I wonder if others have found and solved my problem trying to locate a child's grave.    My aunt Margaret Bourdess (also spelled Bordes, Burdess) was born in 1912 in South Fork.  She died as a  baby (quote from my grandmother:  "a lot of babies were taken up on the hill that year").  I can't find her grave, although there are other Bourdess, Burdess in South Fork Cemetery.  The Anthony Bourdess that is there is a relative (my g-grandfather).  George is my grandfather.    My cousin recalls a conversation with an older person in her church, who told her that there was a baby plot in the cemetery, back by the woods, where they buried babies and small children without grave markers.  I have researched the mass grave in Portage in 1918, but I wouldn't think she would have lived to be 6 if the family story is she died as a baby, plus I am not sure the family would have taken her all the way to Portage to be buried.  The story about South Fork Cemetery doesn't seem right, but I don't know what else could have happened.   The South Fork Lutheran Church is no longer in existence, although I am sure the records must be somewhere.  I don't know the year, so have no hope of searching the newspapers.  She is not in the obit index at the cambria county library, not in any of the cemetery indexes.  Anyone have a similar story?   Gail Dickinson researching Bourdess, Thomas, Layton 

If you are talking about a Catholic Church [can only speak for them], the entire cemetery was consecrated ground and only BAPTIZED individuals IN GOOD STANDING AS A CATHOLIC could be buried in the cemetery. An unbaptized infant would be buried in "Potter's Field," so called because the Jews bought a [real] potter's [clay workers] field with Judas' 30 pieces of silver and provided for burial of those who were not eligible for regular Jewish burial. The Catholic Church adopted that idea, and an unbaptized or still born baby or miscarriage would be buried in that "field.' Nurses at the local hospital or midwives would baptize new borns if they were ill. A midwife's baptism usually made her the child's godmother. I can't explain all the details, but a simple pouring on water type of baptism by a non-priest is OK, but the child should be rebaptized in the church " with full rites" of baptism. In St. Bernard's Church, Hastings, Potter's Field is marked and the burials are all around the top edge of the cemetery in unconsecrated ground. Adults who are not baptized, or who are husbands or wives of Catholics but were not themselves baptized, also are buried there. If you did something to annoy [some] priests or disobeyed church law [mainly being divorced and remarried] also go there. About 1963, after Vatican II, the latest Catholic Church Conclave, many things changed. Now the entire cemetery is not consecrated, just a grave as it is used--so an unbaptized husband or wife could be buried next to the spouse. Believe me, there was a lot of "getting around the rules" as no one wanted to have a child buried in Potter's Field. Sometimes the parents themselves would bury the "baby" in the family plot. Most of the babies in Potter's Field in Hastings have tombstones. Marilyn Kline Washington -----Original Message----- From: Gail Dickinson <[email protected]> To: pacambri <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Sep 26, 2011 11:36 pm Subject: [PACAMBRI] early 1900 baby graves in South Fork I wonder if others have found and solved my problem trying to locate a child's rave. y aunt Margaret Bourdess (also spelled Bordes, Burdess) was born in 1912 in outh Fork. She died as a baby (quote from my grandmother: "a lot of babies ere taken up on the hill that year"). I can't find her grave, although there re other Bourdess, Burdess in South Fork Cemetery. The Anthony Bourdess that s there is a relative (my g-grandfather). George is my grandfather. y cousin recalls a conversation with an older person in her church, who told er that there was a baby plot in the cemetery, back by the woods, where they uried babies and small children without grave markers. I have researched the ass grave in Portage in 1918, but I wouldn't think she would have lived to be 6 f the family story is she died as a baby, plus I am not sure the family would ave taken her all the way to Portage to be buried. The story about South Fork emetery doesn't seem right, but I don't know what else could have happened. he South Fork Lutheran Church is no longer in existence, although I am sure the ecords must be somewhere. I don't know the year, so have no hope of searching he newspapers. She is not in the obit index at the cambria county library, not n any of the cemetery indexes. Anyone have a similar story? ail Dickinson esearching Bourdess, Thomas, Layton - - - - - - - - - Search for more Cambria County information on our webpage: ttp://www.camgenpa.com/ ------------------------------ o unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] ith the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of he message