ABOUT ME: I am a former college instructor turned special education teacher. I work with K-12 students who experience mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. I earned all of my degrees from Western Illinois University in Macomb. I was born in downtown Chicago and grew up in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the south side.

TERM GRAVES IN CHICAGO: In Chicago, both St. Adalbert's and Resurrection cemeteries feature graves that are referred to as "term graves". Term graves are spaces that were provided to unclaimed persons or the indigent. Term graves never had a stone placed on them. Specific sections at St. Adalbert's that had term graves were renamed as new sections (e.g., Section MA is now Section 5) and had new burials placed atop of the old ones. Indeed, this sad practice took place up until the mid-1950s by the Chicago Archdiocese. Therefore, term graves at St. Adalbert's can never be truly located. Almost any section at St. Adalbert's that starts with a letter (e.g., WA) are former term grave sections. Most term graves at Resurrection, particularly in Sections H, MM, and NN, can be located by the groundskeepers and are done so by request only. Typically, an orange cone and a stick bearing the name of the decedent will be placed for a couple of weeks before being removed. Term graves at Resurrection can have a stone placed only if they're repurchased for a nominal fee. There are term graves at other Chicago-area cemeteries, however, I am not as familiar with their histories.

ABOUT ME: I am a former college instructor turned special education teacher. I work with K-12 students who experience mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. I earned all of my degrees from Western Illinois University in Macomb. I was born in downtown Chicago and grew up in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the south side.

TERM GRAVES IN CHICAGO: In Chicago, both St. Adalbert's and Resurrection cemeteries feature graves that are referred to as "term graves". Term graves are spaces that were provided to unclaimed persons or the indigent. Term graves never had a stone placed on them. Specific sections at St. Adalbert's that had term graves were renamed as new sections (e.g., Section MA is now Section 5) and had new burials placed atop of the old ones. Indeed, this sad practice took place up until the mid-1950s by the Chicago Archdiocese. Therefore, term graves at St. Adalbert's can never be truly located. Almost any section at St. Adalbert's that starts with a letter (e.g., WA) are former term grave sections. Most term graves at Resurrection, particularly in Sections H, MM, and NN, can be located by the groundskeepers and are done so by request only. Typically, an orange cone and a stick bearing the name of the decedent will be placed for a couple of weeks before being removed. Term graves at Resurrection can have a stone placed only if they're repurchased for a nominal fee. There are term graves at other Chicago-area cemeteries, however, I am not as familiar with their histories.