Illinois is home to cemeteries and burial grounds dating back to the Native American era. Whether sprawling over thousands of acres or dotting remote woodlands, these treasure troves of local and state history reflect two centuries of social, economic, and technological change. This easy-to-use guidebook invites amateur genealogists, historians, and cemetery buffs to decipher the symbols and uncover the fascinating past awaiting them in Illinois 's resting places. Hal Hassen and Dawn Cobb have combined almost three hundred photographs with expert detail to showcase how cemeteries and burial grounds can teach us about archaeology, folklore, art, geology, and social behavior. Features include the ways different materials used as gravestones and markers reflect historical trends; how to understanding the changes in the use of iconographic images; the story behind architectural features like fencing, roads, and gates; what enthusiasts can do to preserve local cemeteries for future generations. Captivating and informed, Cemeteries of Illinois is the only guide you need to unlock the mysteries of our state 's final resting places.

Cemeteries are in the metropolitan Chicago area.

From the heartbreak of dozens of families burying their children after the notorious Our Lady of Angels School Fire to the serenity of a grieving mother, who six years after the death of her daughter finds her wedding-clad body in peaceful repose; from the lawlessness of the bootleg era, punctuated by such ignominious figures as Al Capone and Dean O'Banion, to the patriotic triumph of one of the flag bearers of Iwo Jima, Mount Carmel and Queen of Heaven Cemeteries have provided the final chapter in the colorful lives and tragic events that have marked the city of Chicago for the last century. It denotes the final resting place of the churches' bishops and cardinals as well as the city's beloved parents, grandparents, and children. Mount Carmel and Queen of Heaven Cemeteries offers a unique glimpse into the history of Chicago during a time that saw massive immigration, rising industrialization, two world wars, and numerous tragedies, by chronicling the lives and stories behind the individuals who are interred there. From the heartbreak of dozens of families burying their children after the notorious Our Lady of Angels School Fire to the serenity of a grieving mother, who six years after the death of her daughter finds her wedding-clad body in peaceful repose; from the lawlessness of the bootleg era, punctuated by such ignominious figures as Al Capone and Dean O'Banion, to the patriotic triumph of one of the flag bearers of Iwo Jima, Mount Carmel and Queen of Heaven Cemeteries have provided the final chapter in the colorful lives and tragic events that have marked the city of Chicago for the last century. It denotes the final resting place of the churches' bishops and cardinals as well as the city's beloved parents, grandparents, and children. Mount Carmel and Queen of Heaven Cemeteries offers a unique glimpse into the history of Chicago during a time that saw massive immigration, rising industrialization, two world wars, and numerous tragedies, by chronicling the lives and stories behind the individuals who are interred there.

New Philadelphia chronicles the history of a town founded in 1836 in Central Illinois by a freed slave. The book covers the history of the town, the inhabitants, their descendants, and the archeological digs.

A hauntingly beautiful travel guide to the world's most visited cemeteries, told through spectacular photography andtheir unique histories and residents. More than 3.5 million tourists flock to Paris's Pè Lachaise cemetery each year.They are lured there, and to many cemeteries around the world, by a combination of natural beauty, ornate tombstones and crypts, notable residents, vivid history, and even wildlife. Many also visit Mount Koya cemetery in Japan, where 10,000 lanterns illuminate the forest setting, or graveside in Oaxaca, Mexico to witness Day of the Dead fiestas. Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery has gorgeous night tours of the Southern Gothic tombstones under moss-covered trees that is one of the most popular draws of the city. 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die features these unforgettable cemeteries, along with 196 more, seen in more than 300 photographs. In this bucket list of travel musts, author Loren Rhoads, who hosts the popular Cemetery Travel blog, details the history and features that make each destination unique. Throughout will be profiles of famous people buried there, striking memorials by noted artists, and unusual elements, such as the hand carved wood grave markers in the Merry Cemetery in Romania.

“Examines our evolving mourning rituals, specifically in relationship to cemeteries . . . a levelheaded report on the death care industry.” —Los Angeles Review of Books In modern society, we have professionalized our care for the dying and deceased in hospitals and hospices, churches and funeral homes, cemeteries and mausoleums to aid dazed and disoriented mourners. But these formal institutions can be alienating and cold, leaving people craving a more humane mourning and burial process. The burial treatment itself has come to be seen as wasteful and harmful—marked by chemicals, plush caskets, and manicured greens. Today’s bereaved are therefore increasingly turning away from the old ways of death and searching for a more personalized, environmentally responsible, and ethical means of grief. Is the Cemetery Dead? gets to the heart of the tragedy of death, chronicling how Americans are inventing new or adapting old traditions, burial places, and memorials. In illustrative prose, David Charles Sloane shows how people are taking control of their grief by bringing their relatives home to die, interring them in natural burial grounds, mourning them online, or memorializing them streetside with a shrine, ghost bike, or RIP mural. Today’s mourners are increasingly breaking free of conventions to better embrace the person they want to remember. As Sloane shows, these changes threaten the future of the cemetery, causing cemeteries to seek to become more responsive institutions. A trained historian, Sloane is also descendent from multiple generations of cemetery managers and he grew up in Syracuse’s Oakwood Cemetery. Enriched by these experiences, as well as his personal struggles with overwhelming grief, Sloane presents a remarkable and accessible tour of our new American way of death.

Illinois's mysterious and often violent history has made the state a haven for restless spirits.

In the early days of Chicago there was no specific burial site. Interments generally were made near the residence of the deceased, on a relative's property. Around 1835 the need for a public burying ground was recognized.

The blogger behind Confessions of a Funeral Director—what Time magazine called a "must read"—reflects on mortality and the powerful lessons death holds for every one of us in this compassionate and thoughtful spiritual memoir that combines the humor and insight of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with the poignancy and brevity of When Breath Becomes Air. We are a people who deeply fear death. While humans are biologically wired to evade death for as long as possible, we have become too adept at hiding from it, vilifying it, and—when it can be avoided no longer—letting the professionals take over. Sixth-generation funeral director Caleb Wilde understands this reticence and fear. He had planned to get as far away from the family business as possible. He wanted to make a difference in the world, and how could he do that if all the people he worked with were . . . dead? Slowly, he discovered that caring for the deceased and their loved ones was making a difference—in other people’s lives to be sure, but it also seemed to be saving his own. A spirituality of death began to emerge as he observed: The family who lovingly dressed their deceased father for his burial The act of embalming a little girl that offered a gift back to her grieving family The nursing home that honored a woman’s life by standing in procession as her body was taken away The funeral that united a conflicted community Through stories like these, told with equal parts humor and poignancy, Wilde offers an intimate look into the business and a new perspective on living and dying