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UTGenWeb — Salt Lake County Bingham City Cemetery - Description / History | |
My name is Brad Jencks. As of 2009, I am a senior at Bingham High School. Many people ask about my volunteer service for Bingham City Cemetery. Here is the short version- My school district inherited a ghost town cemetery with burials of 38 states in the U.S.A. and 30 nations of the world. I organized 2,000+ volunteers over 5 years who restored, replaced and preserved grave markers, proved 1,100 unknown burials, authored a 1,500 page historical cemetery book, military war hero book, installed a wall of honor for 1,825 burials, an information center, new fence, road, and a military monument honoring veterans from 6 wars. I produced films/DVDs for The History Channel/Roots Television plus I digitized the data and donated it to libraries/free websites, all of which allowed me to connect people worldwide to living relatives and their heritage. This began with a proposed 100 hour Eagle Scout service project. After 2,790 man hours, I obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. From there, the service has been ongoing for the past 5 years and has now surpassed 6,000 man-hours efforts. I led teams of volunteers from Boy Scout troops, National Youth Leadership, Girl Scouts, 4-H, students from four schools, Jordan School District Auxiliary Staff, The American Legion, The United Veterans Council, The History Channel, Roots Television, Bingham Canyon Lions Club, The Utah State Historical Society, private businesses, and hundreds of volunteers ages 7-94. A summary of the restoration of Bingham City Cemetery- SPARSE, INCOMPLETE RECORDS AND OLD MAP - I led 4 scout troops who cleaned the cemetery, photographed headstones, documented all readable information, and took GPS readings of all visible burials. I obtained an aerial photo and combined it with GPS technology which resulted in a new map. VANDALIZED/DETERIORATED HEADSTONES - I took a headstone repair class, solicited many businesses for donations, and enlisted Boy Scout, Girl Scout, and 4-H members who helped me personally install donated headstones and repair vandalism. HUNDREDS OF UNMARKED GRAVESITES DESTOYED BY FLOOD/FIRE - I knew living relatives held answers to the mysteries. I convinced my parents to borrow an RV, and yes, my family slept at the cemetery 4 days and 3 nights during Memorial Day weekend 2005. We interviewed hundreds of people, reconstructing the records. Leading these efforts proved successful. I continued the same process sun up to sun down the next 3 years, Memorial Day weekend. A computer professional taught me to build a database to store the large amount of information. THOUSANDS OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS - Students from 4 schools helped me place 2,400 flyers on gravesites and I involved news media requesting more information about unknown burials. It was a success. Email, letters, and phone calls resulted. I set up an international team and we conducted interviews via email over the last 5 years. I led teams of volunteers who searched old books, newspapers, 157 rolls/50,000 names on microfilm to find burial records. This was successful and proved more than 1,100 burial names in unmarked graves. HEADSTONES IN MANY LANGUAGES - I studied the photographs of the headstones, finding burials of 30 nations. I couldn’t read many of them. I found an Internet translation program, which enabled me to interpret the different languages. I learned Spanish, Italian, Welsh, Finnish, Croatian, Yugoslavian, Cyrillic Text, and more. I sought out members of our nation who spoke many languages to verify the accuracy. This helped me figure out immigrant burials that came to a land hoping for peace and prosperity; instead many met early or tragic death and never made it back to their homeland. MILITARY BURIALS - I informed The American Legion and The United Veterans Council that I found many war heroes that had not been properly honored. Each year for Memorial Day, flags are placed on the gravesites of all Veterans. I sought out historians and Veterans who helped me find information about these soldiers. This enabled me to author a war hero book. Next I solicited donations, designed, and installed a granite military memorial and obtained headstone replacements for the war veterans. INFRASTRUCTURE/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS - Funding/donations were received for a new road, fence, a wall of honor, information center etc. Teams of professionals and community volunteers gave of their time and talents to make this happen. GETTING INFORMATION TO THE WORLD - I sought donations and printed several 1,500 page books that were donated to many libraries, genealogical repositories, and The State Historical Society. I digitized the information and donated it to free websites. I produced Film Documentaries/DVD's for The History Channel and Roots Television. This brought awareness to the ghost town cemetery, a melting pot and home to immigrants from all over the world who sought employment in the worlds largest open pit copper mine. This publicity helped people internationally find information and captured the hearts of historians. QUESTIONS ABOUT RESEARCH - I met with Jordan School District, the owners of the cemetery, and proposed an idea. It was a hit. I created a job for myself as Lead Cemetery Research Specialist over a five member team, volunteering time to answer international genealogical and research inquiries. I lead this effort, free of charge and I will for the rest of my life. I connect living family to each other from many parts of the world. Genealogy is the second most popular use of the Internet. People have a hunger to find out their heritage, and more about their family. I gained complete respect for people of all nationalities, race, religion, creeds and economic status. I esteem those who risked their lives for our country. This has brought my family, community, and world together in a cause greater than self. I designed a historic walking tour and educational brochure. I lead youth/service groups at the diverse, historical cemetery. I teach lessons from tragic deaths resulting from drugs, alcohol, violence, rape, lack of medical care and past prejudice. These lessons change lives. At the end of each tour the participants give brief service to the cemetery. My international team finds great joy in “Connecting Families Across The Globe” who never knew what happened when letters to home stopped. It all started with me leading what was thought to be a simple 100 hour Eagle Scout project. Now a school district can use state tax payers money on education, not cemetery issues. The challenges were many, but each obstacle was met from the generosity of a community who donated 6,000+ hours to help me accomplish what many thought to be impossible. I owe a debt of gratitude to so many. Thank you for helping me accomplish what we have. We are a great team! More good things are in the works. Any questions, comments, suggestions or updates with new information, please contact me- Brad
Jencks Email: binghamcemeteryinfo@jensgroup.com For those looking to find their ancestor or heritage, here is some historical data and information to help you- On the website you will find a color headstone photo, GPS burial location, all vital statistics, and any information that my team and I have found. Please feel free to print any information about your relative or ancestor. This material is copyrighted and made available free of charge for the personal use of people researching their ancestry. No permission is granted for the use of this material for monetary gain. I wish to thank USGenWeb, Rootsweb, and Ancestry.com for hosting this research on the Internet free of charge. Now people from all over the world can have hope to find their heritage. The exact date when burials began at Bingham City Cemetery is not known. According to town board minutes, the cemetery was created in 1913. One tombstone was found documenting a death date of 1873 and several others show death dates during 1879. The earliest documented birth is in 1824. The city of Bingham was located just below the Utah Copper/Kennecott Copper Mines. Bingham was incorporated in 1904, but it is clear that burials were taking place well before that. Bingham City Cemetery, also referred to by some locals as the “Kennecott Copper Cemetery” consists mainly of past residents of towns or camps that used to be known as Bingham Canyon, Carr Fork, Copperfield, Copperhill, Copperton, Dinkeyville, Freeman Gulch, Frogtown, Highland Boy, Lark, Leadmine, Lower Main, Phoenix, and Telegraph. People buried in the cemetery are from more than 30 countries and 38 states within the U.S. These people braved crossing the ocean and then found their way across the United States in search of employment at Utah Copper and Kennecott Copper Mines. This cemetery has a diverse, multi-ethnic background. Burials were found from various areas of the world including: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Norway, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Yugoslavia and 38 states within the United States. Many headstones are in different languages. Please note that some names were “Americanized.” Do not get discouraged if you cannot locate your ancestor at first glance. Some examples of “Americanized” names are Brkljacic to Blockovich, Busljeta to Bullet, Epop to Error, Jengich to Yengich etc. Names were also spelled phonetically, which accounts for the many discrepancies in spelling. Parents buried several babies and small children due to epidemics like Typhoid Fever, Diphtheria, and Whooping Cough. Young men lost their lives from mining accidents and suffered violent deaths, such as murder. People died from many diseases that are 100% curable today. The deceased were mostly laborers and many did not have money set aside to buy a headstone. It is heartbreaking to see the hundreds of deaths of people under the age of 30. Families are buried together in unmarked gravesites with only one parent being noted with a headstone at best. Times past were hard for these people as they suffered through several wars and The Great Depression. In addition, please note that Kennecott Copper Mines relocated the remains of those buried at Chandler Cemetery (Dry Fork area) to Bingham City Cemetery in 1999. The Chandler cemetery was moved when Kennecott expanded mining operations in the canyon. That cemetery consists mainly of burials that were from the Chandler family and snow slide victims from Finland. 44 known War Veterans are buried at this cemetery, including those who fought in the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I and II, Korean, and Vietnam War. A fire and later a flood swept through the cemetery, which caused the metal markers to become unreadable. It also caused damage to some gravesites. Vandalism has occurred at this cemetery. Time and deterioration has resulted in the inability to decipher some headstones. Bingham City was disincorporated in 1971. By law, care and maintenance of the cemetery was legislated to the largest state agency operating within the city limits; that being Jordan School District. The records they inherited were threadbare, incomplete, and highly inaccurate. The information on this website is a compilation of work from the following sources-
All of the above information has been verified to the best of my ability. Advice has been sought from amateur and professional genealogists, computer professionals, engineers etc. If you find discrepancies in the information, please email all corrections to me or my team. History has been preserved from flood, fire, vandalism, and future deterioration. The research and information was donated to the Utah State Historical Society who placed it on the State of Utah’s burial database web site. It is text only. This is one of the most utilized web sites in Utah State government. One may visit the web site at- history.utah.gov/apps/burials/execute/searchburials. Bingham City Cemetery book version 2, with the new, updated information, was printed in color and hardbound March 2006. The books may be found at several locations including the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is the largest genealogy repository in the world. I also donated copies of the book to Bingham Creek Library, The Bingham Canyon Lions Club, Jordan School District, USGenWeb, and RootsWeb. Jordan School District Auxiliary Services staff members generously donated a large amount of time inputting the previously inherited records before my team and I began the quest to find more information. These good people spent many hours compiling a database that was the backbone of this project. This was a huge task and a big thank you goes out to all those who helped provide this information. Jordan School District upholds the responsibility to properly care for the cemetery. They are doing a wonderful job. They are happy to help answer any questions or they will allow you to access the books. In addition you may send letters or email to me as the look up volunteer for the cemetery c/o Jordan School District at the following address: Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Phone: 801-567-8750 I am willing to search for additional information about your ancestor from this area. I live near the largest genealogy repository in the world. Several books are available for me to research. I ask for a donation in exchange for my time. I am seeking additional funds to mark every single gravesite. If you care to donate to the project please send the funds to me and I will obtain a tax receipt for you from the district. My goal is to keep this information on the Internet free of charge and to see to it that every single burial is marked, even if the headstone states “Unknown.” Brad
Jencks Email: binghamcemeteryinfo@jensgroup.com I designed a sign that is displayed on the cemetery gate. It gives information about the cemetery, how to access the records, the owner of the cemetery etc. At the bottom of the sign is the following statement: “It takes a community not just a boy.” I do not claim singular honor to this project. What you see here started with the effort of my Eagle Scout project that turned into a big, community and global project. People from many ethnic backgrounds, religions, and ages came together for this important historical preservation project. Many people donated their time, talents, and resources to help preserve the history of Bingham and its people. This was once a thriving community. Mining operations have expanded and Bingham has been covered over. The records of Bingham and it’s people, plus those of 30 nations, will live on forever thanks to the hard work of many who cared!!! Every effort was made to be as accurate as possible in documenting the burials. The living offspring will need to further verify the accuracy of their ancestors buried at Bingham and Chandler Cemeteries. This gives you a good start. If you need help please do not hesitate to contact me as the cemetery research specialist and international look up volunteer. I have access to several books that are out of print and would be willing to research for you. Bingham High School just celebrated it’s 100 year centennial. Mr. Scott Crump, a local historian, author, and school teacher at Bingham High School, just published a book that you might be interested in purchasing. If you have relatives who lived in Bingham or surrounding areas, or any that attended Bingham High School from 1908-2008, this book is for you. It has a complete history, many pictures, and information that may prove useful in your research. You may purchase the book for $25.00. Please contact Bingham High School to obtain a copy of book- Bingham High School 801-256-5100 Web Site: binghamminers.org To clarify, I am not affiliated with publishing or sales of the Bingham High School book. I receive no monetary gain from it. I own a copy and know it will be useful to people who lived in that time era. I am simply passing on information to help you in your quest to find your research. For corrections or additions to the web sites, please contact me. I will continue to update new information as it becomes available. Best regards in your quest to find your heritage. I hope you enjoy this Internet tour of times past. “Connecting Families Across The Globe”…To be continued! By: Brad Jencks
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©2005-2009 by
Andy E. Wold About the host of this USGenWeb page. |
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| Page updated 2 February 2009 | ||
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