Homeless Man Arrested for digging in historic Salem graveyard

A historic Boston graveyard was vandalized recently when a man managed to dig about 4 inches into the ground of a grave, exposing the original headstone. A new stone had been placed on the grave and the original laid flat and buried with the grave.

The graveyard, which dates back to 1637, is supposed to be locked at night, but rarely is. Read the full story at Homeless Man Arrested for digging in historic Salem graveyard

Living With The Dead

HIDDEN between tomb stones and ancient crypts, this Filipino graveyard has become an unlikely living city for poverty stricken families.

North Manila Cemetary in the Philippines is home to more than 10,000 people too poor to afford rent in one of the most densely populated places on Earth.
Originally home to caretakers, the living population of the cemetery started to grow as generations hit by poverty moved into their family crypts, sleeping with the deceased remains of parents and grandparents.

Read More

 

Archaeologists find grave robbing evidence

Archaeologists have found evidence of grave robbing while digging at a 19th Century burial ground in West Bromwich.

A team working at the former Providence Baptist Chapel site found a mortsafe - a metal cage fixed around a coffin to stop people stealing the body.
Empty coffins and one filled with scrap metal were also discovered which archaeologists said was evidence of attempts to deter body snatchers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-21044770

Or try ancestorsatrest.com/coffin_plates/  to learn more about 19th Century Cemetery Customs.

Ida Chase's Grave Robbed - Police Look for Grave Robbers & Descendants

Harwich police are searching for someone who broke into an imposing mausoleum, smashed through marble and slate walls, and opened the coffin of a woman who died a century ago, reports the Cape Cod Times.

Ida Chase died in 1913. She was put to rest in a grand mausoleum in Mount Pleasant Cemetery on South Street, along with her husband, a baby and two other female family members. The police suspect the grave robbers believed the mausoleum contained the remains of a wealthy woman buried with her valuable jewelry, and that's what they were after.

Continue reading...

No living relatives have been found. No doubt the police could use a genealogist or two on staff! Police are looking for more information and I wonder if they'd appreciate some genealogists having a hunt for Ida and any living descendants.

UPDATE: Okay I confess. I'm curious beyond belief! I watched an online video where Police took viewers into the actual mauseleum. By pausing the video I was able to read the inscription on Ida's tomb

Ida M. Chase

wife of George M. Chase

Born Sept. 2 1855

Died May 8 1913

A search of Ancestry.com found the couple living in Boston Ward 1, Suffolk, Massachusetts in 1910. Both were born in Massachusetts. According to the census, they had one child, but none were living

COPS BUST GRAVE SITE ROBBER

Twenty bronze vases from grave sites were found when police stopped a vehicle in Montgomery County. At least 13 were found to be stolen from Conroe Memorial Park. Read the rest of this article at http://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/?p=9158