Episode 22: Dying to get in

Start your local history research with a tour of the cemetery. There is more than just names and dates to be found. All the people laid to rest there had a story of their own. Cemetery research is all about starting at the end to find the beginning of that story.

Willsboro cemetery. c. 1973 (P039988)

The grave marker of Chauncey Hathorn tells a story. (P006753)

Header Image: John Brown’s grave in North Elba, NY. c. 1890 (P007917)

Episodes

Connecting To Curriculum

Read aloud: Students can follow along while listening. Click HERE to download a copy of the transcript.

Vocabulary: Explore new words. Students listen to high-level vocabulary in context. Have them identify the definition afterward. Click HERE for the vocabulary page.

Long Lake Cemetery Quest. Click HERE to download a quest of the Long Lake, NY cemetery. Print it out double-sided on regular letter paper in landscape, with the margin on the short side. Fold in half to form a booklet.

Questions

Higher grade level students may want to explore some topics in more depth.

Throughout history, funerals, cemetery plots, and elaborate monuments have been expensive; therefore cemeteries become records of the socioeconomic hierarchies of a community. In general, the graves of the poorest people are invisible or unremarkable because of the cost associated with burial. What does your local cemetery say about your community?
Websites like Find-A-Grave and Family Search can provide more information about past community members.