This is an update on the movement of the old St. Philomena's parish (now
St. Agnes) cemetery in Bloomsdale, MO to a new mass grave site. The old
graves were dug up to make room for a school expansion project. The
church had no other room to expand the school and so received a court
approval to "move" the old section of the cemetery. It is not the
movement of the graves that bothers descendants so much as the
desecration of the historic tombstones.
Following is a list of all those whose remains were reinterred and moved
to a common grave at St. Agnes Cemetery in Bloomsdale, MO. (A few were
moved to individual graves, three were priests and three or four
others.) All but a few of the 90+ cemetery markers, the oldest stones in
this historic cemetery, were bulldozed over and thrown into the mass
grave with the remains, and buried. There is now no trace whatsoever of
these tombstone markers of the original founding families of Bloomsdale.
The names and dates in the following list are taken from court records,
from the excellent Ste. Genevieve County Cemetery Transcription books by
Rob Beckerman (available online at
www.expage.com/familytreebooks or at
the Steiger Haus in Ste. Genevieve), from my own genealogy research, and
from my online photographs of several of the the cemetery markers. Those
with online photographs are indicated by an *asterik before the name and
can be seen at
www.genealogysource.com/bloom_cem_index.htm . Please take
a moment to view some of these beautiful, historic markers from the
1800's.
I am very sorry to say that after several appeals to the pastor of St.
Agnes (formerly St. Philomena's) parish, Father Oge, and to the St.
Louis Archdiocese head of cemetery administration, Msgr. McCarthy, they
have indicated no interest in supporting any type of monument to these
pioneers and founders of Bloomsdale, Missouri. All that we are asking
for is a simple stone listing the names and dates of our ancestors whose
stones were buried in the mass grave. Father Oge places the blame on the
ancestors themselves: "Our forefathers which included your relatives did
not have the foresight to purchase sufficient land for parish growth."
Several family members will be meeting in the St. Louis area on the
weekend of Aug. 24th to pursue getting a monument established. If you
have an interest in helping to get a simple monument created to
memorialize the names and dates of these pioneer ancestors, please email
me and we will keep you apprised of our progress. The church has
indicated that they believe only "one or two people" are interested in
honoring these pioneers and it is therefore not worth the trouble or
expense; we need you to contact us to help get a monument in place over
this mass grave site. We need your help, if only to show that there are
many descendants who want to preserve and honor our ancestors with
monument over the mass grave.
Your support is greatly appreciated. I hope that the following list will
help descendants to salvage the names and dates of some past relatives.
Tom Stevenson
thomass(a)dca.net
http://GenealogySource.com
1. Basler, Carolyn ( Oct. 11, 1882-Aug 17, 1891) "Gone To Be An Angel"
2. Beauert/Beaveri, Crescentia (Jun 4, 1811 -Dec 26, 1887) wife of
Tho's Stoetzle
3. * Boyer, beloved dau. of J.L. & M. Boyer (Dec 22, 1872 - Jan 27,
1873)
4. *Boyer, Felicien (1839 - Mar 21, 1870) [wife of Jacob]
5. Boyer, Josephine M. (Oct. 1, 1862 - June 14, 1894) wife of Louis J.
Boyer
6. *Boyer, John L. Jr. ( Feb 21, 1832 - Jun 23, 1859)
7. Boyer, L. ( - Jan 1, 1902)
8. *Boyer, Leocadie (Sep 30, 1852 - Nov 12, 1874) wife of Louis Boyer
9. *Boyer, Martha M. (Sep 6, 1834 - Nov 22, 1910) beloved wife of
Jacob Boyer
10. Boyer, Phelomina (Jan 28, 1861 - Sep 7, 1893) wife of Wm. Boyer
11. *Boyer, Reine (Aug 12, 1834/7 - Jul 1, 1859) wife of Edward Boyer
12. *Boyer, Richard F. (Nov 11, 1871 - Mar 10, 1933/53)
13. *Caliot, Melanie (Sep 14, 1804 - Apr 14, 1880) wife of John Caliot
14. *Carron, Malone (Dec 11, 1810 - Jun 12, 1880) wife of Joseph Carron;
"May She Rest In Peace"
15. *Carron, Damase G. (Apr 27, 1861 - May 15, 1862)
16. Carron, Effie L.( - 1894)
17. *Carron, Ellen (Apr 9, 1855 - Mar 25, 1883)
18. *Carron, Frank J. (Sep 16, 1833 - Jul 19, 1875) "May He Rest In
Peace"
19. Carron, H. L. (Jun 6, 1881 - May 5, 1899)
20. Carron, Jessie L. ( - 1894)
21. *Carron, John (May 6, 1832 - Dec 6, 1901) "Eternal rest Grant Him, O
Lord, And Let Eternal Light Shine On Him. May He Rest In Peace.
Amen"
22. *Carron, John C. (May 20, 1858 - Aug 31, 1866)
23. *Carron, John J. O. (Oct 10, 1865 - Jun 8, 1866)
24. Carron, Leon J. (Nov 24, 1870 - Nov 20, 1882) "The Christian son, By
death set free, The parents left sad-hearted; In Heaven shall reunited
be, And never more be parted."
25. *Carron, Mary Ann (1819 - Feb 25, 1897)
26. *Carron, Mary O. C. (Jun 13, 1863 - Aug 25, 1866)
27. *Carron, Mary P. J. (Feb 2, 1865 - Aug 25, 1866)
28. *Carron, Matilda (Aug 10, 1822 - Apr 14, 1894)
29. Carron, Odile Diana ( - 1894)
30. Carron, Pelagie (Jul 1, 1840 - Dec 24, 1895)
31. *Carrow, Emely (Sep 19, 1847 - Sep 1, 1872) dau. of Joseph & Malandy
Carrow
32. *Drury, Caroline (Dec 29, 1861 - Jul 21, 1934) [Caroline Hermann
Drury, wife of Cyrus Drury]
33. *Drury, Clothilde (Mar 22, 1838 - July 31, 1880) wife of Michael
[V.] Drury [Clothile Calliot Dury]
34. *Drury, Cyrus (Jan 18, 1859 - Sep 24, 1915)
35. *Drury, Dora Melanie (Apr 2, 1880 - Aug 25, 1896) dau. of M.V. & C.
Drury, _____pled of John Drury
36. *Drury, John B. (Feb 1, 1823 - Apr 10, 1901)
37. *Drury, Mary O. (Dec 4, 1804 - Dec 19, 1878) wife of John Drury, Sr.
[Mary Olympe Placet Drury, founders of Bloomsdale]
38. *Drury, Mary C. (May 2, 1831 - Jan 25, 1903) wife of Clem Drury
[Mary Cornelia Carron Drury]
39. Ehler, Valentine T. (Aug 15, 1896 - Nov 23, 1819) "A little time on
earth he spent, Till God for him his angel sent."
40. Grass, Florence J. (May 10, 1916 - Jul 26, 1917) dau. of P.F. & S.
Grass "Gone to be an angel"
41. Grundmeyer, John A. (Apr 17, 1892 - Aug 11, 1893) son of H. A. & C.
G. Grundmeyer
42. Hassel, Msgr. Henry (Aug 30, 1873 - Dec 18, 1955) pastor of St.
Philomena Church for 46 years;
43. *Hermann, Regina (Jan 17, 1858 - July 26, 1869)
44. Jokerst, Barnard (Nov 2, 1849 - Apr 14, 1894) husband of P. J.
Jokerst, "Farewell my wife and children all; From you a father Christ
does call; Mourn not for me, it is in vain; To call me to your sight
again."
45. Jokerst, Pauline (May 4, 1860 - Jul 10, 1882)
46. Jokerst, Rosine P. (Mar 9, 1882 - Oct 15, 1890) "Hier ruht in Gott"
"Die Liebern die der Tod getrennt vereint der Himmel wieder."
47. Kertz, Appolonia (Aug 8, 1832 - Jun 10, 1907) wife of John "We
labored together, We rest together, Asleep in Jesus, Blessed sleep."
48. Kertz, John (Jun 18, 1831 - May 30, 1896)
49. Lakebrink, Rev. John (Oct 31, 1891 - July 6, 1974) pastor of Holy
Martyrs Church of Japan 1925-1949; SS. Philip & James Church 1949-1963
50. Lalumondier, Adolph (1842 - 1914) father
51. Lalumondier, Clotilda (1847-1930) mother
52.*Lalumondier, Louis (Jan 30, 1813 - Feb 8, 1872)
53. *Lalumondier, Palagia (Feb 7, 1818 - May 10, 1896) wife of Louis
Lalumondier [Pelagie Boyer Lalumondier]
54. Lalumondier, Rosamon (Jul 27, 1861 - Jan 4, 1889)
55. LaRose, Louis, Jr. (Nov 15, 1849 - Dec 22, 1881)
56. LaRose, Vital (May 22, 1840 - Dec 25, 1893)
57. LaRose, Cora (Aug 11, 1865 - Mar 26, 1900) wife of Felix LaRose
58. LaRose, Elizabeth (Jan 9, 1873 - Apr 1, 1960) wife of Felix
59. LaRose, Felicity (Feb 10, 1856 - Sep 20, 1881)
60. LaRose, Felix (Jan 13, 1856 - Oct 5, 1940) buried with Elizabeth
61. LaRose, Laura (Jan 13, 1859 - Nov 13, 1883) wife of Felix
62. LaRose, Julie (Aug 5, 1821 - Jul 29, 1897)
63. LaRose, Mary V. (Mar 3, 1846 - Jan 23, 1897) wife of V.P. LaRose
64. *LaRose, Louis, Sr. (Mar 2, 1818 - Apr 20, 1900)
65. Ledeur, Francis (Jun 13, 1816 - Apr 27, 1874) "A father kind, A
husband dear, A faithful friend, Lies buried here"
66. Cherlevill, Jule (Nov 30, 1851 - Sep 25, 1902)
67. Loida, Annie M. (Jun 7, 1888 - Jun 14, 1888)
68. Morice, Frank (1854 - 1934)
69. Morice, Mrs. Louis A. (Oct 25, 1857 - Apr 18, 1894) "Our mother"
70. Mudock, James (Jun 15, 1800 - Nov 30, 1882)
71. *Placite, Ambrose (Apr 4, 1844 - Oct 25, 1914) "R.I.P."
72. *Plaset, Mursleat (Oct, 1825 - Apr 8, 1896) wife of Isaac Plaset
73. Primo, Emily (Aug 26, 1861 - Mar 13, 1881)
74. Primo, Peter C. (Nov 18, 1892 - Mar 9, 1893) son of Peter J. & Emily
S. Primo
75. Primo, Julia C. (Apr 25, 1873 - Jul 6, 1849) dau. of P. & M. O.
Primo
76. Primo, Mary P. (Nov 29, 1872 - Sep 24, 1873) Dau. of P. J. & E. S.
Primo
77. Primo, Peter (Feb 28, 1821 - Jun 5, 1898)
78. Rosi, Father Aloysius ( - 1853)
79. Schweiss, Frank X. (Aug 31, 1871 - Jan 28, 1899)
80. Spalding, Bennett (Aug, 1801 - May 19, 1863)
81. Spalding, Peliza (1807 - Mar 1, 1850) wife of Bennett Spalding
82. Sucher, Katherina (Oct 5, 1854 - Sep 5, 1898) "Mother, thou wast
mild and lovely, Gentle as the summer breeze"
83. Sucher, Mary T. (Sep 8, 1877 - Feb 9, 1894) "Here rests in peace"
84. Thomure, Clalie M. (Mar 25, 1853 - Sep 19, 1919)
85. *Thomure, Juliet (Jul 4, 1835 - Apr 8, 1894)
NOTE: the following were not listed in the church filings in court, but
were between the stones removed and so also are now missing; included in
these would be five stones unreadable when the church filed their court
papers:
86. Unknown ( Nov 17, 1902)
87. Kirchner, Katharina (Mar 5, 1858 - Jan 20, 1901)
88. Hipes, Bartley (1827 - 1902) "Dearest father we loved thee"
89. Jokerst , Louisa J. (Nov. 23, 1875 - Apr 17, 1895)
90. LaBruyer, Effie F. (Aug 31, 1882 - Nov 18, 1894) dau. of Louis &
Diana LaBruyer
91. Kennedy, John Franklin (Feb 5, 1886 - Jun 6, 1887)
92. Boyer, Cornelia M. (Jan 28, 1854 - Nov 24, 1888) wife of Alexis H.
Boyer
93. Carron, Infant of John & Mary
94. Primo, Felista (Aug 9, 1858 - Dec 31, 1876) dau of Peter & Mary
Olimp. Primo
95. Sucher, Sophia (May 15, 1843 - Feb 13, 1870)
96. Labruyere, H. J. (Dec 31, 1844)
NOTE: The following 5 markers were apparently moved to a new location;
the remaining 91 on the above list were buried in the mass grave.
1. Cyrus and Caroline Hermann Drury
2. John & Clotilda Drury
3. Father Lakebrink
4. Felix & Elizabeth LaRose
5. Father Rosi
*indicates online pictures of the cemetery stones at
http://www.genealogysource.com/bloom_cem_index.htm .
Hope this information is helpful to descendants of the area. Please let
us hear from you!
Thank you,
Tom Stevenson
--
http://www.GenealogySource.com