St. Rose Catholic Church was started by the Dominican fathers in 1806; the present building was finished two years later. The predecessor of St. Rose, St. Anne, the first Catholic Church in the area, was located just down the road a mile or two. This was where many of the Maryland pioneers settled when they came to Washington County, Kentucky, in the latter years of the 18th century. Those earliest Catholics are buried in the cemetery where St. Anne’s church used to be – but there are no gravestones remaining. I stopped at the farm house where the church property was located, and talked with the farmer who owned the land. He said there is nothing there to indicate there was a church or a graveyard. So St. Rose Cemetery has the earliest gravestones for Catholics in Washington County.
The church sits at the top of a hill, and has a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. The belltower is topped with a circle of white crosses, making it look like a jeweled crown on the very top.
But as with many older cemeteries, some of the stones are broken, removed from their original graves, and many of the stones are exceptionally hard to read.
There are several piles of stones –
and some are placed around trees. This is much better than throwing old, broken stones away, but I feel bad that these stones no longer mark the gravesite of the person they represent.
I hope to get photos of all the stones in this cemetery as soon as possible – especially the older sections – to have a permanent record of the last resting place of the people buried in this cemetery.
The many and varied stones in this cemetery are quite interesting. Most of the people buried here have descendants who still live in the area.
The common surnames of Maryland pioneers – Smith, Spalding, Cambron, Clements, Edelen, Carrico, Montgomery and Hamilton – are seen not only on the older stones, but also the more recent ones.
Alexander Hamilton and his four wives are listed on this stone. This just shows the hardships of life in the early 19th century – especially concerning women and childbirth.
The McIlvoy and Polins came from Ireland and settled in this area.
Lots of history in this cemetery – as there is in any. History we don’t want to lose! Let’s keep alive the memory of the people buried here – for future generations!
Categories: Cemeteries, Family Stories, Genealogy Ramblings
I find it outrageous a church would allow this to happen to the resting places of their parishioners. Am so glad you are making a record of them.
I’ll do my best!
Reblogged this on Annette J Dunlea Irish Author.
So much damage was done through the wars, and I imagine grave robbery was at an all time high, too. My daughters’ father was descended from all the Maryland pioneers. Thank you so much for the pictures! Please notify me if I can help you with those stones! They should at least be somehow preserved. God bless you!
My great-great grandmother was a Polin whose family lived in Springfield. I think I want to research this cemetery a little more to find out if any of my relatives are buried there.
What was her name? Captain John Linton’s daughter, Martha, married a Captain Charles E. Powell in 1813 in Virginia. Charles died during the War of 1812, November 22, 1814. Martha and Charles had one daughter, Mary Edwards Powell, who came with her mother and grandfather when they moved to Washington County, Kentucky. Mary married John H. Polin in 1839 and had 7 children. Could this be your family?
I am working on my family tree the surname is Edelen. As you stated it is a very popular name in Nelson county which my grandfather came from bardstown kentucky. Any information you have on the surname I would love to see. My decedent’s are James Raymond Edelen. Joseph polin Edelen.
I’m related to a Sarah Spalding, married to Henry Fenwick. I have not been able to find a record of her parents. Do you know of any individuals who might be her parents?
Sarah Elizabeth Fenwick, born March 15, 1867; Catherine Alice Fenwick, born July 4, 1869; Elizabeth Mary Fenwick, born August 17, 1873; Henrietta Bridget Fenwick, born April 24, 1871; Thomas Young Fenwick, born December 28, 1876; Henry Lancaster Fenwick, born June 18, 1878; Theodore Franklin Fenwick, born August 9, 1880; are all children of Henry and Sarah Elizabeth Spalding Fenwick, and baptized at St Rose Catholic Church, Washington County. Could not find a marriage in Washington County. They may have married in Marion County, but I do not have access to those records at this time. Her paents could be Franklin Spalding and Matilda Ryan from the Calvary area of Marion County.
Thank you so much! Would you happen to know of any records assisting in the family records of Dianna Logsdon, wife to William Smith, mother of Anna Elizabeth, Allice, Alexander, William Alphonso, Mary “Mollie”, and Joseph? I have no record of either Dianna or William’s parents.
Dianna and William married July 20, 1858, in Washington County, at W. Logsdon. Witnesses were Alexander Thomson and Catherine Logsdon. Bond was procured July 19th, with Thomas G. Fenwick as bondsman. According to the marriage records, Dianna was born in Madison County. She was 27 and William 24 when they married. On Ancestry Dianna’s parents are listed as William Logsdon and Nancy Ann Worland. The youngest child of William Logsdon and Nancy Ann Worland is listed in St. Rose baptisms – Pius Richard Logsdon, baptized September 28, 1838.
Not sure when this was written and posted but everything stated here was true…. But no longer. I have personally been cleaning, restoring and resetting all the stones in the old sections of St. Rose Cemetery for the past two years. Go visit there now, you will have a different opinion. Thanks. Larry Fenwick – Springfield, KY.