Marist
Cemetery
In 1909 Brother Charles Camille,
assistant master of novices, died from meningitis after an illness of
only three days. Thus, the brothers decided to establish their own cemetery
in a small hollow at the south end of the
property and Brother Charles was the first to be buried there. In 1913
Brother Angelicus, assistant general, urged the Provincial Council to
make this the definitive grave site and to beautify it.
It was modeled on traditional cemeteries
in rural France. In 1921 it was surrounded by a white stone wall built
by Brother Paul Acyndinus. Each grave, which was dug by the novices, was
marked with a cross monument displaying biographical information such
as date of birth, death and number of years with vows. As the cemetery
expanded, the rock encountered made the regular use of a jack hammer necessary.
The last grave was filled in 1953, and a larger cemetery was developed
on the Marist Brothers' property in Esopus, New York.
This
photo shows how the cemetery looked for a period of 80 years. It was not
large, containing only 48 graves. The graves were laid very close to one
another with a head stone marking each grave.
In 1960, the college purchased eight
acres south of the cemetery from the New York Central Railroad. For about
a decade the college filled in the field between the cemetery and the
railroad spur which made the hollow more pronounced. By 1972 the area
south of the cemetery became the obvious choice for a modern field house.
The first choice was to move the
remains from the Poughkeepsie cemetery to the one in Esopus. The college
attorneys warned that New York State had strict laws concerning the relocation
of graves. Permission of the heirs had to be obtained, and since the deceased
were never married, the 'heirs' were their siblings and their descendants.
Since most of them had lived in France, this made relocation of the cemetery
virtually impossible.
Brother Nilus Vincent Donnelly suggested
that the cemetery remain in place, but the ground be filled to the height
of the surrounding areas. He personally laid the individual grave markers
over each grave, then bulldozed the walls inward and began the processing
of adding 20 feet of fill. He noted the exact boundaries of the cemetery
and the college agreed never to build on the site.
The college purchased a large single monument listing the names of those
buried in the cemetery and placed it over the cemetery grounds. The names
are also included in a special plaque at the base of the Calvary scene
in the Esopus cemetery.
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