I posted a blog just a few days ago about the new second edition of “Graveyards of Chicago.” Now I see that the Chicago Tribune has posted an article about the work of Barry Fleig, and the access to a database of folks now buried at the Read-Dunning Memorial Park. The following excerpt is from an article posted in the October 21, 2014 edition of chicagotribune.com:
Beneath the ground in a Northwest Side neighborhood lie the remains of a wide assortment of souls, many of whom went to the grave without a ceremony or a certificate to document their passing.
But history buff Barry Fleig said he has created a portal back from anonymity for 8,000 of those who were interred at the grounds of a former county hospital and insane asylum, poorhouse and potter’s field.
Fleig, who said he has spent 25 years compiling cemetery records, made a searchable database available to the public this month.
“These are the people who fell through the cracks,” said Fleig, 70, of Phoenix. “These poor people were forgotten, but they don’t have to be forgotten anymore.”
In all, the property is believed to contain the remains of as many as 38,000 people. The area once housed the Cook County Almshouse, the county insane asylum, tuberculosis hospital and a potter’s field that eventually became Cook County Cemetery. Located in the Dunning neighborhood, the property and hospitals housed therein became known simply as “Dunning,” Fleig said.
Thanks to my friend, Sandra Bulthuis, for the heads-up.
