9. Dennis Buggy's Gravestone and a Date of Birth

Occasionally a gravestone is inscribed with a place of birth.

Dennis Buggy’s death certificate indicates that he was buried in the Blue Earth Catholic Cemetery 22 May 1915.[1]  Neither FindAGrave.com nor BillionGraves.com lists his burial.[2]

The Blue Earth Catholic Cemetery is the same as Calvary Cemetery, which kindly provided photos.[3]  Dennis’ flat stone accompanies the larger Buggy monument in a plot intended for ten burials.  Dennis’ is number five.  Two are empty.  The other Buggys buried in the plot are Catherine, Richard & Rose, George & Marie, Agnes, and Irene.[4]

Buggy family monument, Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota.Courtesy Calvary Catholic Cemetery

Like his death certificate[5] and his obituary in the Faribault County Register,[6] the stone notes his birth on 11 June 1830, with no mention of a place.   Some of the older burials in the cemetery indicate a place of birth (i.e., County Galway), but not usually the newer ones like Dennis Buggy’s.[7]

Dennis Buggy gravestone, Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota
Courtesy Calvary Catholic Cemetery

Dennis Buggy’s gravestone is the third source that places his birth on 11 June 1830.  The sources, all created at the time of his death, are consistent, probably because the same person provided the information for all three.   The 1900 census supports this date with a June 1830 birth.[8]  As discussed in a post on censuses, only the 1885 census echoes this year of birth.[9]  It would be good to have verification of the birthdate from earlier in Dennis Buggy’s life, closer to the time of his birth.  This may turn up in other searches.

Next Time: Interim Research Summary--1

Update: Another Gravestone Photo, 11 May 2013

This one shows better the date (11) of Dennis Buggy's birth.

Dennis Buggy gravestone, Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota

Courtesy Ruth McLaughlin, descendant

Pending:

            Microfilm of Freshford parish registers (ordered 21 March 2013)

            Microfilm of Naugatuck town records (ordered 26 March 2013)

            Response from Archdiocese of Hartford Archives (letter sent 25 March 2013)

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[1] Minnesota Division of Vital Statistics, death certificate 3720 (1915), Dennis Buggy; Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

[2] Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 March 2013), search for Buggy, Calvary Cemetery, Blue Earth, Minnesota; and Billion Graves (http://billiongraves.com : accessed 29 March 2013), search for Dennis Buggy, d. 1915.

[3] Calvary Catholic Cemetery bookkeeper (name and phone number withheld on request), Blue Earth, Minnesota, to Judy Kellar Fox, text messages, 30 March 2013; digital file privately held by recipient, Aloha, Oregon, 2013.

[4] Calvary Catholic Cemetery bookkeeper (name withheld on request) (Blue Earth, Minnesota; 507-526-2718), interview by Judy Kellar Fox, 30 March 2013; notes privately held by interviewer, 2013.

[5] Minnesota Division of Vital Statistics, death certificate 3720 (1915), Dennis Buggy.

[6] Dennis Buggy obituary, Faribault County [Minnesota] Register, 27 May 1915; Blue Earth Community Library, Blue Earth, Minnesota.

[7] Calvary Catholic Cemetery bookkeeper, interview, 30 March 2013

[8] 1900 U. S. Census, Faribault County, Minnesota, population schedule, Pilot Grove, ED 90, sheet 8 (penned), dwelling 140, family 141, Dennis Buggy household; digital image, Ancestry.com; NA microfilm publication T623, roll 763; FHL microfilm 1,240,763.

[9] 1885 Census of Minnesota, population schedule, Faribault County, Pilot Grove, p. 3 (penned), family 17, Dennis Buggy household; digital image, Ancestry.com; Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota State Population Census Schedules, 1865-1905, microfilm MNSC 25.

© 2013 Judy Kellar Fox, CG, foxkellarj@comcast.net