Day 186: Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee
📌APIA Every Day (186) - Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, was established in 1852 by fifty residents who each contributed $500 to purchase 40 acres of land. Following the Civil War, the cemetery expanded to 80 acres. In the 1870s, the original corporation was dissolved, making Elmwood one of Tennessee's oldest nonprofit cemeteries. Elmwood is the final resting place for over 75,000 people, including 266 marked and unmarked graves of Chinese Americans. An initiative led by historian Emmi Dunn Bahurlet, along with the Chinese Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South, is collecting information on the lives and deaths of these individuals.
The Chinese began arriving in Memphis in the mid-19th century as railroad laborers, later settling in the city and opening family grocery stores. Elmwood Cemetery started accommodating Chinese burials in the early 20th century, creating a designated section with tombstones inscribed in Chinese characters. This section marks a transition from the elaborate monument styles of the mid-19th century to simpler, more classic designs. The first Chinese individual buried at Elmwood was Sam Sam, on February 14, 1882, though his grave remains unmarked. The earliest known Chinese immigrant in Memphis was buried in 1874, likely in a pauper’s cemetery before the designated section was established. Early Chinese settlers faced numerous challenges, including diseases such as consumption, typhoid fever, yellow fever, dysentery, and tuberculosis. Several notable figures were buried at Elmwood Cemetery, with more stories emerging as the project to document their lives continues. Elmwood Cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, remains the oldest active cemetery in Memphis.
LEARN MORE:
National Archives Catalog: Elmwood Cemtery NRHP Form
Chinese Historical Society Memphis & The Midsouth: Chinese Burials at Elmwood Cemetery
I Love Memphis Blog: Chinese Americans
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