WNYLRC Webinar: Grave Matters Symposium – Exploring WNY’s Diverse Cemeteries

Join us as we explore the diverse histories of Western New York cemeteries and the communities they belong to.

Registration is required. Registrants will receive a link to the webinar one day prior to the event.

Itinerary

10 – 10:15 am: Opening remarks

10:15 – 11:15 am: Jim Boles – “The Niagara County, NY Poorhouse and Cemetery”

A research interest of Jim’s from the 1990’s, the history of the 1829 Niagara County Poorhouse will be reviewed. This will include an overview of those buried at the site and a marked mystery grave of a wealthy family.  A spreadsheet project to list all of the graves and recorded death records will be discussed.  The ongoing clean-up efforts and working with the government officials will be covered.

11:15 – 12:15 pm: Pete Ames – “Grave Matters: Locating and Honoring Veterans”

Genealogy is Pete’s primary interest, and he is also an advocate of noting and honoring US military veterans. His research usually involves visits to local cemeteries where he determined that the final resting place of many vets weren’t noted. That was in 2010, and the beginning of several projects that Pete undertook to rectify that issue at 3 different cemeteries in the area. Details to follow.

12:15 – 12:45 pm – Lunch break

12:45 – 1:45 pm: Dr. Chana R. Kotzin – “Bound Up In the Bond of Eternal Life”

Jewish cemeteries are sites of religious and cultural memory for family and communities. They highlight patterns of attachment and acculturation alongside patterns of immigrant settlement and communal relocations. Through an exploration of the different types of Jewish cemeteries, this presentation will explore some of the precepts that govern their creation, variation, iconography and funerary practices with illustrative examples from synagogues, mutual benefit aid societies, and Jewish fraternal organizations.

1:45 – 2:45 pm: Terry Abrams – “Haudenosaunee Burial Customs and Cemeteries”

This presentation will focus on traditional Haudenosaunee burial customs and beliefs about death, and the history of cemetery practices primarily on the Tonawanda Seneca Nation territory. I will also talk briefly about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

2:45 – 3: Closing remarks

Registration is required. This webinar presentation will be recorded and the recording will be sent to all registrants regardless of attendance. However, you must attend live in order to receive CE Credit. We cannot give credit for watching the recording.

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