St Francis and St Patrick Cemetery

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To learn what life was like for Irish immigrants in Toledo before 1888, investigate the burial records of the earliest Irish cemeteries, and you will open a world of history and maybe family you never knew you had.

 

St Francis Cemetery was the earliest, founded in 1843. Unfortunately, there are no burial logs for St Francis. LCCHA has been working on creating logs by transcribing lot cards. Sadly, we discovered if the family couldn’t afford the cost of a plot, the grave is likely missing from the lot cards and lost to history.  Our long-term goal is to research early church and death records to fill in the gaps.  

 

St Patrick Cemetery was next, founded in 1863 and closed by the Toledo Diocese in 1888, leaving entire years missing from the burial logs. When the cemetery ceased operation, families could relocate remains or markers to the Calvary Cemetery, if they could afford it.  Luckily, these “reinterments” are included in the Calvary burial log.  

 

In 1924, the Toledo Health Department declared the abandoned cemetery a nuisance and ordered it removed. The remains of roughly 1000 people that were left behind were placed in a mass grave at Calvary Cemetery without a name or other information. LCCHA volunteers are transcribing the Calvary Cemetery burial log and comparing it to the St Patrick Cemetery burial log to find the names of those in the mass grave.

 

Here are some of the most the heart-rending facts we have found:

• The numbers of infant and child deaths were genuinely heartbreaking, with common causes being infectious diseases, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), croup, and cholera. Some parents lost all their children within days. Many died of Inanition (starvation),.

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• Adults died of these same contagious diseases, plus consumption and typhoid.  Sudden death was common: drowning, railroad fatalities, fires, and childbirth.

 

If you would like more information or to volunteer, one these research project  email us at Contact@LCCHA.org.