Baltimore City

Baltimore City, established 1729.

Notable Reinterments:

Intention of Maryland State Highway Administration to Move Certain Graves:  Whereas, The Interstate Division for Baltimore City, in its contemplated improvement to Interstate 95 from Wolfe Street to Eastern City Line, under the provisions of Right of War Project BC 246-3-815, finds it necessary to acquire a portion of the property of Mount Carmel Cemetery, Section A and Section G, which is located at 5712 O’Donnell Street within the City limits of Baltimore City. WHEREAS, there is presently situated within the area to be acquired for said improvement to Interstate 93. a burying ground, and WHEREAS, the State Roads Commission of Maryland will, at its expense and in a decent and reverent manner, exhume and reinter or cause to be exhumed and reinterred, in the Mount Carmel Cemetery, located at 5712 O’Donnell Street, all the remains found in said burying ground. except in those cases where descendants may come forward to claim any of said remains for reinterment in places of their own choice, in which event the State Roads Commission of Maryland will fully reimburse said persons for all reasonable costs so incurred; THEREFORE, by means of this notice to be published for three (3) successive weeks in this newspaper, any persons desiring to claim any of said remains hereby listed below are notified to make said claims in writing to the Interstate Division’s Chief of Right of Way Negotiations of 108 West Centre Street, on or before January 1, 1971 after which date the Interstate Division will proceed with the reinterment of said remains u above out lined. All necessary permits and clearances for these reinterments have been or will be obtained from the City Solicitor’s office and the Baltimore City Health Department (Source: The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), 5 Dec 1970)

Intention of Maryland State Highway Administration to Move Certain Graves:  Whereas, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, in its contemplated construction of Interstate I-170 from its terminus at I-70N Interchange to vicinity of Fremont Avenue, under the Provisions of Right of Way Project BC 259-1-815 finds it necessary to acquire a portion of the property of Western Cemetery which is located at 3001 Edmondson Avenue within the city limits of Baltimore City. Whereas, the said Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, will file a Petition for Condemnation in the Court of Common Pleas of Baltimore City. Whereas, there is presently situated within the area to be acquired for said improvement to Interstate I-170 a burying ground, and Whereas, the State Highway Administration in behalf of the City, at the City’s expense and in a decent and reverent manner, exhume and reinter or cause to be exhumed and reinterred, in the Western Cemetery located at 3001 Edmondson Avenue, all the remains found in said burying ground, except in those cases where descendants may come forward to claim any of said remains for reinterment in places of their own choice, in which event the SHA, in behalf of the City, will fully reimburse said persons for all reasonable costs so incurred. Therefore, by means of this notice to be published for three (3) consecutive weeks in this newspaper, any persons desiring to claim said remains may do so in writing to the Interstate Division for Baltimore City at 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 to the attention of the Chief, Right of Way Negotiations, or call 396-5535. All necessary permits and clearances for these reinterments have been or will be obtained from the City Solicitor’s office and the Baltimore City Health Department. (Source: The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), 18 Oct 1974)

Laurel Cemetery is featured in this “Five Minute History” offered by Baltimore Heritage.  Johns Hopkins provides an introduction, followed by Dr. Elgin Klugh of Coppin State College describing how multiple groups are documenting and planning to memorialize Laurel Cemetery and the impressive persons who are buried there.

Additional resources:

• Laurel Cemetery: A long-forgotten cemetery
• The Grim History Hidden Under a Baltimore Parking Lot
• Rediscovering the African-American graveyard beneath a Baltimore shopping center
• The Laurel Cemetery Project of Baltimore

The 07-04-2020 Revised List of Burial Records for St. Vincent Cemetery in Clifton Park was uploaded to this Facebook Group. Many thanks to Archivist Joyce Erway and Michael Lewis for working on this Revision. Two people were transferred out of St. Vincent Cemetery to other cemeteries, and another person was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery despite an inaccurate Church record. A decision was made to keep the names in this revised list, but note that they were buried elsewhere and the name of that cemetery. This decision to keep the names on the list was made to enable future genealogists researching their ancestors’ burial sites.  Friends of St. Vincent Cemetery Baltimore, MD is a public Facebook group.

Rediscovering the African-American Graveyard Beneath a Baltimore Shopping Center

St. Vincent Cemetery and St. Vincent Cemetery Restoration Group Links:

St. Vincent Cemetery website
Facebook page
MDGenWeb page for St. Vincents
Yahoo Group

Photos of St. Vincent Cemetery
Courtesy of Melvin and Thomas Mason

Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, Set 4, Set 5, Set 6, Set 7, Set 8, Set 9

Biddison Family Cemetery in Baltimore City, Maryland taken by Melvin Mason