In the 1860s a number of Raleigh, North Carolina women formed the Ladies' Memorial Association in effort to give Confederate soldiers a dignified burialin the historic Oakwood Cemetery. Their dedicated work and excellent record keeping allow us to go behind the scenes to take a look at the effort that went in to preserving a cemetery and the history of the state. Much work has taken place since those brave ladies faced off with Union soldiers in order to accomplish their goal. This is a look at how the project evolved over the years. Complete roster of soldiers included with map of gravesites. Excellent book for those tracing their ancestors.

Oakwood Cemetery evolved from a final resting place for Confederate soldiers to a modern "cemetery full of life," reflecting over 150 years of the remarkable history of Raleigh, North Carolina. Many of the men and women who lived that history and developed this Southern capital--from soldiers and politicians to educators and clergy, from merchants and craftsmen to social activists and laborers--now rest in Oakwood, memorialized in the monuments that grace this lovely garden cemetery. Their stories, illustrated by archival and modern photographs, are told within this volume.

Oakwood Cemetery evolved from a final resting place of Confederate soldiers to a modern "cemetery full of life", reflecting over 150 years of the remarkable history of Raleigh, North Carolina. Many of the men and women who lived that history and developed this Southern capital--from soldiers and politicians to educators and clergy, from merchants and craftsmen to social activists and laborers--now rest in Oakwood, memorialized in the monuments that grace this lovely garden cemetery. Their stories, illustrated by archival and modern photographs, are told within this volume.

A guidebook for over 125 US cemeteries that offer green burial. Includes introductory material on green burial and photo illustrations. Detailed cemetery entries are color coded and grouped by region and state. 303 pages.

“Examines our evolving mourning rituals, specifically in relationship to cemeteries . . . a levelheaded report on the death care industry.” —Los Angeles Review of Books In modern society, we have professionalized our care for the dying and deceased in hospitals and hospices, churches and funeral homes, cemeteries and mausoleums to aid dazed and disoriented mourners. But these formal institutions can be alienating and cold, leaving people craving a more humane mourning and burial process. The burial treatment itself has come to be seen as wasteful and harmful—marked by chemicals, plush caskets, and manicured greens. Today’s bereaved are therefore increasingly turning away from the old ways of death and searching for a more personalized, environmentally responsible, and ethical means of grief. Is the Cemetery Dead? gets to the heart of the tragedy of death, chronicling how Americans are inventing new or adapting old traditions, burial places, and memorials. In illustrative prose, David Charles Sloane shows how people are taking control of their grief by bringing their relatives home to die, interring them in natural burial grounds, mourning them online, or memorializing them streetside with a shrine, ghost bike, or RIP mural. Today’s mourners are increasingly breaking free of conventions to better embrace the person they want to remember. As Sloane shows, these changes threaten the future of the cemetery, causing cemeteries to seek to become more responsive institutions. A trained historian, Sloane is also descendent from multiple generations of cemetery managers and he grew up in Syracuse’s Oakwood Cemetery. Enriched by these experiences, as well as his personal struggles with overwhelming grief, Sloane presents a remarkable and accessible tour of our new American way of death.