Have you heard of the "Friends of Elmwood?" No? Well, now you have! The Friends of Elmwood is a collection of people with a shared interest...a shared love for Historic Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

We aren't paid. We don't want kudos or rewards. We have nothing to gain. We just want to see Elmwood recognized and treated as the treasure that it is.

So what's next? New Biographies for the website! There are hundreds already, but with over 36,000 people buried at website we are not nearly done!

What is Elmwood's Connection with Walt Disney? Which of the people at rest in Elmwood attended Abraham Lincoln's funeral in Springfield, Illinois? What is Elmwood's connection with William Harrison's presidential campaign? Well, you'll be the first to know...just check back on our site in about a week!

The Friends of Elmwood will bring you photos of the Cemetery in all seasons. Historical information and biographies from across time. And we'll win you over to the idea that a day spent exploring Elmwood Cemetery was a day well-spent.

Would you like to be a Friend of Elmwood? Visit Elmwood. Post about your experiences there on our message board. Share your photos with us. Drop us a line using our Contact Form. And there you are...you too are a Friend of Elmwood...

Mark Stinson

Learn about Lincoln's tomb, from the men who built it to the men who attempted to raid it. Experience an interactive time-line of President Lincoln's life. There is also a map of the museum, that allows you to essentially tour the features of the museum with a few clicks. Remember to explore all three sections of their website: THE LIBRARY, THE MUSEUM, AND THE FOUNDATION.

-Mark

We've been working on this new webpage for a little over a week now, and finally got it to a point this evening where we decided to take-the-leap! When you go to the historickcelmwood.org web address, there is now an "enter" page (see the image on the left). When you click on it, it brings you over to this website. Within a week, everything that existed on the old site, will have been moved over to this new site.

Welcome to the new website!

Mark Stinson

Our March update is NOW POSTED with our newest biographies!! This month's bios take you back inside Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, introduce you to a beloved aunt of President Harry S. Truman and the takeover of her family's farm by James Lane's dreaded "Red Legs" and the recollections of an inventor's friendship with Amelia Earhart!! We would like to take this time to thank YOU all for your interest in our biographies and the individuals that they represent! For six straight months, you have made the "historical biographies" page the most visited page on our site! We will continue to bring you some of the greatest history that Kansas City has ever seen, as we strive forward in our efforts to establish Elmwood Cemetery as one of the greatest forces in history in Kansas City!

Be sure to watch for our next exciting update to be added in just a few weeks!! You will meet a close friend of Jesse James Jr., learn about yet another young and talented musician tragically cut down AND......yes folks....we will even touch on the great Chicago Fire of 1871!!! Unbelieveable, huh?

In May, we will have a very special update to our website! This will pay homage to those who were lost and those who survived the horrific tornado on May 11, 1886! This event was Kansas City's first weather tragedy in it's history and we are proud to recognize those Elmwood individuals that died and the ones who fought through to sustain their own lives. This special tribute will be filled with stories of sheer horror, tearful reunions and even a smile or two. We urge you to remember with us the terrible loss of life at the Lathrop Elementary School, Jackson County Courthouse, the Haar Bros. Overall Factory and the Smith & Moffatt Spice Mills.

We hope you enjoy this new round of bios and dont forget our special post for the May 11, 1886 tornado victims!

The newest bios update is complete and what a line up of history we have for you this time! We apologize for the delay, but we have had some technical problems, but those are cleared up and we are posting again! The new bios offer our fourth Quantrill raider, a former Kansas City police chief that survived the horrific Andersonville prison in the Civil War, plus much more! We are working hard in getting yet another batch of bios up right behind this one! Enjoy and we will see you soon!!

2-6-06
Welcome to February, everyone! We are getting closer to posting our first story on the new "Stories" page!! Have you figured out what Chief Snow witnessed?? If you dont know the question, go to our new "Stories" page and you will see it posted. WE HAVE BRAND NEW HISTORY!! Yet again, Elmwood Cemetery has tapped into one of the most famous names in American history! Within this month, we will tell you about our connection to......AMELIA EARHART!! That's right, the Amelia Earhart! PLUS....brand new breaking news on another one of our residents, Laura Jane Young Everhart, the aunt of former President, Harry S. Truman! Both of these stories are very intriguing and have strong ties to the history mentioned!! Elmwood Cemetery is, once again, flexing it's historic muscle as one of the most historic places in all of Kansas City!

2-10-06
The first entry for our new "Stories" is NOW POSTED!! This will be the first of many interesting and mostly unknown stories, anecdotes and passages pertaining to residents here at Elmwood. We hope you will find these entries, filled with humor, seriousness and strange twists, as fun to read about as we have. Through the history and genealogy work we do here, it has been an adventurous ride through time and we look forward to you taking the trip with us! Sit back, relax and we hope you enjoy "Stories!"
Our newest round of historical biographies will be posted very soon!!!

Due to scheduling conflicts and inclimate weather that cancelled photo opportunities, we were not able to post the newest January bios complete with the photos of their gravestones. We WILL have those posted in early February and will continue to bring you regular updates as the history unveils itself. Thank you for your patience!!

New information on Elmwood resident, Kitt Rose! Ol' Kitt had far more history than we knew! It didn't stop with his involvment with Quantrill's company, he knew a lot more famous people from the old west! Go to historic biographies, click on the letter R and click on Kitt Rose. He was a wiley one I tell ya'! You're bound to be surprised by just how many famous people he knew!

We are proud to present "Stories", a new addition to the Elmwood webpage that will tell most unique stories and anecdotes of our residents!! This will expand on some of the history contained within the historical biographies, but also relay neat and interesting tidbits that are not found on our bios page. Stories that are fun, humorous, exciting and serious will be added on a regular basis, so that you may come back again and again. We think you will like this newest page and hope you visit us regularly. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy some memorable moments lived by those who call Elmwood home!

WE’RE BACK!!!!!! Good to see you again, everyone! Thanks to everybody for there patience while we were away! We are up and running with sixteen brand new biographies loaded with some of the most interesting and unforgettable information to date!! We have prided ourselves in bringing you the greatest stories and fame from some of our Elmwood residents and these sixteen are not different! Unbelievable history that has been long forgotten is being released for out historical biographies page and they are full of some of the most familiar names in American and world history! With and addition of these sixteen new people, we are ten way from out landmark 100 biographies! That’s right, folks… 100! Join us in October when we will release the last ten biographies to coincide with our 3rd Annual Elmwood 5K Graveyard Run & Family Walk on October 29, 2005 and celebrate out landmark 100 bios! Excitement is very high at Elmwood and we are just beginning! We are building this cemetery to be arguably the most historic spot in Kansas City by variety of history. In our goal to reach the status of educational library, we so far have 150 books and rising by donation or on loan that are now in our possession. And to add to that, our goal of transforming into a historical museum is taking massive strides as we have obtained several authentic and precious items to add to our museum items inventory! Our website is averaging around 1,400 hits per day from all over the world in places like Canada, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the U.S. Military forces! Yes, the Elmwood train is on the tracks and gaining steam. The process of establishing this cemetery as an institution of learning and valuable resource for education is being cemented every day. Our genealogy computer files are growing thanks to the families from all over the United States that have provided information for us and we are getting requests for genealogy information all the time! If you have an ancestor or relative here at Elmwood, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? Compile and copy any and everything you have, bring it or send it to us and we can add it to our files and computer. We have updated the following pages on our website: Home page, historical biographies (including updates to Ella Loose, Charles Shipley, Frank Ringo, Kersey Coates, Edna Johnson Anderson and John W. Reid), Accomplishments, Volunteers and Support! So, bounce around and check out all the new stuff we have jammed into our pages! Elmwood was once known as the “Premiere resting place in Kansas City”, it’s truly becoming one of the “Premiere learning places in Kansas City!” Our path to 100 historical bios will run alongside with our 3rd Annual 5K Graveyard Run and Family Walk in October! They will include a plane ride with actor, Wallace Beery, having Abe Lincoln over for dinner and someone that was never afraid of the “phog” while being the uncle of John Foster Dulles! Can you guess who these people might be?? If you think you know whose buried in Elmwood Cemetery….. THINK AGAIN!

See you in OCTOBER for our landmark 100 BIOGRAPHIES update!!!!

Think you know who's buried at Elmwood Cemetery?....Think again! TEN brand new biographies (Heath through Whitfield) have been added to the "historical biographies" page! These new bios are just more examples of the rich and illustrious history that resides within our walls! But wait....There are MANY MORE to come in the very near future! PLUS....the schedule for our wonderful Memorial Day festivities has been set and will be posted very soon! Festivities that include the "James-Younger Family Picnic!" That's right, you and your family will be able to have an old fashioned picnic with Jesse, Frank, Cole, and other members of the James and Younger families and friends as they come back from the Old West past to visit Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday, May 28th!! And.....angelic singer, Connie Dover on Monday, May 30th from 1-1:45pm at the Armour Chapel!