F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Burial Site and St Mary's Church

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 and is widely known as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. His first novel, This Side of Paradise (published in 1920) was enough to win the affections of Zelda Sayre of Montgomery, Alabama (born July 24, 1900). During the writing of this first novel, Zelda shared with F. Scott selections from her own journal, some of which were included verbatim in the novel. The two were married on April 3, 1920 in New York City.

The couple quickly became rather famous in New York, both for Scott's novel and for their noted wild partying; they became known as the enfants terribles of the Jazz Age. On October 26, 1921, Zelda gave birth to their daughter, Frances. Zelda is reported to have said, "I hope it's beautiful and a fool-- a beautiful little fool." Similar lines found their way into The Great Gatsby (1925).

Fitzgerald completed his second novel, The Beautiful and the Damned (1922) the same year the couple had their second child. He of course then went on to publish The Great Gatsby (1925) and Tender is the Night (1934).

The Fitzgerald's frequented Europe in the 1920s, as F. Scott was drawn to the writers of "the lost generation," such as Ernest Hemingway, whom he befriended. Zelda, however, was not a fan of Hemingway and is reported as accusing her husband of an amorous affair with the other writer. Zelda is also reported to have had an affair during their time in France. The couple's partying had transformed over time, going from light-hearted and fun to self-destructive behavior.

In 1930, Zelda was admitted to a psychiatric facility. In 1932, while being treated in Baltimore, Zelda wrote her first and only novel, Save Me the Waltz. Her husband was furious upon reading it, claiming Zelda had stolen much of the book's content from his upcoming novel, Tender is the Night. The couple separated in 1938.

When F Scott died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940, Fitzgerlad had very little association with Rockville or the St Marys Church. St Marys was established with 8 members in 1816, and the first service was held on December 14, 1817, on land that had been sold to the church by a church member. Since then, a new domed church was constructed in 1967, however, the original church still remains.

F Scott often visited his father who lived in Locust Grove, in Montgomery County, and Scott was a ribbon holder at a wedding south of Rockville. Although Scott traveled the world as an adult, Rockville remained close through correspondence and family ties. When his father died in 1931, he came back from Paris to St Marys Church for the funeral. Fitzgerald was originally buried at Rockville Cemetary on Baltimore Road. Zelda was buried next to F Scott under a common headstone when she died in 1948. Due to lobbying by the Women's Club of Rockville and the approval of F Scott and Zelda's child, Frances Fitzgerald, the couple was reinterred on November 7, 1975, at St Marys church.

A Brief Life of Fitzgerald, University of South Carolina University Libraries. Accessed January 3rd 2021. https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php

Saint Marys Church, City of Rockville. Accessed January 3rd 2021. https://www.rockvillemd.gov/2188/Saint-Marys-Church

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gravesite, Peerless Rockville. September 2000. Accessed January 3rd 2021. https://www.peerlessrockville.org/historic-rockville/peerless-people-2/peerless-people/