Forwarded with permission of author. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [CTLITCHF] AN ALTERNATIVE TO BE CONSIDERED Resent-Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 08:35:56 -0600 Resent-From: CTLITCHF-L@rootsweb.com Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:36:59 EDT From: Bill Waterhouse <wm.r.waterhouse@mailstation.com> Reply-To: CTLITCHF-L@rootsweb.com To: CTLITCHF-L@rootsweb.com 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- ============================== Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records. New content added every business day. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx