CATHOLIC CEMETERIES

80-01 METROPOLITAN AVENUE
P.O. BOX 59
MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY 11379-2991
PHONE (718) 894-4888
FAX (718) 326-4105
www.cathcemetery-bklyn.org
CEMETERY
St. John's Cemetery
80-01 Metropolitan Ave.
Middle Village, NY 11379
(718) 894-4888
Holy Cross Cemetery
3620 Tilden Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11203
(718) 284-4520
Mount St. Mary Cemetery
172-00 Booth Memorial Ave.
Flushing, NY 11365
(718) 353-1560
St. Charles / Resurrection Cemetery
P.O. Box 149
Conklin Street
Farmingdale, NY 11735
(631) 249-8700
Most Holy Trinity Cemetery

675 Central Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11207
(718) 894-4888

Tablet - August 2, 2003 - Brooklyn and Queens - Vol. 96, No. 19, pp 7 & 12

Historic Buschwick Cemetery 
	Metal and wooden crosses of all shapes and styles dot the landscape of Most Holy Trinity Cemetery in Buschwick.  
The diocesan burial site, once the final resting place for German Catholics from Williamsburg, now serves a changed 
population of the surrounding neighborhood...
	Page 12
	The Editor's Space
	Little Known Cemetery Holds Piece of Diocesan History
	by Ed Wilkinson
  If you've never heard of Most Holy Trinity Cemetery in Brooklyn, you're not alone.  If you've never been there, you're still in the majority.  
Most people couldn't find the 23-acre graveyard if they had the directions.
  
Nestled at the end of Central Avenue in Buschwick and bounded by the much larger Evergreen Cemetery and the Wilson Ave. station on the L train, 
Most Holy Trinity Cemetery offers a glimpse into an old part of Brooklyn that was once inhabited by German Catholics.

  It began as a churchyard burial grounds adjacent to Most Holy Trinity Church, about three miles away in Williamsburg.  Located on the corner of Montrose 
and Graham Aves., it was first blessed by Bishop John HUGHES of New York in 1841 before the establishment of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
  
Father John RAFFEINER, a pioneer priest among German Catholics, first in Manhattan and then in Brooklyn, founded Trinity parish and along with it the 
cemetery.

  When plans were being drawn up to build a new church, Father RAFFEINER, who served as the first German Vicar General of the Diocese, 
moved the cemetery to four acres that he purchased in Brooklyn for $1,085.  He transferred all the remains from the original parish burial grounds 
at the church and opened the new site in October, 1851.

  To ensure uniformity and humility, a rule was passed that all grave markers would have to be made of wood or hollow metal.  Until recently, 
that guideline was kept on the books except for the burial of Father RAFFEINER on July 19, 1861.  His resting place was marked with stone.
 Father RAFFEINER's remains are entombed there along with several other pastors whose names are etched in diocesan history.  
For instance, there is Msgr. George METZGER, who died as pastor of St. Thomas Apostle, Woodhaven.

  Many of the markers are painted to camouflage them as granite or marble.  A visitor to the cemetery almost has to touch them to discover the true material. 
The original restrictions have been lifted and the more modern graves are marked in stone, which are simple and inlaid in the ground.  Some descendants 
have chosen to restore their relatives' sites rather than repaint them.

  Many of the early graves contain crosses of different sizes and shapes and styles.  One newspaper account around the beginning of the 20th century 
referred to Most Holy Trinity as "this extraordinary spectacle of a multiplied Golgotha."  It goes on to say that "Toward nightfall when the 
shadows of the crosses begin to lengthen and a deeper hush than usual falls upon the place the visitor gets a strangely weird impression."
  
The names of the deceased are also beginning to change.  While just about every plot belongs to BACH, ZIMMER, the latest, as yet unmarked 
graves belong to CRUIZ, SOTO and PEREZ.

  The Diocesan Catholic Cemeteries staff said that current burials reflect more the people of the surrounding community and that gravesites are still 
available there, as they are at all diocesan cemeteries.

  The Diocesan Catholic Cemeteries Office maintains the site in a meticulous manner, manicuring the grass and keeping the place in good shape 
for those who manage to find the cemetery.  

  On a recent afternoon, a rabbit hopped across some wood chips near a groundskeeper's office.  A worker with ear plugs and construction helmet 
used a buzz saw to prune tree limbs.  Only the dead within could remember when their Brooklyn neighborhood was German.
Trinity Cemetery
Albany Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11701
(718) 894-4888
St. Mary Star Of The Sea Cemetery
Rockaway Turnpike
Lawrence, NY 11559
(718) 894-4888
St. Monica Cemetery
160th Street & Liberty Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11433
(718) 894-4888
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery
21st Street & 26th Avenue
Astoria, NY 11102
(718) 894-4888

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH OR INTERMENT USING REQUEST Genealogical/interment information requests must be submitted in writing to the respective cemetery :


HOLY CROSS CEMETERY
3620 Tilden Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11203 
(718) 284-4520 

MT. ST. MARY CEMETERY
172-00 Booth Memorial Avenue
P.O. Box 149
Flushing, NY 11365 
(718) 353-1560 

ST. CHARLES/RESURRECTION CEMETERIES 
P.O. Box 149 
Conklin Street 
Farmingdale, NY 11735 
(631) 249-8700 

MOST HOLY TRINITY & TRINITY CEMETERIES :
c/o
St. John Cemetery
80-01 Metropolitan Avenue
Middle Village, NY 11379-2991

__________________________________________

From the Catholic Cemetery site: July 2001

Genealogical Research is defined as the following:
  1. A listing of the location of six (6) or more decedents ($($65.00); ($15.00) for each additional location).
  2. List of interments of two gravesites ($70.00); ($30.00) for each additional site.
  3. Provides names of all deceased in gravesite, age of deceased, and date of interment.
  4. Genealogical Research-Provides name of deceased, age of deceased, date of death, date of interment, board of health permit number, funeral home name and address. (Dependent upon information availability) Fee for up to (3) decendents ($90.00), plus ($15.00) for each additional decedent within the same gravesite.
  5. Extensive Legal/Corporate/Genealogy Consultant requests ($210.00) per gravesite; up to three (3) decedents, plus ($45.00) for each additional decedent in same gravesite.
In addition to your request and mailing address, please include your check, made payable to Catholic Cemeteries. Upon receipt of your check, please allow 4-6 weeks to complete your request. Back to CEMETERY INDEX Back to BROOKLYN Page Main