Ursula Bielski

I requested "Graveyards of Chicago" both because Chicago was home to my family for 100 years, and thus I have loved ones in St. Mary's and St. Casimir's cemeteries, and because I am interested in graveyards in general, for historical as well as genealogical reasons. I expected merely a reference book, and, in fact, went straight to the sections about the cemeteries where my people are buried, but, as other reviewers have noted, ithis bookt is so much more than that. Once I started reading it show more from the beginning, I found the stories so interesting I did not want to put it down! In the first quarter of the book, I learned many things I had not known about the city of my birth: most of which I had not even wondered about before. I had a friend who was maître d of the Palmer House restaurant, and I had dined there a number of times, but I never knew the fascinating history of the man who gave it its name. I shopped at Marshall Field, never realizing it was one of the first department stores in the world, as well as the first in Chicago, and the brainchild of Marshall Field whose personal life included a terrible tragedy from which he never recovered. Both Palmer and Fields are buried at Graceland, together with Philip D. Armour, founder of Armour Meats, where my dad worked for 50 years. So, retired now and living in Denver, I have a strong desire to return to Chicago for a long visit (luckily I have family still there with whom I know I'll be welcome to stay) and to do a tour of all those amazing cemeteries. When I do, this book clutched in my hands. show less

GRAVEYARDS OF CHICAGO will make the reader want to go on a field trip around the city immediately. If one lives in Chicago, watch out! Weekend day trips for the next year are all planned. Reside outside of Illinois? No problem. Booking a flight to Chicago is easy, and the temptation will be great. Matt Hucke has photographed some of the most beautiful, intriguing, and/or outrageous gravestones and mausoleums in Cook County. His sidekick, Ursula Bielski has researched many of the famous - and show more not-so-famous - people buried in Chicago. Her combined background (an MA in history and a career in the study of Chicago's folklore and the paranormal ) is perfect for writing about the many cemeteries in the area.

Cemetery enthusiasts are known as taphophiles (who knew?). If the reader is not one, he or she will be by the end of the book. Besides the history of the cemeteries (who built them, who is buried in them), Hulmes and Bielski give the reader a good overview of the different architectural styles used to create tombstones and mausoleums. It is an artistic view of the city as well as a collection of interesting characters (all dead, true, but well remembered in their current resting places).

One could spend days just visiting the graves of famous or infamous people: Harry Caray, Jesse Owens, Harold Washington, Al Capone, Bessie Coleman, Gene Siskel, John Belushi, and Dinah Washington among others. If famous individuals are not of interest, there are plenty of ordinary folks whose lives are highlighted throughout this book. One of the most intriguing stories is of Andreas von Zirngibl who is buried in - of all places - an operating scrap yard. Who was there first? Zirngibl by many, many years. What has happened there since? Tales await on every page.

Intricate memorials to children abound in Chicago. One can visit (or read about) Artie and Willie; Mary Alice, Francisco, Lars and Eddie, Josie Lyon, Edna, Inez, and Frances Pearce and her infant. Children long gone from this world are remembered every day by cemetery visitors merely observing the gravestones or, perhaps, reading the childrens' names out loud. In other cemeteries, pets are remembered. The Cook County area has more than one pet cemetery, some with ornate statues and others with simple stones bearing the names of the cat or dog being honored. Not only cats and dogs have burial grounds here. Horses, birds, and other animals do as well.

What about Belle Sorenson Gunness? It turns out she was a serial killer. And who is buried with her? More stories here. Julia Buccola Petta? Buried with her child after dying together in childbirth, she was finally dug up again after her mother had endless nightmares about her Julia. When the act was done, the baby was decomposed, but Julia was in great shape. A photograph of her taken seven years after death now adorns her gravemarker. These are just two stories that will intrigue, but each page in the book offers another tale - some more exciting than others - but all of interest.

Who was McKinley Morganfield and why does he have a guitar on his gravestone? It turns out that Morganfield was the real name of the famous Muddy Waters. Really! One learns something in each section of this book, and sometimes on every page.

The handy guidebook tells us where the ghosts are, where Romanys are buried (that was a fascinating tidbit), and which cemeteries are in need of restoration and preservation. Not a taphophile yet? Just wait . . . . . show less

As a photo volunteer for findagrave.com I love reading about artistic and unique monuments no matter where they are, so reading about cemeteries in Chicago is not unusual for me. The geographic arrangement would appeal to someone using the book to visit the cemeteries listed. The information about the establishment of the cemeteries was very interesting because every cemetery is unique and serves a specific purpose which is clearly explained. The length of the individual articles was just show more right; not too long to be boring but enough to give a flavor of the monument. My only criticism, and the reason this book did not receive five stars, is that I would have liked a small street map in each chapter so I could orient myself to the city and the layouts. I think anyone using the book to visit these cemeteries would also appreciate maps in one place instead of looking for them on the internet or on a gps. I am sure there are hundreds or even thousands of markers that could have been added to the book, which would have made it unwieldy. An admirable effort and one I am sure other taphophiles would appreciate. show less

As the authors note, this volume, now in an expanded second edition, is both the most comprehensive book to date on the topic of Chicago cemeteries, and a primer that merely scratches the surface. At the same time, it provides not only orientation to the cemeteries of the area, but a wide-ranging anecdotal history as it contextualizes celebrity graves (political leaders, entertainers), religious and ethnic groups, economic developments, and social and political movements represented in the show more burial sites.

It's a shame that the many photos in the book are all in black and white. But the book was grown in some measure out of author Matt Hucke's graveyards.com website, where he has collected much of his photography on the subject, including color versions of many of the images here. These high-tech underpinnings are further leveraged with the promise of "QR codes ... leading to additional photos and bonus material." Not being furnished with the necessary gadgetry, I can't tell you for sure what's on the other end of those codes, but I suspect it's some version of the material at graveyards.com, which along with photos has more descriptions, and maps, among assorted info that would be useful to cemetery visitors armed with this book and a smartphone.

Although it's designed as a reference book, with articles on individual cemeteries arranged by location, I found the book a pleasure to read from cover to cover. There were many startling facts, not all of them having to do with the graveyards themselves, that I felt compelled to share immediately with my Other Reader.

I appreciated the extensive information on Masonic cemeteries, and I was especially thrilled to learn about Waldheim Cemetery, with its impressive monument for the United Ancient Order of Druids, and more significant Haymarket Martyrs' Monument with its neighboring "Communist Plot"! I was also gratified to find information on the burial sites of the early leaders of the Moorish Science Temple and Nation of Islam, but neither of these organizations are found in the index or much noted in the text, so readers will need to know for themselves about Noble Drew Ali and his successors.

Reading this book has inspired me to get a better fix on the burial places of my own relatives in the area, and fueled an ambition to tour their graves as well as to visit many of the sights described in the volume. Authors Hucke and Bielski have my gratitude. show less