RECENT RESEARCH — A public dedication ceremony for the reburial of Emperor Norton in Colma, Calif., was held on 30 June 1934. Those who are familiar with this part of the Emperor's story most closely associate 30 June 1934 with his reburial, as this is the date when the reburial was solemnized — when dignitaries offered eulogies and speeches; musicians from the Municipal Band and Olympic Club of San Francisco played and sang; and a U.S. Army honor guard fired a 3-gun salute before a gathering of some 200 people. But — as we show here — the burial itself took place nearly 3 months earlier.

The Emperor Norton Trust

TO HONOR THE LIFE + ADVANCE THE LEGACY OF JOSHUA ABRAHAM NORTON

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Emperor Norton's Un-Final Resting Place

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.

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