Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Williamson, Christian
URN	etd-05312005-113524
Title	Sacred Trust: The Voluntary Removal and Reburial of Human Remains from a Historic Cemetery in Louisiana
Degree	Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department	Geography & Anthropology
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Mary Manhein Committee Chair Heather McKillop Committee Member Paul Farnsworth Committee Member
Keywords	archaeology Randolph historic cemetery osteology
Date of Defense	2005-04-08
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Members of the Randolph family, a prominent plantation family that has lived in Louisiana since the late eighteenth century, contacted a team of anthropologists from Louisiana State University to help recover thirteen individuals from St. Mary’s Cemetery in Bayou Goula, Louisiana. The cemetery had been abandoned since 1970, its graves overgrown with weeds and desecrated by vandals. Of the thirteen individuals recovered, three sets of remains did not have associated grave markers. These three were taken back to the lab and analyzed using standard forensic procedures. Documentary research on the history of the cemetery, the once associated church, and the Randolph family provided important context for excavation. This thesis presents the project in its entirety with the hope that it will provide a helpful blueprint for both anthropologists and family members who might find themselves involved in the rescue of ancestral remains from historic cemeteries.
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