Those Behind the Records

The individuals listed in the Kankakee State Hospital cemetery index were more than names assigned to burial plots. They were people with origins, families, occupations, and lives, who have ultimately been laid to rest behind the lock gates of the Kankakee State Hospital Cemetery. The narrative profiles collected here are drawn from census data, immigration documents, death certificates, institutional files, newspaper accounts, and other primary sources, assembled for those individuals for whom a reasonably complete picture could be built. It should be noted that not every individual on the index could be traced with confidence and a complete picture. Common names, missing documents, and significant gaps in death records prior to the 1920s index make many searches inconclusive and even where records exist, details such as spouses' and parents' names may still be partial or inaccurate. A narrative profile is offered only when the research can be conducted with genuine confidence.