With All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1, many will observe the Roman Catholic custom of visiting the graves of loved ones in local cemeteries. In addition to family tombs in New Orleans’ historic “cities of the dead,” there are also large tombs established by social organizations, benevolent societies, religious and fraternal groups for their deceased members.
As Peter B. Dedek explained in his 2017 book “The Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Cultural History,” benevolent societies common in Louisiana during the 18th century took three basic forms. One was the benevolent or mutual aid society which existed for social and economic reasons; the fraternal group, such as the Masons, Elks and Odd Fellows (known for the Odd Fellows Rest cemetery on Canal Street); and the type established by workers in specific occupations which helped arrange and pay for their members’ burials.
Many of these benevolent societies cared for funeral needs of the large numbers of immigrants who flooded into the city in the 19th century. This includes the Italian Mutual Benevolent Society mausoleum in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the Soon On Tong Association tomb in Cypress Grove cemetery (for Chinese immigrants) and the United Slavonian Benevolent Society tomb in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3…