Was there ever a North Detroit Cemetery? Help, please!

**mysterygeek** · March-21-12, 03:58 PM

I have been doing genealogy research on my family, and I just came across my great-great grandfather's death certificate. The name "North Detroit" is listed under place of burial or removal. He passed away in 1916.

Does anyone know if there was a North Detroit Cemetery that existed at some point? So far, I haven't been able to find anything except that there was the North Detroit General Hospital, but the death certificate indicates that he died at home.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

**MidTownMs** · March-21-12, 04:54 PM

You might try this website: www.findagrave.com

**jcole** · March-21-12, 05:08 PM

There are a couple of possibilities that come to mind [[probably more, actually). One is that it could be related to this statement from the Sweetest heart of Mary website:

Sweetest Heart of Mary is one of a few parishes in the city of Detroit which has its own cemetery. Given that many of the early parishioners had been excommunicated from the church [[for following Father Kolasinski), it was necessary to find an appropriate and acceptable burial ground for their deceased family members. Father Kolasinski initially bought 12.5 acres near Davison and Mound Rds. in what was then "Norris" or North Detroit [[Hamtramck Township) and consecrated it himself.

Or that your GGGF is buried on his property somewhere in North Detroit, and not in an actual cemetery.

**DtCtyGrl** · March-21-12, 05:24 PM

What is your GGGF's name? Where was his last residence?

**mysterygeek** · March-21-12, 06:40 PM

MidTownMs, thanks for the tip. I already took a peek at that website, but unfortunately, my search came up empty.

jcole, I found that same excerpt from Sweetest Heart of Mary. It is a possibility. I'll have to check it out. Only thing, though, is that I'm pretty certain he was Protestant [[Lutheran). I was surprised that he wasn't buried at German Lutheran, since a lot of my ancestors are.

DtCtyGrl, his name is Charles Rath. His last residence was 81 Herbert St. in Detroit. I did find a Charles Rath listed in the Mt. Olivet database. I'll be giving them a call tomorrow.

Thanks, everyone!

**gazhekwe** · March-21-12, 07:11 PM

I've had no luck at Findagrave either. I have five relatives I have been looking for that I know died in Detroit and were buried in a cemetery in north central Detroit. Mother said Evergreen but no record there [[either Evergreen). Both Findagrave and Ancestry.com show no access to Michigan death records, so it will be off to Herman Kiefer, I suppose.

**mysterygeek** · March-21-12, 07:33 PM

gazhekwe,

Luckily, since he died between 1897-1920, I was able to find his death certificate on seekingmichigan.org. I have a feeling I'll be searching cemetery after cemetery to find his grave, though. Good luck with your search!

**Scottathew** · March-21-12, 07:54 PM

Detroit Memorial Cemetery at 13 and Ryan in Warren?

Edit: According to their website, the cemetery started in 1925, so that looks to be a no-go.

http://www.detroitmemorialpark.com/

**mikefmich** · March-21-12, 11:27 PM

No North Detroit Cem according to MI Cem. Source Book & MI Cem Atlas.

However there is a Northview in Dearborn off Outer Dr. & Kensington....not too awfully far from Herbert St.

**EastsideAl** · March-22-12, 01:21 AM

North Detroit was a village, also known as Norris, that once existed around what is now the intersection of Mt. Elliott and Nevada. It would have existed in 1916, as it wasn't annexed into the City of Detroit until 1924.

My guess is that your great-great-grandfather died and/or was buried in that town. Especially since the population of North Detroit was primarily German Lutherans. There are only a couple of buildings still standing from the village today.

A little history, centered on the founder of the village, the fascinating Philetus W. Norris:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philetus_W._Norris_House

From a 1915 atlas of Wayne County, a map of what was then Hamtramck Township showing the village of North Detroit [[you can enlarge it at the top of the page):
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty...title;q2=Wayne

And, from the same atlas, a small map of the village itself, showing the names of local land owners:
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty...title;q2=Wayne

As you can see on this last map, there are two small cemeteries just to the west of the village marked as "German cemetery" and "Polish cemetery". The old German cemetery is on Davison just west of Mound Rd. and is now known as Meadowcrest Cemetery [[the Polish one is the Sweetest Heart of Mary's Sacred Heart Cemetery mentioned by jcole above). You might try starting there.

**mikefmich** · March-22-12, 02:51 AM

Bam....and that's why I love this place. Thanks Al!

**Scottathew** · March-22-12, 07:12 AM

Eastside Al, you da man.

**mysterygeek** · March-22-12, 07:36 AM

Eastside Al, you rock! This definitely looks promising. According to the census records, in 1870 he lived in the Township of Hamtramck; in 1880, the Village of Norris; and by 1900 in Detroit on Herbert St. Thank you for the information!

And thanks again to everyone. I had a feeling you guys would point me in the right direction!

**Bluenote132003** · March-22-12, 09:59 AM

Wow! Continue to be amazed by the resources and people of this website! While I have no personal connection to this thread, just saw something interesting in one of the county maps that caught my attention- the Hamtramck Ditch. Google search wants me to "ditch" my phone bill in Hamtramck, anyone have any info on this? Looks like it may have been a crick or creek leading into Conner Creek, but had not heard of it before...Thanks!

**EastsideAl** · March-22-12, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by mysterygeek

DtCtyGrl, his name is Charles Rath. His last residence was 81 Herbert St. in Detroit. I did find a Charles Rath listed in the Mt. Olivet database. I'll be giving them a call tomorrow.

Certainly Mt. Olivet was close enough to North Detroit that the village may have been considered to be the nearest locality for that cemetery back then.

81 Herbert St., in case you didn't already know, was in what became the 4200 block after 1921, which is between Scotten and Lovett. There isn't a lot left there today. Google Streetview shows just 2 occupied houses and a couple more vacant ones on that block.

**gazhekwe** · March-22-12, 11:10 AM

Wow, that is wonderful information!

**gnome** · March-22-12, 01:15 PM

here is a map of Norris:
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty...mage;q1=norris

here is the write-up regarding the History of Norris. Interestingly, it delves a bit into the Indian burial Mound from which Mound Road got its name.

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty...image&size=400

**renf** · March-22-12, 01:59 PM

http://detroit1701.org/Norris%20Home.html

And here is a none-too-recent photo of the Philetus Norris Home in the
Norris neighborhood of Detroit.

**mysterygeek** · March-22-12, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Certainly Mt. Olivet was close enough to North Detroit that the village may have been considered to be the nearest locality for that cemetery back then.

81 Herbert St., in case you didn't already know, was in what became the 4200 block after 1921, which is between Scotten and Lovett. There isn't a lot left there today. Google Streetview shows just 2 occupied houses and a couple more vacant ones on that block.

Well, now you've got me all curious so I checked it out. The address changed to 4217 Herbert. I love Google Streetview. It looks pretty doubtful that the house is still standing. Last year, my brother and I drove our 77- year old mom around her old neighborhood. She grew up on 29th Street. At first she didn't even recognize it -- and then when she did, she started crying. Things have definitely changed. Her house is one of the few still standing.

**DtCtyGrl** · March-22-12, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

I've had no luck at Findagrave either. I have five relatives I have been looking for that I know died in Detroit and were buried in a cemetery in north central Detroit. Mother said Evergreen but no record there [[either Evergreen). Both Findagrave and Ancestry.com show no access to Michigan death records, so it will be off to Herman Kiefer, I suppose.

What are the names of the relatives you are trying to find?

**gazhekwe** · March-23-12, 08:01 AM

Thanks for asking about this. I didn't mean to threadjack, just commenting on how Findagrave can be less than helpful. I think the problem is that death records for Michigan are not available in the publicly available databases on line.

Two are Smiths, two are Cotes, could they be any more common? Cote is one of the most common names in Canada, and Smith? I have ancestor, birth and life info on them, just not the burial places and firm death dates. They were all born in Canada. No Social Security on any of them. I said five, but it is really four, the fifth one is in Victoria, BC.

Isabelle Smith, d. 1954 +/- 2 years or maybe Isabelle Henderson
Truman Smith, d. 1930s
Aimé or Amos Cote, d. 1959 +/- 2 years
Ada Cote, d. 1966 +/- 2 years

**DtCtyGrl** · March-24-12, 12:08 AM

Originally Posted by mysterygeek

DtCtyGrl, his name is Charles Rath. His last residence was 81 Herbert St. in Detroit. I did find a Charles Rath listed in the Mt. Olivet database. I'll be giving them a call tomorrow.

Charles' daughter, Emma, married Rudolph Schave. He died shortly after they were married and was buried in German Lutheran. His parents were August and Augusta Schave. They lived at 338 Lovett and are buried at Woodmere Cemetery.

www.woodmerecemeteryresearch.com

**DtCtyGrl** · March-25-12, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

Thanks for asking about this. I didn't mean to threadjack, just commenting on how Findagrave can be less than helpful. I think the problem is that death records for Michigan are not available in the publicly available databases on line.

Two are Smiths, two are Cotes, could they be any more common? Cote is one of the most common names in Canada, and Smith? I have ancestor, birth and life info on them, just not the burial places and firm death dates. They were all born in Canada. No Social Security on any of them. I said five, but it is really four, the fifth one is in Victoria, BC.

Isabelle Smith, d. 1954 +/- 2 years or maybe Isabelle Henderson
Truman Smith, d. 1930s
Aimé or Amos Cote, d. 1959 +/- 2 years
Ada Cote, d. 1966 +/- 2 years

Did Amos & Ada's son Louis J Cote attend the University of Michigan in 1943?

How are the Smith's and Cote's related?

Did any of them live in Massachusetts at any point?

**DtCtyGrl** · March-25-12, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by mysterygeek

DtCtyGrl, his name is Charles Rath. His last residence was 81 Herbert St. in Detroit. I did find a Charles Rath listed in the Mt. Olivet database. I'll be giving them a call tomorrow.

Thanks, everyone!

Any success with Mt Olivet?

**mysterygeek** · March-26-12, 08:43 PM

No luck with Mt. Olivet. The death dates don't match up. It's looking very likely that they are buried at Meadowcrest. My brother and I are making plans to take a trip to German Lutheran, so we will stop there as well. I have a feeling we'll find my 3rd great grandparents there, too. We love exploring the city, so it will be an exciting day! Thanks for all your help!