the country in 1867. Mary Lord also owned much property on the East side of Delaware Avenue which she would sell to the Buffalo City Cemetery, Forest Lawn, to develop as needed. In addition, she founded an orphan asylum in the City of Buffalo. Mary Elizabeth Johnson Lord is buried in section X in Forest Lawn.