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From:
Subject: Fwd: Douglas[s] Cemeteries
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:06:06 -0400
References: <410-22005851217202050@earthlink.net> <8C76E1C85229C8C-D70-1261F@MBLK-M29.sysops.aol.com> <60f70bc605081319092db28031@mail.gmail.com> <8C76F61E0865E93-16A4-16015@MBLK-M41.sysops.aol.com> <001c01c5a19e$baeb3a90$97e929d8@S0028975155> <8C7709BA79CB06B-B54-1323@MBLK-M36.sysops.aol.com>
In-Reply-To: <8C7709BA79CB06B-B54-1323@MBLK-M36.sysops.aol.com>




-----Original Message-----
From: Marilynkwash
To:
Sent: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:04:10 -0400
Subject: Douglas[s] Cemeteries


Yes, I know about that Douglass cemetery in Indiana County. That Douglas family is Protestant, and seems to have come from the Westmoreland County area. They are spread over the Indiana and Cambria County Area.
The ones in the Clearfield township were also Protestant to begin with, but they intermarried with the Catholics, and many descendants became Catholic. The Douglass cemetery there has been restored by descendants. It is near one of my step-brother's farms, and his wife now mows it.
Does anyone know if these two Douglass families are from the same root?

-----Original Message-----
From: Melissa <>
To:
Sent: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 09:39:15 -0400
Subject: Re: [PaCambri] Catholic Cemetery Customs


There is also a Douglass cemetery in Green Twp., Indiana County in the
little town of Uniontown.

Melissa

----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 11:38 PM
Subject: Re: [PaCambri] Catholic Cemetery Customs


> I bet the private cemeteries date back to the old days when there
were not too many chuch cemeteries nearby.
> There is one in Clearfield Twp that--as far as I know--contains
only John Baum and one of the Nagles [Richard?]. Both served in the
Revolutionary War. The cemetery was restored and a new memorial dedicated
during the Bi-centennial.
> Before 1830, when St Joseph opened near Carrolltown, Loretto was
the only Catholic Cemetery. A few more Churches opened during the later
1840s, and St. Benedict in 1850. It must have been difficult to transport
bodies in the winter with the drifting snow, and during other seasons when
there was a lot of mud.
> I suppose there were some family burials, but I have not heard of
any of them. I did hear that sometimes there were temporary burials that
were later removed to a regular Catholic cemetery. I think our history
teacher, Matt Kollar at Cambria Heights, told us that. He was very
knowledgeable about local history, especially the morbid history. Some of
what he told us, I did not believe at the time, but found out later that it
was reasonably accurate. He had some gruesome stories about moving the St.
Benedict Cemetery. The original was behind the first church, but is now
under the sanctuary and rectory of the present church.
> Marilyn
> There is a Douglass family cemetery in--I think--Allegheny Twp,
but the Douglas[s] family were Protestants, though some of them who married
Catholics, became Catholics.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A <>
> To: <>
> Cc:
> Sent: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 22:09:09 -0400
> Subject: Re: [PaCambri] Catholic Cemetery Customs
>
>
> There are some private cemeteries listed at the end of each of the
> Catholic Vital Records books by Fr. Ledoux. McMullen, Shank and
> Gallagher are a few. There weren't many...
>
> On 8/13/05, <> wrote:
> > You may be right about what the Canon law actually says, but I am
going on
> what I saw in the local Church Records. I know now, today, of at least
three
> burials on local farms [in townships that do not prohibit it, like East
Carroll]
> and one of them is a fairly recently established family cemetery near
Chest
> Springs.
> > Much of what I mentioned is before 1917. Wills then are quite
specific
> about being buried in a Catholic Cemetery. An entire cemetery was
consecrated,
> and none but Catholics in "good standing" could be buried in the
consecrated
> ground. While this might not conform to the letter of Canon Law, this is
what
> was done in this area. Perhaps that was diocesan policy. Or perhaps they
were
> using German tradition, which was a very strict interpertation of Catholic
> practices.
> > The exception to the "consecrated ground" was the "Potter's Field"
area,
> on the edges of the cemetery, which was not consecrated ground. I know
St.
> Bernard's Cemetery has such an area, and I expect some of the other
earlier
> cemeteries have them, too, even if they are not advertized. I simply have
not
> had access to their original records enough to have picked it up. This
problem
> is solved today by consecrating each grave site separately.
> > I was amased at the concept of Potters Field at first, and did
some
> research. Most of the burials are unbaptized babies [including at least
one
> Holtz baby.] I know personally of one sucide [a man who tried to kill a
> relative of mine, did kill a man who tried to protect her, and then killed
> himself.] The "living in sin" or "public sinners" were usually those who,
for
> some reason, were not married in the Catholic Church. [Of course, a
deathbed
> confession could cancel this out.] Another relative was buried there, and
I
> asked an older relative why. She said this man [a WW I vet] fought with
the
> priest and did not go to church or the sacraments, so the priest had him
buried
> in Potter's Field. I also saw newspaper mentions of unknown persons being
> buried there, as it was not known what religion they belonged to. They
Potter's
> Field burials are not labeled such on the gravestones, only in the record
books.
> The graves are at the upper edge or the cemetery, and form an!
> > arch of single graves around the main cemetery.
> > The one dispensation from the Bishop [that I saw] was attached to
Rose
> Thomas Elden, who wanted to be buried beside her son, who died in WW II,
in the
> Union Cemetery, Hastings. She was a Catholic, but the Elden family were
not. I
> saw the notations in the St. Bernard's Death Book, and paid attention to
it as
> she was a relative.
> > I had "big ears" as a child, and often listened to adult
conversations,
> including some about whether or not a certain person would be entitled to
> "Christian Burial" because of some trangression, like "living in sin," or
having
> committed suicide. Generally, if possible [in the 1940s and 1950s], the
suicide
> was given the benefit of the doubt and presumed to be of "unsound mind" at
the
> moment of death. But such funerals were generally very quiet ones. I
think a
> great deal depended on the compassion of the local priest.
> > I am not defending these practices, only stating that they did exist
in
> this area. Knowing of them might help you find a grave you could not find
> otherwise.
> > Another German practice, that was used at St. Boniface and St.
Lawrence
> for awhile, was to bury people in a row as they died, rather in family
lots. I
> think they did that at Carrolltown, but the original grave yard was moved
when
> they constructed the larger church. By that time, family plots were being
used.
> I found a family grave in one of these rows of graves.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: William Kirkpatrick <>
> > To: <>
> > Sent: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 12:20:20 -0500
> > Subject: Re: [PaCambri] RE: Cambria Cemetery locations
> >
> >
> > Marilyn,I'm far from an expert in Canon Law but do have a little
> > familiarity with it. The initial Code was promulgated by Pope Benedict
XV
> > on Pentecost 27 May 1917 to be effective on Pentecost 19 May 1918. The
> > revised Code was promulgated by Pope John Paul on 25 January 1983 to be
> > effective on the First day of Advent which I believe was 27
> > November1983.Thought you might like to have this information.
> > Under the 1917 Code (Canon 1226) and also under the 1983 Code
(Canon
> > 1180-1182) "everyone , unless prohibited by law, is permitted to choose
a
> > cemetery for burial." However, as you say a Catholic in good standing
would
> > normally want to be buried in a Catholic Cemetery. Freedom of choice of
a
> > cemetery has always been permitted even before 1917. Canon Law has also
> > always deferred to wishes expressed in Last Wills and Testaments in this
> > regard. As a practical matter before Cemeteries were established,the
family
> > farm had a part of the farm reserved for that purpose. As far as I can
> > tell, unless an individual Diocese established a requirement for a
> > dispensation to be buried "outside a Catholic Cemetery" such an
exemption
> > has never really been required.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Kirk
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: <>
> > > To: <>
> > > Date: 8/11/2005 11:13:51 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [PaCambri] RE: Cambria Cemetery locations
> > >
> > >
> > > Just a comment. Few, if any, Catholics would be buried anywhere
> > except a Catholic Cemetery. This was Church [Canon] Law. Also, in most
> > wills of the 1800s, you will find a paragraph stating specifically that
the
> > decedent is to be buried in a Catholic Cemetery.
> > > This means that Catholics would not have a family cemetery on
the
> > farm. [This is now changed, as the Catholic Church will bless an
> > individual grave site as "consecrated ground".]
> > > But in the time span of Cambria County, the only Catholics
buried
> > outside a Catholic Cemetery would be those who had "fallen away," or
were
> > perhaps married to a non-Catholic. The Bishop could give an exemption
for
> > a Catholic to be buried in another cemetery. The only time I have seen
> > this was during WW II, when Rose Thomas Elden got permission to be
buried
> > in the Union Cemetery, Hastings, next to her son. She was Catholic, but
> > the Elden family was not.
> > > Most of the older Catholic cemeteries have a section called
> > "Potter's Field" where unbaptized babies, suicides, apostates or
[original
> > meaning] "paupers," or poor people or unknowns could be buried. It was
> > usually on the edge of the cemetery in unconsecrated ground.
> > > Before Vatican II, which reformed Church [Canon] Law, about
the
> > 1960s, these rules were enforced. Since then, in the spirit of
ecumenical
> > rapport, they have changed.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Camcopa <>
> > > To:
> > > Sent: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 18:02:04 -0400
> > > Subject: [PaCambri] RE: Cambria Cemetery locations
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi Jim and PACAMBRIA listers,
> > >
> > > Virtually all the of cemeteries listed on the Cambria County
Webpage
> > >
> > > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacambri/CemIndex.html < are accompanied
by a
> > > map showing the location of the cemetery and, usually, written
> > instructions
> > > explaining how to get to the cemetery.
> > >
> > > Don Varner () Host of the Richland, Twp & Adams
Twp.
> > > Cambria Co. PA genealogy/history pages:
> > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~camcopa/
> > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~camcopa/Adams
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ==== PACAMBRI Mailing List ====
> > > Looking for information on the library? Courthouse? Historical
society?
> > Go to
> > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacambri/
> > > and click on "Resources".
> > >
> > >
> > > ==== PACAMBRI Mailing List ====
> > > Looking for a specific email? Visit the email archives:
> > > http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=PACAMBRI
> >
> >
> > ==== PACAMBRI Mailing List ====
> > Please visit the Cambria County ROOTSWEB Home Page @
http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacambri/
> > Discover "What's New"!
> >
> >
>
>
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