Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

The topic for the July 2009 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival is obituaries.

This one is going to be a challenge of sorts.  The “rules” are quite simple:  Find a grave, then find the obituary, or vice versa.  Post your finds to your blog and submit it to the carnival.

What is Abe Lincoln doing on the Chicagoland Cemeteries blog?  Well for starters, Lincoln was our 16th president and he was prominent in the state of Illinois.  And because of this, Chicago was part of the Funeral Train that passed through several cities on it's way to its final destination in Springfield.

Since this is the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, there has been a lot of buzz this year about Lincoln.  I had the opportunity to visit his tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield and wanted to share it with you.  This felt like a good place, since there is a tie to Chicago, and this particular carnival seemed like a good opportunity to do so.

I couldn’t find an actual obituary (although I’m sure at least one exists), but I did find some interesting information related to the Chicago funeral.  Chicago was the second-to-last stop on the Funeral Train before heading to Springfield for Lincoln’s burial.  Lincoln’s body arrived in Chicago on 1 May 1865; there was a processional to the court house where he lay in state for viewing.  The train departed on the evening of 2 May 1865 en route to Springfield.

Following are some excerpts of interest related to the Chicago funeral, as well as photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting Facts (abstracted from a pamphlet out out by Batesville Casket Company, Inc.:

• Lincoln’s son, Willie, who died in 1862, was disinterred and went with Lincoln’s body on the Funeral Train.
• Lincoln’s body was embalmed in a way that allowed for him to be viewed for nearly three weeks.
• “It is estimated that one million people viewed President Lincoln’s body from the time of his death until his burial in Springfield, Illinois.”
• Lincoln and his son were placed in a temporary vault until the tomb was completed in 1874.
• After attempts to steal Lincoln’s body, his son Robert decided that a new burial chamber be constructed to protect the body.
• Lincoln’s coffin now rests in a cage “10 feet deep, encased in 4,000 pounds of concrete.”

Preserving Cemeteries in Illinois

How do you get started on preserving a cemetery in the state of Illinois?  Based on information obtained from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA), here's what I've found.

First off, research is important.  You need to determine the ownership of the cemetery in order to seek permission.  Your best bet probably would be to first, contact the owner to gain access to the cemetery to do further research and analysis, if you have not already done so. 

Once you have gained access to the cemetery, take an inventory of the cemetery's features, including markers, fences/gates, paths/roads, etc. and the condition they are in.  Then begin to construct a plan for the restoration work you would like to do.  See Illinois Historic Cemetery Preservation Handbook:  A Guide to Basic Preservation for more details on constructing a plan.

With a plan in hand, seek permission from the owner to begin work.  I think you're better off having a plan when seeking this permission, as opposed to just asking without any discernable idea of what you actually want to do.  The IHPA has a Permission to Clean and Preserve a Historic Illinois Cemetery form that gets this agreement in writing and starts the permit-obtaining process (basic work, including cleaning or repairing markers requires a permit in Illinois).  Also note "that you are required to demonstrate that you have received proper training in basic cemetery preservation methods before you will be authorized to continue.  Work can not begin until you have received a written permit from the IHPA."  (IHPA FAQs)

Please also be aware that there are many state and county laws concerning cemeteries.  See Stones and Statues:  Laws Governing Illinois Cemeteries and the IHPA's "Laws Protecting Illinois Cemeteries" web page for more information.  When in doubt--CALL!

The Illinois Historic Cemetery Preservation Handbook:  A Guide to Basic Preservation also provides a good deal of information pertaining to preserving marble stones, as well as a visual guide to types of stones and marker styles.  It's certainly worth taking a look at for just these resources alone!

The IHPA has an FAQ page that answers questions specific to Illinois cemeteries, but also discusses, in general, why cemeteries become abandoned and why preservation is important.  This is also a great read!

This article was written for the May 2009 edition of the  Graveyard Rabbits Carnival.

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Disclaimer:  I am not a lawyer, not am I well-versed in Illinois cemetery laws.  What was written above is an interpretation of the various sources presented on the IHPA's website.

Burial/Funeral Custom Tidbits

The topic for the April edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival is burial customs.  In preparing to write this article, I set out to find an interesting custom to explore.  What I came across were many interesting tidbits, none of which seemed big enough to discuss in one post.  So instead, I am going to talk about several of them here in this article.  Please not that these refer mainly to American customs, and may vary by religion.

Tidbit #1

The visitation before the funeral, also known as a wake, is a fairly standard custom in today's society.  Because preservation of the body is done mainly through embalming, a visitation can occur a few days after death, and may last a couple of days.  The visitation offers a chance for family, friends, and acquaintances to pay their final respects to the deceased.  But how did this originated?

In addition to the social aspect mentioned above, a wake served a practical purpose back in the day when preservation of the body was more difficult.  The deceased was typically laid out in someone's home.  Someone was always with the body to keep it safe from insects, animals, and body snatchers.

Tidbit #2

Before the mid-eighteenth century, Americans were typically wrapped in a cloth sheet or blanket for burial.  Coffins began to emerge around the mid-eighteenth century.  They were made of wood and usually constructed by a carpenter or cabinetmaker.  What's interesting is that they were constructed based on the deceased's measurements.  Around the early nineteenth century, metal coffins emerged.  And about the same time the mass-production of coffins began.  Eventually, coffins became known as caskets.  If you'd like to know more about caskets and their designs, check out the patent search on Google.

Tidbit #3

Today, wearing black or dark clothing is still a pretty common custom.  But it's not practised in the same way today.  People believed that the color black warded off spirits.  Additionally, it became custom for people to wear black for a specific period of grieving.  For example, a widow would wear black for two years, whereas a grandchild or sibling would wear black for six months.

Tidbit #4

Postmortem photography is evidentially still popular today, although not touted so much as it used to be for various reasons.  Many people would photograph the deceased, especially children, as they may not have lived long enough to have had a photograph taken when they were alive.  These photographs would be hung on walls and placed in albums, just like any other photograph.  They were also used on mourning cards.  Many times, a flower or rosary would be placed in the deceased's hands to signify death.

There are so many more interesting tidbits related to burial and funeral customs, but time is limiting and I am not able to share them all.  I hope that you found these interesting and maybe even learned something new.