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Gray Cemetery Tombstone Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0475

  • Staff Only

This collection of tombstone inscriptions was handwritten by Ina Fields Wayland. It is made up of approximately 2100 cards with the tombstone inscriptions from the old Gray Cemetery.

Dates

  • 1852-1892

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (2 index card boxes)

Abstract

This collection of tombstone inscriptions was handwritten by Ina Fields Wayland. It is made up of approximately 2100 cards with the tombstone inscriptions from the old Gray Cemetery.

Biographical/Historical Note

Old Gray Cemetery is a 13.47 acre site bounded by Broadway, Tyson and Cooper streets. The Knoxville National Cemetery is adjacent to Old Gray Cemetery on its northern boundary. Gray Cemetery (as it was known before New Gray Cemetery was established in 1892) was incorporated by the Tennessee Legislature on February 9, 1850, with a board of seven trustees. Although the land was purchased in 1850, the cemetery was not dedicated until June 1, 1852, when the first 40 lots were sold at public auction. Old Gray is one of the oldest organized cemeteries in Knoxville and the first in the city to be planned following the rural-cemetery movement. In 1854, the board of mayor and aldermen and the different churches of Knoxville were asked by the board of trustees of Gray Cemetery to procure grounds for the burial of their poor. This section is located near the south wall. In 1856, a portion of the grounds was set apart for those not wishing to buy a lot but only to make a single interment. That section in the northwest corner is often referred to as Little Ireland, since many of the Irish Catholics who came to Knoxville for the building of the railroads are buried there. In 1856, a piece of ground was also set apart for the burial of enslaved people or people of color whose owners or friends were willing to pay for the ground together with the sexton's fee.

Ina Fern Fields Wayland was born February 28, 1889. She married Charles Franklin Wayland (1878-1948). She died August 2, 1965, and is buried in Knox County, Tennessee.

Arrangement

Collection consists of two boxes. Cards are arranged alphabetically.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480