On the main road at section “O” of German Waldheim /Forest Home Cemetery sits a huge but unoccupied mausoleum. It was even wired for electricity, supposedly for interior lighting and even future outdoor lighting. Go figure!
The so called “Empty Mausoleum” was originally built and owned by Ernst Johann Lehmann, who established Chicago’s successful Fair department store in 1875. Continue reading “The “Empty Mausoleum” wired for Electricity”
Chicago cemeteries have more than their fair share of famous people. At Rosehill Cemetery, on Chicago’s north side, you will discover many hundreds of successful businessmen. Lets meet two of them:
The Chicago Tribune of August 8, 1897 describes “Indian Braves under the pavements of LaSalle Street and neighboring thoroughfares.”
So, we were not the first here in Chicago to live and die. The Potawatomi’s were here long before us, living in villages along Lake Michigan, and Chicago’s rivers. They buried their dead close to or adjacent to their villages, along the branches of the Chicago River and along the Des Plaines River banks. The Potawatomi were forced out of the area under the 1833 treaty. Therefore, we might assume that most all Native American burials in the Chicago area occurred before 1833. There is not a complete record of these burials, but I will share here what I have found in records. We start in the downtown area.
Continue reading “Native American burials under LaSalle Street!”
We have just reached the one year anniversary of this, my Chicago cemetery website. It has been wildly successful and I thank all of you, almost 8000 readers for your support. You guys have viewed almost 20,000 pages. Thank you!
Summer has not been kind to my goal of adding still more content to this website. There has been travel, family events, as well as research projects that have taken much of my time. I apologize for this drought and hope to make up for it with many future postings to amuse, educate, and amaze. After a distracted summer, I am back to my passion for sharing my research on Chicago cemeteries. I have so much material to add to this website. Many years ago I researched and began a book on the 237 cemeteries and burial places in the Chicago area. All that material will now be slowly added to this website.
My work on the book was rudely interrupted in 1989 by the discovery and my work with the Cook County Cemetery at Dunning, on Chicago’s north side, a paupers cemetery forgotten for over 60 years until 1989. If you are unaware of this incredible story, please visit www.cookcountycemetery.com where the whole story can be found as well as a free searchable database of some 7000 of the 38,000 burials.
Lastly, I want to hear from you. What subjects interest you mostI will be happy to tailor future posts to your needs. ? Are you looking for someone who died in the Chicago area and cannot find ? Simply email me with your questions or requests. I promise to do my best to fulfull your needs. Barry Fleig Bartonius84@hotmail.com
Thanks again, everybody!
Chicago and Cook County Cemeteries 