I have changed the name of the subject line to go more with the line of discussion. I agree. I agree with Gail in her "unmarked grave syndrome". Many of the early people just simply did not have money for headstones. The family knew were the graves were located; now those people are gone as well. Some were lucky enough to have "modern" headstones errected at their plot by family members who came later and had the funds to erect a stone in the memory of a deceased parent, grandparent, etc. Many people used fieldstones to mark the graves. Sometimes these field stones may have had the name or initials and/or date(s) etched in them, more often they were not but again the family at that time knew which stone belonged to whom. Some of the deeper etchings still remain on the stones, others have weathered away (I have a g-g-uncle in the Collinsville, TX cemetery who's initials are etched in sandstone). Also many cemeteries have removed the field stone markers for ease of keeping the area clean, all in the name of progress. Yet other graves were marked with wooden crosses either tied together with rope or nailed together. The ropes rotted, the wood rotted, and the crosses no longer exist. Others made a headstone-shaped marker from wood. These have deteriorated and disappeared as well. Then there are places like the New Orleans area where people are buried in tombs above the ground due to be at or below sea level. Most of these tombs are made of thick white marble. Unfortunately many of the older tombs are erroding from the weather conditions. New Orleans does not have "native stone" and families had the stone for their tombs imported. When a person dies, they are put in the family's tomb and the name is added to the plaque. The body is left there for a minimum of a year and a day, the"and a day" out of respect, before the next body can be placed in the tomb. If another family member dies in this time frame, they are placed in a vault located in the walls around the cemetery. When the year and a day has passed, the remains of the body is removed from the elevated area where it has been for at least the past year and "new" family member's body is then placed in the tomb for its year and a day. If there is not one "watiting" for the tomb, the bod! y in the tomb will remain there until the time the space is needed. The temperature inside these tombs run 600+ degrees during the summer months. So while this is not cremation, it is the next thing to it and the body rapidly decays and returns to dust. At least the names are added to the tomb when a person is placed there. Sue in NE AR -----Original Message----- From: Gail Cowart [mailto:cowartd@centurytel.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 10:30 PM To: ARCRAWFO-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [ARCRAWFORD] FW: [IN-CIVIL-WAR] AN ALTERNATIVE TO BE CONSIDERED Thanks for passing this along. Might check with Ronnie Ocker about cremation facilities in Crawford County. I am sure he knows much of that history. I expect much of this unknown is also due to the unmarked grave syndrome. Best, Gail Cowart -----Original Message----- From: Sue Southard [mailto:SSOUTH@astate.edu] Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 10:21 AM To: ARCRAWFO-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ARCRAWFORD] FW: [IN-CIVIL-WAR] AN ALTERNATIVE TO BE CONSIDERED I received the following from the Indiana Civil War list and thought I'd share it with you. I'm not sure when creamatoriums were established in our list area. Sue in NE AR > As I read of the many on this & other lists who have become frus- > trated by being unable to find the burial sites of their ancestors, > family members, or others, despite many hours of researching & > walking of cemeteries; I would like to point out another possibility > which few, if any, consider...that being cremation. Cremation is not > a new concept as the disposing of human bodies on a funeral pyre > -usually one body at a time-dates back in America, at least, to > Colonial times. Most of us have read of the; albeit horrific; body > pyres that were utilized, usually after the biggest of the battles of > the Civil War, to dispose of the often thousands of bodies which > accumulated as a result of the fighting. This was done out of > necessity as the digging of individual, or even mass graves, was > out of the question due to lack of manpower. However, the most > compelling reason to dispose of the bodies as quickly as possible > was to prevent the spread of disease which was rampant at the > time. Very few probably realize that of the 250,000-300,000 men > of the Confederate Army who died during the war, only one quarter > of those deaths were incurred in battle, with the remainder dying > of disease. Union Army deaths due to disease were somewhat lesser > due to the availabilty of more sophisicated medicines & techniques. > Several years after the War the crematory furnace was developed > & many funeral establishments had them installed in their facilities > leading to the wider useage of this method. I recently spent the > better part of a year attempting to find the burial places of an > ancestor, a CW veteran, & his wife who both died in Chicago, with- > out success. A search of the cemeteries in & around Chicago & of > the National Cemeteries yielded no results either. In speaking later > with a member of the branch of the family to which the deceased > belonged, I learned that cremation was literally a tradition in that > branch, & I was told of a scattering of ashes at sea & in various > cemeteries in several states. Thus, after a period of 100 years > have elapsed since the death of these two people, & with not finding > any evidence of cemetery burials, I must 'assume' that even with- > out any proof, that they were cremated. Also with many families > not having the funds to purchase a cemetery plot, a gravestone, & > other costs associated with a funeral, cremation was no doubt a > lower cost alternative. Also, as the ashes are usually placed in an > urn, rather than scattering the ashes, the urns could be kept at > home, where the family members could feel that the deceased was > "always close by." What might have happened to the urns through- > out the ensuing years might well be "Another story." > To those who might feel like they are 'chasing their tail' in attempting > to find where their family member's remains are; this just may be > another consideration to keep in mind. > Bill Waterhouse > Mystic, CT > -END- > > > > ==== IN-CIVIL-WAR Mailing List ==== > ~~ The List's Golden Rule ~~ > Keep to genealogy, history, anything about ancestors! Keep it Clean & > Cool! Treat others like you want them to treat you...but *NO* selling! > No current politics or religion.....keep both relevant to history. Also > please keep OFF TOPIC discussions to a bare minimum. > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. 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