Restoration of the Faught Cemetery, Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, California

A wonderful story about one woman's gallant effort to restore a demolished and desecrated family cemetery in Santa Rosa, despite action from county officials to prevent her from doing so.
READ HER STORY HERE. Susan has also graciously recorded all of the burial information for others who may be searching for loved ones and may be interned there. Click HERE to view the list.

Highgate Cemetery, London

Highgate Cemetery is is in no way an abandoned or forgotten cemetery, but indeed it is a sleeping beauty.

Highgate Cemetery was one of seven cemeteries built in London in early 18oo's, after Victorians realized burial conditions had become intolerable due to overcrowding. In 1839 the London Cemetery Company opened this 17.5 acre cemetery to alleviate the strain. The government hoped that companies would now be encouraged to build bigger and better grounds to accommodate the bodies. Highgate’s grandiose layout was designed by architect Stephen Geary and landscape gardener David Ramsay. The Victorians responded in kind by building some of the most flamboyant tombs in London. Highgate, soon became a fashionable place for burials and was much admired and visited. The Victorian attitude to death and its presentation led to the creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs and buildings. By 1875 a 19.5 acre extension was added.

The cemetery's grounds are full of trees, shrubbery and wild flowers; all of which have been planted and grown without human influence. The grounds are a haven for birds and small animals such as foxes. The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon feature tombs, vaults and winding paths dug into hillsides. For its protection, the oldest section, which holds an impressive collection of Victorian mausoleums and gravestones, plus elaborately carved tombs, allows admission only in tour groups. The newer eastern section, which contains a mix of Victorian and modern statuary, can be toured unescorted.

Famous graves include those of Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, George Eliot and 18 Royal Academicians, six Lord Mayors of London and 48 Fellows of the Royal Society

Head(stone) Scratcher of the Month

Abandoned Cemetery: Unity Cemetery, Mason, OH

While I usually try to keep my Southern and Midwest blogs to places I have ties and/or have personally visited and photographed, this place drew me in. Union Cemetery is an amazing little forgotten resting place in Mason, Ohio... Unfortunately (but never uncommon), it is in an incredibly sad state of disrepair. It seems virtually no headstone is standing any longer and is so old I can't imagine there are too many ancestral visitors. The earliest graves are from about 1813 and the latest in the 1890's. Sadly it appears many of these fallen markers have been cast into concrete away from their owner (tho' the up side to that= preservation of sorts to the best of someones ability). Any info on this cemetery? Historical or preservation wise? I am all ears.

NOTE: These photos were forwarded and I need to give proper credit if the photographer is out there, let me know.

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris, and likely the most famous in the world. it is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

Cemeteries had been banned inside Paris in 1786 on the grounds they presented a health hazard. As more cemeteries began to be built closer to businesses and populous, The was established by Napoleon I in 1804. At the time of its opening, the cemetery was considered to be situated too far from the city and attracted few funerals. However, this backfired via an administration marketing strategy which moved the remains of La Fontaine, Molière, Pierre Abélard and Héloïse. After this, people began clamouring to be buried next to the famous and within only a few years Père Lachaise went from containing a few dozen permanent residents to more than 33,000. Today there are over 300,000 bodies buried there, and many more in the columbarium, which holds the remains of those who had requested cremation.

Words cannot describe the beauty of this cemetery. Its romantic

Panteón Civil de Dolores

The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest cemetery in Mexico and home to the prestigious “Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres” (Rotunda of the Illustrious Persons). It is located on Constituyentes Avenue in Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, between sections two and three of Chapultepec Park. The history of the cemetery goes back to 1870 when Dolores Murrieta de Galloso acquired 2,400,000 sq meters of land on which to found a cemetery. She died in 1874, leaving the work unfinished but her family completed the project. In 1875, the cemetery opened and named in Dolores’ honor. Today the cemetery has about 700,000 tombs, many with multiple occupants.

Although it is considered the largest cemetery in Latin America,the most serious problem at the cemetery is that it has run out of space. No new gravesites have been established since 1975 and only those families who bought a site in perpetuity before 1977 may bury loved ones here, as long as they stack them over those already interred. Municipal laws only allow for five bodies to be buried in the same plot, but in some tombs as many as ten have been buried one atop another. The cemetery is working to encourage the acceptance of cremation as an alternative, and the crowded conditions along with the desire to be interred here has created demand for exhumation and cremation services. The cemetery has four crematoria averaging about four cremations daily. However, about ten traditional burials a day are still performed here, all in graves that had been used previously.

The cemetery is listed with National Institute of Anthropology and History as a historical monument due to the persons interred and age of the cemetery. However, this has not kept the cemetery in good repair. There are problems with maintenance and security. In the back part of the cemetery in a gully, workers have discarded old coffins and urns that are considered unusable. Those who work in the cemetery testify to graverobbing here for artistic and archeological pieces. In January 2009, a section of the original retaining wall built in the 19th century on the south side fell. This section was over a km long and 4 meters high, damaging a number of graves. Rehabilitation work is scheduled for September 2008 and includes the remodeling of the main entrance on Constituyentes Avenue.

The Nurse Family Graveyard

From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided. While most people associate Salem Witch Trial Graves with the famous Burial Hill Cemetery (which contrary to popular belief does not actually intern accused witches [click here], there is another place in which is the final resting place for some of those accused. The ancient Nurse family graveyard is nestled among tall pine trees on the west side of the property. Numerous generations of families are buried here, many in unmarked, or simple fieldstone-marked graves. Among the families represented are Nurse, Putnam, and Tarbell-all names associated with those accused and hanged.

William Towne and Joanna Blessings had three daughters; Rebecca, Mary, and Sarah, all of whom were accused and hanged for witchcraft in 1692. In the case of Rebecca Towne Nurse, no in the community it seemed believed she could be a witch; many spoke out on her behalf (which was quite dangerous to do) and signed petitions in her defense. At Rebecca’s trial the jury came back with a not guilty verdict; when this was announced there was a large and hideous outcry from both the afflicted girls and the spectators and magistrates urged reconsideration. When Rebecca was asked a question yet did not answer (as she was hard of hearing), The jury took her silence as an indication of guilt and brought back a guilty verdict. Rebecca was even granted a reprieve by Governor Phips, however no sooner had it been issued, than the accusers began having renewed fits. The community saw these fits as conclusive proof of Nurse's guilt. Her family did all they could to rectify the mistake that had caused her to be condemned, but it was no use. On July 3, she was excommunicated from her church in Salem Town without a single dissenting vote, because of her conviction of witchcraft. Nurse was sentenced to death and executed on July 19, 1692. Rebecca was secretly buried by her family, who brought her body back from Gallows Hill following her execution, secretly buried on the property, in the oldest portion of the graveyard. On July 30, 1885, the Nurse family dedicated the obelisk-shaped granite memorial to Rebecca's memory. The monument includes a poetic sentiment written by famed poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. In 1892 an additional monument was erected nearby remembering and naming the 40 neighbors who in 1692 signed the petition in support of Nurse.

At the time of Mary Towne Eastys questioning she was about 50 years of age. Her examination followed the pattern of most in Salem: the girls had fits, and were speechless at times, and the magistrate expostulated with her for not confessing her guilt, which he deemed proven beyond doubt by the sufferings of the afflicted. Mary was committed to prison after her examination for two months and upon her release it was presumed to be the end of her accusations. Unfortunately her accusers were determined to not let the matter rest, and redoubled their energies to get her back into prison. On the 20th, Mary Lewis spent the entire day experiencing severe fits which she blamed on Mary and a warrant was issued Easty was rousted from her sleep by the marshall, torn from her husband and children, and taken back to prison where she was loaded with chains. Once Easty was back in prisons with chains, Lewis's fits stopped. Easty was tried and condemned to death on September 9th. She was executed on September 22 1692, despite an eloquent plea to the court to reconsider and not spill any more innocent blood.

Sarah Towne Cloyce was the youngest (48) of the sisters accused of witchcraft. While attending church meeting the preacher spoke sermon accusing her sister of being a devil, causing Sarah to rise and exit in anger. For this she was charged with witchcraft, and imprisoned. Unlike her sisters Rebecca and Mary, Sarah lived. Her trial was, for some reason, delayed (perhaps because of over crowding of the jails during the witch craze) until after the trials had been stopped.

Like Rebecca, George Jacobs family also secretly removed his body from the hanging gallows, interned on the Jacobs family property. They were later unearthed and finally laid to rest in the Nurse Graveyard. In May 1993, a stylized facsimile of a slate gravestone was dedicated over the remains, which includes as an epitaph the brave words uttered by Jacobs at his examination. "Well! Burn me or hang me but I'll stand in the truth of Christ." The skull on the stone represents death, while on either side, the carved wings represent the belief that the soul would wing its way to heaven. Jacobs and Nurse stood ready with their lives not to confess to something they did not do, but to speak the truth no matter the consequences.

2,000 Bodies Discovered in Berlin Medieval Cemetery

Archaelogists in Berlin have uncovered 2,000 skeletons in a huge medieval cemetery near the city center since they started examining the site in March 2007.

The site was found during construction work in Petriplatz square. A large number of the skeletons are of children, a sign of their high mortality rate in the Middle Ages. The bodies are being examined to determine the sex, age at death and possible disease, and they will be reburied at a different location, local newspapers reported. "These excavations show us the medieval roots of Berlin," archaeologist Matthias Wemhoff told the tabloid Bild newspaper. The graveyard dates back to around 1230, when the Petrikirche church was built. The church, badly damaged in World War II, was torn down in 1964. Archaelogists have found medieval wells, cellars and a wealth of artifacts such as combs, pots, tools, coins and bottles. Regula Löscher, head of public construction in the Berlin city government, said part of the site will be preserved and made accessible to the public, and that plans to build new shops and offices in the area will be revised accordingly.

'Graveyard groomer' helps restore stones at cemetery

Bedford, Ohio -- John Walters loves the feeling he gets from fixing up aging gravestones. "It's like you're saving history and artwork from more than 100 years ago," he said. "It seems like you are righting a wrong. "So many times, you look at the surnames on the graves and then look at the nearby roads - roads that were named after these people, They are the people who carved out this area." Walters, a gravestone restorer, was summoned to work at Bedford Cemetery during the last full week in June. "It can be slow, pains-taking work," Walters said.

Walters, who calls himself the "Graveyard groomer," came at the request of Janet Caldwell, director of the Bedford Historical Society. She encountered Walters, who was teaching at a workshop last year, and realized how he could upgrade the cemetery on Broadway Avenue."He is a national expert," she said.

Walters got interested in fixing gravestones while working for the cemetery department in Fayette County in Indiana. "I fell in love with graveyards," he said. "I discovered a passion. I convinced them that they needed to do more with graveyards than mow the grass." Walters, 52, started his own business a dozen years ago. Three years ago, he took on Kelly Luke, 36, as an assistant. They are old friends from Connorsville, Ind. They travel throughout Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois during the non-winter months. When it rains, they erect a tent-like shelter and keep working.

"Each time, I am working on someone's family stone," Luke said. "It's a great feeling to fix them up. These were the pioneers of the area."

Evergreen Cemetery: Underrated Jewel in the Heart of Oakland, Ca.

When cemetery enthusiasts think of Oakland Cemeteries, rarely-if ever- does Evergreen come to mind. Explorers bustle to see Millionaire row at Mountain View Cemetery and the beauty of its neighboring St. Mary’s (literally across the street from one another). While not as old, Evergreen certainly has its fair share of prominent internments. Evergreen Cemetery first opened in 1903, likely because so many other Oakland resting places were lacking space as well as to serve as a closer alternative for families who had been living in this area for generations. The majority of pre 1910 burials are unmarked. There is also a two level mausoleum and a lovely chapel. Evergreen now holds upward 1,700 internments.

Aside from its many local neighborhood families, Evergreen holds important history makers. There is Jesse Fuller, who taught himself to play a homemade instrument at the age of 5, ran away to California at the age of 10 and went on tobe known as one of the great blues musicians. Other musicians here include Johnny Fuller and Earl “Fatha” Hines (who is credited with helping to put jazz on the musical map and well known for his work with Louis Armstrong). US Congressman and House of rep.(New York's 3rd District) Otto Godfrey Foelker and Jacob E. Swap, Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient are both at Evergreen. Interestingly, Evergreen also is home to Clarence Leo Best, founder of the Caterpillar Tractor Company as well as inventor of the grain harvester, Daniel Best. Without a doubt, the most famous of burials would be that of child actor Allen Clayton Hoskins, better known as Farina in the Our Gang short films from 1922 to 1931. Evergreen is most noted as the final resting place to over 400 unknown and unclaimed victims of the 1978 Jonestown massacre.

While I am typically drawn to older cemeteries, I personally have a soft spot for this cemetery because there are incredibly valuable lessons to be had in regards to Allen Clayton Hoskins and the Jonestown Memorial. Hoskins was not the first black actor but he certainly was the highest paid making $250 a week, more than any other child star at that time, which certainly cleared the path for others. More importantly, his controversial typecasting, though historically a shameful negative, has lead into valuable learned lessons, thus making Hoskins an important figure in America’s growth and education. The Jonestown tragedy speaks for itself. To learn from such, be it stereotyping or tragedies of the past allows for it never to happen again.

Evergreen Cemetery is well taken care of, more so than most which are much more well known. Though it is located in dubious area of the city (where crime is concerned), the respect factor for Evergreen is high and theft and vandalism are non existant.

Abandoned Cemetery: Butcher Hill in Yreka, Ca.

Butcher Hill Cemetery (aka Foothill Cemetery)is located just outside of Yreka, California at the foot of Butcher Hill in the northeast section near the city of Yreka. There is no sign but the cemetery is "sort of" enclosed by a very old chain link type fence.

This is an open field cemetery.The earliest marker found at Butcher Hill is Harvey Newton March 1855; the last marked is 1940. Many of these graves are pauper, therefore are not marked. This is pioneer land, and I assume a lot of the burials here are early miners and settlers.

If anyone has info I can add about the history or interns, please let me know!

Head(stone) Scratcher of the Month: Headstone Humor

Ok these are not real headstones but... they are funny and I want them.

Stonehenge Was Cemetery First and Foremost, Study Says

James Owen in London for National Geographic News

The site appears to have been intended as a cemetery from the very start, around 5,000 years ago—centuries before the giant sandstone blocks were erected—the new study says. New analysis of ancient human remains show that people were buried at the southern England site from about 3000 B.C. until after the first large stones were raised around 2500 B.C.

"This is really exciting, because it shows that Stonehenge, from its beginning to its zenith, is being used as a place to physically put the remains of the dead," said Mike Parker Pearson of England's University of Sheffield. "It's something that we just didn't appreciate until now."

The new finding supports the theory that Stonehenge represented the "domain of the dead" to ancestor-worshiping ancient Britons, Parker Pearson said. Previously it was believed that Stonehenge was a place of burial only between about 2700 and 2600 B.C., the new report says. But new radiocarbon dates spanning 500 years were obtained for three cremated humans unearthed in 1950s at Stonehenge and kept at the nearby Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum. The earliest cremation, a pile of burned bones and teeth, came from one of 56 pits called the Aubrey Holes Continue here

Chapel Hill cemetery home to unknown graves-PLEASE Donate!

Barbee-Hargrave Cemetery in Chapel Hill North Carolina, is a slave cemetery that was active from about 1790 until 1915. Little is known about the cemetery, but the Chapel Hill Cemeteries Advisory Board and the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill are working to bring attention to Barbee-Hargrave.

A small plaque identifies the cemetery, but there are no headstones to mark its graves. There is only one known interrment-George Hargrave. Hargrave was a black slave who once belonged to Margaret J. Hargrave, according to the Twelfth Census of the United States, conducted in 1900. At the time of the census, George Hargrave was 71 years old. Although it is known that Hargrave is buried in the cemetery, it is unknown where his body – or any other body – lies within the cemetery’s grounds. One goal of the Preservation Society and the Cemeteries Advisory Board is to figure out where these bodies are buried using ground penetrating radar (GPR).

GPR for Barbee-Hargrave will cost approximately $500 and should not take long to perform, Dollar said.

“If someone wanted to walk in and donate the money to have this done for the Barbee-Hargrave, it could be done very quickly,” Moore said. “And the information would be known publicly.” Moore and Dollar said they are hopeful that once the GPR project is finished, they will be able to find out more about the history of Barbee-Hargrave.
“There may be a direct family connection that may be unknown until this point,” Moore said.These connections could mean a lot to local African American community, Moore and Dollar said.“I feel like the families want to know where their loved ones are buried,” said Jim Merritt, the Chapel Hill Town Council Member who sits on the Cemeteries Advisory Board. Discoveries made at Barbee-Hargrave could provide important links between Chapel Hill, its African American population and their intertwined past, Moore said. “Projects like this are a good way to highlight that history,” Dollar said. “You cannot destroy it, but you can lose it. Barbee-Hargrave cemetery was lost.”

The Preservation Society and Cemeteries Advisory Board are looking to complete the GPR project by the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010.

To donate to this cause or request general information about the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, e-mail: chpreservation@mindspring.com or visit their website.

Save these Graves: Chanate Historic Cemetery

The Chanate Historic Cemetery is located on Chanate Road in Santa Rosa, California. The cemetery is on the south side of Chanate Road, immediately across the street from Sutter Medical Center. While Chanate Cemetery holds a portion with pretty commemorative plaques and states they have been under restoration since 2003, “not so” say many Californians attempting to find the location of their loved ones at Chanate.

Many people searching for their interned family have been faced with frustration and no mater what channels they appear to go through, get no where. It is my understanding people are being told the cemetery does not even exist. There are no existing markers. Most of those interned were Asian (placed there through prejudice of the time period, indigents, criminals, those who died at the county hospital, paupers, plague victims, and the insane. And sadly it is due to this sort of “paupers” internment that records were not properly kept by the officials who were in charge of doing so; inquiries to hospitals, county clerk and records have all lead nowhere for many families. The cemetery itself is riddled with weeds and poison oak and getting even that handled has been an impossible brick wall. No administrative or state office is claiming ownership, nor is the County or city.

I wonder if it possible, if enough people get involved if these records will show up. I wonder if a university would have any interest in being involved with acts of kindness in the form of ground radar. I do not have any answers, though I wish I did. I have been in similar predicament when it comes to old family plots in the south which were forgotten by those who have no ancestral interest in its preservation. Thus I would love to join/form a group of others seeking- maybe then someone with the power to get to the bottom of this will listen and act in kind.

Below I have transcribed a list forwarded to me of the names of many interned; unfortunately families who are already aware their ancestors are buried there are actually seeking to know WHERE the burial placement is- which seems to be the saddest part for those who wish to mark said graves.

Cemetery in Parking Lot?

I was forwarded information about a small cemetery in Hattiesburg Mississippi, which is located in the middle of a parking lot. As far as explained to me, its protected and taken care of yet the apartment builders were not given permission by the county to move the graves, so it was left as is. Now THAT’S interesting!

The cemetery originally belonged to the Bryant family and the last known burial was 1916.