Burial Records

Stone Lined Graves

Stone graves-that is, small excavations which were lined or partly lined with natural slabs of stone-have been encountered in great numbers in various parts of the Mississippi Valley. They are discovered scattered and separate; in other instances vast numbers are grouped together, thus forming extensive cemeteries. While the great majority were formed by lining properly prepared excavations, others were created by erecting one upon another, forming several tiers, and covering all with earth, so forming a mound. In and about the city of Nashville, on the banks of the Cumberland, in Davidson County, Tennessee, such burials have been revealed in … Read more

Stone Lined Graves – Tennessee

A mound in which were many intrusive stone graves, and therefore resembling the one examined on Swallow Bluff Island, stood on a high hill about 2 miles from Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee. It was about 20 feet in height and 400 feet in circumference. The mound was examined and “about four feet from the top, we came to a layer of graves extending across the entire mound. The graves were constructed in the same manner as those found in the cemeteries, that is, of two wide parallel slabs, about two and one-half feet long for sides, and with the bottom, … Read more

Stone Lined Graves – Jo Daviess County, Illinois

A very remarkable example of rectangular stone inclosure was discovered in a mound on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi, in the town of Dunleith Jo Daviess County, Illinois. This is the extreme northwest corner of the State, and the mound was one of a large group. Its height was about 10 feet, with a diameter of 65 feet. To quote the description of the interior: ” The first six feet from the top consisted of hard gray earth. This covered a vault built in part of stone and in part of round logs. When fully uncovered this was found to … Read more

Stone Lined Graves in Mississippi

It is a region possessing much natural beauty, ideally suited to a large native population, such as it undoubtedly sustained during the days before the coming of the French. Many similar groups of graves are scattered along the bluffs bordering the Mississippi and are less numerous inland. The salt springs of Jefferson County, Missouri, a little more than halfway between the mouth of the Saline on the south and the Missouri on the north, served to attract the Indians, as did the springs near the former stream, already mentioned. About a mile inland from the small village of Kimmswick, up … Read more

Ossuaries as a Form of Burial Custom

Many ossuaries have been encountered in the western counties of the State of New York, which, however, may be attributed to the influence of the Huron. These great pits often contain vast quantities of skeletal remains, together with numbers of objects of native origin which had been deposited as offerings to the dead, and material obtained from the early traders is sometimes found associated with the later burials. The ossuaries appear to have been rectangular in form, to have occupied rather prominent positions, and to have been carefully prepared. Such a communal burial place was discovered in May, 1909, about … Read more

Seneca Ceremony, 1731

Throughout the greater part of the region once occupied by the Five Nations are- discovered their ancient cemeteries, often situated near the sites of their former villages. Some have been examined, and these usually reveal the human remains, now rapidly disappearing, lying in an extended position. Few accounts of the ceremonies which attended the death and burial of these people have been preserved, but one of the most interesting relates to the Seneca, as enacted during the month of June, 1731. True, the two persons who were buried at this Seneca village were not members of the tribe, but, nevertheless, … Read more

New England – An Ancient Cemetery

Similar deposits of the insoluble red oxide were associated with burials in an ancient cemetery discovered in 1913 in Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island. This appears to have been a burying ground of the Wampanoag, within whose lands it was. When the site was destroyed some of the skeletons were exposed, together with a large number of objects of English, Dutch, and French origin, dating from the years between the first contact with the Europeans until the latter part of the seventeenth century. In some burials copper kettles were placed over the heads of the bodies. In such cases the … Read more

New England Native American Burial Customs

Three centuries and more have elapsed since the Jesuit, Père Pierre Biard, of Grenoble, prepared an account of the manners and customs of several native tribes of New France, which then included within its bounds the eastern portions of the present State of Maine, and the adjoining provinces. He wrote more particularly of the “three tribes which are on good terms of friendship with us-the Montaguets, the Souriquois, and the Eteminquois.” By these names the early French knew the three tribes now better known as the Montagnais, Micmac, and Malecite, all belonging to the great Algonquian family, and who occupied … Read more

Manhattan Island and Southward

An early description of the burial customs of the native inhabitants of New Netherlands, probably based on some ceremonies witnessed on or near Manhattan Island, explains the manner and position in which the remains were deposited in the grave. “Whenever an Indian departs this life, all the residents of the place assemble at the funeral. To a distant stranger, who has not a friend or relative in the place, they pay the like respect. They are equally careful to commit the body to the earth, without neglecting any of the usual ceremonies, according to the standing of the deceased. In … Read more

Burials in Caves

The early settlers of eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, and the adjoining region discovered many caves of varying sizes in the broken, mountainous country. In many instances human remains which had been deposited in the caverns, together with the garments and wrappings of tanned skins or woven fibers, were found in a remarkable state of preservation, having been thus preserved by the natural salts which abounded within the caves. Fortunately several very clear and graphic accounts of such discoveries were prepared. One most interesting example, then recently made in a cave in Barren County, Kentucky, was described in a letter written … Read more

Burial in Caves – Marshall County, Alabama

Resembling the preceding (Burials in Caves) was a cave in Marshall County, Alabama, about 1 mile west of Guntersville, a short distance from the bank of the Tennessee. “Its floor is covered to the depth of four feet with fragments of human bones, earth, ashes, and broken stones. This fragmentary condition of the deposits is chiefly due to the fact that they have been repeatedly turned over by treasure hunters. Much of this deposit has been hauled away in sacks for fertilizing the land. The number of dead deposited here must have been very great, for, notwithstanding so much has … Read more

Stone Lined Graves – Important Person

It must have been the tomb of an important person, the burial place of some great man, highly esteemed by his companions. The mound is, as shown in the plan, surrounded by a ditch and embankment. “The mound, which covers the entire area, save a narrow strip here and there, is 115 feet long and 96 feet wide at base, with a height of 23 feet. . . . The surrounding wall and ditch are interrupted only by the gateway at the east, which is about 30 feet wide. The ditch is 3 feet deep and varies in width from … Read more

Various Types of Iroquoian Burials

Many burials of special interest, either by reason of their rather unusual form or the material which they revealed, have been discovered in different parts of the present State of New York. These may be attributed to the people of the Five Nations, and seem to prove that all followed various methods of disposing of their dead. The quotations are made from Beauchamp, by whom the information was gathered from several sources. In Genesee County, the home of the Seneca, a cemetery encountered in a gravel bank some 6 miles southeast of Bergen ” has skeletons in a sitting posture, … Read more

Delaware Ceremony, 1762

“I was present in the year 1762, at the funeral of a woman of the highest rank and respectability, the wife of the valiant Delaware chief Shingask; . . . all the honours were paid to her at her interment that are usual on such occasions. . . . At the moment that she died, her death was announced through the village by women especially appointed for that purpose, who went through the streets crying, ‘She is no more! She is no more!’ The place on a sudden exhibited a scene of universal mourning; cries and lamentations were heard from … Read more

Old Ebenezer Church, Effingham County GA – 1775 Burials

Edward Haus, a man born in Pennsylvania, died Jan. 1, 1775, and was buried the same day. Nicholas Cronenberger died in the 59th year of his age Jan. 8, 1776, and was buried on the 9th in Ebenezer cemetery. Michael Rieser died Feb. 21, 1775, and was buried Feb. 22. Funeral text: Ps. 55:19. The Lord creates peace for my soul. Margaret Huber died in the night between March 31 and April 1, and was buried April 1. John Paul Miller died April II, .1775, and received Christian burial the next day. John George Maurer died April 16, 1775, and … Read more

Old Ebenezer Church, Effingham County GA – 1776 Burials

Timothy Lemke died in the best bloom of his age in his 24 year, Feb. 9, 1776, and was buried the next day. Funeral text: Is. 45 :15. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself. Mrs. Catharine Lemke, widow of the former pastor, Rev. Herman Henry Lemke, entered into her rest by a blessed death Feb. 21, 1776, and was buried in the cemetery at Ebenezer after she had attained ,an age of 59 years and 3 months. Funeral text: Ps. 55:19. The Lord creates rest for my soul. Nathanial Biddenbach, 13 years old, died July 13, 1776, and … Read more

Old Ebenezer Church, Effingham County GA – 1777 Burials

The widow Reinier died Jan. 2, 1777, and received Christian burial the next day. John Klein, a husband of about 40 years, died March 29, 1777, and was buried the next day. The widow Glaner died after an illness of 8 days April 7, 1777, and received Christian burial the next day. Tobias Freyermuth, a child of 4 years, died April 30, and was buried the next day. Dana Pflueger, 11 years old, died Sept. 10, 1777, and received Christian burial the next day. Anna Margaret, daughter of Matthias Biddenbach, 13 years old, died Sept. 17, 1777, and received Christian … Read more

Old Ebenezer Church, Effingham County GA – 1778 Burials

Salome Haut died in her 32d year March 10, 1778, and was buried the next day. Ps. 25:17. Miss Catharine Bolzius died in the 36th year of her age March 9, 1778, and was buried on the same day. Funeral text: 2 Pet. 3:15. Christine Rieser died April 14, 1775 in the 8th year of her age, and received Christian burial on Palm Sunday. John George Bunz, a boy of 17 years, died June 7, 1778, on the same second day of Pentecost on which he, with other children, should have gone for the first time to communion. The funeral … Read more

Old Ebenezer Church, Effingham County GA – 1779 Burials

Hannah Elizabeth Bunz died in the 20th year of her age in childbed Feb. 3, 1779. Ps. 135:8. John Casper Werthsch died June 24, 1779, and received Christian burial the next day. Mrs. Anna Barbara Rabenhorst died July 1, 1779, and was buried the same day at Zion. Hannah, the 6 months old daughter of John Rudolph Binninger, died Aug. 19, 1779, and was buried the next day. Catharine Gravenstein died Aug. 27, 1779, and was buried the same day.

Old Ebenezer Church, Effingham County GA – 1780 Burials

Ulrich Neidlinger died Nov. 27, 1780, and was buried on the 28th. Funeral text: Matt. 25. Those prepared entered in to the wedding with him. Joseph Schubtrein died Nov. 30, 1780, and was buried the same day. Funeral text: Is. 22. All flesh is as grass and all its goodliness. Dan’d Steiner died Dec. 1, 1780, and was buried on the 2nd. Funeral text: Matt. 25. Solomon Schrempf died Nov. 1, 1780, and was buried on Nov. 2. Matt. 25. And the door was closed. Anna Ursula Paulus died peacefully in the Lord, Jan. 28, 1781, and was buried the … Read more