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An often-overlooked resource for finding our Irish immigrant ancestors is the information on their American tombstones. Opened in September 1851, Saint Bernard's Cemetery is the older of the two active cemeteries serving the Catholics of the New Haven area, the newer one being Saint Lawrence in West Haven which opened in 1890.
Many stones in Saint Bernard's were found to include the county, parish and even the town land of the migrant's birth - which may provide the only links to Irish records for some families. This book includes inscriptions from over 500 headstones which included a place within Ireland - whether county or locality within the county. Spouse and/or family members names and dates were included if useful to help identify the individual.
A few of the stones included the names of a family member having been "buried in the old cemetery." This was a reminder that the Irish American community had existed in New Haven for a generation before the opening of sent Bernard's. The first Catholic Church in New Haven was built in 1834 and the cemetery established adjacent to it at the intersection of York Street and Devonport Avenue in what was then the west end of the city.
Although not given the name of a patron saint, the cemetery simply became known as the Catholic Burial Ground or the Old Catholic Cemetery ultimately becoming the last resting place for over 600 parishioners. It is gratifying that we have in this book the opportunity to identify and memorialize more than 1000 of our ancestors buried in both historic cemeteries.
includes postage and handling
CT Irish-American Historical Society
c/o Mary McMahon
640 Arrowhead Drive
Orange, CT 06477
CT Irish-American
Heritage Trail
640 Arrowhead Drive
Orange, CT 06477
The Irish experience has had a profound impact on Connecticut's past, and its narrative spans all periods of the state's history and touches every one of its eight counties and 169 towns.
