Monument to Philip Schwartzkopf, Fairview Cemetery, Santa Fe, NM. Courtesy/2025 Dr. Alysia L. Abbott

Headstones in the Santa Fe National Cemetery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Courtesy/2025 Dr. Alysia L. Abbott

Friends of History News:

“Death at the End of the Trail: A Talk about the Graves and Graveyards of Santa Fe Trail Travelers in Santa Fe” presented by archeologist and anthropologist Dr. Alysia L. Abbott.

• Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025
• Presented free on YouTube by Friends of History.
• Link: https://bit.ly/4kzCQwA

Overview:

The true end of the trail for many who found their way from the East to Santa Fe was burial in one of Santa Fe’s Historic cemeteries. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people who are known and suspected to have arrived in Santa Fe following some or all of the paths from Missouri to the Ancient Capital, are buried in Santa Fe. Many arrived young and hopeful only to meet an untimely end. Some arrived at Santa Fe already deceased, their mortal remains carried along to the end of the journey or returned from some far place of death to their final home. Some were prominent in life. Most are now anonymous. Their monuments, their graves and their cemeteries represent a fascinating history of life and death unique to Santa Fe. 

Brief Bio On Presenter:

Dr. Alysia L. Abbott is an archaeologist who has been researching and documenting the historic cemeteries and graveyards of Santa Fe for more than a decade. She holds degrees in Archeology and Anthropology from the University of Texas and the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Abbott directed the recovery excavations of graves from the Old Masons and Odd Fellows Cemetery, exposed by the La Secoya de El Castillo development in 2021. In 2023, she directed the documentation and recovery of graves exposed during building rehabilitation excavations within the boundaries of the Las Vegas Camposanto on the campus of the New Mexico Highlands University. Dr. Abbott has also been documenting the monuments and researching the history of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Santa Fe extensively since 2014.

A summary of Dr. Abbott’s research on Santa Fe Cemeteries, “A Hidden History of the Dead” was published in El Palacio, Fall, 2021. She also frequently guides tours through Santa Fe’s Historic Cemeteries for the Historic Santa Fe Foundation.