Forest Home Cemetery Overview
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  • History of Forest Home Cemetery
    • Native Americans
    • Chapel
    • Bridge over the Des Plaines River
    • Eisenhower Expressway
  • Gravestones and Monuments
    • Gravestone Symbols
    • Unique Gravestone Monuments >
      • White Bronze
      • Rustic Gravestones
      • Photo-ceramic
      • Tiffany Designed Monuments
      • Druids
      • International Organization of Odd Fellows (IOOF)
    • Mausoleum
    • Ashes Scattered and Interred
    • Degradation and Theft
    • Original Deeds and Bookkeeping
  • Labor Activists
    • Haymarket Monument >
      • The Haymarket Affair
      • Haymarket Time Capsule
      • George Engel
      • Samuel Fielden
      • Louis Lingg
      • Adolph Fischer
      • Albert Parsons
      • Michael Schwab
      • August Spies
      • Oscar Neebe
    • Radical Row >
      • Eddie Balchowsky
      • Voltarine de Cleyre
      • Eugene Dennis
      • Raya Dunayevskaya
      • Joseph Dietzgen
      • William Z. Foster
      • Emma Goldmen
      • Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
      • Ben Reitman
      • Lucy Parsons
      • Franklin Rosemont
      • Ann Sosnovsky Winokur
    • Labor and Political Burials >
      • Joe Mariani
      • Cigar Makers' International
      • International Alliance of Bill Posters and Billers of America
  • People of Interest Buried in Cemetery
    • Ashbel Steele
    • Austin Family
    • Philander Barclay
    • Edwin Oscar Gale
    • Sophy and Charles Drechsler
    • Fedinand Haase
    • Doris Humphrey
    • Flora Gill
    • Dr. Clarence and Grace Hemingway
    • Dr. Frank and Phyllis Oreland
    • Augustin and Elizabeth Porter
    • Edward Hand and Lillie Morey Pitkin
    • Martha Louise Rayne
    • Origen White Herrick
    • Dr Thomas Roberts Hurlbut
    • Joseph and Betty Kettlestrings
    • Roos Family
    • James Fletcher Skinner
    • Billy Sunday
    • Adolph Westphal
  • Ethnic and Other Groupings
    • African American
    • Dutch
    • Hispanic
    • Roma (Gypsy)
    • Children
    • Military
  • Disaster Victims
    • Eastland ship disaster
    • Iroquois Theatre Fire
    • Smallpox Epidemic
    • St. Valentine's Day Massacre
  • Cemetery Tours
  • Addtional Resources
    • Forest Park Review articles

Roma (Gypsy) People Buried in Forest Home Cemetery

Gypsy burial traditions are a fascinating part of Forest Home Cemetery, evident just inside the gates. In the funeral monument industry, Gypsies are known to be highly respectful of their dead, and families will purchase large, elaborate monuments that frequently include photographs of the deceased. The name "Gypsy" originated in Europe as a label for dark-skinned Asian people who migrated through Asia Minor.  They were mistakenly thought to be from Egypt, and thus were called "gypcians" or "Gypsies."

Gypsies today call themselves Romany people, or Roma, derived from their word from meaning man or husband. They have often been persecuted and arc without a land of their own; they have generally adopted Christianity in the Western world, with a special emphasis on the importance of ancestors. It is common for Gypsies to celebrate holidays and other important family events at the cemetery, to serve elaborate graveside meals, and to leave gifts, like a favorite beverage or cigarettes, on a relative's monument. There were Gypsy burials west of the river; markers can still be seen there today. 


Information from Nature's Choicest Spot



Photo-ceramic

Photo-ceramic are common on Roma graves as well as people of Jewish decent. Check out the photo-ceramic page to learn more.

Additional Resources

Farewell to Gypsy King
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