Posts Tagged ‘Section H’

Unknown, Perhaps Unwanted

Twenty of the 78 unknowns are buried beneath a marker provided by the University of Minnesota. The marker was dedicated on September 9, 2012. Photo: Tim McCall Tales From Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery 206th in a Series By SUE HUNTER WEIR There are 78 people buried in the cemetery whose last names were recorded simply as “unknown.” They might more accurately have been called “unidentified,” since it’s likely that someone, somewhere must have known them. But no one stepped forward to claim them and most, though not all, were buried at the expense of the county in the cemetery’s paupers’ section, known as Section H. Newspaper coverage of their deaths was spotty: some deaths appeared to be newsworthy, others not. In a few cases the papers printed a description of the person who had died. An unknown man who died in April 1876 was described as being “about five feet six inches in height, with a strong frame and dark complexion.” It was general enough that [...]