‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
Inquest, tatoo, trunk and British Archives are only clues to Wm. Rattery
Sometimes as much can be learned from “reading between the lines” as reading the lines. Sue Hunter Weir explains that this can also be true at a cemetery where between the markers lie fascinating Tales.”Where there are gaps, there are stories.” One of the tricky parts about writing these columns is trying to find a picture or graphic to go along with the story, something that draws you in and makes you want to know more. There are 22,000 people buried in the cemetery, only about 10% have markers. We have photos of some of those people but not nearly enough. The problem is that some of the really interesting, mysterious or poignant stories don”'t have pictures to go along with them. Even if they did, most of the stories would still have significant gaps. William F. Rattery”'s is one of those stories. Mr. Rattery committed suicide on September 27, 1875. He doesn”'t have a marker, most likely he never did. Everything that we know about him [...]
TB Spawned innovative forerunner to University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview- Riverside
Dorothy, Lillian, and Hillmar Evanson c1911-13, based on Lillian”'s estimated age. Hillmar died from TB in 1913 at age 29 and Dorothy in 1915 at age 26. They and 99 others were hospitalized at Thomas Hospital and buried at Layman”'s Cemetery .Hilmar and Dorothy were only two of 101 people buried in the cemetery who died at Thomas Hospital between 1908 and 1917. Undoubtedly, many more who were not buried in Layman”'s Cemetery died there during those years and in the years between 1917 and the hospital”'s closing in 1929. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in Minnesota, and in 1910 approximately 2,500 Minnesotans died from the disease commonly known as the “white plague.” Thomas Hospital was a project of the United Church Hospital Association whose membership was primarily composed of Norwegian Lutherans. For $1 a year, members could vote on the UCHA”'s board, and anyone who donated $25 was entitled to a lifetime [...]
“Who will remember that we were here after we are gone?” Keepsakes and records entrusted between Bible”'s pages
 Joe Schumann found an old Bible including a note that said “Will you keep the number of Hilmars grave in case we should loose tract of it. Eugene lost the one we had befor. I gave him one to so in case he loose it I”'ve got one and so have you and as they may grade that part where he lays so if they take that marker I put there sometime ago we got the number of it. So take care of it.”The Bible was a wedding gift to Rachel and her husband John from her parents almost exactly 100 years ago. They were married on December 22, 1913. By Sue Hunter Weir It was almost a year ago that Joe Schumann found an old Bible in the attic of a house that he was working on in North Minneapolis. The Bible was written in Norwegian and had several small items tucked inside. There are three bookmarks, two of them celebrating Easter. The third looks like a miniature Turkish rug. There is a gold foil sticker with the word “father” written in script that most likely [...]
