Cemetary Remains Relocated

The First United Methodist Church, Washington NC began plans for a building expansion in 2007.  The congregation had built their first Church located on 2nd street in 1832.  Previously they had worshiped in “The Little Red Church” built by Ralph Potts on Market Street.  In the years since 1832 the church had gradually acquired, through donation or purchase, all of the property between 2nd Street to the South, 3rd Street to the North, Van Norden to the West and Gladden Street to the East.   A portion of this land at the corner of Van Norden and 3rd Street was the site of the first Catholic Church built in North Carolina. Lewis LeRoy had given the land to the Roman Catholic Church in 1823 on which to build a church and place a burying ground. This church was named St. John the Evangelist.     

The building committee of the Methodist Church determined that the St. John the Evangelist cemetery would need to be moved to allow for the planned expansion of the church facilities and the parking lot.  A contract was signed with R. Ward Sutton Cemetery Services to move the cemetery.  Documents were filed with the Washington city clerk stating the congregation’s desire to move the cemeteries and requesting a resolution from the City Council authorizing this move.     

The city attorney determined that the City Council did not need to authorize the move according to statutes stating that a church may move a cemetery that is on it’s own property.  The Church Council of the First United Methodist Church therefore adopted a resolution to move the cemetery.  A public notice was placed in the Washington Daily News notifying any next of kin who might want to come forward.  This notice ran in the Washington Daily News for four weeks in August and September 2009.  No calls were received from next of kin.     

Extensive research was done using documents from Beaufort Hyde Martin Regional Library, Brown Library and a diagram of the St. Johns the Evangelist Church site provided by Mother of Mercy Catholic Church.  The names on the diagram and those listed in the Parish Registers of St. John the Evangelist 1808-1911 were compared and an approximate number of 49 determined as a possible number of people still interred in the abandoned Catholic cemetery.  No records of any names possibly still buried on original Methodist land were found.     

    

During the course of this research much was learned about the history of the first Roman Catholic Church in North Carolina.  The church was built in 1828, consecrated in 1829 by the Right Rev. John England, DD.  The church was burned to the ground and the cemetery desecrated as the Northern Army of occupation left town on April 30, 1864.  The congregation had largely scattered and did not rebuild the church.  Those remaining worshiped in private homes for many years.  After 1900 the then Bishop Haid tried to reclaim the property.  Colonial law of 1720 had allowed the land to be used by others since the church had not used the land after 1864.    A copy of documents, including the original deed from 1823 can be found in the Methodist Church history files.     

Having obtained all of the needed documents the process of disinterment of the Catholic Cemetery began on September 29th.       

    

R. Ward Sutton produced documents designating rows and numbering gravesite locations. Pictures were taken of each grave with these numbers.   The disinterment was finished on October 5.  The contents of each grave had been placed in a separate wood box marked with the grave number.  Thirty-four graves were moved.
                        
Re-interment was to be at Oakdale Cemetery.  Research had determined that the Methodist Church owned three plots (8 grave sites each) at Oakdale Cemetery.  The Ladies Aid Society and the Christian Workers Society of the church had purchased these plots in 1903 prior to a Sunday school building program finished in 1918. The Sunday school building was placed on the sight of a Methodist Cemetery next to the Sanctuary.  Of the 24 spaces purchased, 12 remained unused. The remains from the Catholic Cemetery were in boxes that were small enough to place 6 per grave space.  Oakdale Cemetery, however, had a local ordinance that only one person could be buried per space. Ward Sutton and Harry Tubaugh took a proposal to the City Council for variance to the ordinance to allow the church to bury up to six boxes per grave space.  This was granted 10/12/2009.
Re-interment was accomplished on 10/21/2009.  Father Arturo Cabra of Mother of Mercy Catholic Church consecrated the ground prior to the burials and conducted a service following the burials.  Reverend Danny Allen and Pat Vore were in attendance.
On Sunday November 1 in pouring rain, many of the members of the First United Methodist Church attended a graveside service of remembrance.  The following was written in the November 1, 2009 bulletin Opportunities section.     

 
“Immediately following the 11:00am worship service, we will travel to Oakdale Cemetery and assemble as a church family for a graveside service to honor the memories of the 34 persons whose lives after 150 years still give witness to their faith as their remains are reinterred.  These Saints, known only to God, were first buried in the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church Cemetery and have been relocated to Oakdale with tender care and respect.  We will give witness to our shared faith across the years as we recommit their remains to the grave and their spirits to God.  All who are able are asked to attend and become the family for those whose graves were moved.”
A monument was placed on the gravesite in March 2010.
 
On March 10, 2010 during the soup and sermon ecumenical service at the First Baptist Church Reverend Danny Allen pastor and the Rev. Susan Harrison, associate pastor, First United Methodist Church were presented with an icon of Saint John the Evangelist by Father Arturo Cabra, pastor of Mother of Mercy Catholic church.  The gift was given “In thanksgiving for the respectful and professional exhumation and recommittal of the former Catholics who laid in the cemetery grounds on the Methodist church property.     

Front of monument.