Can someone research the Columbian Harmony Cemetery?

+5 votes
220 views

Can someone take a camera and find what is left of the  Category: Columbian Harmony Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia    There is said to "have 37,000 people laid to rest there. and yes we understand that they were moved back in 1960" but we need to find out why the headstones that were found by Senator Richard Stuart didn't get moved?  And we need help adding all those people to wikitree asap.  RIGHT now we have 2, and one is Mary Shadd-Cary  VIP , please see the Profile as above.  Thank you for any help you can give. 
Join: US Black Heritage Project

WikiTree profile: Mary Cary
in WikiTree Help by Carole Taylor G2G6 Mach 7 (74.2k points)
We have a f-a-g photographer at the site yesterday.  new photos of the headstones on the shore in the water.  Jon has added 3 memorials to f-a-g  yesterday. he must have seen the same news article I did.  Thank you Jon please  share with wikitree.
Check out the new f-a-g at the other cemetery.......217710685    Created by: Loretta Castaldi  --Added: 26 Oct 2020  We have another Spokesperson, she added a  news clipping.

Hi Carole, I've got a space page created for the Columbian Harmony

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Columbian_Harmony_Cemetery%2C_Washington%2C_D.C.

I'll move all the profiles over to the National Harmony category. Thanks!

I edited the link to the Free-Space Page. The final period in the page name was not getting translated properly as part of the URL.
Oops. Thanks, Debi!

2 Answers

+2 votes
The category page should actually be moved to a free-space cemetery page...cem it defunct and bodies were moved....all of the details should be added to that free-space profile of the Columbian Harmony Cemetery.
by Natalie Trott G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
edited by Natalie Trott
+2 votes

I agree with Natalie, this is not a category that the Cemeteries Project would maintain in the current format and in the Cemeteries Hierarchy. Since the bodies were transferred to National Harmony Memorial Park, this category should be renamed, and all text moved to a free-space page that explains the history and any management issues identified.

I understand that some remains were not transferred (later found during construction); however, these remains were not identified and cannot accurately be assigned to a defunct cemetery category.

On another note, the relocation agreement apparently did not cover the existing memorials and monuments. Most were sold as scrap, and others as we are finding out now were dumped into the Potomac. The markers that stand at National Harmony Memorial Park were constructed post-1959.

See:

  • Sluby, Paul E. 1996. Records Of The Columbian Harmony Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.: Columbian Harmony Society.
  • Sluby, Paul E, Stanton L Wormley, and Paul E Sluby. 2001. History Of The Columbian Harmony Society And Of Harmony Cemetery, Washington, D.C.. Washington, D.C.: The Society.
by Steven Harris G2G6 Pilot (742k points)
sad  very sad......... ok  I will let it go...............
Hi Steve, I'm not a member of the Cemetery project so I don't understand what you're saying. If I understand correctly, the original cemetery was The Columbian Harmony Cemetery, but most (not all) of the bodies were moved and as we're seeing many of the headstones sold as scrap.

I see there are categories for both cemeteries. Are you saying because the Columbian Harmony no longer exists, this should be merged into the new one, or? I'm just trying to understand what you mean.
Hi Emma, that would be correct. The Cemeteries structure is meant as a place of 'current day - I can physically go here and find graves' structure. The structure was not designed to support cemeteries that are now defunct (no longer in existence). This however can be done through Free-space pages linked to the current-day cemetery.

If you would like any assistance with this, please let me know.
I've got the space page created, profiles moved, and the category slotted to be renamed. I chose rename so there will be a redirect rather than deletion, so others don't try to recreate the category.

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