Marist Cemetery
In 1909 Brother Charles Camille, assistant master of novices,
died from meningitis after an illness of only three days. Thus
the brothers decided to establish their own cemetery in a
small hollow at the south end of the property and Brother
Charles was the first to be buried there. In 1913 Brother
Angelicus, assistant general, urged the Provincial Council to
make this the definitive grave site and to beautify it.
It was modeled on traditional cemeteries in rural France. In
1921 it was surrounded by a white stone wall built by Brother
Paul Acyndinus. Each grave, which was dug by the novices,
was marked with a cross monument displaying biographical
information such as date of birth, death and number of years
with vows. As the cemetery expanded, the rock encountered
made the regular use of a jack hammer necessary. The last
grave was filled in 1953, and a larger cemetery was
developed on the Marist Brothers' property in Esopus, New
York.
The photo on the lower left shows how the cemetery looked
for a period of 80 years. It was not large, containing only 48
graves. The graves were laid very close to one another with a
head stone marking each grave.
In 1960, the college purchased eight acres south of the
cemetery from the New York Central Railroad. For about a
decade the college filled in the field between the cemetery
and the railroad spur which made the hollow more
pronounced. By 1972 the area south of the cemetery became
the obvious choice for a modern field house.
The first choice was to move the remains from the
Poughkeepsie cemetery to the one in Esopus. The college
attorneys warned that New York State had strict laws
concerning the relocation of graves. Permission of the heirs
had to be obtained, and since the deceased were never
married, the 'heirs' were their siblings and their descendants.
Since most of them had lived in France, this made relocation
of the cemetery virtually impossible.
Brother Nilus Vincent Donnelly suggested that the cemetery
remain in place, but the ground be filled to the height of the







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surrounding areas. He personally laid the individual grave
markers over each grave, then bulldozed the walls inward
and began the processing of adding 20 feet of fill. He noted
the exact boundaries of the cemetery and the college agreed
never to build on the site.
The college purchased a large single monument listing the
names of those buried in the cemetery and placed it over the
cemetery grounds. The names are also included in a special
plaque at the base of the Calvary scene in the Esopus
cemetery.

*click on any image to enlarge*

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Project Directors
Dr. Brian Henry Desilets
Dr. Linus Richard Foy
John Patrick Noone
From the beginning, Marist Heritage has been a collaborative effort.
We appreciate the contributions of the Marist Brothers and the Marists All
community, who by supplying information and personal memories, have given vitality,
scope and depth to this project
Under the guidance and direction of Dr. Brian Henry Desilets, the initial web pages
were designed and created by the following Marist College students: Michele van
Brero (Hermitage, St. Peter's, Kieran Gate House, Greystone, Marist Brothers
Builders, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel) ..... Tage Haun (Bech Homestead, Marian,
Donnelly) ..... Fang Fang Xu (Boat House, Byrne House, Kirk House) ..... Courtney Gutt
(Bech Family History) ..... Vij Iyer (Cemetery) ..... Rahkee Chopra (Fontaine Hall).
All the final Marist Heritage web pages were either created, revised, rewritten
and/or reshaped by John Patrick Noone, who is solely responsible for any errors
contained therein.
We thank Richard Branigan for proofreading the Marist Heritage web pages.
We recognize the contributions of our consultants: John Ansley for his input on the
format and contents of the various web pages. Also Victor VanCarpels for his
frequent consultations and guidance in the graphics included in this CD. His
patience and dedication while working with us made the overall results more
professional.
We are grateful to Barbara McMullen for the use of the Ecommerce facility at Marist
College.
We are indebted to the Mccann Foundation which provided the funds necessary to make
this project a reality.
John Patrick Noone, editor
November 15, 2002
*this page is printer ready
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