I decided to visit Mt. Olive Cemetery to see how many graves are unmarked. I thought that I could maybe catch something that the surveyors missed. Oh, the hubris of our young. Not only is the cemetery a fairly large one but it has plot after plot of unmarked graves. It is a real tragedy. So many people have family members buried there without any headstones or markers. And it is not as though these poor buried souls were meant be forgotten. For one, many of the half above-ground graves received a surface mounted rubber marker. I assume it would have had the person’s name and dates on it. The majority of these graves have lost their rubber markers from sun and weather deterioration. Secondly, it is evident that the cemetery has little funds for upkeep. You would think that the graves are extremely old by the looks of the place but the majority of dates that I saw were from the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. The following are photos of this cemetery.
Mt. Olive Cemetery: The front section looks quaint although overgrown a bit.
This photo shows a row of slightly above ground graves that have no markers at all.
These above-ground graves are made of concrete and have handles on the sides that I assume were used to place the lid on the top. You can see near the top of the photo is a black rubber marker that is cracked. At the bottom of the photo you can barely make out an outline of a cross that was once made of rubber.
This is a close-up of a rubber marker. This is one of the more intact ones and you still cannot decipher many letters (if any).
Something exciting did happen today. Yesterday I emailed a woman who I found one Rootsweb that was on the Mt. Olive Cemetery council. I asked if she had any information pertaining to the burial plots. I was hoping she would have had some old deeds or documents from Mt. Olive Cemetery Inc. She told me that none of the plots were bought. So there would not be any deeds. Which obviously explains why we couldn’t find a deed. However, I am still a bit perplexed because I am pretty sure that we ran into a grave deed at Mt. Olive Cemetery.
But then again, I found a website just today that says that people don’t buy the land for a burial. The land is still the property of the cemetery. You can just reserve the right to be buried in a certain place. Why would Joel have us look through deeds for a grave site if there was no way that anyone would be able to be deeded a burial plot? There is something missing here. Why are there some deeds for Mt. Olive and some that obviously do not exist? Or, maybe cemeteries retaining ownership of the actual property is a recent phenomenon? I really need to do more research into the whole death business.
I’m sure most people would think that this seems a bit trivial. But cemetery research is becoming a fairly big part of historic preservation. So I intend to find out. I just had an idea. Maybe I should go directly to the funeral home’s office. When I called their office to ask for information, the woman seemed to take very little time to find the information. Maybe she was just looking it up in a database. MAYBE, just maybe, they have a paper file that has more burial information. That pretty much would be the last hope. I think.
You go for it. It’s important stuff. I always think it’s sad when I see gravestones that are no longer legible. Here in the UK the Victorians did a lot of important work recording inscriptions. Now some of those inscriptions have worn away and we wouldn’t know what they said if it weren’t for the Victorians.
Thank you Claire for your encouragement and for being the first ever comment on my blog! I think that we Yanks have a bit of history catch-up. I know that the British National Trust has been in existence for over one hundred years. While the U.S. version of a trust organization has only been around for thirty years. You bring up a good point that we need to be proactive and act now as opposed to reactive when it is too late. (Such as the case of my current research)
I have great grand uncle William Granderson McClurkin who died in 1957 that is buried at Mt. Olive cemetary.I live in South Carolina and have been trying to find information about this cemetary.I was hoping to find some clues there to possibly find surviving members of his family.After reading about all the unmarked graves I’m beginning to wonder if that would be a wasted trip.Would you happen to recall seeing any McClurkin’s there.
It just so happens that I am trying to track down the ownership of Mt Olive Cemetery which, it appears, has changed hands many times over the past 10 years. Unfortunately all we have is a reference to the original deed. Can you put me in touch with the woman you noted was on the Mt Olve Council?
My older brother and cousin (both died as infants) were buried at the cemetery in 1975. Both of their headstones were removed from their graves and my mom, aunt, and grandmother have no way of knowing where exactly they are now. I think it is just sad how that cemetery is being kept.
Hi,
I did a search on this cemetery this morning after speaking to five people, in a search for information on the owner of this cemetery.
A person at a funeral home told me burial sites are not recorded. I thought that was strange.
My interest is in two relatives buried there in ‘60 and ‘61. Last name of both is London. The graves are near the 45th St. side.
I’m interested in any information you might have.
Thanks.
Rubbie,
There was a survey conducted of the cemetery in 1996. It located and recorded all of the gravesites and markers that were recognizable. A list of the names and markers found are at http://crptjax.org/Moncrief.html. I looked through the list under names and was unable to find any last names of London. If your relatives were among the unfortunate majority of rubber marked gravesites, their burials may be unable to find. Like I had mentioned in this post, a lot of the markers have completely deteriorated or never had a marker at all. You can also search the map contained on the website listed above. If any of your living relatives remember where they were buried near, like another relative or person, you might be able to deduct their locations.
Good luck on your search. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to assist.
Anna
Hi, I just saw a story on First Coast News regarding this cemetery and I was appalled. There were bags of trash all over and even some containing City of Jacksonville work clothes and even open coffins filled with water. The story got me interested in doing some research and I came across your blog. Where you ever able to find anything else about it?
There are several problems that have placed this cemetery in a poor state. Apparently owners of the cemetery either took little care in keeping records or they are lost to the public. I have heard from a few people that the cemetery was almost a “free cemetery” where family members could inter a relative wherever a space was available. I am not a cemetery/funeral business expert by any means, but I believe most cemetery owners issue deeds of ownership for plots of interment land. My initial research into a particular person’s plot found very little deed activity for this cemetery. It is evident some people bought plots but it must have been rare. And a lot of the plots have little or no markings to even further the frustration.
Currently the cemetery ownership/responsibility is in a bit of limbo. The City of Jacksonville technically is just set up for maintain the site but has little funds to do much. They only provide basic lawn service. It seems that they this is very basic and sporadic. Councilwoman Denise Lee and a few other local concerned citizens and council people developed a Moncrief Cemetery Commission to provide some support. I believe it was the result of the commission that the cemetery surveys was survey and some action was taken to get maintenance. However, the commission is now defunct.
The reporter interviewed Joel McEachin, a great man, which mentioned the hope for a “Friend’s of…” group. I think that would be great but it is going to take more than City action. I think that it will take community support and volunteerism to get some real movement. I would love to be part of something. Maybe someone can get a grassroots group started. Hopefully they can be properly cared and restore in the future.