Please change my email address to: byahn@comcast.net Thank you! On Apr 20, 2006, at 12:00 PM, KYMONTGO-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > > > KYMONTGO-D Digest Volume 06 : Issue 14 > > Today's Topics: > #1 [Fwd: [CTLITCHF] AN ALTERNATIVE TO [Lois Franceschi > <ljfljf@psyber.com] > > Administrivia: > To unsubscribe from KYMONTGO-D, send a message to > > KYMONTGO-D-request@rootsweb.com > > that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > > and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software > requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > > ______________________________ > > > From: Lois Franceschi <ljfljf@psyber.com> > Date: April 19, 2006 11:11:43 AM MDT > To: KYMONTGO-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [Fwd: [CTLITCHF] AN ALTERNATIVE TO BE CONSIDERED] > > > 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 > >