Chinese burial bricks

From: "Chris Graves" caliron@att.net

The question is often asked, how did the Chinese population of California during the Gold Rush, building of the CPRR, and then in later days, identify remains to be disinterred and taken to China? [Below] are current photographs of two bricks that have been found in abandoned Chinese cemeteries, the larger one from Oroville, Cal., the broken one from Folsom, Cal.

These bricks contain the name of the deceased, the home town of the deceased, and the year of death; the larger brick in the attachment has the death year as 1903.

Apparently the bricks are not needed following removal of the deceased person's remains, as the smaller brick was used in the building of a wall in Folsom. There is a concrete wall containing similiar bricks behind the Walmart store in Oroville, Cal., where at one time there was a Chinese burial ground. Despite many trips over the old CPRR grade in California, Nevada and Utah, I have not seen in person anything similiar to what is pictured here. ...

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Chinese burial bricks