I have just joined the group and am looking forward to learning more
about lots of cemeteries. Although a new member of the group, I thought
you might like to know about my own blogs which might be of interest.

The first Creating Pictures In My Mind
<http://creatingpicturesinmymind.blogspot,com> has a good deal of
cemetery material posted on it at present - mostly historical
photographs and quite rare, subject wise.

The second The Graveyard Detective
<http://graveyarddetective.blogspot.com> launched last Friday and
reports an interesting find that provides background to a Canadian
soldier who died in the Red River in 1891 and has a twist in the tale.

I hope you like them.

Best wishes

Laurie

I'm new to the group as you all can see.  Just a bit of info on me.  I live in
Southern IL near Carbondale where SIU-C is at.  I have been into cemeteries most
my life.  But the last few years I have been traveling around the tri-state with
a friend, looking for old forgotten cemeteries.  We have found close to 200 if
not more not listed on any map. I have been to the bigger ones in St. Louis
(Bellefontaine, Calvary, Bethlehem) also went to New Orleans just to check out
the cemeteries.  Even went to Kansas City, Kearney MO and over to Coffeyville KS
to find the graves of Frank/Jesse James, The Youngers and the Daltons.
I have pictures posted at the following site if anyone is interested.
http://mistressvampy.deviantart.com/
Looking forward to browsing the group when I have a bit more time.
Kelly

> The mausoleum in Harrisburg, Illinois's big historic cemetery is endangered.
>
> I plan to visit next week, and this mausoleum is now one of my top priorities:

Alas, I didn't make it there.

I drove to Louisville KY to participate in an investigation of a haunted site
with the Ghost Research Society: the Waverly Hills Sanitorium.  It was my
intention to explore Southeast Illinois graveyards before and after.

Unfortunately, the universe intervened in two different ways: heavy storms
were forecast for the region on the two days before my appointment at Waverly;
and two days before a trip I was suddenly struck down with a cold.

I was so congested and headache-stricken that I took an extra day to drive
to Louisville, splitting the six-hour drive in two and staying the night
between in Indianapolis.  I was well enough to participate in the haunted
hospital walk-through as planned, and departed Louisville on Saturday morning.

I drove east through Southern Indiana, stopping at the Lincoln historic
sites there (did you know that Mr. Lincoln worked as a cemetery sexton in
his youth, in the small churchyard where his sister is buried?  How fascinating,
to walk over graves that had been dug by the most revered American of all time,
and to photograph monuments that he may have himself set in place.)

In Gallatin County Illinois is the Old Slave House - a country mansion belonging
to John Hart Crenshaw, who kidnapped free Blacks, forced them to work his salt
mines, and sold them back into slavery in Kentucky.  The house is on state land,
and none may trespass, but I saw it from the road; and I found Crenshaw's grave
about a mile north.

Aside from the slaveholder Crenshaw, I visited a few graveyards near
Shawneetown,
McLeansboro, and Carmi, where there were Senators and a governor buried; but
then
drove home, cutting short my trip, as I was still somewhat congested and low
in energy.

What was *really* annoying was that, on the day I had departed to start the
trip,
I'd been feeling so poorly that I didn't take the time to pack properly; all the
maps of the region that I had carefully printed remained on my desk at home.  I
even stopped at a public library to look at my own web site and print a few
lists
at one point... so my trip was also cut short due to my failure to adequately
prepare.


--
Matt Hucke (hucke@...), programmer.
author, Graveyards of Illinois - http://graveyards.com/
CYNICO.NET - hosting from $8.33/month; domains $13 - http://cynico.net/

That just might be the best post-WWII gravestone I've ever seen.

> Hello all! I'm Rick in Indianapolis.  I lurk here a lot but don't post every
> often.
>
> I found this really unusual tombstone, and shot a few photos of it and
> researched the fella a bit...
>
>
http://lifeinindy.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/the-most-interesting-tombstone-i-have\
-ever-seen/
>

--
Matt Hucke (hucke@...), programmer.
author, Graveyards of Illinois - http://graveyards.com/
CYNICO.NET - hosting from $8.33/month; domains $13 - http://cynico.net/

let's look at lessley cemetery again

 
Peggy Fitzpatrick

It's basically the Tri-State Crematorium situation again:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/07/sheriff-bodies-dug-up-dumped-at-cemet\
ery.html

Burr Oak is a flat-marker cemetery on the south side of Chicago, and the area's
first cemetery created specifically for African-Americans.

I visited in '03; the manager and her husband gave me a tour, focusing on
historic
burial sites like Emmett Till (the teenager lynched in Mississippi in the 1950s
for whistling at a white woman) and blues musicians.

The manager I spoke to then left soon after, and was not named at
all in this indictment.  That's a bit of a relief; she and her husband were
very proud of their cemetery, and I can't see them being involved in
something like this.

--
Matt Hucke (hucke@...), programmer.
author, Graveyards of Illinois - http://graveyards.com/
CYNICO.NET - hosting from $8.33/month; domains $13 - http://cynico.net/

New estimate -- 200-300 bodies disinterred.

Tracy

I live in NW Wisconsin and have been fascinated by old gravestones for quite
sometime, but just recently became interested in historic preservation of
cemeteries. I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject, and have found some
great websites.

Touring the mostly tiny, rural cemeteries around here, I've found that all have
well-cared-for grounds and are neat as a pin (and still being used), with the
older stones from early pioneers who settled here around 1880 or so. (The
earliest birthdate I've found for someone has been 1815.) The inscriptions are
usually in Norwegian and Swedish; having had a couple of "Conversational
Norwegian" classes in the distant past is not helping me translate!

The city of Rice Lake is about an hour drive from my house and contains several
great examples of "tree trunk" headstones, which I hope to photograph soon.
Another very small rural cemetery that may be of interest to some is called the
Orange Lakeside Cemetery near Webster, WI. It contains the graves of Laura
Ingalls Wilder's paternal grandparents and other family. Unfortunately, it
appears that their old gravestones (if they were there) have been replaced by
newer granite markers. The only old headstone is for Hiram Ingalls - "Pa"
(Charles) Ingalls younger brother. Like all the cemeteries around here, it is in
a very peaceful setting, with some huge old trees growing amongst the graves.

Anybody in this neck of the woods who would be interested in exploring
cemeteries with me, please send a message!

Merilee
near Frederic, WI

Hi Foxie,
Even though Laura Ingalls' paternal grandparents remained in NW Wis., Charles
Ingalls had "itchy feet" {the way Laura put it), and they moved first to the
Pepin, WI area [Little House in the Big Woods} and then to Walnut Grove, MN
[Little House on the Prairie] and later, to South Dakota. So the TV series was
supposed to be taking place in the rolling, open and expansive prairies of
southern Minnesota, but was actually filmed in California, and some of the
episodes actually showed mountains! And, Michael ("Little Joe") Landon did not
look anything like "Pa"!!!   :-)  We enjoyed the series, too, inspite of the
discrepencies.

Merilee

Anybody know where Laura Ingalls baby brother is buried? I can't remember if she
told or not...or if he has a headstone..that would be interesting to see...
I love this group!
Sarah
>

I have a friend who might be able to translate anything in Swedish....I'm not
sure if she knows Norwegian.

Carol


--- In MidwestCemeteries@yahoogroups.com, "wisylkie" <mthor2008@...> wrote:
>
> I live in NW Wisconsin and have been fascinated by old gravestones for quite
sometime, but just recently became interested in historic preservation of
cemeteries. I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject, and have found some
great websites.
>
> Touring the mostly tiny, rural cemeteries around here, I've found that all
have well-cared-for grounds and are neat as a pin (and still being used), with
the older stones from early pioneers who settled here around 1880 or so. (The
earliest birthdate I've found for someone has been 1815.) The inscriptions are
usually in Norwegian and Swedish; having had a couple of "Conversational
Norwegian" classes in the distant past is not helping me translate!
>
> The city of Rice Lake is about an hour drive from my house and contains
several great examples of "tree trunk" headstones, which I hope to photograph
soon. Another very small rural cemetery that may be of interest to some is
called the Orange Lakeside Cemetery near Webster, WI. It contains the graves of
Laura Ingalls Wilder's paternal grandparents and other family. Unfortunately, it
appears that their old gravestones (if they were there) have been replaced by
newer granite markers. The only old headstone is for Hiram Ingalls - "Pa"
(Charles) Ingalls younger brother. Like all the cemeteries around here, it is in
a very peaceful setting, with some huge old trees growing amongst the graves.
>
> Anybody in this neck of the woods who would be interested in exploring
cemeteries with me, please send a message!
>
> Merilee
> near Frederic, WI
>

Hi again,
To answer your question - No, I'm not related to the Ingalls. But we do have a
local doctor who is Laura's great-grand nephew. He's an occasional contributor
to a "Community Voices" column of our local newspaper, so maybe has inherited a
writing gene from his famous aunt.

When I figure out how to work my new printer/scanner, I will definitely post
some photos I've taken from my cemetery explorations. Haven't yet entered the
digital age as far as cameras go; too fond of my old 35mm Minolta that takes
such great photos!

Merilee

Got a note in the mail from the Chicago Genealogical Society that this new book
is available:
*   NEW Chicago Cemetery Records 1847-1863: sexton's reports and certificates,
treasurer receipts, deeds, and undertakers' reports. (hardcover) 296 p.
Between 1842 and 1866 the city of Chicago owned and operated the Chicago City
Cemetery near Clark Street and North Avenue, now the site of Lincoln Park. The
sale of lots was a major revenue source for the city. Monthly reports were filed
with the Committee on Wharves & Public Grounds. These reports included the
amount of the sale, the purchaser, and the location of the lot. Undertakers were
required to file reports in 1863. Among the information in these reports was the
name of the decedent, the day of death, age, residence, cause of death, and
place of birth. This publication includes transcriptions of the records, maps,
an index of names, Oak Woods Cemetery removals, and old Catholic cemetery
records.
     ITEM CODE: A     PRICE: $50.00

Other books they have include:

*  Cemetery at Altenheim, Forest Park Illinois.
This is a tombstone reading of The Altenheim German Old Peoples Home Cemetery
located in Proviso Township in Cook County. It is arranged by burial location
with an alphabetical index. 20 p.
    ITEM CODE: J     PRICE: $3.00

*  Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago Illinois: Burials.
This ethnic cemetery is located in Jefferson Township in Cook County. Volumes
1-5 contain information extracted from the burial registers: age, death date,
place of death, grave location, undertaker, and if the coroner was the attending
physician. Volume 6 indexes all five volumes alphabetically, as well as by grave
location.

*  Union Ridge Cemetery, Chicago Illinois.
This cemetery is located on the northwest side of Chicago in Norwood Park
Township in Cook County. This book is a tombstone reading, and is arranged by
burial location with an alphabetical index. It includes maps, photos of some
tombstones, and tells the early history of Norwood Park and the cemetery. It
also lists the Civil War burials in this cemetery, and the early settlers of
Cook County. 160 p.
     ITEM CODE: M     PRICE: $10.00

See http://www.chicagogenealogy.org/books.html for more info.

Alan

To take pictures of headstones in Polk county. Can email to ?

Get Published, Save a Cemetery!

Do you write poetry? Are you an artist? Do you love cemeteries? Now you can
combine your interests with the latest book to be produced by
TheCemeteryClub.com and Epitaphs Magazine.

“What Remains to Be Seen” will be an anthology of original poetry and
artwork by taphophiles—people like you who love cemeteries.

Submission fee is $5 for each work ($5.30 if you send it via PayPal to cover
their fees).

Submit your poetry and/or artwork (all printable mediums are acceptable), and
you’ll also be helping a cemetery. Half of the nominal entry fee will be
donated to a cemetery in need. Which cemetery? That’s up to you! Individuals
and organizations are encouraged to submit a cemetery in need, and one will be
selected to receive proceeds from the contest.

For more details, visit: www.TheCemeteryClub.com

Questions? E-mail Minda at:  minda.epitaphsmag@...

-Minda

This Sunday is the annual Tale of the Tombstones tour at Forest Home Cemetery,
863 Des Plaines Ave, Forest Park, IL. See the following link for details.

http://www.oprf.com/oprfhist/index_files/Flyer%20Final.pdf

Just wanted to let everyone know about my website: 
http://www.urnnews.com/index.html

I have a great selection of handmade cremation urns.
Thank you, Matt

I have been working on several cemetery projects.  I have information on:
Prairie Home Cemetery, Butler Twp., Sanborn Co., SD, aka the Bulter Cemetery.
(not complete) this information was from an old set of records a member of the
broad had.  There are also unmarked graves and grave that haven't been on the
books for years.

Saint Scholastica Cemetery, Letcher, SD
West Lawn Cemetery, Letcher, SD

St. Scholastica and West Lawn are in the same location north of the information
booth this St. Scholastica and south is the West Lawn.

I helped with getting the information into a data base for the Letcher
cemeteries plus I have been adding obits published in the Sanborn Weekly Journal
for area families.

It is surprising to realise that there is no complete record of burials for the
town cemetery.  The one church has been closed for a number of years, the burial
maps were old but a fellow genealogy buff did her best to make an updated map on
the known grave locations.

I do best at researching.
I just start a group. SanbornCoSDGenealogy@yahoogroups.com in hopes of finding
other interesting in the area's genealogy, cemeteries and history.

Virginia