St. Mary's Cemetery (Washington, D.C.): Difference between revisions

{{Afd-merge to|Saint Mary, Mother of God Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)|St. Mary's Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|22 October 2024}}

{{use mdy dates|date=October 2024|cs1-dates=ly}}{{use American English|date=October 2024}}

| established = March 25, 1870

| location = 2121 Lincoln Road NE, [[Washington, D.C.]], 20002

| country = United States

'''St. Mary's Cemetery''' (also known as the '''Saint Mary Mother of God German Catholic Church Cemetery''' and the '''St. Mary's German Catholic Cemetery''')<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ward 5 Heritage Guide |url=https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Ward%205%20Heritage%20Guide%20FINAL.pdf |website=District of Columbia Office of Planning (dc.gov)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Priest's Lot, St. Mary's German Catholic Cemetery - 328 |url=https://dcplislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A48445 |website=DC Public Library}}</ref> is a Catholic cemetery in [[Washington, D.C.]], United States, overseen by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington]].

== History ==

St. Mary's Cemetery was consecrated on March 25, 1870, the day of the [[Feast of the Annunciation]], following a march from the church by several community groups and sermons in both German and English.<ref>{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=St. Mary's Cemetery |url=https://saintmarymotherofgod.org/st-maryaposs-cemetery |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Saint Mary Mother of God (Washington, D.C.) |archive-date=2023-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110090708/https://saintmarymotherofgod.org/st-maryaposs-cemetery |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1870-03-26 |title=Consecration of St. Mary's Cemetery |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-consecration-of-st-marys/157121710/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |work=Evening star |pages=4}}</ref> Its neighbor immediately to the east is [[Glenwood Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Glenwood Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DBkCPE3pBKAC&dq=%22St.+Mary's%22+German+cemetery+Washington&pg=PR96 |title=Boyd's Directory of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria |date=1871 |publisher=W.H. Boyd |page=xcvi |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Preservation Review Board Application for Historic Landmark or Historic District Designation: Glenwood Cemetery |url=https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Glenwood%20Cemetery%20Nomination.pdf |publisher=Government of the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office |access-date=2024-10-01 |archive-date=2020-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026213214/https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Glenwood%20Cemetery%20Nomination.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gone But Not Forgotten: Cemeteries in the Nation's Capital |url=https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Cemetery%2520Brochure%2520Final%2520opt%25202.pdf |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Planning}}</ref> In an 1882 obituary for the [[Saint Mary, Mother of God Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)|Saint Mary, Mother of God Catholic Church]] parish priest, Mathias Alig, who had served for almost 40 years, it was called "the new Metropolis (German Catholic) Cemetery."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Proctor |first=John Clagett |author-link=John Clagett Proctor |date=1931-06-07 |title=Early Washington Catholic Churches |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-early-washington-catholic-c/157115813/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |work=Evening Star |department=Section 7: Sunday Star Magazine |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=8 |issue=31813 |issn=2331-9968}} & {{Cite news |date= |title=Early Catholic Churches (con't) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-early-catholic-churches-co/157115884/ |access-date= |work=Evening Star |pages=9}}</ref>

The District of Columbia's Office of Planning says: "Established in 1875 initially to serve German congregants of the church that dated to 1846, later also accepted a large number of Greek and Italian burials; initially located on O Street between North Capitol and 1st Streets, NE."<ref name=":0" /> Another source places the first graveyard on "O north between North Capitol and 3rd west."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vx-E74EWsH8C&dq=%22St.+Mary%27s%22+German+cemetery+Washington&pg=PA66 |title=Boyd's Directory of Washington & Georgetown |date=1867 |publisher=Boyd's Directory Company |page=66 |language=en}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'': "Gates are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Originally this was a cemetery for St. Mary Mother of God Parish, established in 1845 at 725 Fifth St. NW. This was a working-class cemetery first for German butchers, bakers and others, later for Italians who were stonecutters and laborers. The oldest gravestone is dated Nov. 16, 1862."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Meyer |first=Eugene L. |date=1998-10-29 |title=History Chiseled in Stone |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/10/30/history-chiseled-in-stone/74c02c1c-46a1-428c-abf8-c4af2a5feaa3/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

Circa 1901, a destitute 60-year-old man known only as Frenchy lived in adjacent to St. Mary's Cemetery, originally in a hand-dug cave in the woods and later in a stable situated on the fenceline. He was possibly a veteran of the [[Franco-Prussian War]], and he decorated his coat with bits of metal he found discarded on the grounds. Frenchy spent his Sundays visiting every Catholic Church in the city, ending his day with prayers in the St. Mary's graveyard.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Litz |first=Anne Marie |date=1901-11-24 |title=Mystery of Frenchy: Strange Character Known to Most Washingtonians |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-washington-post-mystery-of-frenchy/157106651/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=23 |issue=9297}}</ref>

During [[World War I]], which saw an increase in anti-German sentiment in the United States, German-American veterans of the [[American Civil War]] showcased their patriotism by marching with flags and decorating the graves of veterans buried at St. Mary's Cemetery.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1917-05-30 |title=German Civil War Veterans Attest Loyalty to Nation Whose Battles They Fought |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-german-civil-war-veterans-a/157106238/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |work=Evening Star |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=2 |issue=26699 |issn=2331-9968}}</ref> The gesture was apparently ineffectual as Congress passed a law banning Germans from living in the capital city, including Fr. John Roth, the German-born priest of St. Mary's.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Howard |first=Jerlynn Brezil |pages=26–29 |title=The Old Red Barn and Other Local Landmarks: A Brief History of GAO's Changing Neighborhood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I66JxqYhX3cC&dq=%22St.+Mary%27s%22+German+Washington&pg=PA26 |journal=The GAO Review |date=Winter 1984 |volume=19 |issue=1 |publisher=U.S. General Accounting Office |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Basilica of St. Mary (Alexandria, Virginia)]]

* [[List of parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|St. Mary's Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)}}

*[https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/750?tour=19&index=13 DC Historic Sites]

{{Portal bar|Catholic Church|United States|Washington, D.C.}}

[[Category:1870s establishments in the United States]]

[[Category:Cemeteries established in the 1870s]]