My husband and I like to walk through cemeteries, looking at the various designs of the stones, and trying to find common dates indicating a mine disaster or disease outbreak. Many times you can see entire families buried together over many years. Sometime we have seen a double monument for spouses where only one person seems to be buried. We wonder if the other spouse moved or there wasn’t enough money or interest on the part of survivors to get a stone mason to add the date to the stone.
I’m sure other people like to do the same thing and I wonder what they think when they get to the Patrick-McCall section in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.
One third is heavily populated, another third has two stones and three cenotaphs, and one third looks empty because the two graves don’t have stones.
The section was purchased in 1865 by James and William Patrick and Frances McCall, William’s mother-in-law, and was divided equally among them. James and William’s parents had been buried in Pennsylvania when they passed away. However, the cemetery where they were buried was closed and James brought their remains to St. Louis. They are buried in the same grave #1/2 on August 9, 1865. Jane Patrick #3, James and William’s sister, soon followed in October when she died of complications from malaria, which she had caught as a Union Army nurse.
I am not sure why the section is divided in thirds because Eliza Jane’s parents were the only McCalls living in St. Louis at the time. In 1893, Eliza chose to bury William #16 in the McCall section and their children buried her #18 in between her parents #5 and #11 and William.
Two of Eliza and William’s children died when they were less than a year old. They died before this section was purchased so they must have been buried in another cemetery. In 1866, Henry died from Cholera when he was only seven years old. He must have been buried with his sisters because the Bellefontaine records show that all three of them were buried together in #8 on April 18, 1867.
McCall Section
As we have seen, the McCall section has few residents because there just weren’t that many McCalls in St. Louis. #9 is Eliza Jane Patrick, the 18 year old daughter of Eliza and James who died of tuberculosis in 1870. The three cenataphs and one grave are from the James Patrick side of the family. The cemetery records show two small graves without names.
James Patrick Section
James and his family seem to have stayed in St. Louis, for a couple generations at least. Then various members spread out to California.
William Patrick Section
Why are there only two graves in this section? Well, in 1877, William Francis went to Colorado to find his fortune. His brothers started following him by 1880 and then in 1886, William, Eliza, Clara, and Henrie Mae moved to Denver. Warner was the only one to be returned to St. Louis for burial in Bellefontaine #20.
And you?
As you can see, there is still plenty of plots left in the section. If you are descended from Frances McCall, William Patrick, or James Knox Patrick, you can be buried here also along with your ancestors.
There is more information on the Bellefontaine page.
