Dating the Reburial of Norton I

April 02, 2025 / John Lumea

In fall 1932 — in connection with San Francisco's mandated "eviction" of cemeteries within the city limits — the remains of Emperor Norton were exhumed from their original resting place in the city’s Masonic Cemetery.

In 1934, the Emperor was reburied, with a new headstone, at his current resting place: Woodlawn Memorial Park, in Colma, Calif.

A public ceremony dedicating the new gravesite was held at Woodlawn on 30 June 1934. This is the date that received headlines around the country — and it is the date that those who follow the Emperor's story associate with his reburial.

But the reburial itself took place nearly 3 months earlier, on 2 April 1934 — 91 years ago today.

Click below to learn more — and for our suggestion about how to provide for more thoughtful and intentional preservation and care of Emperor Norton's headstone and gravesite.

Emperor Norton's Un-Final Resting Place

June 02, 2021 / John Lumea

If you know the Emperor Norton story well enough to know that…

When the Emperor died in January 1880, he was buried in the Masonic Cemetery, in San Francisco.
As part of the Great San Francisco Cemetery Eviction of the early twentieth century, the Emperor’s remains were moved to new grave, at Woodlawn cemetery, in Colma, Calif.
The Emperor’s reburial ceremony took place at Woodlawn on 30 June 1934.

…you may have assumed that the Emperor “remained” at the Masonic Cemetery more or less until the time of the reburial ceremony.

In fact, Emperor Norton was disinterred 20 months earlier.

So, where were Emperor Norton's remains located from the time they were disinterred in San Francisco in October 1932 until the time they were reburied in Colma in June 1934?

Here are a few clues.

The Itemized Bill for Emperor Norton's 1934 Reburial — And Who Paid It

February 21, 2018 / John Lumea

In 1934, a group of members of San Francisco's Pacific-Union Club organized themselves as the Emperor Norton Memorial Association, for the purpose of overseeing the City-mandated reburial of Emperor Norton at Woodlawn cemetery, in Colma, Calif. The Association's goals were to (1) secure a burial plot; (2) have a new headstone made; (3) produce a public ceremony to dedicate the new grave and stone; and (4) raise the funds necessary to accomplish these goals.

Tucked inconspicuously into the Emperor Norton ephemera collection of the California Historical Society is an undated "Statement of Receipts and Disbursements," on Emperor Norton Memorial Association letterhead, that shows exactly how much money was raised; who gave what; and how the money was spent.

The Emperor Norton Trust

Filtering by Tag: Pacific-Union Club

Dating the Reburial of Norton I

Emperor Norton's Un-Final Resting Place

The Itemized Bill for Emperor Norton's 1934 Reburial — And Who Paid It