Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-01-05
DEATH OF PATRICK MCNAMARA.
THE VENERABLE SEXTON OF THoRNRosE
CEMETERY PASSES AWAY

: dtIlcK McNdMdfd, Tie feHcIdUlt ST.
: ton of Thornrose Cemetery, died at h.
home near that place on Monday mornin
last at $50 o'clock, aged SO years and
months. He had been sexton at the Gene
terry for forty-two years, and during ths
time had dug nearly all the graves in tina
beautiful city of the dead. He was Dor
on March 10Th, 1904, in the county OF Ros
common, Province of Connaught, in th
west of Ireland, and came to this countr
in 1886, and landed at New York. Afte
where he has lived ever since. His Widol
; and one daughter. Mrs. Michael Crickar
with WHOM he resided, survive him. Som
years ago the VINDIcATcR had an inter
esting interview with the venerable gray
digger, from which we reproduce the fol
lowing extracts, which will be Of interes
to our readers and his many friends:
''You just missed being born On st. Pat
rick S day by twenty -four hours, MI. Mac,
said the reporter.
Yes; but it was such close shave tha
they thought it near enough to name m,
Patrick. | was born on the 10th of March
1904, in the county Of Roscommon, Prov
lnce Of Connaught, in the west Of Ireland
In 1886 came to New York in the shil
OkeEoa and landed at Castle Garden. /
to Europe and returned in ballast, bricks
tin and river rocks. The bricks were want
ed in New York, for there had been great
fire there that winter and the buildings
which were mostly frame, had been swept
away"
Did YOU sail from Queenstown?'
"There was no Queenstown in that Gay
| it was called the Cove of Cork. It was
only after the Queen had landed there on a
visit to Ireland that it was called Queens
town. l remember when George ".
came to visit Ireland he landed at Dundea-
~, and after that it was called Kingstown,
and then Kingston. l remember him well,
for | went to see him review the troops in
Dublin park, the same park that Lord Cav
endish was assassinatel in some years ago.
The review was great thing, with the
troops marching and the cannon firing.
OLD VIRGINIA WORKS.
After six months in New York I came
down to Virginia and got work on the
James River and Kanawha Canal at Lynch
burg, which was then building. Charles
Elicit was the Chief Engineer, the same
ole that built the temporary track over
the Blue Ridge. During the war he made
the gunboats that went up and took Fort
Donelson. He was afterwards killed by an
explosion on one Of them. I worked On
different sections of the canal down to
Richmond. In 1889 | came to Staunton
and went to work On the Valley pike. Gen.
jos. Z. Anderson, now of Richmond, was
the Chief Engineer of the pike building,
and his assistant was Edwin M. Taylor,
who afterwards became chief himself. l
then worked Oh the Parkersburg pike from
Staunten to Monterey. Col. Crczet was
the Chief Engineer Of that work and Rob
cTt Kinney was his assistant. Kinney was
the LIST Lieutenant of Capt Harper's COM
left on the day before Christmas, 1916, and
[ went with them as far as Fishersville
That night Vincent Geiger. who was sec
ond Lieutenant in the company. came back
to Staunton and whipped Breeze Johnston
and then went back to the company the
next day.
FIRST INTERMENT IN THE CEMETERY.
[ took charge of Thornrose Cemetery on
the 18th of May, 1851, thirty-six years ago
The company had been chartered by the
legislature, with Mr.. Moffett Cochran,
president. Then it was nothing but an old
field enclosed by a rough fence. There was
not tree on it. The only grave there, WIS
that of Mrs. Frances Peyton Brown, the
grandmother of Col. John B. Baldwin, and
hers was the first dug after the cemetery
was opened, and the only one 1 did not dig
The next grave, and the first 1 dug, was
that of Nelson Wayland, in the colored sec
ton. He belonged to Dr.. Stribling, but
had belonged to Mrs. Brown and at her
funeral told me he had often plowed and
harvested over the field in which her grave
was. The cemetery only contained twelve
added for the soldiers. After Thornrose
was opened, there were very few burials at
Trinity graveyard in cases of mar
ried people where the husband OF wife was
already laid there
THE MONUMENTS.
The first monument ever erected in
IhOrnrOSe was that mt I'M for Tanec
Points, Q. S. Marshal, who was buried in
the eastern part OF the grounds. Since
then there have been many handsome tomb
stones; but few monuments. The most
striking ale the New Hampshire granite
shaft over VIM. Frazier, the Virginia gran
tie block over John b. Baldwin, the Scotch
granite shaft over John Wayt and the dou-
BILE marble shaft in A. Fl. FL. Stuart's lot.
The largest amount of marble in any one
lot is that of John Churchman.
THE MORTALITY.
There are about 5000 persons, of both
coors buried there; about fifteen hundred
of them are soldiers. The busiest time l
ever had in grave digging was in 1852. The
cholera had broken out among the hands at
work at the Blue Ridge Tunnel, and many
of them were brought over here and put
with their friends in Irish Alley and around
there. They died fast, and many citizens
also died of the disease. | suppose [ buried
fifty of the victims.
THE FUNERAL.