{"id":95863,"date":"2023-11-13T12:34:33","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T17:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=95863"},"modified":"2023-11-17T13:42:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T18:42:46","slug":"genealogy-tips-is-your-ancestor-buried-in-a-potters-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-tips-is-your-ancestor-buried-in-a-potters-field.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Tips: Is Your Ancestor Buried in a Potter\u2019s Field?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about a possible burial place for your ancestor: the local \u201cpotter\u2019s field.\u201d Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As family historians we focus on tracing our family lineage. One way we do this is to prove our ancestor\u2019s life, starting with their death. Most researchers use two sources for death to find the information they need: a cemetery grave marker and a death certificate.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve discussed in previous blog articles that not everyone\u2019s grave is marked. In some cases, a person is buried in an unmarked grave. This is especially true if their burial is in a potter\u2019s field.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: a trench in the potter\u2019s field on Hart Island, New York, c. 1890, by Jacob Riis. Credit: Museum of the City of New York; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Is a Potter\u2019s Field?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before we look at burials in a potter\u2019s field, let\u2019s first define what one is. The name potter\u2019s field comes from the Bible, which refers to a potter\u2019s field as a burial place for foreigners. (1)<\/p>\n

According to David Charles Sloan\u2019s book The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History<\/em>, prior to the nineteenth century Americans interred the deceased in four types of places:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe earliest burials were by pioneers in unorganized isolated places. As the population grew, settlers became more formal in honoring their dead. A burial place situated on a family farm might also be for neighboring families. Next, churchyards were established\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He goes on to write that \u201cmost towns maintained a potter\u2019s field.\u201d Potter\u2019s fields were usually a plot or section set aside in a community or church graveyard for indigent burials.\u201d (2) Unfortunately, over time \u201cPotter\u2019s fields were transient places and were often abandoned…\u201d (3)<\/p>\n

One of the problems with accessing the place where these burials occurred has to do with their lack of longevity and identification. Some, having been abandoned with no individual grave markers, could easily be forgotten over time. Because the burials are not marked, it can also be difficult to identify where a loved one was potentially buried.<\/p>\n

Who is buried in a potter\u2019s field? There are several conditions that can result in a person being buried in a potter\u2019s field. They include those who are not identified (such as those from outside of a community that were traveling through or working), and recent immigrants. Identified people also get buried in a potter\u2019s field if: the family doesn\u2019t come forward to claim the body for burial; the person was impoverished and left no money for their burial; people who died in an epidemic; or people who were institutionalized, such as in prison.<\/p>\n

Potter\u2019s Fields Mentioned in Historical Newspapers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Historical newspaper articles referring to potter\u2019s fields help us better understand their place in the history of burial in the United States. Browsing your ancestor\u2019s hometown newspaper can help you understand where potter\u2019s fields were located, and if a family burial could be found in a potter\u2019s field.<\/p>\n

As mentioned previously, unidentified people were buried in potter\u2019s fields. In the case of this 1905 man, a photo was taken by the coroner in case an identification could be made later. Though it\u2019s possible that some people would have been identified and later exhumed for reburial, in some cases it would have been impossible.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 22 November 1905, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This 1921 newspaper article tells the story of Private William Ausman, who fell from a building in Los Angeles. His dog tags identified him and the local American Legion insisted he not be buried in a potter\u2019s field. Presumably, this option was being considered because of his lack of funds and\/or the inability to contact family. Further investigation by the American Legion found that other World War I soldiers who died \u201cfriendless and penniless\u201d were buried in potter\u2019s fields.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Kalamazoo Gazette (Kalamazoo, Michigan), 27 November 1921, page 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As is apparent from the previous newspaper article, it\u2019s not just the unidentified who are buried in potter\u2019s fields. Those who have no money or whose family don\u2019t care to step forward to claim the body for burial can be found there.<\/p>\n

This example from 1909 tells the story of John B. Varano and the \u201cdemon drink.\u201d Despite having a wife and close relatives, he was buried in a potter\u2019s field:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cDeserted by friends and relatives alike, doubtless his own fault caused by his craze for drink, Varano was laid away today without a single mourner following his remains, and without a flower to mark his new-made grave and show that some one still remembered him.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luckily for the genealogist who is related to him, although there is likely no grave marker for him in the potter\u2019s field, historical newspapers still document his story.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minnesota), 23 February 1909, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Epidemics can also be a cause for unmarked burial in a potter\u2019s field. Consider this New York example reported in 1832. The potter\u2019s field is said to be:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026four miles from the centre of the city, contains from fifteen to eighteen acres, beneath the surface of which 20,000 remnants of mortality have been deposited within the last seven years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cholera caused the burials to skyrocket to 100 a day, according to the article. Trenches were used to \u201clayer\u201d bodies until they were only three feet below the surface. The article ended with mentioning that \u201chardly a dozen grave stones\u201d exist in the field. In the case of an epidemic or a disaster, overwhelmed funeral homes or communities may need to quickly bury those who have passed away.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Massachusetts), 19 September 1832, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Try Historical Newspapers<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the lessons I learned from studying historical newspaper articles about potter\u2019s fields is how much information was provided in newspapers for those that were laid to rest in unmarked graves.<\/p>\n

For example, this 1897 Dallas, Texas, newspaper article is about Anna Shaw. The article detailed her age, where she died, her last acts, her funeral, where it was held, and reported that she was buried in a potter\u2019s field. While it is true that not everyone has an obituary to mark their death, newspapers can hold surprises.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 29 July 1897, page 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Potter\u2019s fields still exist and are home to burials today as they were in the past. In some cases, the unclaimed or indigent are cremated and scattered at a cemetery, while others are buried. New York City\u2019s Hart Island is a century-old potter\u2019s field that saw an influx of burials during the AIDS crisis due to funeral homes not accepting those who died of AIDS for burial. (4) Over a million people are buried there and 1,100 burials still occur each year. (5)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Staten Island Advance (Staten Island, New York), 25 May 2018, page 15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If your ancestor died impoverished, unknown, unclaimed, or during an epidemic\/disaster, it\u2019s possible they were buried in a potter\u2019s field. Unfortunately, those records may not exist. Consult the death certificate, when applicable, for any notes of the burial place. Don\u2019t forget to also consult historical newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>. Don\u2019t just look for an obituary. Search for their name or the words \u201cpotter\u2019s field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> potter\u2019s field graves in Dunn County, Wisconsin. Credit: Bstaab22; Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

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