Harrisburg in Saline County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Pauper Cemetery
Photographed by Jason Voigt, March 5, 2020
1. The Pauper Cemetery Marker
Inscription.
The Pauper Cemetery. . This cemetery, called the Pauper Cemetery has burials going as far back as 1849 contains stone markers with record of 263 burials at least 60 of which were children. These records indicate that not only people from the Poor Farm were buried here but it was the county burial site for unknown vagrants, murder victims, people killed in the nearby coal mine, abandoned and deceased children. "Colored" and Caucasian were buried side by side from the very beginning, death being the only criteria for a place. The custom of the time was for those not having a funeral to be buried the same day which brought about the following justifications in the burial notes: "Run over by a train at Wasson" "Gun shot wound" "Unknown baby girl found in sewer" "Gunshot wound administered by Chief of Police" "Shot by Charlie Birger at Ledford" "Daddy" "Lithuania-wife still in Europe" "Found dead in ditch" "Carnival worker" "Murdered" "Left leg of Charlie Yates-O'Gara #3 coal mine accident".
This cemetery, called the Pauper Cemetery has burials going as far back as 1849 contains stone markers with record of 263 burials at least 60 of which were children. These records indicate that not only people from the Poor Farm were buried here but it was the county burial site for unknown vagrants, murder victims, people killed in the nearby coal mine, abandoned and deceased children. "Colored" and Caucasian were buried side by side from the very beginning, death being the only criteria for a place. The custom of the time was for those not having a funeral to be buried the same day which brought about the following justifications in the burial notes: "Run over by a train at Wasson" "Gun shot wound" "Unknown baby girl found in sewer" "Gunshot wound administered by Chief of Police" "Shot by Charlie Birger at Ledford" "Daddy" "Lithuania-wife still in Europe" "Found dead in ditch" "Carnival worker" "Murdered" "Left leg of Charlie Yates-O'Gara #3 coal mine accident".
88° 33.185′ W. Marker is in Harrisburg, Illinois, in Saline County. It is on South Feazel Street just north of Bauman Lane, on the right when traveling south. Marker is across the street from the Saline County Pioneer Village. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1530 S Feazel St, Harrisburg IL 62946, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southern Illinois Little Egypt, in Shawnee Hills, and in the Tri-State Region. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Also see . . . Pauper Cemetery on Find-a-Grave. Also known as the Dorris Cemetery, this page lists some of the memorials there. (Submitted on March 13, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 13, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 1,044 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on March 13, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
