Tombstone Tuesday– Finding Sacramento Area Cemeteries

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson. Photo courtesy of the Find A Grave website.]

At workshop meetings of the Root Cellar Sacramento German Genealogical Society, the opening question/answer/discussion session can lead in any direction. At the March 20 meeting, it led to the now gone New Helvetia Cemetery with the question being where did all the residents go. Several attendees provided helpful tips and information. But if you cannot attend the workshop meeting, is there somewhere else to obtain information on local cemeteries and find out what became of the missing ones?

Historical marker for the New Helvetia Cemetery. Photo is from Find A Grave.
(http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1982256)

One source is the website of the California GenWeb Project. Specifically, its Sacramento County website. To see a list of local cemetery resources posted there, go to:

http://www.cagenweb.com/sacramento/cemetery_dist.htm

Almost all the listed entities have websites and some include online searchable databases. It also includes a summary listing of over 150 cemeteries. And there is a page dedicated to the New Helvetica cemetery. As of the date the blog was authored (March 21), the URL on that website for the Sacramento County Cemetery Advisory Commission is wrong. Correct one is:

http://www.coroner.saccounty.net/sccac

I emailed the correction to the webmaster for the Sacramento CAGenWeb website and she replied back the same day saying Sacramento County has changed the URL for that page a number of times over the past year or two. So if you bookmark this county coroner page, be prepared to find it again.

She also wants to make this page the go-to place for finding local cemetery information. So if you have any corrections, updates, missing information or lists of graves, please send them to her. The website contains a contact form.

Oh yes. The answer to the question as to where the residents of New Helvetica where relocated follows.

   4,691 sent to East Lawn Memorial Park and buried in a common grave
   410 to City Cemetery
   84 to East Lawn and buried in private plots by relatives
   32 to Odd Fellows Cemetery
   6 to Sacramento Memorial Lawn
   3 to St. Joseph’s
   3 to Sylvan Cemetery
   3 to Elk Grove Cemetery
   2 to St. Mary’s
   1 to Masonic Cemetery
Source: http://www.cagenweb.com/sacramento/pdf/NewHelvetiaBrochure.pdf

Cemetery information provided courtesy of

Sacramento County part of the CA GenWeb Project

(www.cagenweb.com/sacramento)

The Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society also provides information local cemeteries:
• Root Cellar's online store sells volunteer-created publications, some of
  which contain cemetery records.
• Root Cellar maintains a library at the State Archives Library in downtown
  Sacramento.
• Root Cellar provides volunteer research service to search accessible local
  records including cemetery listings.

Thankful Thursday: Volunteers Who Transcribe Original Records

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society is thankful for its devoted Records Extraction Team lead by past president Marilyn Ulbricht. The term 'extraction' sounds down right painful, but it is far from it.


This group of volunteers would probably describe their transcription work as a way of giving back to the genealogy community, possibly a labor of love and certainly educational.  Reference books are always at hand to clarify a place name or cause of death terminology of a bygone era like dropsy and marasmus.

Every Friday morning the team assembles at the Center for Sacramento History. Each volunteer has a record book from which to extract entries.  The books are fragile and cumbersome to manage, some measuring nearly 18 inches square. Great care is taken to protect crumbling spines and delicate pages.  Pat Johnson, Senior Archivist at the Center, welcomes the volunteers and the extraction project because it will increase public access to the records via published indexes and promote preservation of the actual books by reducing or eliminating handling.

The team's current project is huge:  extracting Sacramento County Coroner's Office records from 1887 - 1969.  These original records are held at the Center for Sacramento History which acquired them through the efforts of the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Committee.  The work of these dedicated volunteers will culminate in a 20 volume record set.  As of this writing, Book 13, covering the 1930s to 1940s, was just completed and sent to the printer!

According to Marilyn Ulbricht, "Coroner Records are a gold mine of information - they give clues to follow which can really get through some brick walls.  They really tell a story of life!"  Marilyn continues "Not everyone was buried in a potter's grave as there were contracts with various cemeteries in the area to bury decedents whose family was unable to bury them". 

The books contain inquisition certificates, inquests, receipts for property, indigent burial records, disposal of bodies and property, and buried location.  The information to be gleaned from each book includes place, date or cause of death; date and arrangements for burial; and property description and name and relationship of the person receiving such property.  These are valuable clues for the family history researcher.

Thank you again for your tremendous contribution to Root Cellar and the genealogy community!

This publication and others can be read at the Root Cellar Genealogical Library located inside the California State Archives, 1020 "O" Street, 4th floor, Sacramento, California.  You may also contact us about purchase. 

 

Thankful Thursday is just one of the blog themes suggested on GeneaBloggers.  Get your family research noticed here; send a short story and/or image to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com.

 

posted by Denise HIbsch Richmond

You're Invited! Sacramento Cemeteries - People and History Presentation

All are invited to hear William (Bill) Pettite speak at the Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society meeting.

• When: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
• Where: Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse, 6921 Sylvan Road, Citrus Heights, CA
• Time: 7 pm - 8:30 pm
• Program: "Those Were The Days", people buried in our region
• Contact:  Sandi Benward (916) 412-351

About the Speaker:
William (Bill) Pettite was a probate judge and coroner in Idaho. He has earned many rewards for his lifelong community involvement, including the 1999 Promotion of History Award from the Sacramento County Historical Society and the National Preservation Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution. One of his great accomplishments was to prepare historical information on some of the cemeteries in Sacramento County as a community service. One such endeavor was the history of East Lawn Memorial Park, located on Folsom Blvd in East Sacramento.

Come listen as Bill tells us about the cemeteries and people who are buried there, including Ancil Hoffman, Effie Yeaw, Newton Earp, military heroes, gypsies, and more.

Posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond