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The remains of seven
people who were buried in the cemetery of the old Meade County poor farm
have recently (December 2001 through February 2002) been uncovered
during digging for the construction of a new home in Sturgis, according
to recent newspaper reports. The articles state that county officials
are just now finding records of the old poor farm. Apparently the State
Office of History’s Archaeological Research Office is helping to
locate other unmarked graves on the site and identify the gender,
approximate age and ethnic origin of the remains. A 1902 plat indicates
approximately 300 graves near the poor farm. In the absence of any
burial records, officials are reviewing county commission minutes for
more information.
People whose lives ended
at county poorhouses often lived lives which remain obscure to those who
would wish to honor them. People
who live and die in poverty often left no “paper trail” which
genealogists could use to learn more about their ancestors. We would
like to suggest that the community could best show its respect for those
people who are buried in those unmarked graves by continuing to search
for records which will hopefully identify them … and also record and
acknowledge the history of this poor farm.
Many communities have made
similar discoveries. Two of them have recently been written up in
stories in the New
York Times and the Saint
Louis Dispatch. That these old poorhouses have often been ignored by
history and very little respect shown the people who died there is a
national problem. But the
test of the degree of respect for our ancestors … and our desire to
know the history of not just the rich and famous … is measured by what
we do to correct the situation now.
Responses in other
communities have ranged from situations where officials have simply
refused to acknowledge the existence of poorhouse cemeteries (as in Milwaukee
WI) -- to places where the cemetery has always been well maintained
(as in Washington
County NY) -- to places which have been able to create a small
memorial park (as
in Erie County PA) even where disrespect has been shown in the past.
We hope that the people of Meade County set an
example for the rest of the country and do the right thing. It sounds
like they are well on the way toward doing that. PHL |
