shows 430 invitations for the span of forty—four years, the Jones scrapbook
preserves only 192, and of these only 62 (14.5%) are found in both albums.
Below is an analysis of the distribution, year by year and decade by , '
decade, for Lexington funeral notices from the McCalla collection (M) and the
Jones collection (J) for the years 1802 to 1846.
MAI MAI MAI MAI
1811 - /- 1821 3/2 1831 14 / 6 I
1802 1 / - 1812 2 / - 1822 5/ 17 1832 19 / 2
1803 1 / — 1813 — / 1 1823 7/ 8 1833 29 / 7
1804 2 / - 1814 1 / 2 1824 6 / 10 1834 5 / 2 ‘
1805 1 / - 1815 1 / 1 1825 19 / 21 1835 23 / -
1806 3 / 1 1816 1 / 2 1826 22 / 19 1836 21 / 2 i
1807 - / - 1817 1 / 3 1827 15 / 11 1837 14 / 1
1808 - / 2 1818 10 / 3 1828 12 / 8 1838 28 / 1 ,
1809 2 / - 1819 5 / - 1829 12 / 11 1839 11 / 1
1810 2 / - 1820 — / 2 1830 17 / 10 1840 9 / -
MAI '
1841 17 / 1
1842 34 / 3
1843 29 / 1 .
1844 18 / 5
1845 7 / 9
1846 1 / 17 .
There were nineteen printed notices (perhaps more) in 1822 (two of those
in M’Calla’s group for 1822 are not in Jones), the first year to average more than '
one per month. The years Of greatest volume were 1833 and 1843. The year 1833
saw a cholera epidemic that reduced the population of Lexington by 10%; and,
even with the need to dispose of the usual funerary customs, a surprising
number of funeral invitations, at least thirty-two (three from Jones are not in
M’Calla for that year) issued from the press.24 The uneven distribution between
the two collections may show that Jones was favored by one, or perhaps, two
printers for making deliveries, whereas M’Calla’s social embrace as well as his
connections with the press favored the growth of his scrapbook — though his
collection was obviously not comprehensive.
In some instances, in addition to these perishable slips, a Bible entry or a
tombstone may still survive. It would be an error, however, to assume that these
slips of printed paper, so thoughtfully preserved, will lead, necessarily, to the
finding of burial sites. In many cases, no place of burial is mentioned. The
earliest burying ground in Lexington, called ”First Hill,” is situated at the corner
of West Main and Spring Streets. It was here that many of the oldest citizens,
including John Bradford, were buried. This cemetery and its monuments were
lost by the building of the First Baptist Church on top of it, although the
tombstone of Bradford was once seen beneath the church’s foundations.26 The
pauper’s cemetery located on West Sixth Street, was ploughed under by the Hon.
Thomas M. Hickey, and vegetables planted in its place.27 John Maxwell, who in
ix