Searching for information

[Carlos Diaz]

I have been trying to find information on POTTERS FIELD and no-one seems to know what that is. It is a City Cementary for the Unidentified, if anyone has any information can you please let me know. I am trying all I can to get answers.

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

Can you not find the Potter's Field? If that's the case then call a coroner in that area as they would certainly know. They probably can give you a lot of information about it, how records are kept, etc.

Most areas do have a potter's field but keep in mind that some city and private cemeteries also donate a certain amount of space for the poor, unclaimed or unidentifieds. I'd talk with the coroner if I were you. Make sure you mention the year of disappearance as systems change over the years and where records are kept.

Here's some info I googled:

Hart Island:
http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/hart.html


History of Hart Island
Post WWII to present)
Hart Island was returned to the Correction Department in 1946 and the jail was reactivated. In the 1940s, inmates on Hart Island appealed to the warden and offered to build a monument to the unbefriended dead. This was accomplished in 1948 when, in cooperation with the custodial staff, they erected a 30-foot high monument in the center of the burial site. On one side is engraved a simple cross; on the other the word "Peace."

In 1950, the Island was released to the Department of Welfare for housing of male derelicts. Because of a rising prisoner population, the Island was again returned to the Correction Department in 1954 for use as a jail. From 1955 to 1961, the U.S. Army maintained a NIKE missile base on a ten-acre area of the Island.

In 1966, the jail was closed and the Island was used as a center for the Phoenix House narcotic rehabilitation program. This program was discontinued in 1976 and the Island returned to the Correction Department. However, the Department did not operate the Island as a jail until 1982, when a small prisoner contingent was again housed there. In 1991, the inmates housed on Hart Island were transferred to Rikers Island.

Today, the inmate work details are bused from Rikers Island during the week to perform the burials, disinterments and maintenance of the Island. Since the start in 1869, more than 750,000 burials (estimate) have been performed.

Individual pine coffins are buried in ordered and recorded columns and rows in large plots of earth. Each plot can hold 150 adult coffins or 1,000 infant coffins. Burials average between 2,000 - 3,000 yearly (the total for both categories). Approximately 100 disinterments are done each year.

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Seeking Dignity at Potter's Field:

http://www.indypendent.org/2005/08/10/seeking-dignity-at-potter%e2%...

[Shirley Emerson]

I think most cities have a cemetery for folks who can't afford to be buried by their families that is often called Potters Field. It's mostly for poor folks but they do often bury unclaimed or unidentified bodies there. I would call the morgue or coroner's office and ask about it. They should be able to tell you where it is.

[Joyce]

Potters feild in Philadelphia is located near Germantown. Call any coroners office in your area to find out more.

[Donna Tritz]

I don't think there is any place actually called that - it is a term used generically to refer to a government agency (in Illinois it is the individual county that takes responsibility) burying indigent deceased individuals without relatives that they can find (I think they publish notices in local papers.) If I remember correctly, they hold the bodies for a set period (maybe 90 days maybe 6 months I don't remember the exact time - I know it is governed by law) in the morgue to see if they can find anyone - friends or family that want to give the individual a funeral. If no one comes forward during that period, they bury them in mass unmarked graves (several at a time) in a local cemetary. If you are trying to find out about a specific area, I would suggest contacting the local coounty offices or the morgue. Either should be able to point you in the right direction.

[judy]

go to the library and look up old back rec on that town,

[Cynthia Turner]

Carlos,
Hi I'm Cynthia I will ask my State Assembly friend he should know. I'll contact him Wed. I think I know what you mean . You know when people say oh he /she is buried in Potters Field, right?

Chat with you later,
God Bless

[Carlos Diaz]

I appreciate it very much. It's a shame that when I asked a Police Officer In NY he didn't know what I was talking about. I saw an ad about this a few months ago but I can't remember where. A woman fought & fought until she finally found her son there.

[Cynthia Turner]

Carlos,
The phrase Potters Field originated in Britian. It was an empty field where people would be bried that had no ID now every city has one it may be in a state owned cementary. All you need to do is either call the coroner's office or Vital Satistics Office and they can tell you what cementary buries the unknown.
I hope this can be of some help.Good luck
Cynthia

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

The Hart Island location that I posted I believe would be the nearest "Potter's Field" to where Carlos went missing. And, it is called Potter's Field. But, that doesn't mean it's the only place where the poor and undidentifieds are buried as private cemeteries have been known to donate space.

And, Nancy I do remember that same aricle you are talking about but I'm not sure what newspaper or magazine ran the article. I'm pretty sure it was about Hart Island.