Manchester, NH: City of the Dead?

As I am reminded nearly daily these days, the Census is being held this year. But my problem with the Census is that it will only collect data on a portion of the Manchester, NH, population. The Census will pay no heed to one quite populous set of folks who have called Manchester, NH, home for decades, and in some cases, centuries, including these subterranean South Willow Street residents:

I speak, of course, of the city's dead, who number, conservatively, in the tens of thousands.

"As we don't have accurate records in some of the smaller satellite cemeteries, it's hard to say how many people are buried in all of them but Pine Grove Cemetery has 40,055," said Chuck DePrima, Director of the City of Manchester Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Department.

Of the nine city city-run cemeteries, Pine Grove Cemetery, at 275 acres, is certainly the largest:

To get buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, be prepared to fork out about $800 for an average burial, said DePrima. Of course, if you're interested in spending eternity in a Westminster Crypt Mausoleum (double verticle placement), you can expect to pay anywhere between $3,600 and $4,400 for the privilege. But if you want yourself or a loved one buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, you'd better act fast: burial space is running out.

As for the other eight city-run cemeteries - Valley Cemetery, Piscataquog Cemetery, Amoskeag Cemetery, Hall Cemetery, Stowell Cemetery, Merrill Cemetery, Huse Cemetery and Moore Cemetery - they are full up.

(In case you're wondering just what the City's the responsibilities are vis a vis these cemeteries, DePrima said his department "escorts funerals in the cemetery, performs burials, performs overall maintenance including, but not limited to, mowing lawns, trimming around monuments, installing foundations and irrigation lines, planting flowers as part of the perpetual care obligations, tree and shrub care, maintenance on vehicles, equipment and buildings and preparation for new lawn development.")

In addition to the city-run cemeteries, Manchester, NH, is home to several Diocesan cemeteries, the largest of which is Cimetière Mont-Calvaire, also known as Mount Calvary Cemetery, on the West Side:

And in a show of religious tolerance on the part of the dearly-departed Manchester, NH, Catholic and Jewish communities, St. Augustine Cemetery abuts (though separated by a chain link fence) the Hebrew Memorial Cemetery:

Comments

[Heather Wilkinson Rojo]

Great post! I just found your blog. I write a genealogy blog in Londonderry. I've been researching some of the families buried in the Merrill cemetery, which dates back to when this land was part of Nutfield. I can't seem to find some people purported to be buried there, and now I see that perhaps I never will. Lots of vandalism and neglect here, and not a nice neighborhood for the survival of some very old stones.

[Will Stewart]

Thanks, Heather - glad you like the post!