By Vanessa Carney, Archival Intern
Title: Receiving Tomb Records 1853-1965
Extent: 3.0 Boxes
Arrangement:
1. Primary: Index Tabs - Alphabetical by first letter of last name
2. Secondary: Rows - Chronological by year
Entries are presented in rows with column headers as follows: DATE, NAME, NO. OF LOT, NO. OF COFFIN, ADULT, CHILD, WHEN REMOVED, TO WHAT LOT AND GRAVE, REMARKS
The “REMARKS” column usually contains one of the following: a set of initials (“Do”), a name followed by an “undertaker” title, the term “Permanent”, or a name and address. At times, the person listed shares the surname of the interred; thus it can be surmised that this column indicates the person who either requested or gave permission to execute the move.
Subjects: Cemeteries--United States--History--19th Century, Receiving Tomb
The collection includes three books of Receiving Tomb records for The Green-Wood Cemetery spanning roughly 1853-1965, with gaps from 1864-1873 and 1890-1904. Each record indicates when the interred person was transported to and from the Receiving Tomb, and where they were subsequently interred.
Found among the pages of each book are various Green-Wood financial notices and customer inquiries written on letterheads, which may be of interest to design, typography, postage, architectural, linguistic, and vintage machinery researchers. Click each box for more detail.
The overall condition of the collection is poor. The books appear to bound in leather originally; two books sport a cloth cover and one has a brown paper cover. Covers are largely stained, torn, and rotted, particularly around the spine. In some cases, the spine is not longer intact. Page corners and edges are badly stained and curled, and some pages are stuck together. Use caution when handling.
CONDITION: Poor. Both cloth and original leather covers are severely damaged and have disappeared around the bottom edge and corners. Spine remains barely intact, held together only at the four cloth binding points. Pages are in decent condition, though they exhibit heavy curling around the tabs. Of all three volumes, the tabs on this book are most legible.
CONTENTS: Similar to Box 2 within the collection, this book contains occasional references to “Retention Books #3 and #4”. There are also two sheets presenting tomb depths by year, though the lots are not specified.This book, however, is the only one of the collection to contain a series of notices outining various Green-Wood financial structures. A memo of Receiving Tomb pricing 1891-1938 appears glued to the title page. A folder tucked inside the book contains the following:
- Pamphlets introducing Green-Wood, its financial structure as an incorporated trust, along with pricing and a detachable burial order form
- Pricing adjustments through 1947
- A memo from Fred Herbst Sons morticians presenting revised costs, with a footer brandishing the emblem of the National Selected Morticians group
- Loose-leaf records of bodies placed in the Receiving Tomb during The Green-Wood Cemetery strike of 1939
- A typewritten page of records, year unknown
