1895
BURIED
IN
SHALLOW GRAVES.
_______
Pauper
Bodies Given Scant
Coverings of Earth.
_____
Residents
Near Trinity Cemetery Forced
to Appeal to the Commissioners
Court for Relief--Mr. Barkus In-
dorses Their Grievance.
______
Mr.
D'Ablemont and others living in the neighborhood of the grave
yard in which the paupers of the county are interred, which is
adjacent to Trinity cemetery on McKinney avenue, two days ago
lodged complaint with the Commissioners Court that the bodies
in that potter's field are buried in such shallow graves that
the stench is sickening for a radius of 200 or 300 yards, and
the people living thereabouts are afraid the unwholesome air
will make their families sick.
Commissioner Barkus to a TIMES HERALD reporter this morning said:
"I went out and examined the cemetery
and found it quite as bad as represented. The end of one of the
coffins has only a few inches of earth on it. A fearful stench
came from the grave of a woman who was buried about the end of
last February. The condition of these two graves satisfied me,
and I declined to examine others, which are said to be as badly
in need of attention.
"I will to-day employ men
and have these exposed bodies placed at a sufficient depth.
"I do not wish to have anybody
indicted for doing such work as this."
-August
6, 1895, The Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 3
- o o o -
[Editorial]
THAT pauper graveyard matter comes pretty close to
being a public scandal and an outrage on living and dead humanity.
The developments made thus far are a disgrace to Dallas that
should not be permitted to longer exist. The idea of bodies,
even of paupers consigned to "potter's field," having
such miscellaneous shallow depths of earth as 22 inches, 2 feet
or 3 feet, as coverings for coffins is revolting to human sensibilities.
It matters not whether the contract with the public's representatives,
the county officials, clearly expresses the depths at which graves
shall be dug, the public's sanitary interest and the appeals
of common decency dictate that in a warm climate, such as prevails
in the latitude of Dallas, graves should not be less than 6 feet
deep, and the earth compactly filled in around and above the
coffins, that the graves may be permanent in their solidity and
proper form, as is the case in private and corporate cemeteries.
The officials of Dallas county should pursue this pauper graveyard
matter on lines that shall prevent a repetition of the current
scandal.
- August
8, 1895, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 4, col. 2.
- o o o -
PAUPER
GRAVES.
________
Judge
Nash and Commissioner Smith Re-
ports Them All Right.
County Judge Nash to
a TIMES HERALD
reporter said to-day:
"Yesterday forenoon I examined the
section of the pauper graveyard in which the dead of the last
five or six months sleep. I did not go so far as to see how deep
the graves are, but from a superficial view I could see nothing
wrong, and there was no odor that I could detect. Several days
ago, Commissioner Barkus hired a man to refill one of these graves
in which dirt had sunken. None of the other graves, so far as
I could see, are out of repair. I did not walk over the old part
of the cemetery. Our contract with Undertaker Loudermilk is that
pauper graves shall be as deep as other graves, because paupers
get nothing here and they are entitled to a full depth."
County Commissioner Smith said that he
had also visited the pauper graveyard, but filed to find anything
wrong.
________
The
city ordinance says that all graves within the corporate limits
of Dallas shall be of the depth of 4 feet and 2 inches from the
surface of the ground to the bottom of the grave, thus leaving
less than three feet of dirt above the coffin.
-August
9, 1895, The Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 1
- o o o -
1900
WHO WILL
PAY?
_______
Death of Pauper
Raises Inter-
esting Question.
The
undertaker who has been burying paupers for the county, is in
a predicament over who is to pay him for burying a pauper who
died this morning. It seems that the smallpox discussion has
estranged the city and county and both refuse to longer pay for
the burial of paupers. The undertaker's charge is $1, and thus,
it is seen that a great principal with but little money is involved.
The county commissioners are not disposed to issue warrants to
pay for such burials unless the city reimburses them for the
amount expended on smallpox patients. This is the situation at
2:30 o'clock. An 8-months-old child is lying at the morgue and
the undertaker is at a loss to ascertain where his pay is coming
from.
- July
12, 1900, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 1.
- o o o -
BURIAL
OF PAUPERS.
________
Matters Remain
as They Were
on Yesterday.
The
dispute between the county and city as to who pays for the burial
of paupers remains unsettled. Undertaker J. E. Dunn buried the
infant, which died yesterday, without a warrant, and if he is
ever paid, either the city or county will have to reconsider
their action. The county has always paid for the burial of paupers,
but when the smallpox question was agitated, the commissioners
decided to let the city handle everything within the city limits.
Mayor Cabell stated this morning
that he had just returned from El Paso and was at a loss to understand
the position of the county commissioners. He said he would see
Judge Foree this afternoon and endeavor to reach an understanding.
- July
13, 1900, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 2.
- o o o -
BURIAL OF PAUPERS.
_______
City Authorizes
the Under-
taker to Proceed.
The
question of who will pay for the burial of paupers came up again
yesterday afternoon. A six-months-old child died and the remains
were turned over to Undertaker J. E. Dunn, who desired to know
who was to pay him for his work. After some consultation, Mayor
Ben E. Cabell issued an order to insure payment of the amount
of the fee. This is the first time the city ever paid for the
burial of a pauper. The question was raised by the county a few
days ago when Judge Foree refused to issue a warrant for the
burial of a colored infant. Mr. Dunn buried the child at his
own expense and has not yet been reimbursed.
- July
15, 1900, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 2, col. 3.
- o o o -
1901
COUNTY'S
PAUPER DEAD
_______
Many
Humans Sleep in Graves
That are Unmarked.
_______
A
VISIT TO THE POTTER'S FIELD
_______
The County's
Six Acres is Almost
Filled--Another Field
Is Wanted.
A
well kept cemetery is not always a pleasant spot to visit and
a potter's field is never conducive to cheery thoughts. There
is something uncanny, weird, sad about a place intended to be
the sleeping ground of the unwept and the unknown dead. Still,
it is a subject fit for study.
A few afternoons since, a Times
Herald representative visited the plot of ground where rest the
humans that the public authorities of Dallas county have buried.
It lies to the south of Greenwood cemetery and is separated from
that well-tended city of the dead by a high fence. Originally,
it contained seven acres. One acre was sold to the King's Daughters
several years ago and the pauper dead have rapidly filled the
remainder.
It has been more than thirty years
since the county authorities first provided an official burial
place for those too poor to purchase a lot of their own. It soon
became known, as all other places of its kind, as "the potter's
field." Month after month, week after week, sometimes daily,
men and women have been "planted" there. To-day, it
is estimated that all that is mortal of over 3000 human beings
repose within the rude fences that line its borders.
Dallas county's potter's field
is not unlike other potter's fields. A picket fence with some
pretensions of beauty bounds its northern border, and divides
it from the grassy mounds and imposing shafts of Greenwood. The
other sides are marked by ordinary farm posts and strands of
barb wire. The county pays only $1 per capita for the burial
of its dead and, as may be expected, there is little about the
big grave yard that even approaches the beautiful. Trees, mostly
cedars, surrounded by underbrush of various kinds, have grown
up in all parts of the field. Every night, the trees become the
roosting places of many birds, ranging in size from crows to
wrens, all acting as silent sentinels.
There isn't a mark in Dallas' potter's
field that can be called a monument. Here and there, are small
tombstones that have been erected by loving hands. They are not
imposing, but they speak volumes. Even common tombstones are
scarce. Headboards are not even plentiful. The great majority
of the graves are entirely unmarked. The underbrush has grown
above them---there is no such thing as defining the exact spot
where some human form is returning to dust.
The present potter's field is almost
literally filled. The last graves that have been dug were located
near the fences in small spots hitherto unused. Soon, every foot
of the soil inside the fences will cover the inanimate remains
of a creature made in the image of God. The county authorities
are trying to buy another potter's field. They will have to act
quickly, unless they mean to bury the dead in rows, one above
the other.
Now and then, an undertaker's wagon
will stop at the gate of the potter's field. The grave-digger
and the driver will take a rude box, containing all that is mortal
of somebody therefrom, and deposit it in a grave that is open
and waiting. Occasionally, there are mourners---oftener there
is none. The box is lowered, the dirt is rolled in, a piece of
plank is left to mark either end of the earthly cell and the
occupant is with others just as silent, just as mute as he.
"Perhaps
in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant
with celestial fire,
Hands that the rod
of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy
the living lyre."
The
grasses in potter's field are beginning to show signs of green.
The buds on the trees are opening. The birds are calling to their
mates. But for them, it would seem silent as the tomb, indeed.
When one wishes to philosophize, let him visit potter's field.
Every mound is a token, every rough slab is a forceful recollection.
- March
3, 1901, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 3-4.
- o o o -
Nature of Re-Union.
....benefits are manifold...nearly all,
if not all, of the camps are chartered and it is the camps individually
that do the eleemosynary work almost exclusively. These camps
make provision for the helpless and needy Confederates within
their reach, each one doing noble and most generous charity.
They buy medicines for the sick, provide physicians, supply food
and clothing and fuel and bury their indigent dead. Sterling
Price camp of this city, has its burial plat in Greenwood Cemetery,
now stuck with headstones marking the graves of its dead--those
who died by natural means. It was the chapter of the United Daughters
of the Confederacy of this city that raised the money and purchased
the headstones for these graves. No Confederate can ever sleep
in the Potter's field in Dallas or elsewhere if the Confederates
know of his death. Almost the majority of Confederate are poor...
- December 22, 1901,
Dallas Times Herald, pp. 6, 7.
- o o o -
1906
MAY CONDEMN LAND
FOR NEGRO CEMETERY
________
City Will Probably
Be Forced to Take
This Action.
It is very probable
that condemnation proceedings will be instituted in the very
near future by the city against certain property owners in South
Dallas, through which a right-of-way is desired to the new negro
cemetery and potter's field, set aside by the city council some
time ago. Mayor Smith for some time has been negotiating for
a right-of-way to these lots, but so far has been unable to accomplish
satisfactory results.
The present negro cemetery in North Dallas
is filled to overflowing with graves, and because of its being
condemned by act of the city council, bodies can only be interred
in it by special permit of the mayor. The situation is becoming
acute and, it is stated, some definite action toward opening
up the new cemetery will have to be taken immediately.
-December 26, 1906,
The Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 7, col. 6.
- o o o -
1907
NEW CITY CEMETERY
FORMALLY OPENED
______
Plenty of Room Provided for
Burial
of City's Poor.
Mayor S. J. Hay,
Commissioner Doran, J. M. Strong and Undertaker P. J. Donovan
took a trip to the new city cemetery located adjoining the east
side of Oakland cemetery, early this morning and officially announced
that the cemetery was opened to the public. The ground, which
is comprised of some six acres, was surveyed and divided, one-half
to be used for whites and the other half for negroes.
- July 26, 1907, Dallas
Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 3.
- o o o -
1909
ARE IMPROVING
POTTER'S FIELD
________
City Has Gang of Men Clearing
Plot
of Underbrush.
For several
days a gang of men under the direction of Street Superintendent
Sira have been engaged in clearing the underbrush and rubbish
from what is known as the potter's field or old city cemetery,
adjoining Greenwood cemetery in North Dallas. Already the clearing
work has progressed to a considerable extent but it may take
at least another week to completely clean up the grounds and
put them in first-class condition. The plot of ground, several
acres in extent, was used for many years as a burying ground
for the unfortunate poor.
It became so crowded about two years
ago that a new plot was acquired adjoining Oakland cemetery.
While little attention was paid the grounds while it was being
used for burial purposes, practically no attention was given
to the plot since it was abandoned for burying purposes and the
weeds and underbrush has grown up in rank profusion.
-January 22, 1909,
Dallas Times Herald, p. 2, col. 2.
- o o o -
1913
NEGRO PAUPERS
WILL BE BURIED
_________
CITY COMMISSIONERS RECEIVE
BIDS FROM UNDERTAKERS TO
HANDLE NEGRO BODIES.
City commissioners
in their regular Monday afternoon meeting disposed of little
but routine business. Bids were received on various public improvement
work and petitions on miscellaneous matter.
Two undertakers filed bids for
the contract covering the interment of the negro paupers of the
city. One firm agreed to prepare bodies for burial and make interment
without any cost to the city, while the other stipulated the
payment of one cent per body. The bids were taken under consideration.
The R. S. Winn company was the
only concern to file a bid for the construction of the proposed
additional unit to the city crematory. The price offered was
$6500. The bid was referred.
The mayor was authorized to sign
the contracts and bonds providing for the immediate construction
of various sanitary sewers in Oak Cliff and North Dallas, as
provided for in previous meetings.
Ordinances abandoning two alleys
were passed. One strip is through the Sears-Roebuck property
and the other alley is between Swiss and Gaston, running through
from Moreland street.
J. B. Davis was refused permission
to operate a wagon scale in the street at 610 East Tenth street.
He was granted permission, however, to install the scale in an
alley alongside his offices.
- April 1, 1913, Daily
Times Herald, p. 3.
- o o o -
1925
CITY TO CLEAN UP
GRAVES OF PAUPERS
As a result
of several complaints that have been filed, Health Directors,
N. W. Andrews assisgned a member of his staff to the task of
cleaning up the burial ground of the city pauper dead. The cemetery
will be given its fall cleaning. The graves are overgrown with
weeds and grass.
- December 1, 1925
Dallas Times Herald, Sec. II, p. 10, col. 5.
- o o o -
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