Reprise: Money vs. No Money; Are you significant?

Gorton Family in Southeast Connecticut were an important indeed. Their significance is why the highway was built around their family cemetery. This is the cemetery in Connecticut which made me question why some cemeteries are moved while others are not. There is a lot of history with the Gorton Family in New England dating all the way back to the 17^th century. ^[1] The history of the family can be read here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/article20.html.  I would imagine that distant relatives of the Gorton family still live in the area as well. If the Connecticut Department of Transportation tried to remove the small family plot to widen Interstate 95, I am sure there would be a big uproar about it. Although it is prime space for widening the highway, I do not foresee it being done. The Gorton family Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut in 1984. It is # 84001166 on this list provided by National Register of Historic Place^[2]

 

Saint Louis Cemetery #1, #2, and #3 located in New Orleans, LA might be the most photographed cemeteries in the United States. I am not sure of the significance of those buried here but the city must be benefiting from their existence. I doubt these cemeteries are in danger of being relocated any time soon. These cemeteries are so popular that you can book at tour through TripAdvisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60864-d108191-r146970362-St_Louis_Cemetery_No_1-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html.  There are plenty of photographs from the famous St. Louis cemeteries in New Orleans. Multiple images can be seen here: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-600-s&sz=all&va=saint+louis+cemetery+1+new+orleans

St. Louis Cemetery, New Orleans, LA (Figure 1^[3])

As I stated in my post on Sept. 29^th, Bellefontaine Cemetery is also a well-known cemetery in St. Louis, MO that offers tours. This place offers free public tours. Many significant figures have been interred there such as James S. McDonnell, Jr., Major Albert Lambert, Robert A. Barnes, and Adolphus Busch just to name a few^[4]. All of these people have made contributions to the St. Louis community and I have no doubt their graves will remain there for many years to come.

What I have learned is that if you are able to make a significant contribution to your community; chances are that you will be memorialized in death for a longer period of time than those that do not. I say a longer period of time because it is very possible in another 200 years, even fortunate people buried in private cemeteries will be removed from what was supposed to be their final resting place. The population of the United States is growing at a very fast rate and burial grounds are spaces that can be put to other use. I am hesitant to say better use because I do not want to imply that burial spaces are a waste. Therefore, I will stick with other use such as urban development. This article by Peter J. Schmitt (1992) “Grave Matters: American Cemeteries in Transition,” reiterates what I posted yesterday regarding moving cemeteries for urban development and the changing attitudes of people regarding cemeteries. “To many [cemeteries] occupy valuable space which could be put to better use. To others they are almost invisible. They are unvisited, unloved and unimportant” (Schmitt, p. 342). I have found that Potter’s Fields are often neglected. That being the case, it is a waste of space if no one is going to maintain it the way it should be. Just as a house on a lot not being maintained becomes an eyesore, so do burials grounds that are not properly maintained. Putting them to other use might be the best use of the space instead of letting them become overgrown weeds and broken grave markers. 

I am not finished yet. I will revisit “Too Broke to be Dead” on my next post.

Reference:

^[1]http://letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?boxnum=4505

^[2]http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ct/New+London/state2.html

^[3] http://www.cityprofile.com/louisiana/photos/36128-new-orleans-new-orleans-cemetery-25.html

^[4] http://bellefontainecemetery.org/

Schmitt, Peter J. (1992). Grave Matters: American Cemeteries in Transition

Journal of Urban History May 1992 18: 338-345, doi:10.1177/009614429201800305.

Reprise: What caused contemporary American culture to lose respect for the less fortunate dead?

Well, I believe that the answer to my questions is…nothing. People have not lost respect for the less fortunate dead. The actions of relocating graves or working over graves have been done longer than I care to imagine. There “is evidence that throughout this country’s history, cemeteries have been intentionally relocated” (Kay, p. 4). In the article, “History’s Repeating Itself at Potter’s Field” by Francis A. Klein (1950) in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat was no exaggeration. I have found in many cases that the less fortunate are relocated because oftentimes they do not have a voice to speak for them. In the blog dated Oct. 13^th entitled, Uncanny Similarities, I posted a link to an article talking about body snatching from a potter’s field by medical students at The Lincoln Park potter’s field. This was a very common practice to happen at potter’s field. Body snatching I would consider to be disrespectful. However, moving graves for necessary construction I am no longer viewing as being disrespectful. Yet, how people refer to those buried in a potter’s field can still be disrespectful. When the Lincoln Park cemetery was relocated an article was placed in the paper removing the bodies. “In the case of the unknown dead, the numbers are placed with the remains, and will be affixed to the graves in the County Cemetery. The better class of people, however, take personal charge of the remains of their own relatives” (Chicago Tribune, 1872). The full article can be read here http://hiddentruths.northwestern.edu/potters_field/potter_disinterms.html under “ THE STRIDE OF PROGRESS: Removal of the Bodies from the Old City Cemetery.” Just because someone is not claimed does not make them a lower class of people. That statement I found to be disrespectful.

 In a more recent article by D. H. Kay (1998) called “Cemetery Relocation: Emerging Urban Land Development Issue,” helped to further proved my point that relocating graves is partly a matter of needing space. It was the case in St. Louis Potter’s Field being moved to build apartments, “…to give way to a real estate development…” (Klein, p. C1).  Known Potter’s Fields are not the only ones that have been relocated for construction. “Construction activities frequently come into conflict with [unknown] cemeteries simply because the construction site was not recognized as a burial ground” (Kay, p. 1). There are various reasons for not having grave markings; too poor to afford them, not foreseeing the need for one, and some older sites do not have them because “Puritans considered such adornments vain” (Kay, p. 1).

“The accidental disturbance of unmarked burial sites is unfortunate, but cannot be viewed as a deliberate act of disrespect for the dead” (Kay, p. 3). 

 

References:

Kay, D. H. (1998). Cemetery relocation: Emerging urban land development issue. Journal Of Urban Planning & Development, 124(1), 1.

Klein, Francis A. (1950, April 15 ). History's Repeating Itself at Potter's Field. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, pp. 1C.

http://hiddentruths.northwestern.edu/home.html

http://hiddentruths.northwestern.edu/potters_field/potter_disinterms.html

Population Update

317,005,647 16:04:37 (UTC). That is an increase of 286,317 people in 6 week’s time. 

St. Louis' Potter's Field

I finally found the information on the Potter’s Field in St. Louis. Here are a few paper clippings that I was able to retrieve from the library on the matter. Here is a “Letters from Our Readers” that was in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1996) asking about Potter’s Field. 

Figure 1 ^[5]

This is the picture I really wanted to show you this week. This is a picture of Potter's Field that shows off in the distance the City Hospital and the City Poor House. This shows that they were indeed in very close proximity to one another.

Figure 2 ^[6]

Here are a few excerpts from an Encyclopedia of the History of St. Louis (1899) regarding the Potter’s Field.

“Potter’s Field is on the city and county farm, on Arsenal Street and Sublette Avenue, is used as a burial place for poor and friendless persons” (Hyde & Conard, p. 340).

“The rapid growth of the city and the successive removal of burials grounds which made it necessary convinced thoughtful people that some permanent provision ought to be made for the repose of the dead” (Hyde & Conard, p. 337). 

This except is from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1950) about Potter's Field being closed and used for building lots. 

“In fact, history is merely repeating itself, as a study of the old laws by Charles Dolan, Associate City Counselor, discloses that several times in the past city-owned cemeteries have been turned into building lots and sold, after the bodies were removed, of course” (Klein, p. 1C).

But were the bodies really moved??? It is at the city's expense to relocate the bodies. It does not take a degree in mathematics to know that leaving the bodies in place will be a huge cost savings. While I am not accusing the city of leaving anyone in Potter's Field, there is some evidence that the city cemetery in Benton Park was not completely relocated prior to construction. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Theodore Roosevelt High School was built were another city cemetery used to be located. I was not able to find information regarding this cemetery at the library other than an old city map that shows its location near the intersection of Arsenal Avenue and Jefferson Avenue. I have a picture of the map here; C13 is the City Cemetery (Benton Park) is the one that is where Theodore Roosevelt High School is now located. C15 is the City Cemetery at the intersection of Arsenal Avenue and Hampton Avenue is where Potter’s Field used to be also known as City Cemetery (Sublette).

Figure 3^[7]

This is a little bit of information that I was able to find regarding Theodore Roosevelt High School. “To relieve overcrowding at McKinley High School and Cleveland High School, the city's south side high schools for whites, the St. Louis Public Schools ordered the acquisition of property to construct a "New Southside High School" in 1922.^[1][2][3] Due to a lack of vacant land in the area, the Picker Cemetery (also known as Holy Ghost Cemetery) was acquired for the school's site, and evacuation of its graves began in October 1922.^[1] Most graves were relocated to mass graves in other cemeteries, although some remains were not relocated.^[4] During construction, neighbors reported dogs and children bringing home bones from the site, and workers reported finding jewelry and coffin handles while constructing the building.^[3] The building's cornerstone was laid on April 22, 1923, and the building was designed by R.M. Milligan at a cost of slightly less than $1.5 million.^[1]” (Wikipedia)

 

Reference:

^[1]Bosenbecker, Ray (2004). So, Where'd You Go to High School?. Virginia Publishing. p. 112. Retrieved December 24, 2011.

^[2]Dillon, Dan (2005). So, Where'd You Go to High School? The Baby Boomer Edition. St. Louis: Virginia Publishing. p. 128. ISBN 1-891442-33-3. Retrieved December 24, 2011.

^[3]Dillon, Dan (2005). So, Where'd You Go to High School? The Baby Boomer Edition. St. Louis: Virginia Publishing. pp. 174–175. ISBN 1-891442-33-3. Retrieved December 24, 2011.

^[4]Edward C. Wicklein (July 14, 2011). "Letters from Our Readers". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

^[5] (1996, September 15). "Letters from Our Readers". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

^[6] Everett, Richard. (1944, Feburary 17). Cross Of Christ Lies In Mud: Potter's Field Neglected, Desolate. St. Louis Star-Times.

^[7]Saint Louis County Planning Geographic Information Systems (March 2007). 

Klein, Francis A. (1950, April 15 ). History's Repeating Itself at Potter's Field. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, pp. 1C.

Hyde, William and Conard, Howard L. (Eds.). (1899). Encylopedia of the History of St. Louis: A Compendium of History and Biography For Ready Reference (Vol. I.). New York, NY: The Southern History Company.