B & G, I have read (thanks Owen Murphy) that the first town (1717) cemetery in Worcester was in the area that is now Thomas St. (north off Main St.) near where it met Back St. (now Summer St.). According to Owen the remains were never removed, when it was closed. You are more likely referring to the Mechanic St. Burial Ground, first used in 1795. The lower Mechanic St. (also off Main St.) area was known as Guinea, and it was for a time (certainly by the mid-19th century) an area where African-Americans lived. There may have been a section that tended to hold black Americans in any of the cemeteries, but there was not, to my (not particularly vast) knowledge a cemetery for blacks. When the Mechanic St. BG was closed (1878) most of the remains went to Hope. John Ps Do you have much on a doctoress by the name of VanRasslier or something like that. Reply John, I don't know of the doctoress but Gloria might. Also you say most of the remains went to Hope. Does that mean some stayed at the mechanic St BG? Thanks for your information, Barbara (and 'for Gloria') Then I said: I think that means that some went toother cemeteries

This information I intended to forward to Barbara and Gloria, but it may be helpful generally if it can be found in the list archives for later researchers. I have selected pages from "Inscriptions From The Burial Ground On Mechanic Street" that were photocopied for me in Massachusetts in June by a fellow researcher. The inscriptions are alphabetical, and the end of the "W" section occurs on page 120. An "Addendum to the Inscriptions from the Old Burial Grounds in Worceser, Massachusetts; 1879" begins at page 124, and "Additional Names and Inscriptions Found in The Burial Ground On Mechanic Street" begins on page 128. This last is also a listing of inscriptions that are alphabetical. Most of the pages photocopied for me are selective and are specific to my own research at Worcester, but here are highlights from additional pages with explanatory/descriptive information: "The following [a very short list] were buried in the Mechanic Street Ground, and afterwards removed to other Cemeteries": [other Cemeteries here were not named, but other material indicates removals were to Rural Cemetery at Worcester and Hope Cemetery.] "The following inscription was taken from a stone now standing in a field near Nelson Place in the northern part of the city, in which locality once stood the pest house": [This was an inscription for a Mrs. Elizabeth Blake wife of Mr. Increase Blake who died of small pox Novr ye 22d A.D. 1792, aged 61 years.] The removal of remains from the Burial Ground on Mechanic Street occurred as the result of a proposal to extend Foster Street along the northern border of the cemetery, pursuant to an order passed by the Board of Alderman on February 17, 1877. The City Council dealt with various orders in this connection on May 7, 1877; July 16, 1877; and February 18, 1878, including the necessity of "obtaining more land for the enlargement of Hope Cemetery." "The contract for removing the remains was awarded to Messrs. George Sessions & Sons, experienced undertakers, and under their superintendence 1116 bodies were taken up and deposited in other places of burial, most of them in the lot provided by the City at Hope Cemetery." Over 300 names were printed in the first collection of Inscriptions, and the Addendum added 100 more names which were "obtained from coffin plates, from head stones which had been overlooked in the previous survey or were found buried benetah the surface, and from friends and relatives of the deceased who visited the ground in search of their remains." "To render this publication, to a specified time, complete, the record of deaths in Worcester from 1717 to 1825,--omitting, of course, the names which appear in the Inscriptions,--has been copied from the books in the office of the City Clerk, and is herewith supplied." Finally, on page 141 appears an item for: Mrs. Phillis Winslow, a. 91, d. April 7, 1836. Colored. Mother of Peter Rich, Sr. I have perhaps 30 pages of what is at least 144 pages, with an index mentioned, and there may be other items specific to this research project contained within this book of Inscriptions. I think this book may be available to review online either through Heritage Quest or the Godfrey Library in Connecticut, although I have not yet checked Ancestry.com. The Burial Ground on Mechanic Street was "decommissioned" in the 1870s and the gravestones were laid flat and buried. I also received a handful of pages from what seems to be a book, "Rural Cemetery," by The Proprietors of Rural Cemetery (cemetery bounded by Rural Drive-south, Grove Street-west, North Street, and Prescott Street-east). Rural Cemetery 180 Grove Street Worcester, MA (508) 754-1313 One page contains three paragraphs on the history of Rural Cemetery, one of which is pertinent: "Progress, however, did not dim the importance of those who had gone before, and, in 1837, Edward D. Bangs noted the sad condition of the town's cemeteries. The oldest, at what is now Thomas and Summer Streets, had been decimated, that on the Common neglected, and the others were threatened by the burgeoning community. This sad condition, he felt, was because 'no provision had been made for individual ownership.'" The first burial occurred at Rural Cemetery in 1838. I also have a couple of pages pertinent to my own research from "Rural Retrospect" by Tymeson which is at the Worcester Public Library, and it has burials from 1838 to 1956. [Call Number 474.431/T986ru] Adele/Seattle -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: July 13, 2006 5:15 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [MAWORCES] Re: Black African American Cemetery B & G, I have read (thanks Owen Murphy) that the first town (1717) cemetery in Worcester was in the area that is now Thomas St. (north off Main St.) near where it met Back St. (now Summer St.). According to Owen the remains were never removed, when it was closed. You are more likely referring to the Mechanic St. Burial Ground, first used in 1795. The lower Mechanic St. (also off Main St.) area was known as Guinea, and it was for a time (certainly by the mid-19th century) an area where African-Americans lived. There may have been a section that tended to hold black Americans in any of the cemeteries, but there was not, to my (not particularly vast) knowledge a cemetery for blacks. When the Mechanic St. BG was closed (1878) most of the remains went to Hope. John Ps Do you have much on a doctoress by the name of VanRasslier or something like that. Reply John, I don't know of the doctoress but Gloria might. Also you say most of the remains went to Hope. Does that mean some stayed at the mechanic St BG? Thanks for your information, Barbara (and 'for Gloria') Then I said: I think that means that some went toother cemeteries ==== MAWORCES Mailing List ==== Have you visited the ARCHIVES lately? http://www.rootsweb.com/~maworces/wo-gen.htm