Title: Milwaukee Cemetery Collection
Inclusive Dates: 1848-2023

Creators:

• Milwaukee Public Library
• Felber, Robert
• Forest Home Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.)
• Moeller, James R.
• Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society

Call Number: Local History Manuscript Collection 279

Quantity: 0.8 cubic ft. (2 boxes)

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

This collection contains materials about four Wisconsin cemeteries or cemetery organizations: Fairview Mausoleum, Forest Home Cemetery, the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society, and the West Granville Cemetery.

Note:

To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-lhmc0279

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Fairview Mausoleum was constructed by George L. Thomas in 1912 and existed until 1996. Located at 6316 W. Fairview Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Fairview served as a community mausoleum. In 1952, the owners filed for bankruptcy and the mausoleum fell into disrepair until it was finally condemned in 1996. In 1994, Fairview Mausoleum Maintenance Co. Inc. filed a lawsuit to force the City of Milwaukee to take over the responsibility of the mausoleum grounds. The company stated that they had not been able to take proper care of the grounds for ten years and the Fairview Mausoleum Trust was financially unable to continue maintenance. This lawsuit led to the eventual takeover of grounds operations by the City of Milwaukee. All 1,000 human remains were transferred from Fairview Mausoleum to the Brett Funeral Home and re-interred in the Graceland Cemetery between December 1996 and May 1997. Although Fairview Mausoleum no longer exists, a pair of large stone pillars placed in Section 11 of the Graceland Cemetery mark the new resting place of those formerly interred at “Fairview Mausoleum”.

Forest Home Cemetery was founded in 1850. Originally founded with 72 acres of coverage, it has since expanded to about 200 acres and is the final resting place of a number of Milwaukee’s most prominent citizens. Located at 2405 West Forest Home Avenue, the cemetery features gently rolling hills and mature trees. Forest Home Cemetery is an official Milwaukee landmark and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

The Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society was officially incorporated in late 1971 and had its first meeting in 1972 working as an affiliate of the Wisconsin Historical Society. In the late 1950s, it began as a handful of Wisconsin researchers working with the State Historical Society with the purpose of recording all the cemeteries in the state. During these early years, the group was less formal and sometimes referred to as the Old Cemetery Society.

The West Granville Cemetery is located in the far northwest corner of Milwaukee County and is also one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. The first burials took place in the 1840s and the cemetery was incorporated in 1852. Many of the early settlers of the Granville area are buried here. The Evangelical and Reformed Church of Granville was founded in 1847 and was located south of the cemetery. It is now known as the Salem Lutheran (or Landmark) Church and is across the street from the cemetery.

The collection includes series representing the four collections of cemetery records: Fairview Mausoleum, Forest Home Cemetery, Old Cemetery Society, and the West Granville Cemetery. Fairview Mausoleum collection contains records collected by Robert Felber, Regional Director of the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society, regarding the financial issues and subsequent transfer of the Mausoleum to the City of Milwaukee. This also includes information on disinterment and reinternment of those buried there. Forest Home Cemetery series includes correspondence, minutes and financial records of the cemetery.

The Old Cemetery Society series contains correspondence, maps, research and photographs on cemeteries around the State of Wisconsin by Hattie Reed LaMack and Dorris M. Berning. Most of those records focus are pre-1971, before the official creation of the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society. However, there are a few post-1971, official Society materials are at the end of this series. The West Granville Cemetery materials are comprised of printouts from a series of tours conducted by James R. Moeller that go over the history of a section of the cemetery and those whoe are buried there.

The collection is arranged into the following series:

1. Fairview Mausoleum, 1911-2012
2. Forest Home Cemetery, 1918-1946
3. Old Cemetery Society, 1848-2005
4. West Granville Cemetery, 2014-2023

The series are arranged alphabetically. Within each series, folders are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each folder.

Milwaukee Cemetery Collection, 1848-2023, Collection 279. Local History Manuscript Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

• Fairview Mausoleum Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 49.

Inscriptions : Newsletter of the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society

Materials available on microfilm in the Periodicals Department

Calvary Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Interment record, 1858-1979

Forest Home Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Interment record

Graceland Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Plot cards

Holy Cross Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Index to lotowners and interments, 1909-1979

Holy Cross Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Record of interments, 1909-1919

Holy Trinity Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Record of interments

Mount Olivet Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), [Records]

Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), [Records, 1880-1979]

Saint Adalbert Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Record of interments

Union Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Burial plot cards

Union Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Burial records

Union Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Register of interments, 1865-1920

Wanderer's Rest Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Interment index, 1892-1978

Wanderer's Rest Cemetery (Milwaukee, Wis.), Interment record, 1894-1930

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view Local History Manuscript Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

In 2019 three collections of cemetery materials were merged. The Fairview Mausoleum materials were donated by Robert Felber in 2013. The West Granville materials were donated by James Moeller in 2023. No acquisition information is currently available for the other materials. Materials were accessioned as Local History Manuscripts.

Processing Information

Inventory by Charles Tonelli, Fieldwork Student, 2013. Processed by Casey Lapworth, 2019. Materials added by Bob Jaeger, 2024.

	Series: 1. Fairview Mausoleum, 1911-2012
Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1911-1997
Box   1 Folder   2	Disinterment lists, 1997, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	Exhibits, 1995
Box   1 Folder   4	Mausoleum maps, 1984-1994
Box   1 Folder   5	Newspaper clippings, 1979-2012
Box   1 Folder   6	Photographs, 1984-1994
Box   1 Folder   7	Publications, 1931-1997
Box   1 Folder   8	Reports, 1955-1996
	Series: 2. Forest Home Cemetery, 1918-1946	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1941-1945
Box   2 Folder   2	Financial statements, 1944-1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Investments, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   4	Meeting Minutes, 1918-1946
Box   2 Folder   5	Payments, 1944-1945
Box   2 Folder   6	Perpetual Care Accounts, 1944
Box   2 Folder   7	Statistics, 1920-1942
	Series: 3. Old Cemetery Society, 1848-2005	⇧
	Cemeteries – Wisconsin
Box   2 Folder   8	Undated
Box   2 Folder   9	Crawford County, photographs, undated
Box   2 Folder   10	Dane County, photographs, undated
Box   2 Folder   11	Kenosha County, map, 1937
Box   2 Folder   12	Racine County, 1848-1948
Box   2 Folder   13	Sauk County, undated
	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   14	Berning, Dorris (from), 1957-1958
Box   2 Folder   15	Berning, Dorris (from), undated
Box   2 Folder   16	Berning, Dorris (to), 1958
Box   2 Folder   17	LaMack, 1957-1958
Box   2 Folder   18	LaMack – Racine County, 1958
Box   2 Folder   19	Newspaper clippings, 1958
Box   2 Folder   20	Photographs, undated
	Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society
Box   2 Folder   21	By-laws, 1979
Box   2 Folder   22	Member directories, 1972-1992
Box   2 Folder   23	Newsletters, 1979-2005
	Series: 4. West Granville Cemetery, 2014-2023	⇧
Box   2 Folder   24	Cemetery Tour, parts 1-6, 2014-2018
Box   2 Folder   25	Cemetery Tour, parts 7-11, 2019-2023