Showing posts with label headstone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label headstone. Show all posts

Monday, May 9, 2016

My Father's Visit To The Heavenly Rest Cemetery, Windsor Ontario

In March 2016, my father visited Heavenly Rest cemetery in Windsor, Ontario
and photographed the headstones of his family
As a young girl, on our many trips back and forth between Mimico and Windsor, Ontario, my family  would make time to visit the Heavenly Rest cemetery to pay our respects to our ancestors who had passed..It has been years since I have visited there

On a recent trip (March 2016), my father obligingly took photographs for me of our ancestors headstones.

Only 27% of the graves/headstones at Heavenly Rest cemetery in Windsor have been photographed at "Find A Grave" and our ancestors headstones have NOT. So I am eternally grateful for my father doing this for me so that I can share them here on this family history blog.

My father's headstones photographs are presented below in alphabetical order with links to any blog posts that I may have already written about that ancestor..

Elizabeth (Annal) Coughlin

Elizabeth Coughlin 1884-1953
Blog posts:

Lawrence Coughlin

Lawrence Coughlin 1916-1992

Victoria M. Coughlin
 
Victoria M. Coughlin (1920-1999)
William I. Coughlin

William I. Coughlin (1947-1971)

William H. Coughlin 

William H. Coughlin (1872-1952)
Blog Posts:
 
Ida Marie Demarse

Ida Marie Demarse (1890-1964)

Mary M. (Coughlin) Demarse

Mary M. (Coughlin) Demarse (1900-1929)
Blog Posts:

Joseph P. Demarse

Joseph P. Demarse (1896-1981)

Gretta (Coughlin) Langlois 
Gretta (Coughlin) Langlois (1910-1988)
Blog Posts

M. Rose Lacroix

M. Rose Lacroix (1909-2002)
Betty and Austin Lauzon
Betty (Demarse) Lauzon () Austin Lauzon (1922-1999)


LeFaive 

Joan Lefaive (1935-1984)

 Blog Posts:

McHugh

Patricia (Moynahan) McHugh (1930-1993) and Edward J. McHugh (1928-2005)

 Blog Posts:

Mabel A. (Moynahan) Morkin 

Mabel Morkin (1902-1945)

 Blog Posts:


Bernard Moynahan 

(Bernard Moynahan 1909-1974)
 Blog Posts:

Ernest Moynahan

Ernest Moynahan (1900-1974)
 Blog Posts:

Gerald Moynahan

Gerald Moynahan (1908-1961)
Blog Posts:

 
Shirley (Brazeau) and John Moynahan 

John Moynahan (1934-1987) and Shirley (Brazeau) Moynahan (1935-1997)
 Blog Posts:

John Moynahan 

John Moynahan (1886-1933)
Blog Posts:

 
Mary (Broderick) Moynahan 

Mary (Broderick) Moynahan (1869-1960)
 Blog Posts:

Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan 

Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan (1902-1992)
 Blog Posts:




Family Visits to Cemeteries & Grave Tending

Visits to the cemetery or mausoleum provides a concrete way to demonstrate that the deceased has not been forgotten. It is also an opportunity to tend to the grave - place fresh flowers, add a wreath, trim any overgrowth.

A visit to the cemetery also allows time and space for unfinished conversations between generations.

Though there are not prescribed times for visitation at cemeteries within the Catholic tradition, many find comfort and strength on visiting the grave site of a loved one on special occasions or holidays. It is appropriate for family and friends to visit on the birthday of the deceased, the wedding anniversary of the deceased, the anniversary of the death, or other special holidays. Some families pick a special day of the year to have loved ones gather and visit several grave sites on the same day.

The Irish Catholic Traditions in Dealing with Death

Long ago, the Irish were famous for wakes. The traditional wake was a merry celebration of the deceased’s life, where copious amounts of snuff and alcohol were taken, songs were sung and games were played.

Read more about the Irish and death by visiting links below





Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Tombstone Tuesday - The St Alphonsus' Moynahans

St Alphonsus Cemetery, Windsor, Ontario
I love this Moynahan headstone at the St Alphonsus cemetery in Windsor, Ontario. I have no idea of the scale of it because I have never seen it personally, but I like to think that it is large enough for someone to sit on, like a bench, and reflect.

What inspired this design? Who created it? Who was it created for?

I know that Timothy (1813-1902), Archange (1824-1903), Enos (59-1895) and James (1865-1899) Moynahan are buried in the St. Alphonsus cemetery. This headstone is likely theirs.

James Moynahan's headstone at St Alphonsus is below. Notice the similar wood log design.

As soon as I posted this on social media, Brenda Corby suggested that perhaps my ancestor was a "Woodsmen of the World" (WOW) which has nothing to do with chopping wood!

Woodmen of the World and the Tree Stone Grave Markers writes:
"If you visit cemeteries often, you’ve probably noticed the tree stone monuments, especially in the West, Midwest and South. As mentioned last Tuesday, two organizations are given credit for their proliferation, Modern Woodmen of America and Woodmen of the World."
To explore the group that is responsible for the sheer number of them and why, visit this ling at A Grave Interest: http://agraveinterest.blogspot.ca/2011/06/woodmen-of-world-and-tree-stone-grave.html

Source: Canada GenWeb's Cemetry Project
http://geneofun.on.ca/names/photo/622359?PHPSESSID=bd469930d83769dcb649f0eefa44dc8c

I will have to make further inquiries through the St. Alphonsus cemetery records.  But for now, I am delighted and intrigued by this unusual Moynahan headstone.

James Moynahan 1865-1899
Source: Essex County Branch OGS: Obituary file
Source: Detroit Free Press: Saturday Feb 25, 1899


Timothy Moynahan (1813-1902)


Source: Windsor Evening Record, Oct 22, 1902

Archange (Parent) Moynahan (1824-1903),


Detroit Free Press, June 30, 1903

Source: Detroit Free Press, June 29, 1903

Michigan State Death Certificate: Archange Moynahan, death June 27, 1903


Source: St. Alphonsus Church Record: Internments

Detroit Free Press Aug 8, 1903



Detroit Free Press Aug 9, 1903

Detroit Free Press Aug 11, 1903

Links
Canadian Woodmen Head Office was in London, Ontario

Images below from





Thursday, July 3, 2014

Grateful for CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project

I have immense gratitude for the creators of and volunteers at CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project.

On June 25, CanGenWeb published a cemetery update that included cemeteries in Kent and Essex counties in Ontario. Thanks to this update, I found a Kent county Moynahan, Timothy Moynahan's (1848-1925) headstone in Essex county's St Francis Xavier Cemetry:

St Francis Xavier Cemetery
I also located a good number of Moynahans that are not in my ancestry.ca Moynahan family tree!


The Cemetery Project debuted in 2004 as a volunteer project of CanadaGenWeb and currently offers a free and searchable listing of over 18,000 known Canadian cemeteries.

 This volunteer built database offers a variety of information geared towards genealogists:

  • Names, locations & histories of cemeteries 
  • Links to repositories & genealogy organizations that offer further information and/or assistance 
  • Lookup offers, transcripts, indexes, and photos compiled by volunteers.


More Links
Old Photograph of Thatcher Granite and Marble Monuments in Chatham
Photograph from Chatham-Kent Museum Collections