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Crown Hill Cemetery

Crown Hill Cemetery
S3329
1864-2012
1folder

Manuscripts & Rare Books Division
Indiana State Library

Processed and Finding Aid by: Nikki Stoddard Schofield, March 2013

Organizational History:

Crown Hill Cemetery was incorporated on September 25, 1863, and had its first burial on June 2, 1864 when Lucy Ann Seaton was intered.  It is the third largest private cemetery in the country, with 555 acres located 2.8 miles northwest of Monument Circle. The first supervisor was Frederick Chislett, son of John Chislett, a landscape architect from Pittsburgh who designed the cemetery. In 1973, the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A National Cemetery, which includes both Union and Confederate soldiers, is part of Crown Hill. Over 200,000 people are buried there. More than 250 kinds of trees and shrubs can be found in the cemetery, of which 112 are identified on a tree map. 

Source:

Information Found within Collection

Scope and Content:

The documents in this collection include “A Brief Look at the History of Crown Hill Cemetery,” Confederate soldiers interment order and article about the Confederate Mound, tour brochure for 2010, lot maps explanation sheet, Marion County cemeteries as of 1940, Request Form for Genealogical Information, various news articles, a list of burials from Dawson Farm, map, and a sheet telling how to figure birth dates from tombstones.  An article entitled “The Movement toward Rural Cemeteries” is attached to a list of U.S. rural cemeteries established from 1831-1892.

Seventeen Civil War generals, who were buried at Crown Hill from 1871 through 1914, are on a list. Policemen who died in the line of duty from 1897 through 2011 are on one sheet.  An article about the Pioneer Cemetery tells that 1,239 Indianapolis pioneers were relocated to Crown Hill. One page gives the other cemeteries in the country, which also have the name Crown Hill.

“Records Used to Obtain Genealogical Information” explains the three different ways in which records were kept, beginning in 1864 with only ledger book entries, then burial permits from 1882 through 1915, and finally interment orders from 1916 to the present.  

There is a page entitled “Nomenclature of Diseases” listing five classes of diseases, which includes: zymotic (miasmatic, enthetic or inoculated, dietetic, and parasitic), constitutional, local, developmental and violence.    Although no date appears on this list, which doctors used to record cause of death on burial permits, it was probably before 1900. 

Photocopy Policy:

Manuscript material CANNOT be photocopied or digitized in its entirety. Photocopies and/or digital reproductions (i.e. scans, digital photographs) cannot exceed 25% of a COLLECTION or FOLDER within a collection. In some cases, photocopying may not be permitted due to the condition of the item. Please check with the Manuscript Librarian for possible alternatives.

Collection Inventory

Item Listing:

Crown Hill Cemetery

Date 
n.d. Nomenclature of Diseases
n.d. A Brief Look at the History of Crown Hill Cemetery
n.d. Map of Crown Hill
n.d. “Movement toward Rural Cemeteries” with list of rural cemeteries in the U.S.
n.d. Civil War General Buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (17 U.S. generals)
n.d. Records Used to Obtain Genealogical Information
n.d. Figuring Birth Dates from Tombstones
1910 Dawson Farm Cemetery burials on June 8, 1910
1940 Marion County cemeteries with map listed by townships
1995 Understanding Lot Maps
2003 Best of Indy Walking Tour
2004 Review: Do You Know Crown Hill Cemetery?
2005 Scenes from a city graveyard
2008 The Pioneer Cemetery at Crown Hill
2010 Calendar of Tours & Events for Crown Hill
2010 Request for Genealogist Information from Crown Hill Cemetery
2012 Confederate Mound with Lot Interment Order (1931)
2012 Crown Hill Cemeteries in the United States (lists ten)
2012 Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Line of Duty Death Burial Locations at Crown Hill Cemetery

Collection Information:

Size of Collection: 1folder
Collection Dates: 1864-2012
Provenance:  Nikki Stoddard Schofield, March 2013
Access: The Collection is Open for Research Use.
Restrictions:  None.
Reproduction Rights: Permission to reproduce, exhibit, or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Manuscripts and Rare Books Division, Indiana State Library.
Language: Materials are entirely in English.
Alternate Formats: www.crownhill.org 
Related Holdings: 
Collection Notes: 

MA BA 6-17-2013

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