St. Francis Xavier Cemetery

Marcellus, New York

By John P. Curtin

Adapted in large part from The Parish of St. Francis Xavier , Marcellus, New York, 1873-1973, pp. 23-24, by Katherine Heffernan

On April 21, 1862, while St. Francis Xavier Church was still a mission of St. Joseph’s Church at Camillus, Reverend William McCallion, the pastor serving the mission, was instrumental in purchasing two and one-half acres of land, on what was then known as Methodist Heights, for use as a cemetery. The land was purchased from George Gallup for the sum of two hundred sixty-five dollars. John Dunn became the owner of the first lot and the first burial in the newly consecrated cemetery was that of Roger Gannon.

By the 1920’s space in the cemetery was becoming limited and there was no adjacent land available for expansion. Reverend Thomas Driscoll, then pastor of St. Francis Xavier, negotiated the purchase of sixteen acres directly across the highway from the original cemetery. The land was purchased from the farm property of Jennie Coville for nine thousand seven hundred dollars. A portion of the land was laid out as a cemetery and consecrated in October, 1926 by Right Reverend Monsignor John J. Sheridan, representing Bishop Daniel Curley of Syracuse.

Shortly after the opening of the new section, the retaining wall was built along the Seneca Turnpike bordering the old cemetery.

A voluntary perpetual care fund had been set up to care for the old cemetery. Stephen Haney, caretaker of the cemetery for many years, had helped to build up the fund by urging all those who visited the cemetery to contribute to the fund. In the new section, a contribution for perpetual care is included in the purchase price of the lot.

In 1948, Father Hartnett was instrumental in erecting a statue of the Sacred Heart blessing the world on the hillside in the cemetery. The statue is cast from artificial stone which is supposed to withstand weathering and to look new for many years. The granite slab on which the statue rests was donated by Mrs. Cornelius Hayes and the stones which provided the base for the slab were from the old front steps of the church hall.

Offerings in excess of the cost of the statue were received and Father Hartnett began planning to use these and such other donations as became available for the erection of a crucifixion group at the highest level in the cemetery. He contracted for the group with the understanding that the individual figures would be delivered as funds became available.

The cross for the scene was constructed by Father Hartnett and Edward La Rose from the trunks of two locust trees which had grown on the hillside in the old cemetery. Unsolicited offerings made it possible to complete the group in the fall of 1953. All labor for the erection of the figures was donated and the installation was blessed on All Souls Day of that year.

Sometime around 1950, Martin Gleason donated a sum of $500 for building a new road in the cemetery. Mr. John Clark from St. Mary’s Cemetery in Syracuse was employed to lay out the road. Just as work was about to begin, the town superintendent of highways offered to donate his services in supervising the project. The town machinery could be used and gravel purchased at the same price as paid by the town. As it would be done at a time when the highway workers were out of work, they could be employed by the parish and thus received a couple of extra weeks of income. The offer was accepted. A water bound gravel road ten inches deep and sixteen feet wide was constructed in the new part of the cemetery. Later it was bound with oil.

The next year attention was turned to the old cemetery where it seemed that the grading of the lots must have been left to the discretion of the owner. Varying heights made cutting the grass a time consuming problem as each lot had to be done separately. The paths were neglected and beginning to be overgrown. John Dougherty of Skaneateles was employed to bring fill from the new part of the cemetery to level the paths and then grade the lots to the pathways. D. J. Smith with one of his machines spread the fill as Dougherty’s trucks dumped it. To be able to transport fill to the rear of the cemetery necessitated the removal of several trees and the construction of the present roadway.

Thomas Kelly, then president of the Holy Name Society secured volunteers to help in grading the lots. Some lots in the rear were raised as much as fifteen feet and large monuments were raised or lowered as needed under the direction of Cornelius Hayes. The grading was completed and the whole cemetery seeded when heavy snow came. Those who had labored so hard viewed the approach of Spring with apprehension but only in one spot was the fill washed out. Now the cemetery could be cared for with a minimum of time and labor.

Father Hartnett feels that this work was blessed from the start and wonders if the old time pioneers buried in the lots were praying for the success of the project. He also credits the late William Kirchoff with being the driving force behind much of the work in the cemetery.

Caretakers of St. Francis Xavier Cemetery have inlcuded Martin Hogan, Sr., Michael Lennon, Cornelius Lyons, John Heenan, Thomas Lennon, James Farrell, William Brott, Stephen Haney, Edward La Rose and Joseph Stopyro.

Addendum: From 1862 to 1888, the number of lots sold in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery (Section 1) was 210, and since the actual record of interment has not been found, this figure is being used to indicate the number of burials that took place. From 1888 to 1925, an additional 1138 interments took place in SFX Cemetery (Section 1) and from 1926 to 1994 an additional 77 burials took place in Section 1 of the Cemetery. From 1926 to 1994, approximately 920 interments have taken place in Section 2 of the Cemetery, about 500 in Section 3, and about 160 in Section 4. The total number of interments in SFX Cemetery during the period 1862-1994 is, then, over 3000.

SFX Cemetery Information, Rates, Policies – effective January 1, 2014

Selling gravesites – A buyer should first arrange for the sale with the cemetery sexton, who will show the site and then refer the buyer to the Pastoral Associate, who will determine whether the buyer is a parishioner or a non-parishioner, accept payment for the gravesite(s) and issue the deed(s). The sexton will keep a record of what graves are sold and will inform the Pastoral Associate. This will then create a double-entry record and an effective back-up system.

Grave(s) must be paid in full at the time of purchase. There has been a problem with the partial sale of graves. As of January 1st, those buyers who are in arrears will be notified that they will have six months to make full payment. After that, partial payments will be returned to the buyer(s) and the grave(s) will again be available for purchase. If there any extenuating financial circumstances in this regard, a request to the pastor should be made in writing.

Single Grave for full burial or cremains

$850.00 (parishioner and non-parishioner)

Three cremains allowed for single grave

Cremains do not require a vault – there is no guarantee that an urn, minus a vault, will not disintegrate (see disclaimer)

Opening and closing charges must be paid at the time of committal

Full burial – Monday thru Friday – $700.00
Full burial – Saturday – $800.00
Cremains – Monday thru Friday – $500.00
Cremains – Saturday – $600.00
Each cremain is a separate burial fee.

No Sunday burials

Death of a child – special arrangements to be made with the Pastor

Infants will always be buried at the head of the child’s mother’s grave

Monument sizes

Single grave – 24” wide or 60% of the width of a single grave (40”)
Double grave – 48” wide or 60% of the width of a double grave (80”)
Maximum height of any monument – 4” (four feet)
Foundation (concrete) – must be 42” deep and 1” larger than monument base – may vary with sexton’s recommendation
Foundation (concrete) fee – $.75 per square inch

No planting is allowed in SFX Cemetery

Disclaimer of Warranties:

St. Francis Xavier Cemetery makes no representation or warranties regarding urns not protected by an urn vault. St. Francis Xavier Cemetery hereby expressly disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, relating to urns/or containers, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

St. Francis Xavier Cemetery disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage from causes beyond its reasonable control and, especially, from damage caused by the elements, an act of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, strikers, malicious mischief makers, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasions, insurrections, riots, or order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or collateral, other than as herein provided.