CAPE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY PUBLISHES CEMETERY BOOK

Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society is publishing a book listing burials in Cape Girardeau's oldest cemetery, which will become an essential tool for those working on family histories of current and former Cape Girardeau residents. The volume will contain not only a listing of gravestone inscriptions from Old Lorimier Cemetery, but will also include some family histories of the deceased as well. The book required three years to research and publish.

Old Lorimier Cemetery dates back to 1806, with the first marked grave being that of Charlotte Lorimier, wife of the city's founder, Louis Lorimier. The last burial at the site was in 1983. In 1992, Old Lorimier became the first site in Cape Girardeau to be designated a local historic landmark by the city's Historic Preservation Commission.

Members of the county genealogical society researched each identified grave using a tombstone census of the cemetery done in the 1940s by the Nancy Hunter Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and a survey commissioned by the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau. In addition, information for the book was gleaned from the Cape Girardeau City Death Register dating from April 1882 through February 1934; newspaper obituaries; funeral home and church records, and family histories.

Pre-publication price for this 115-page book is $25, plus $5 postage and handling. The price is effective until May 1. After that date, the price will be $30, plus $5 postage and handling. Checks should be made payable to the Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society, c/o Alma Lee Slinkard, Treasurer, 3012 Kage, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701.