The sun., 1903-10-15
THE HUNT FOR BMMET'S BONES
=. 4. EMMETT TELLS or HIS
SUMNER EXPLORATION.
lie Didn't Find Just Where the Irish Patriot
Was Buried, but He Thinks He Got
Near II. and He Disprovcd the Claims
OF the Two Marked Graves.

OF the Two Marked graves.
Or. Thomas Adds Emmet Of 80 Madison
avenue. who returned few days ago from
Ireland. where he has been conducting
search for the grave of his ancestor, Robert
Emmett, the Irish martyr, made public
Yesterday the result Of his three months
labor.
lie did not succeed in locating the exact
spot where Robert Emmett is buried. but
he did dispel several false beliefs in regard
TO the grave which have been current for
more than half century. and he narrowed
the evidence down to a single cemetery
in Dublin
DR.. Emmet brought back a number of
valuable documents and records relating
10 Robert Emmet's trial and events in Irish
history. at the beginning of the last
century.
Three places were variously credited
with holding Robert Emmet's dust before
Dr. Emmett began his investigation-St.
Peters Cemetery in Dublin. where the family
vault is; St. Miohan's. also in Dublin, and
, Glassnevin Cemetery. several miles out OF
the city. The last two had stone slabs up
! marking the spots where tho body was
supposed to be.
The only thing that Or. Emmet knew
for certain when he started out was that
Emmet's body, on the day Of the execu-
ton, Sept. 20. 1903 was placed in the re-
ceiving vault at St. Peters Everything
else in regard to his burial was supposition,
but there we're strong reasons for believ-
ing that the body had been removed from
the vault and put in to the family vault, In
ST Peters. .
Or. Emmet's first task was to locate the
family burial place That was not easy,
for in the 4Os Dublin passed an ordi-
nance forbidding the burial of the dead
within the city limits, and at the same time
covered the entire cemetery with six
inch coating of cement and filled the whole
place in with dirt.
DR.. Emmet discovered in an old church
record that the Emmett vault was on the
right of the entrance to the cemetery, near
the south wall. After an infinite deal OF
persuasion he got the relatives OF the dead
buried in ST. Peter 8 to consent to let him
dig. He excavated for fifty feet at the
spot which the old record indicated.
He struck vault, but it was not the
Emmett vault. 1t was the receiving vault
bodies, was found skull wrapped in crepe.
Dr. Emmett felt sure for a time that the
skull was that of the Irish martyr.
He knew that the elGer Petrie had been
commissioned after the execution to make
a cast Of Emmet's head and he thought
for that purpose, and returned to the re-
ceving vault when the body had been
buried.
An examination of the sutures showed
that the, skull belonged to an old man:
This circumstance, Of course, disproved all
. III hxa UvoG
only twenty-five when he was executed.
The remains OF the other bodies in the
vault furnished evidence that they were
put there only short time before the cem-
etry was destroyed.
DR.. Emlnet then began an Investigation
,sl.b bearing Emmet's name the remains
Of a girl were found. and deeper the bones
of man. The skull Of this man also was
found to be that Of one we'll advanced in
years, and his le, bones showed that he
was over six feet tall. Emmett was
The excavation at Glassnevin failed to
reveal any remains whatever IN the grave
which was supposed to contain Emmet's 9
body.
Or. Emnet then transferred his search
back to the II. Peters cemetery He dis
covered that there was formerly an ent rance
at the back of the Genet cry, and he believes
that the old church record which furnished
the location Of the Emmett vault referred to
this entrance inst cad of the one at the
front.
DR.. Emmett did not feel that he could
spare the time and the money to continue
the eycava ions In ST. Peters and he re-
turned TO this country. hoping that some
body will take advantage Of the data fur-
nished by him and make the necessary
excavation to find the lost vault. DR..
Emmett discovered further that Robert
Fmmer e sister, when she died shortly aft or
the execution OF her brother. was buried
at midnight, and he believes that the Irish
patriot was taken out Of the receiving
vault and laid away at the same time as his
sister.