After waiting close to eight weeks, my long awaited Internment Report has arrived for the Beattie’s and Tierney’s buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. After paying $75 for the report, I find it raised more questions than it really resolved.
Back in July 2008, I made a trip to Holy Cross after learning from two death certificates that James F. Tierney and Mary Dillon Beattie were buried separately there. The staff at Holy Cross was kind enough to point me to the two grave sites which were on opposite ends of the cemetery.
I first went to visit the grave of James F. Tierney. Unfortunately, the grave was nice, but quite generic, listing only the last name “Tierney”. There were absolutely no details on anyone buried there.
So then I went to the Beattie grave. I was quite happy to see several names listed on the stone including Jonathan, Mary, Francis, Edward Sheridan and Elizabeth Beattie Sheridan. One name that surprised me was that of Philip McCarthy. To my knowledge, we had no links to any McCarthy’s in our family tree. Who could this be? A family friend? A distant relative?
So armed with a dozen or so questions, I proceeded back to the Cemetery office. Unfortunately, I was informed that any internment information on the graves would have to be researched and that I would have to send a letter, along with a check for $75, requesting the report.
grrrrrrrrrrr… So at least the report is finally here.
The Tierney Grave
Nothing real surprising at the Tierney grave, although I did not really expect to see brother Thomas or son James there. I was hoping that James’ father or mother would be buried there so I could dig up some more info about them. But I’ll take what I can get.
| Name | Age at Death | Date of Internment | My Notes |
| James F. Tierney | 36 y | 11/6/1896 | |
| *John Tierney | 9 mo. | 11/6/1896 | Son of Frank and May Tierney |
| Thomas Tierney | 44 y | 9/16/1919 | Brother of James F. |
| James Tierney | 37 y | 12/15/1931 | Son of James F. |
| Sarah Beattie Tierney | 85 y | 3/12/1946 | Wife of James F. |
The Beattie Grave
Now here is where I was caught completely by surprise.
| Name | Age at Death | Date of Internment | My Notes |
| Jonathan J. Beattie | 83 y | 1/11/1913 | |
| Mary Dillon Beattie | 78 y | 1/22/1913 | Wife of Jonathan |
| Elizabeth Beattie | 12/16/1897 | No idea. | |
| *Frank Beattie | 39 y | 12/11/1896 | Son of Jonathan |
| *Francis Dillon | 45 y | 4/24/1893 | Brother of Mary Dillon Beattie? |
| *Sarah McDermott | 55 y | 1/30/1895 | No idea. Perhaps sister to Francis and Mary? |
| Julia Beattie | 6 m | 6/11/1899 | No idea. |
| Mary Beattie & Infant | 40 y | 3/2/1904 | No idea. Maybe wife of John J.? |
| Francis Beattie | 1 y | 5/25/1904 | No idea. |
| John Beattie | 15 y | 12/28/1907 | No idea. |
| George Sheridan | 71 y | 7/8/1940 | Husband of Elizabeth Beattie (below) |
| Elizabeth Beattie Sheridan | 81 y | 2/15/1958 | Daughter of Jonathan Beattie and wife of George |
| Edward Sheridan | 54 y | 5/4/1955 | Son of George and Elizabeth |
| Philip McCarthy | 77 y | 2/6/1971 | No idea who the McCarthy’s are |
| Mary McCarthy | 95 | 11/9/1990 | Wife of Philip (Maybe a Beattie?) |
| Rev Joseph McCarthy | 50 y | 10/12/1974 | Son of Philip & Mary |
Now here is another strange twist to this story. The people above with the “*” were all buried together in a different plot before being moved to these two grave sites in February of 1897. The plot that they were in, was purchased by a Mr. Harry Boyle. Who knows… maybe they borrowed space until they could purchase a family plot.
A true mystery is unfolding again! Now, I’m going to have to make another day trip to the New City Archives and dedicate it to tracking down these people and see where their puzzle piece fits into our family tree. Stay tuned….
Posted: October 10, 2008
