Calvary Cemetery is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cemetery in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, operated by the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Founded in 1854, it is the second oldest cemetery in the archdiocese. The cemetery contains 470 acres (1.9 km²) of land and more than 300,000 graves, including those of General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

Dred Scott Dred Scott ( – September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for the freedom of themselves and their two daughters, Eliza and Lizzie, in the '' Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

Kate Chopin Kate Chopin (, also ; born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminis ...

, Louis Chauvin and

Auguste Chouteau René-Auguste Chouteau Jr. (; September 7, 1749, or September 26, 1750 – February 24, 1829Beckwith, 8.), also known as Auguste Chouteau, was one of the founders of St. Louis, Missouri, a successful fur trader and a politician. He and his partne ...

History

In 1849 a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic struck St. Louis and claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people. This disaster prompted city officials to pass an ordinance banning the creation of new cemeteries within city limits, as it was thought that such a measure could prevent additional people from becoming sick. At the same time, existing cemeteries in St. Louis were nearly full and had no room to expand. Recognizing the need for a new

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

, Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick purchased Senator

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

’s “Old Orchard Farm” in 1853, located several miles northwest of St. Louis. Kenrick initially set aside the eastern half of the 323-acre farm for a new cemetery, and kept the western half for himself, where he lived for many years in the former Clay Mansion. Calvary Cemetery opened for burials in 1854, with Archbishop Kenrick as its first president. Prior to the establishment of Calvary Cemetery, parts of the Clay farm had served as a burial place for Native Americans and soldiers from nearby Fort Bellefontaine. After 1854, these remains were reinterred in a mass grave under a large crucifix at one of the highest points in the cemetery. Graves at other Catholic cemeteries across St. Louis, such as Old Cathedral, Rock Springs, Holy Trinity, Old St. Patrick's, New Bremen and others were also dug up and reinterred at Calvary. As the number of graves steadily grew, the cemetery acquired more land, eventually reaching its present-day size of 470 acres. It has more than 300,000 casketed graves, and two public mausoleums and columbaria, as well as a number of private family mausoleums and sarcophagi. Space for full-casket traditional burials is available for the next 300 years at Calvary Cemetery, according to archdiocesan sources. Many former St. Louisans choose to be returned to Calvary for burial, including August Chouteau X, a great-great-great-grandson of the city's founder, who lived most of his life in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The brother of noted writer and dramatist

chose to have him buried here, bringing his body from New York City where he had died. In 2003, a

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

Bicentennial Grant funded the construction of a monument at Calvary Cemetery to honor four

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

men who had traveled to St. Louis in 1831 from their home in present-day Idaho. When they arrived in St. Louis, these men had to rely on hand gestures to communicate, as they could find no one who spoke their language. Two of the men, Black Eagle and Speaking Eagle, died of illness while in St. Louis and are buried in Calvary Cemetery."Idaho Catholic Register"
, 16 Mar 2012

Notable Calvary burials

* Louis Auguste Benoist (1803–1867), pioneer banker and financier who helped develop St. Louis * Mary Odilia Berger (1823–1880), founder of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, which operates hospitals in Midwest * Thomas Biddle (1790–1831), military hero during the

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; killed in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

with Missouri Congressman Spencer Pettis on Bloody Island in the Mississippi River * Lewis V. Bogy (1813–1877),

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

(1873–1877) and founder of the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway * Martin Stanislaus Brennan (1845–1927), Catholic priest, scientist, and author * Patrick E. Burke (c. 1830–1864), Missouri state legislator and colonel in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

* Thomas Ambrose Butler (1837–1897), Irish-American priest and poet * Mickey Carroll (1919–2009), a " munchkin" in the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' * Philando Castile (1983–2016), victim of a high-profile police shooting in Minnesota * Alfonso J. Cervantes (1920–1983), mayor of St. Louis (1965–1973) * Louis Chauvin (1881–1908),

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

musician *

(1851–1904), author of popular short stories and novels * Oscar Chopin (1873–1932), newspaper cartoonist *

François Chouteau François Gesseau Chouteau (February 7, 1797 – April 18, 1838) was a French-American pioneer fur trader and entrepreneur from the prominent Chouteau fur-trading family. He is widely regarded as the "Father of Kansas City". Chouteau was born i ...

(1797–1838), fur trader and businessman, founder of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

* René Auguste Chouteau (1740–1829), fur trader, co-founder of the city of St. Louis *

Powhatan Henry Clarke Powhatan Henry Clarke (October 9, 1862 – July 21, 1893) was a United States Army First lieutenant#United States, first lieutenant who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during the Apache Wars#Geronimo's War, Geronimo Campaign in Sonora, Mex ...

(1862–1893), United States Army

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801–1873), Belgian

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest and missionary to the Native Americans * Thomas Anthony Dooley III (1927–1961), physician and humanitarian * Charles and Ray Eames, designers and architects * James Brailsford Erwin (1856–1924), brigadier general in the US Army * Daniel M. Frost (1823–1900), brigadier general in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

* Anthony Giordano (1915–1980), boss of the St. Louis crime family *

Charles Gratiot Charles Chouteau Gratiot (August 29, 1786 – May 18, 1855) was born in St. Louis, Spanish Upper Louisiana Territory, now the present-day State of Missouri. He was the son of Charles Gratiot, Sr., a fur trader in the Illinois country during ...

(1786–1855),

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

* Robert E. Hannegan (1903–1949), United States postmaster general and commissioner of Internal Revenue * Martin Wilkes Heron (1850–1920),

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

and mixologist, creator of the liqueur known as Southern Comfort * John Joseph Kain (1841–1903), archbishop of St. Louis *

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

(1865–1907), inventor of the baseball catcher's mitt, a baseball pitcher, and a sporting goods manufacturer, in Baseball Hall of Fame. * Peter Richard Kenrick (1806–1896), first archbishop west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

* Charles Lucas (1792–1817), entrepreneur and legislator in the

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southe ...

; killed in a duel with U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton on Bloody Island * John Baptiste Charles Lucas (1758–1842), U.S. Representative who donated land for the Old Courthouse in St. Louis * Alexander McNair (1775–1826), first governor of the State of Missouri (1820–1824) * Virginia Sarpy Peugnet (1827–1917), one of the three original grand dames of St. Louis * James T. Rapier (1837–1883), one of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

's three black congressmen during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

* Thomas C. Reynolds (1821–1887), Confederate governor of

from 1862 to 1865 * Phyllis Schlafly (1924–2016), conservative author known for leading the opposition to the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

(1799–1858), slave who sued for freedom, resulting in the landmark

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

decision, Dred Scott v. Sandford * Ellen Ewing Sherman (1824–1888), wife of William Tecumseh Sherman *

(1820–1891), Union Army major general, noted for his " March to the Sea" campaign through

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

during the American Civil War. * Antoine Soulard (1766–1825), last surveyor general of

Upper Louisiana The Illinois Country ( ; ; ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana ( ; ), was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States. Whi ...

for the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

* Marie Julia Cérre Soulard (1775–1845) landowner who donated land for the Soulard Farmers Market in St. Louis * Raymond Tucker (1896–1970), mayor of St. Louis (1953–1965) * John Wesley Turner (1833–1899), Union Army brigadier general during the American Civil War * John Vitale (1909–1982),

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...

boss in St. Louis * James Wall (1863–1927), comedian and minstrel *

(1911–1983),

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning playwright * St. Louis Jane Doe (?–1983), an unidentified child who was found murdered in an abandoned house. She is buried in the Garden of Innocents, a section of the cemetery designated for unidentified decedents

References

External links

Calvary Cemetery Website
*
“Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri,”
''The Monumental News'', June 1894, pp. 283–285. {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, state=collapsed 1854 establishments in Missouri Cemeteries in St. Louis Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Roman Catholic cemeteries in Missouri Cemeteries established in the 1850s

History

Notable Calvary burials

See also

References

External links