The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery

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This week, our favorite forensic anthropologist Ryan Seidemann joins us to discuss his Ordinary Extraordinary role in one of the first repatriations of its kind in the United States.
In 1871-1872, nineteen men and women of African descent died at New Orleans' Charity Hospital. What happened next should never have happened. Their remains were removed and sent to Germany, where they became part of a collection built for racially biased phrenology research.

In 2023, Leipzig University contacted the City of New Orleans to initiate repatriation. On May 15, 2025, the ancestors were carefully packed and flown home, and on May 31, 2025, Dillard University, the City of New Orleans, and community partners held a memorial service and traditional jazz funeral to lay them to rest.

Join Jennie, Dianne and Ryan for this especially moving episode.
To see the full event "Honoring the Nineteen", click here: https://www.dillard.edu/about/history-traditions/honoring-the-nineteen/
Beyond the Grave 2026: Gothic Tragedies of the Gilded Age Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-presents-gothic-tragedies-of-the-gilded-age-tickets-1997269261125?aff=oddtdtcreator
Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com
Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing
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This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, Jennie and Dianne unearth a love story gone wrong in Southeastern Colorado that left more than one heart broken. Listen along as they learn about the Bishop brothers: one ended up six feet under, while the other began adulthood behind the walls of the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City.
What started as jealousy and a rumored affair led to a tragedy that shocked a small prairie town where everyone knew everyone else's business. Who was the woman in the middle? What led to that fateful August evening? And where do the brothers rest today?
Join Dianne and Jennie as they piece together newspaper archives, prison records, and gravestones to uncover a century-old story of family, love, and loss.
Beyond the Grave 2026: Gothic Tragedies of the Gilded Age Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-presents-gothic-tragedies-of-the-gilded-age-tickets-1997269261125?aff=oddtdtcreator
Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com
Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing
Resources used to research this episode include the following historical newspaper articles, as well as various additional articles from Newspapers.com and documents from Ancestry.com.
"Brother Slays Brother Southwest of Campo Love for Latter's Wife." The Democrat-Herald [Springfield ], 31 Aug. 1923, p. 1.

"Trinidad, Colo.." Fort Collins Coloradoan [Fort Collins], 24 Sep. 1923, p. 2.
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This week on the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery, Jennie and Dianne are joined by guest host Ryan Seidemann for a round of thought-provoking questions from his summer semester students at Arizona State University. Several of these questions are especially timely given the recent case of a cemetery being bulldozed unknowingly and heartbreakingly to descendants in Hickman County, Tennessee.  
Why do companies push so hard to develop over cemeteries in urban environments when the legal and ethical ramifications seem to outweigh any benefit? How do cemeteries tied to marginalized communities keep getting erased or ignored — and what would true community control actually look like? How can communities and policymakers protect historic cemeteries when there are no living descendants and no funding for preservation? And should there be more robust legal requirements for documentation and preservation before any ground is broken near a cemetery?
Join Jennie, Dianne, and Ryan as they discuss how to balance progress with respect for the dead and their descendants.
Beyond the Grave 2026: Gothic Tragedies of the Gilded Age Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-presents-gothic-tragedies-of-the-gilded-age-tickets-1997269261125?aff=oddtdtcreator
Need an Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast tee, hoodie or mug? Find all our taphophile-fun merch here: https://oecemetery.etsy.com
Family Tales: A free printable is now available! Gather 'round the table and dig into your roots! This interactive family history game is perfect for holidays, reunions, or just because. Ask, listen, and laugh your way through generations of stories and secrets. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UT_R56qEwNTIxIBrTy8KFyVmGnFOe7g8/view?usp=sharing
Support the show