Who, what, where, when and how: a comprehensive archival investigation of the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemeteries, 1882-1925

Author(s): Brooke Drew

Year: 2015

Summary

Since its discovery during the original 1990s excavations, the Register of Burials at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery has been the foundation for most historical and archaeological research involving the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery. Until recently the register was considered a complete listing of most, if not all, burials on the Milwaukee County Grounds between 1882 and the final burial in 1974. However, new excavations during the summer of 2013 as well as comprehensive archival investigations of Milwaukee County death certificates and coroner’s inquests have shown that the burial activities on the county grounds were far more complex than the register suggests. This paper provides a summary of the archival findings including a detailed demographic profile of the burial population. A comparison of this data with that generated solely from the register will highlight the potential pitfalls of relying on a single documentary source. In addition, a brief discussion of how this comprehensive archival research will allow this author to identify individuals from this unmarked pauper’s cemetery will be provided.

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Cite this Record

Who, what, where, when and how: a comprehensive archival investigation of the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds Cemeteries, 1882-1925. Brooke Drew. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 396089)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -104.634; min lat: 36.739 ; max long: -80.64; max lat: 49.153 ;