Old City Cemetery Burials: Significance of the "Kenneson Survey"
As we explain elsewhere on these cemeteries-related pages, our official, automated records of Old City Cemetery burials are (for a number of reasons) by no means complete. In fact, at the time we found Claude Kenneson's data, we had only 37 names recorded (not counting those covered in the Virtual Walking Tour of Old City Cemetery). And those 37 went back only to the 1980s. True, we've simply got some catching up to do in getting our older data stored electronically. Even so, we jumped at the chance to suddenly multiply that portion of the database ten-fold -- especially with nearly all pre-1900 data.
Here's the decade-by-decade breakdown:
| Decade | Burials | Decade | Burials | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1800s | 10 | 1900s | 5 | |
| 1810s | 1 | 1910s | 5 | |
| 1820s | 2 | 1920s | 6 | |
| 1830s | 17 | 1930s | 4 | |
| 1840s | 21 | 1940s | 2 | |
| 1850s | 31 | 1950s | 2 | |
| 1860s | 20 | 1960s | 2 | |
| 1870s | 52 | 1970s | 1 | |
| 1880s | 85 | (????) | 13 | |
| 1890s | 84 | Total | 363 |
As you can see, Mr. Kenneson's data spans a significant period of Old City Cemetery's history which was previously unaccounted for.
Aside from the numbers, Mr. Kenneson's research is notable for its quality. In a few cases, someone's name is listed with no other information. But most of his records by far include illuminating details which simply are not available without a great deal of painstaking research. Birth date, cause of death, profession, religion, place of birth, research citations, names of other family names... Although he doesn't provide all of this information for any given record, it's still a little dizzying!
What It Doesn't Include
We have not verified the locations of the gravesites researched by Mr. Kenneson. Therefore, at least for the time being, please consider information about gravesite location to be tentative. (Confirming the locations is a matter of walking the cemetery and checking for the corresponding grave markers, if any, so this may take quite a while.)
Also, some information provided by our regular database isn't covered by Mr. Kenneson's survey. Our database reflects actual burials almost as an afterthought; its primary purpose is to keep track of the sales of grave spaces at City-owned cemeteries. As a result, for one instance, we generally have on record the name and address of the person(s) who actually purchased a given plot, even if no one is yet buried there.
Finally, of course, as you can see from the above table, even Mr. Kenneson's thoroughness was characterized by a certain quirky selectivity. (For example: Did burials really drop so much from the 1890s to the 1900s?)
Just accept for now that no single human being could possibly do what Claude Kenneson did, and do it for each and every person buried in the Old City Cemetery.
(On the other hand, it would make a great "team" project. If you're interested in participating in such a project, please let us know using the "Contact Us" link at the top left of this page.)
[Return to Kenneson survey overview]