I am very excited to share with you a new book, finished yesterday – St. Charles Catholic Church – Cemetery Photos Through 1890.  Ritchey and I photographed the entire cemetery – not in one day!! – but several different days from 2009-2014.  What enjoyable days, spending the time at my home church in Marion County, and doing what I love most – genealogy – and with my favorite person!  The book is 8 ½ X 11, one photo per page, with birth and death information, also spouse, if known.

There are 239 photographs of stones of those buried by 1890.  Joseph Mattingly was the first buried at St. Charles in 1820 – at least according to the stones that I photographed, I’m sure there were early settlers who had no stone to mark their graves.  His stone lists him as born in 1760, most likely in Maryland, as the faithful moved from there to Kentucky in the early 1780’s.    From The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky by the Hon. Ben J. Webb, we find that three Mattingly brothers, William, Leonard and Lucas, came from St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 1786.  Leonard Mattingly, the second brother, is listed as having the following children – Leonard, Basil, John, William, Joseph, Ignatius, Jane, Margaret, Susan and another daughter name unknown.  Perhaps this is our Joseph?  He would be the correct age!  Joseph married Hessina Hinton.

There are 189 soles buried during this time period for which there are no gravestones.  These names were taken from an early parish list and incorporated into my list, giving a total of 428.  They are noted with NS. 

The statistics were very interesting.  There are 75 children from the age of 0 to 9; 35 from 10 to 19; and 73 from 20 to 29 who died during this time, for a total of 183.  The first represents the high mortality rate for infants and young children, common for the time period.  But I think the 73 deaths from 20 to 29 is more astonishing.  Young adults were stricken with tuberculosis, respiratory infections, fevers and dysentery.  Young mothers, 20 to 30 years old, were at a risk of death during childbirth.  Cholera attacks occurred in the 1830’s, 1840’s and 1850’s and took many lives, young and old.

Our middle group, aged 30 to 69, has a total of 169 deaths, but over a larger span of ages.  This group was susceptible to the same  deaths as the first group – but also accidents, age related illnesses such as heart problems and strokes.  In addition, the Civil War took many lives, especially soldiers who would be in this age group, as well as some from the first group.

And in the older group, 70-93, there were 76 deaths.  These people were the rock stars of their time, beating the odds of illness, injury and accidents to achieve incredible ages!  The oldest was Elizabeth Roney, nee Wright, born September 26, 1796, and died May 10, 1889.  93 years young!  Her husband, Edward Roney, reached the age of 78!  Mary Carrico, born December 23, 1783 and died April 21, 1873, lived to be 90, as well as Basel Payne, January 9, 1771 – March 21, 1861.  Robert Cook reached 92, 1759 – November 5, 1851.

Mattingly, by far, is the most common surname in my list – 58 individuals!  Beaven, Browning, Cecil/Cissell, Elder, Hamilton, Lancaster, Miles, Mudd, O’Daniel, Rhodes, Russell, Smith, Spalding, Thompson and Walker are also in abundance.

You can purchase my book on Amazon – search by the title, or my name and genealogy books.