Thursday, June 1, 2017

Resurrection of a Small Dakota Pioneer Cemetery


This Power Point was presented at a Sioux Falls Family History Conference in October 2013 

by Pat Walker

My involvement with this cemetery began when I was 2 or 3 years old when my mother brought me here to place flowers, clean up, etc. 
I found cement lot borders a maze to run on, little lamb stones to sit on and lots of adventure.
I am sure my mother explained which ancestors were buried there—such as my grandmother, who I knew in life before she died when I was 3.  The cemetery seemed full of promises, future awakenings—why take care of these graves unless we expected those residing here to someday come back to “life”?

Great Great Grandfather William C Lampson donated part of his land to plat out a cemetery, which was surveyed in 1886.  Later a “Trust” association was formed for selling plots—1909.
Early records indicate they had Association Mtgs. Elected officers, held Ice Cream Socials to raise funds for special projects.

This early history, brief, but inaccurate, was a “skeleton” to build upon.  The memories of relatives, at advanced age, are sometimes clouded as to exact dates, but the basic core of the story is accurate.  The earliest burial was NOT Hiram King (will touch on that later), but Daniel Latham in 1882.   The land donated for the cemetery was not homesteaded in 1880, but rather purchased about 1883.

Wellman Church Death Records were a valuable tool in “resurrecting” some of those buried in Mt Auburn—providing religious affiliation, vital data such as birth, death, burial.
Especially infants—Note the Cade date of death as July 28 1914, “Infant” which confirms the tombstone inscription of George Francis Cade including who preached at the funeral.

We had a church Youth Group, as a Summer Camp Project, come to the cemetery, in drenching rain, with several of us holding umbrellas, to make an initial survey of the cemetery by copying Tombstone Inscriptions. This was then compiled, published and microfilmed by the Family History Library in Utah.  It was used as a basis for the Excel Spreadsheet created in 2007.

Notes in Margins of one of the earlier map copies indicate discrepancies with that original history Art Leighton. 
For example, HIRAM KING Earliest Death Recorded as 1881 ? On Lot 57. 
Land deeded 1886—there were a number of burials before the survey of the area was recorded in 1909.
Closer look at Stone Inscription for Hiram King shows he probably died in 1884, not 1881, so earliest death was Daniel Latham in 1882.

This is the 1941 WPA Map that my grandfather had in our attic—shows date and legend of noting burial location, veterans, but only a few of the earlier graves actually agree with this burial location map, as to location, grave space number.  
What did the WPA use to determine Grave numbering system?
--Actual WPA records list names, dates and burial locations, in addition to Unmarked or Unidentified burials agree with this map as to Grave space number, but not necessarily location.  Neither of these agree with future grave space numbering as recorded in Register of Deeds Burial Index or Burial Permits in the Lot Records. What happened?

Maps and Letter photographed by Larry Cool from Moody County Register of Deeds – Certification by Deputy State Surveyor as employed by the Trustees of Mt Auburn of Land Coordinates, location description and all are correct as signed in January 1909. 
Map is accompanying drawing by the State Surveyor showing the lots and lot numbers

This is WPA data copied from archives at Moody County Museum for Mt Auburn Cemetery. 
This, with other data has been added to the master Excel database and lot records, even though grave locations and some other data disagrees with facts discovered later from other sources.  It is VITAL to check other databases. 
Example: Binnewies, F W above—that burial does not exist any more because he was later moved to Greenwood Cemetery in Brookings—information from family confirms that. Dowsing might still indicate a burial because the earth was disturbed twice—once to bury and  once to exhume.

This shows the different numbering keys depending on dates of burial, location and whose records are used. In addition, in some plots, only quarters, such as SW, NW, NE are given—thus limiting gravespaces to 4-6, rather than 8 per lot.

In 2007, husband, John was appointed sexton for Mt Auburn Cemetery and I elected President. We gathered burial data from these sources, along with the data from the Cemetery records themselves (as I just mentioned the WPA records, Church records, Lot Records, old maps, correspondence, Gravestone transcriptions) and created a lot envelope and book to centralize this data. 
--We then copied every old map copy (scribbled on at different times in different ways by different sextons or presidents) and cut up the copies into Lot squares and added to the Lot record envelope and the data to the Excel Database.
--After creating the database, we added (and are still adding) data gathered from outside sources such as listed here, footnoting the source of each piece of data.


In 2007, husband, John was appointed sexton for Mt Auburn Cemetery and I elected President.
We gathered burial data from these sources, along with the data from the Cemetery records themselves (as I just mentioned the WPA records, Church records, Lot Records, old maps, correspondence, Gravestone transcriptions) and created a lot envelope and book to centralize this data.
   --We then copied every old map copy (scribbled on at different times in different ways by different sextons or presidents) and cut up the copies into Lot   squares and added to the Lot record envelope and the data to the Excel Database.
  --After creating the database, we added (and are still adding) data gathered from outside sources such as listed here, footnoting the source of each   piece of data.

In setting up the database, I had to make a key for the sources for various pieces of data and this is what I used in 2007 and subsequent years as the data evolved.

Then created the fields as above based on the information from Lot records and compiled from other sources.


Using the database, lot records, other sources, applied this information to Cemetery mysteries, such as incorrect Tombstone dates, Unmarked graves, etc.
First Case: Hiram King—History and Map History Notes say he died in 1881.  Where did they get this information?
Photos show that how the 1884 could be misread as 1881. The WPA Records do note the death year as 1884.  Again these records were made over 60 years form the event, not the ideal evidence. Go to http://apps.sd.gov/applications/DT58Cemetery/Default.aspx

What other records to seek?  Could not find Funeral Home Records for 1884-5.
 However, there is Federally-sponsored Territorial 1885 Census Mortality schedule for SD.
Mortality schedules list people who died during the previous 12 months. Mortality schedules were taken along with population schedules during the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, and in six states (Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota) in 1885. The 1885 mortality schedule enumerated all individuals who died between June 1, 1884, and May 31, 1885.
In SD, the 1885 Mortality Schedule is available in only 2 repositories: Yankton Community Library as a published book summarizing the data and the original Microfilm at the SD State Archives—not available for ILL and no other copy as the 1885 Federal Mortality Schedule was not sent to National Archives for SD.  The Book version is at the FHL in Utah, and you can request scanned copies by email.
This shows the data summarized from the Book version in index form as extracted by Ancestry.com, BUT noted under the wrong time period—1850 – 1880, not 1885.
Conclusion: Hiram King died in December 1884, not 1881.

This was from a book.  Ancestry implies this as the year of death, but knowing that he died in December, that is not possible due to the range of dates the mortality schedule was taken. 
The death date had to be December 1884. 
Unfortunately, this is not all the data actually in the Mortality Schedule—the Schedule itself needs to be viewed. 
We found it in only one place (according to WorldCat)—SD State Archives—microfilmed. 
I realized that data could help with other burials in our cemetery and since our county was formed from Brookings and the Cemetery is nearest Lake, I ordered copies of Moody, Lake and Brookings, which did give me more data for some of the burials in our cemetery, besides Hiram King.

Rather than 3rd hand index such as we saw in the Index, we have “almost” the original document—a microfilm.
There was another document on the reverse of the census with a place for statement of attending physician with primary and causes of death. 
What additional information is available on this schedule that gives some new “life” to a cemetery record?
•Not just his place of birth, but those of his parents.
•How long he had been in the county—disputing “History” of Cemetery saying he came in 1880.
•Where he contracted the disease from which he died.
•Attending physician and where from
This and other Census Data can give clues to other family members buried near the deceased and “unmarked” or “unidentified” in Cemetery records

•SD Genweb--site now gone – archived at http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/moody/cemeteries/mtauburn.txt
•Google Site/Google Docs—now Google Drive
https://sites.google.com/site/mtauburncemeteryinmoodycounty/Home -- up to date to 2010
at https://sites.google.com/site/mtauburncemeteryinmoodycounty/photos
•SD Gravestones —Incomplete, but more complete than Find A Grave http://southdakotagravestones.org/cemetery.php?cemID=366

Giving the “burials” life history—linking them to family group and pedigree connections where stories and photos can “resurrect” their personality, history, links to other relatives who have more information,


Unreadable stones—3D photography uses same principle as the old Stereopticons to bring to “life” Tombstone Inscriptions

As of 2017, this no longer is here—removed by “unknown” persons



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