White Bronze

While working through photos to upload to my flickr site I came across this one that I meant to blog about last year.

In my walks through many cemeteries I have found zinc markers, also known as white bronze, only from the Western White Bronze Co in Des Moines, IA. I was happy to discover one, in a rural cemetery in the county next door, from the Detroit Bronze Co in Detroit Michigan. A lucky find? Perhaps. According to information found online this subsidiary only operated 4 years.

Now - can I add one from the Chicago subsidiary to my collection? Without going to the Chicago area? I hope so!

The day I met you

How sweet!

Green Valley Cemetery

Blossom & Jewel

These really tug at my heart.

Blossom & Jewell Sillin
Friendship Cemetery

Early Plucked...

...is Early Bliss

Ebenezer Cemetery


John Burr
Son of
J.F. & S. A. Smith
Died Jan 20, 1901
Aged - 2 Yr, 4 Mo 1Da



Cross on a hill

I was reviewing the photos I had taken in this rural cemetery when I noticed the little symbol. To me it looks like a cross on a hill enclosed in the circle. Has anyone else seen this before?

Rago Cemetery

Calista
wife of
CB
Tripp
Jan 29
1861
Mar 8 1902

Stephen
Tripp
Dec 12
1819
Mar 10
1900

Thank you new followers

Thank you to my new followers. I appreciate you spending a little time with me.

Photo Albums Update

We had a cold day so I spent time moving more of my albums over to flickr. It's going faster than I thought. So far...

96 albums
8,864 photos

I have my page set up to list by collection in the right column. Within each collection is a separate cemetery set. They will [hopefully] be in alphabetical order - which is a manual process.

Don't forget you can see a list of the cemeteries that I'm uploading on my "cemetery walks" page.

Drop by and check them out.

Winter at Eastside

Nurse - war of the rebellion

Attica Cemetery

Harriet E. Johnson
Nurse during the war of
the rebellion for Co. A.
1st Iowa Cavalry.
Born Dec. 4, 1809
Died Jan. 24, 1896
She hath fought a good fight.
She has kept the faith

1st Iowa Cavalry info

1st Iowa Cavalry info

1st Presbyterian Church Cemetery

In Memory of
Ephraim son of
Billy & Rhoda
Trowbridge who
departed this life
May 8, 1791 in
the 14 year of
his age

I found an interment list online. It shows his death as Mar but you can clearly see May on the stone.

Many old stones in this cemetery.

Oldest Tombstone

The January 2011 Graveyard Rabbit carnival topic is: How long have they been there: the oldest tombstone in my collection.

Here are three I found on my cemetery walk in the Old Dutch Burying Ground of  Sleepy Hollow in New York.


Deborah Pugsley died 1770

 

Sara Fochee Enters died 1769

 

Capt Dan,l Martlings died 1788



Cemetery Walks

I updated my walks list page. I was able to visit 5 new cemeteries this weekend despite the bitter cold. Good thing I didn't wait one day as we had several inches of snow on the trip home.

Marion Co., KS
Grant Township Cemetery

Douglas Co., KS
Deay Cemetery
Dow Cemetery
Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Vinland Cemetery

I'm still working on uploading my photos to the DCW flickr site.

First Grave in Deay Cemetery

Freezing, blowing Kansas wind and temps in the 20's didn't deter me from taking a few [quick] cemetery walks this weekend while out of town.

First grave in the Deay Cemetery: Katherine Deay, wife of George.

Crosses

I aways look for these crosses when I enter the cemetery from the east in drive one.

Eastside Cemetery

I blogged about the one on the right back in 2009

Left Behind

Juan Diaz - Final

The headstone of Juan Diaz is one of few that dot the section of ground at Eastside Cemetery known as the city ground. This is the original potter's field.

If Juan was a wealthy man why was he buried in the potter's field section? My guess is because he was Mexican. Of the few marked graves in this section most are a mexican name.


Too Many Unknowns

John Shore, of Reno County, while engaged in picking up bones in the vicinity of the head of the nine cottonwoods, picked up the skeleton of a man. It was complete with the exception of the skull. The bones were all very large, the hip bone in particular, it measuring near two feet in length. They were piled on the wagon with the others, and all carried away to spread on the impoverished hills of the east. The former occupant of the trauma is supposed to have been an Indian. - Medicine Lodge Mail

The Hutchinson News 2/20/1879

This little article made me sad. The remains of an unknown man sent to an unknown place. Not even buried but tossed to the barren hills with those of animals.
 
It was common in the early days of this area for people to collect buffalo bones. In an article from 1873 they were sold for $3 a ton and shipped east where they were ground into bone phosphates.

County Affairs

The board of commissioners adjourned last week, after transacting more the usual amount of business. The first three days were spent in allowing bills, as follows:

J. O. Hubbart: coffin for pauper - $4
M. J. Ruddy: coffin for pauper - $14.70
A. L. Kellogg: digging grave for pauper -$2
M. L. Lemont: coffin for pauper - $5.55

The Hutchinson News 7/22/1880

Note: more than likely these paupers are buried in unmarked, possibly unrecorded graves at Eastside Cemetery. Records for the original potter's field are few and poor.

Eastside Cemetery
City Ground
Original Potter's Field

He Died a Refugee

Juan Diaz - Part 2

He Died A Refugee

Now that Diaz Family is Returning to Power

Will Take Remains Home

A Cousin of Diaz, of Mexico, Found Sanctuary in Hutchinson

In a quiet and secluded corner of the East Side Cemetery is a grave with a simple marker bearing the one word, “Diaz.”

Change of Plans

Last year I was able to upload over 100 cemetery albums. Well, I'm starting over. I've decided to put them on flickr because of the option to create collections and sets and also include detailed information for a set, collection or photo.

My goal is to load ALL of my cemetery photos this year. I must be crazy! Wish me luck!

Here is where you can find them. You can see the list on my cemetery walks page.

Buried in Alien Soil

Eastside Cemetery
City Ground

Juan Diaz - Part 1


Buried in Alien Soil

Cousin of Ex-President Diaz of Mexico, Dies Here

Passed Away on Rock Island Limited Train Nearing Hutchinson

Body Interred Here

Until Conditions in Mexico Permit Removal to Home Land

Most Important

This will be the most important post I will ever share with you.

The week before Christmas I had to take an unplanned trip back home to Columbus, Georgia. Although unplanned it did offer some quality time with family.

This was a hard trip to make. You see, this was the first time I have been to Mama's grave since she died in 2009. Mama died in February and I had planned to go home that summer after her headstone had been placed. My son joined the Army and I postponed the trip to spend all the time I could with him. I rescheduled the trip for November 2009. My son graduated boot camp and attended AIT so we traveled for that and postponed the other trip. I rescheduled the trip for May of 2010. My son deployed to Afghanistan and once again I postponed the trip. The stress of his deployment left me wanting to stay close to home and so I thought it would be spring 2011 before I finally made it home to visit Mama's grave and see her headstone in person. The need to take that unplanned trip changed that. Perhaps all the delays were for the best. Even with as much time that has passed it was very hard for me to stand there and accept that Mama is no longer with me. I tell her every day how much I miss and love her. I do hope she is pleased with the stone I picked out.

While home I also visited the graves of my 4 sisters. My little sister, Teresa, died in 2007 at the age of 39 of natural causes. My older sister, Denise, died in 2008 at the age of 49 of cancer. Three months later in 2009 Mama was gone. It's hard imagining growing old without them.

I also have 2 sisters that died at birth. Mama had twins Judine and Joycine in 1960 before I was born. [from her first marriage]

At Mama's funeral this is what I shared:
"I will cherish every day I was blessed to have Mama. Her hands tenderly cared for me, her kisses healed my pain. Her hugs calmed my fears and her voice was a melody in my ear. Nothing compares to a mother’s love. It guided me through life in my early years and waited in the wings in my adult years. Mama has left us for a little while but her love will always be with us. Close your eyes and open your heart and there you will find her."


Riverdale Cemetery



The back of Mama's headstone



Riverdale Cemetery



East Porterdale Cemetery

Close-up of Denise's headstone



Riverdale Cemetery

  
It is my plan to have a new headstone placed on the twins grave. One that will last longer. The one above is common and seen a lot in this cemetery.