History of St. Mary's Cemetery

St. Mary’s Parish grounds house a large cemetery.  There are many historic gravesites located in the older section of the cemetery which is located behind and beside the church.  Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was the physician who treated John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg on the morning after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, is buried in the cemetery.  Dr. Mudd’s grave is located just to the left of the church in the front row of grave stones.  There are also some extremely old graves in the cemetery dating back to the colonial days.  Many of those buried in the cemetery have descendants who are St. Mary’s Parishioners today.

A Cemetery Research Committee was formed in the Fall of 2008 under the direction of the Pastor of St. Mary’s at the time, Father Lawrence Young, and Committee Chairperson Anne Boone.  The Committee’s mission is to map out the old portion of the cemetery and identify the names of those who are buried in each of the sites.  The Committee is also documenting exactly what is written on each stone as well as photographing each stone or marker.   The death records and official mapping of the older section of the cemetery were destroyed, unfortunately, in the great fire that ravaged St. Mary’s Church on December 16th, 1963.  Recreating these records has been a painstaking process.

The Committee is making great strides in the re-creation of the map and records thanks to many hours of volunteer research conducted by dedicated parishioners with assistance from the local historical society.  The Committee will eventually be sharing their findings with St. Mary’s Parishioners and other interested parties.

Please note that the Committee is in need of assistance from St. Mary’s Parishioners and others to come forth with information about ancestors who are buried in the older section of the cemetery located behind and beside the church. If you have information about individuals who are buried in these areas of the cemetery, please contact the Parish Office at (301) 870-2220 or (301) 274-3187.