Birds-Eye View of Calvary Cemetery, 1855

Here is an image that is new to me. The Museum of the City of New York shared a Bird’s-Eye View of Calvary Cemetery from 1855, which shows a landscape barely recognizable compared to the Calvary of today.

In 1855 Calvary had been open for 7 years. At the time everyone thought Archbishop Hughes was nuts for buying such a huge swath of land. It rapidly expanded from ten to hundreds of acres as capacity was reached time and again.

The detail in this image is striking, showing the railroad that used to arrive at the cemetery’s front gate, with detail down to the signage that read “RAIL ROAD CROSSING LOOK OUT FOR THE CARS”.

One particularly striking detail is the presence of an enormous black cross with notches on its side. I’ve never seen or heard mention of such a huge structure at Calvary, and I wonder if it was taken down intentionally or if it succumbed to elements.

Here is what funeral processions looked like at Calvary in the 1850s:

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (August, 13, 1884) presented this summary of Calvary’s history up until that time.

Calvary was established thirty-air years ago this present month by Archbishop Hughes, and consisted of but ten acres. The great divine was thought to be extravagant then, but now the cemetery incloses fully three hundred acres and is filling up so fast that additional land will have to be purchased. There are a good many farms of hundreds of acres lying contiguous, and persons now living may see the cemetery streatching out over one thousand acres. The first body buried in the cemetery was that of Esther Ennis, an Irish emigrant, who died suddenly in New York. Her funeral, and, in fact all funerals from New York for a considerable period of time, proceeded up Newtown Creek by boat from the foot of Twenty-third street. Hunter’s Point was all a meadow, and there was not a house in Blissville. Now there are several hundred, and every other house is a barroom. In order to keep drinking places a respectful distance the cemetery authorities have  purchased considerable land, and are preparing to erect hot houses thereon to supply the cemetery with plants. The man who dug the first grave was John McCann. He is still employed In the cemetery, but in the less laborious capacity of gate keeper. For a time he dug all the graves himself. In the cholera year he had to have many assistants, and they were hard to get, as men ran away from the presence of the coffins, notwithstanding the price was $10 apiece for each body interred. Mr. McCann saw as many as 250 bodies awaiting burial. He was not afraid of cholera. He is a rich man now, and owns a fine plot. The funerals at the present time average fifty a day, but sometimes as many as a hundred bodies are put under ground. The pay roll of the cemetery amounts to $14,000 a month.

It’s interesting how John McCann, a gravedigger who appears to have spent most of his life working at the cemetery, got rich on account of the cholera epidemic. McCann buried bodies that others were afraid to handle for fear of getting the disease. He himself appears to be buried at Calvary (if I read this excerpt correctly), though I know not where.

The New York State Census for 1892 shows one John McCann, aged 65, living in Long Island City. Could that be the same John McCann? That same census shows someone by that name, also aged 65, living in Brooklyn. Given his wealth he could well have owned two homes.

This insignia is unfamiliar to me, but probably represented St. Patrick’s Diocese:

Another interesting point from the Brooklyn Eagle story is that St. Patrick’s Diocese bought up land not just for burials but to serve as buffer between the cemetery grounds and the area’s endless supply of saloons. Today there is a pub right across the street from Calvary. I guess the Diocese gave up!

As interesting as it is I do not think I am willing to pony up $240 for a 20×24 print when a digital download would allow me to print it myself at a small fraction of that cost. Still, it’s cool that the Museum of the City of New York made the map available online.

I happened to be at Calvary yesterday, where I spotted another relic that was new to me but probably should not have been. I happened across the burial site of Esther Ennis, the first person to be buried at the newly-consecrated Calvary Cemetery in 1848. Ms. Ennis is also mentioned in the Brooklyn Eagle story quoted above. I just happened upon it, and would never have thought to look for it. I would have assumed the exact spot was unknown and remained unmarked.

I never sought out Esther Ennis because I do not assign any particular prestige to her being the first burial at Calvary. To me it’s a useless piece of random trivia. It’s not as if she was chosen for the honor. If it was so significant then why was her burial left unmarked for over 150 years? Nevertheless, as trivia bits go, it’s a harmless detail.