Burying Point Cemetery, Salem Mass.

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. Many of those accused are interned at Burying Point Cemetery, MA.

The Burying Point Cemetery, also known as the Charter Street Cemetery, is the oldest cemetery in Salem and the second oldest cemetery in the country. It was started in 1637. While Burying Point is known as the cemetery which interns many of those who were accused of witchery and put to death in 1692, I don’t believe all (if any) of the bodies are actually buried here as history tells those charged with the crime of witchcraft were not allowed Christian burials (thrown to the side) and it was illegal for the family to remove a body from Gallows Hill following a hanging. However, Burying Point houses memorials to these historical figures commemorated by 20 benches, one for each of the victims actively put to death (not counting those who died in prison) in 1692- Rebecca Nurse, Bridget Bishop, Martha Carrier, Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Sarah Good, Susanna Martin, Mary Parker, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott , Sarah Wildes, Elizabeth Howe, Alice Parker, John Proctor, George Buroughs, George Jacobs, Samuel Wardell, and John Willard were all Hanged, and Giles Corey was “pressed” to death. Burying Point also interns Ann Putnam (Oct. 16, 1679-1716), the so-called leader of the "circle girls," the young girls whose accusations sparked the Salem Witch Trials who testified against the majority of convicted witches, is buried here next to her mother and father. Also interned are prominent Judges of the trials, John Hawthorne, Samuel Sewall, Cotton Mather and Increase Mather.

[see my blog on Rebbecca Nurse Graveyard]

Abandoned Cemetery: Purissima in Half Moon Bay

The town of Purissima was founded around 1860 and is located four miles south of Half Moon Bay. On September 15, 1868, prominent resident John Purcell deeded some of his property to the citizens of Purissima for a burial ground and the Purissima Cemetery was created with free burials to be provided to Purissima residents… By the 1930’s, the town of Purissima was abandoned. Other than an old schoolhouse and a cemetery and creek tucked away in the brush, there is no evidence of activity in this nestled away forgotten city of San Mateo County. No one is 100% sure as to what lead up Purissima into ghost town status; it is theorized to be a mix of difficulty in farming (it was too far out of the way) and the majority of prominent citizens all passing away around the same time period.

This cemetery is extremely difficult to find. Parts of the cemetery offer beautiful ocean views but the cemetery has been swallowed up by weeds, trees and poison oak and snakes and therefore dangerous to navigate through. In recent years, Purissima has been the focus of much attention, particularly “ghost hunting” groups. Perhaps this has something to do with the tale of the cemetery's first interment, a boy (whose name is recorded only as Downing) who reportedly fell ill and was buried alive. According to legend boy was only unconscious; the boy's distraught father opened the grave to put his doubts to rest and was horrified to see his son had turned over. What a frightening tale, be it fact or fiction; between stories such as this and the look of old abandoned cemeteries in general, its easy to surmise what keeps these ghostly tales going.

The cemetery itself contains many burials, including family plots. Many headstones are detached from the base; some of them lay in large chunks near a grave, and others have entirely disappeared. Whether missing or broken headstones are the work of vandals, or possibly the work of family members who wanted to salvage them for safekeeping, is unclear. I have no idea why a historical society has yet to jump in and organize a clean up of this lovely forgotten piece of history; I was told Purissima is left alone on purpose to detract vandals from causing further damage.

Photograph Copyright © 2005, Dayna Chalif

Dias de Los Muertos

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a beautiful yet often misunderstood Latin American holiday where the memory of ancestors and the continuity of life are celebrated. It is believed that at this time the souls of the departed return to visit the living; it is not a time of sadness but of reflection and respect for loved ones. Although this celebration has ancient pre Columbian roots in Mexico as well as many other Latin American countries, the tradition is now celebrated worldwide by many, respectfully practiced by a variety of cultures.

El Día de Los Muertos originated in Mexico, perhaps as far back as 3000 years ago. Roots of the holiday are typically credited as beginning with the Olmecs, who passed the concept on to the Toltecs, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec and Aztecs. It is believed Dia de Los Muertos-as we have come to know the observance-stems from an ancient Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. In variation of this Dia de Los Muertos is now a mixture of indigenous, Catholic, and modern tradition, and includes beautiful offerings, gathering at cemeteries and socializing.

The traditions and activities which take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal- the manner of celebration varies regionally with folkloric traditions and also varies from place to place. In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain there are festivals and parades which end in people gather at cemeteries to pray for their dead loved ones. Guatemalans elaborately decorate gravestonesand incorporate barriletes gigantes — extravagant and enormous kites which are central to the festivities, and fiambre (cheese and meat salad) placed in altars in order to lure the dead back to earth. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures as well. In Mexico, where the festive holiday is most revered and familiar, Los Dias de Los Muertos tradition varies from town to town. In Pátzcuaro the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult; the Godparents of a deceased child who set altars, food and pray in respect and appreciation for the parents. In the town of Ocotepec, resident’s open doors to visitors in exchange for veladoras (small wax candles) to show respect for the recently deceased and visitors in turn receive food. In the town of Mixquic, a cardboard coffin leads a candlelit procession through the streets to the town’s graveyards, where families gather to celebrate; candles remain lit to guide spirits home and midnight bells toll to call them back. And at Pomuch Cemetery in Campeche Mexico, old folk beliefs holds that poorly cared for relatives will become angry and walk the streets, so in order to avoid this, the bones are exhumed and cleaned by relatives during the holiday. In other parts of Mexico (especially the cities, where in recent years there are displaced other customs), children in costumes roam the streets, knocking on people's doors for a calaverita, a small gift of candies or money; they also ask passersby for it, somewhat similar to “Trick or Treating. Within the urban areas of Mexico City, the holiday is celebrated as a folk tradition, rather than a spiritual or religious affair.

While there are numerous differences within celebratory details, the holiday focus is on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember loved ones who have passed on. The majority of us are familiar with the aesthetic beauty in tradition connected with the holiday- building exquisite and elaborate altars to honor the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds(Tagetes erecta), photos, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and later visiting graves with these as gifts. Dias de Los Muertos cemetery visits are an integral part of the holiday, as people visit cemeteries in order to show love and respect and visit the souls of the departed making these ofrendas (offerings) with the intent to encourage visits by the souls so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations often take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.

The Williams Sisters of Madison County, KY and Family

I recently stumbled across (on the information super highway) photographs of two sisters interned at Salem Cemetery, Madison County, Kentucky. What I saw broke my heart, and warranted some looking up in the hopes I could write a bio about them. It lead me onto yet another interesting adventure in which I hope will help someone out there in their research efforts.

In Madison lived two sisters; Sophronie Mandy Williams (b. 1914) and Mable Williams (b. 1917). The death date for both sisters headstones reads “unknown”. This indicates some sort of tragedy- could they have been harmed by someone? Was there a fire or illness? Were they children or adults when they passed so tragically? I did not know. But I was determined to find out. I performed my usual ancestry hunt based on names, dates of birth, county and state- no luck at all, not even a close match when omitting first names. Being as though their stones state parents as Squire Williams and Lizzie, I decided to try that route. I found a few posibilites but nothing earth shattering. I gave up for a while but something kept drawing me back in, so I kept on the hunt- no records from tombstone transcriptions, death or births in Madison, nothing. Then seemingly out of the blue I found an old death certificate on ancestry with two names listed: Squire Williams and a Saphrona Mandy Williams!

The death certificate lists Sophronie /Saphrona as born January 16 1918 and her death November 8 1919 in Edenton, Madison County, Kentucky. Her parents are listed as Squire Williams and Lizzie, just as the headstone states. Saphrona passed from flu and spinal meningitis; she was only 8 ½ months old. What is odd is the death date is written as November yet the certificate was filled October 30… The handwritten year of filling is hard to make out- it looks like 1918 or 1919, neither of which make sense. Perhaps the death and filing dates were accidentally reversed, or maybe the date of passing was unknown just like the footstone reads. But if that is the case, how would anyone know the cause? I contacted Gerald Tudor, a friendly and knowledgeable researcher in Madison County; I wanted to know if he knew circumstances of the passing of the sisters (Garald has an amazing extended family in the area which numbers at over 45,000).Unfortunately he had no back story but he did provide me with the b & d dates he had in a book for Sophronie, Mabel, Squire and Lizzie. He also told me the family was not buried at Salem, but at Gilead Church Cemetery south of the Salem Cemetery.

The footstones do not appear to date that era and show no wear at all, which (along with the “unknown” death date) is what originally lead me to believe the two sisters were found decades after the fact. I have a few theories… 1) Maybe a later ancestor of the family purchased the stones and didn’t have the correct dates or 2) maybe Squire and Lizzie had another daughter they named after their (missing?) elder daughter of the same name. Not at all unheard of; I’ve seen southern families with many children who succumb to illness and the parents keep renaming the same.

So no, I didn't solve the mystery-yet! But all in all, with just a simple call, email and a quick look into free scans of Madison County original death certificates, I stumbled upon a wealth of informationthat maybe will help someone who is trying to research this family... I found both nearly 10 actual death certs for this family, clarified some vital records dates, got Squires occupation, found out the whole family is in the same cemetery as well as the name of the cemetery. I also discovered the family progenitors and descendants! All in under an hour. "Why go through the trouble?" some might wonder. Well, let me tell you, not only is it interesting and fun for me but I know how difficult family research can be (esp. when armed with wrong dates and miss spellings), and if I can help someone else, maybe someone in turn, will help me.

For anyone out there researching this family who may have hit a brick wall, here is the scoop as I have found it...David Williams wed Betsy Estes 1818, it looks like in Garrard County. They had a son, Shipton Williams. Shipton wed a woman named Mary in Garrard County Kentucky. On all official documents her surname varries; it is McMaddus, McManiss, McManus, McMoore. Shipton and Mary had a minimum of 5 children: Squire (b. Jume 30 1840 in Garrard County Ky-d. Nov 12, 1922), unnamed child who died at birth (b.d. Jan 20 1854 in Garrard County, Ky), Ali (b. August 14 Garrard County no yr recorded but died at age 84 so abt. 1855- d. April 26 1939), Burchell (Jan 21 1859 Garrard -d. July 26 1940), and Dicea (b. July 19 1862 Garrard County-d. July 15 1951). The entire family moved to Madison County from Garrard County abt 1900. Squire, as you know from reading, had at least two daughters and a wife named Lizzie. It also looks as if Squire owned a grocery store in Madison, and judging by/from what I know of names, it is highly probable they are of british descent. [feel free to contact me and I will pass on the certificates]

Cemetery discovered in New Mexico

The town of Bernalillo recently uncovered 200 years of history when Neighbors discovered an abandoned cemetery covered in shrubbery south of U.S. Highway 550 near the railroad.

Although residents walk past the rubble often, it is interesting that so many (for whatever reason) had never actually pieced together that the area was once a burial ground.

Some of the graves date back to the 1800s. Like so many forgotten resting places, vandals and the elements have destroyed headstones, while other headstones have been marked with rocks. About 100 people are buried there, but no one seems to know who they were. The state archives, the local Archdiocese and the neaby church all had only partial records of those who rest there and there is no complete data of who is buried in those graves. Curiously, it is now coming to light that no one is positive who even owns the land. Father Stephen Imbarrato of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Bernalillo did not know his church owned the property until it was recently rediscovered.

Volunteers with the 4-H club and the Knights of Columbus in Bernalillo helped clean up the cemetery and weeded the grounds; the Knights of Columbus are planing to make 80 crosses to identify the unmarked graves. As for identifying the bodies, Clergy is inquiring around the parish in the hopes to find information.

If you think your relative is buried there, call Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo at (505) 867-5252.

Over 150 Unmarked Graves Discovered at Plymouth Cemetery This Week

The removal of weeds and debris from a badly overgrown section in the northwest corner of the 1873-vintage burial ground brought to light 150 or so unmarked graves. The question is, whose are they?

"When we cleared back here, we just found hundreds of them," Shawnee Cemetery Preservation Association President Tom Jesso said. For the past two years Jesso, his wife, Ruth, and an assortment of volunteers have sweated to tame the wilderness that had encroached on the neglected cemetery grounds to the point where parts of it were dense with waist-high vegetation. It's personal for Tom: several generations of his family are buried in the cemetery. On Thursday, Tom Jesso took advantage of the warm, sunny weather to mow grass with one of the association's most dedicated volunteers, Henry Sobolewski. Jesso stopped his work long enough to give a tour of the newly reclaimed section. Among the rampant blue vinca and day lilies - possibly long-ago floral tributes now gone wild - there are rows of indentations in the ground, caused as the pine boxes people were buried in gradually rotted, Jesso said."This is the only way you would know they were here," he said, indicating the depressions. Some of the graves are completely unmarked. Some have plain stones on them, the inscriptions - if there ever were any - long since eroded away. And some have round metal markers bearing only a number. A few of these came to light still half-buried in the ground after the area was cleared. Tom and Ruth Jesso discovered more underground while probing with a metal detector. The numbers run from 1 to 300, but don't seem to be in order.

Ruth Jesso spray-painted the markers silver to be more visible. Tom Jesso put small American flags on some of the anonymous graves that didn't have markers. "I have 50 flags in here now, and there probably should be three times as many," he said. The Jessos hope someone will donate wooden crosses or some other kind of marker for the graves. And that the origins of the metal markers will come to light. Members of the Plymouth Historical Society say the section of the cemetery was where victims of an epidemic, probably typhoid, were buried. READ MORE

Bear Rescued from Tree in Santa Clara Cemetery Yesterday

They’re more used to rescuing cats from high branches, so when it came to a 250lb black bear, this group of firemen certainly had their work cut out for them. The bizarre rescue took place after the animal climbed 30ft up a tree in Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard, California. Joined by officers from the state Fish and Game department, fire crews hoisted the bear back to earth after it was knocked out with tranquilisers. The bear had been spotted roaming the streets earlier on, and had scampered up the tree where he remained for several hours as a plan was devised to get him down. Once the sedatives fired at him had taken effect, the crews worked together to fit the groggy animal with a harness, before using a ladder truck to lower him to the ground. He was then examined by a vet before being released into the Los Padres National Forest.