Joseph Nunn and St. Michael’s Cemetery

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I received a reply to the email I sent over the weekend to the staff at St. Michael’s Cemetery in East Elmhurst, NY.

My Joseph, aka Casper Joseph, is buried there under the name of Casper J. “Munn.” The grave location was provided. Joseph died of endocarditis.  Simply, endocarditis is an infection of the inner lining of the heart. There are many types, so no way of knowing from which one Joseph suffered.

Also buried there, according to the records, is ten year old, “Jason Munn.”  Jason was buried 8 November 1894.

My previous research found ten children of Joseph and Catherine Nunn. But in documents I have, Catherine consistently states she had eleven children. When I learned of Jason, I thought I might have found the missing child. But the name didn’t seem right for this family’s naming patterns. I pulled out my family descendant chart and immediately saw that “Jason” was actually Joe Nunn, born in 1884 and died 6 November 1894.  The eleventh child is still a mystery.

I was informed there are no headstones since the burial site was not privately owned. Meaning they were interred in the areas of this cemetery assigned to other free churches, “to provide a final dignified resting place for the poor.”

I immediately thanked the Office Manager who attended to my request with such speed. I sent her the descendant chart for her records, hoping she might make note of the correct spelling of the names, and mailed off a check to cover the research fee. The information provided was worth every penny!!

Look Again

My recent monograph on the Nunn family begins at the time Joseph Nunn and Catherina Kurtz arrive in New York Harbor and pass through Castle Garden. I located who I believe to be Joseph and Catherina on passenger lists and have the ships’ names listed in the manuscript. Their fascinating story unfolds from there.

I now want to search Joseph’s roots in Germany, a process I have been too timid to tackle before.  Attendance at our German SIG has provided the incentive needed to start that process. I have begun to locate and sort out the many German resources.

Although I checked FamilySearch.org many times during the development of the monograph, the site did not have anything new on this family line. As I begin another chapter in the story, I looked again.

Look again. New to the site is Joseph’s death certificate information!!!!  Up to this point I did not have a death date for him, though I suspected it was sometime in May 1900.  Actually, Joseph Nunn, harness maker, died 28 May 1900, was buried 30 May 1900 in St. Michael’s Cemetery, East Elmhurst, New York.

A Google search for St. Michael’s Cemetery told me the cemetery is in the borough of Queens and is one of the oldest religious cemeteries in New York. It is owned and operated by the Episcopal Church. I thought, there must be another St. Michael’s cemetery, as surely Joseph would have been buried in a Catholic cemetery.

Look again. After searching for other St. Michael’s Cemeteries in the Metropolitan New York area, I went back to St. Michaels and read further.  I learned the cemetery was purchased in 1852 by the Rev. Thomas McClure Peters, and it was his intention to provide “a final dignified resting place for the poor.” Parcels of the cemetery were assigned to area churches and institutions for these burials.

It now made sense why Joseph was buried there. I sent off an email request for information on Joseph’s burial and asked if there was anyone else – his children – buried in the section for the poor.

My family continues true to form, however, and although FamilySearch.org has Joseph’s death information and the birth of his many children, no images are available!

But, I will . . . Look again.