General Slocum Memorial at the Lutheran (now All Faiths) Cemetery, undated postcard.

On June 15, 1904, a passenger steamboat, carrying members of the St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church to a summer picnic on Long Island, caught fire in the East River. With the ship ablaze, inaccessible lifeboats, rotting life jackets, and a crew who had never practiced a fire drill, passengers began jumping into the choppy waters of the river. The majority of church members onboard were women and children (it was a Wednesday). As women and children entered the water, they horrifyingly sunk instead of floating, due to the disintegrated cork in the life preservers. Worse still, like most Americans at the time, the passengers did not know how to swim (and their heavy clothing further weighted them down). The captain pushed through the Hell Gate Chanel, fanning the flames, before grounding the ship at North Brother Island. In total more than 1000 people died, with some five dozen unidentified.

Most of the unidentified victims were buried in a mass grave in the Lutheran Cemetery (now All Faiths) in Queens. On the first anniversary of the disaster, this memorial was dedicated. Twenty feet tall and over eight feet square at the base, it was constructed of granite and bronze. On the sides of the monument were four statues representing Memory, Grief, Hope, and Faith. On the front of the monument, a bronze relief depicted the burning ship with an appropriate dedication explaining the intent of the memorial. At the ceremony, 18-month-old Adelle Liebenow, who was the youngest survivor, pulled the ribbon to reveal the monument.