When I went to Calvary Cemetery's Sexton's office they told me there was no marker for these graves. When I walked the area, I couldn't find a marker either. So off we went to Gast Memorials. We were told that Calvary Cemetery will not allow a single, long gravestone to cover the two graves but we can order a smaller marker at the head of each of the graves.
Since Thomas and his mother were buried in the same grave, I thought I'd do that marker first and then next year install the companion marker for Patrick Madigan (Sr.). Gast helped design the two stones so this could happen.
In late August, the new stone was installed.
You can see from the design above, it is intended to have a stone to the right which would have Patrick (Sr.) carved on it with his death date and a Celtic cross on the right side of the stone.
I went to the cemetery, so excited to see the stone. I cleared off the new dirt and as I was photographing it, I noticed another stone in area, but not very close to the above stone. It read simply "Madigan."
I went back to the cemetery office to find out who this was. Of course, I thought it was yet another Madigan relative I didn't know about.
I learned it was the stone for the Madigan grave that I just purchased the new stone for!!!
I asked why the stones, if intended for the same gravesite were placed so far apart, actually in a different row. They didn't have an answer. They sent a person out to make sure the new stone was correct. And, I am told it was.
So, I decided to have the original Madigan head stone moved to sit to the right of the new stone. The original Madigan stone now sits over the grave of Patrick Madigan (1809-1884). I'm sure future genealogists checking out the cemetery will be confused by why the stones read the way they do. Perhaps they will find this blog site and get their answer.
As of October, 2014, the two stones are now in place.
Photography: Elaine Beaudoin
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