Why?
Over a week ago I returned to First "Old" Calvary Cemetery for the first time in years. I couldn't find all of my favored sites in the hour I had before it closed, but I took photos of what I had and I'll eventually post my favorites. But it reignited an old, forgotten question I had: What the hell happened to this monument?
(You can see a much bigger version of this if you click on it and embiggen.)
That poor angel lost her arms and might have once held a staff if I can judge from the bit of handle left on the "extinguished flame" at her feet. I wish I could have seen what this whole monument originally looked like. Look at the thickness of the stone at the base of the monument and the thickness of stone at the base of what might have once been a Celtic cross. Somebody deliberately went ham on them to break them like this. Nothing nearby is anywhere near as damaged as this. If you think a tree might be responsible you'd be incorrect because there haven't been any here ever.
Did someone hate this man? The name on it is Reverend T.J. Earley. I went to Google and found a pastor, Terence J. Earley, at Immaculate Conception Church around the time, and there was some controversy related to him in his final years. His death date matches. But Irvington, NY is way north in the Bronx.
I went to Find a Grave for Calvary Cemetery looking for him or information about T.J Earley but not only does the search not find him, it doesn't find the two people listed on the much smaller and simpler stone semi-attached to his monument. (One of those people? A Terence J. Earley who died 18 years after the reverend. Hmm.)
While scrutinizing the stone at the bottom of the mutilated cross at 100% on the photo, I noticed for the first time that there's information on the side that mentions he was the pastor of Immaculate Conception in Irvington, NY. In my defense, the stone is somewhat worn and cracked and the mottled coloring makes it hard to notice letters. If I hadn't already had the name of the church and town, I might not have been able to decipher them on my own. One mystery solved.
Now I don't know why a pastor who last served in the Bronx ended up buried about 30 miles away in Queens, and I still don't know why someone brutalized his memorial, especially now that they would've had to have traveled to get to it.
(By the way, the icon I used here is from the angel in the photo. These are the past photos I've posted of the monument.)
Next time I go back, I have to see if there's text on the other sides. You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost.
comments at Dreamwidth.
(You can see a much bigger version of this if you click on it and embiggen.)
That poor angel lost her arms and might have once held a staff if I can judge from the bit of handle left on the "extinguished flame" at her feet. I wish I could have seen what this whole monument originally looked like. Look at the thickness of the stone at the base of the monument and the thickness of stone at the base of what might have once been a Celtic cross. Somebody deliberately went ham on them to break them like this. Nothing nearby is anywhere near as damaged as this. If you think a tree might be responsible you'd be incorrect because there haven't been any here ever.
Did someone hate this man? The name on it is Reverend T.J. Earley. I went to Google and found a pastor, Terence J. Earley, at Immaculate Conception Church around the time, and there was some controversy related to him in his final years. His death date matches. But Irvington, NY is way north in the Bronx.
I went to Find a Grave for Calvary Cemetery looking for him or information about T.J Earley but not only does the search not find him, it doesn't find the two people listed on the much smaller and simpler stone semi-attached to his monument. (One of those people? A Terence J. Earley who died 18 years after the reverend. Hmm.)
While scrutinizing the stone at the bottom of the mutilated cross at 100% on the photo, I noticed for the first time that there's information on the side that mentions he was the pastor of Immaculate Conception in Irvington, NY. In my defense, the stone is somewhat worn and cracked and the mottled coloring makes it hard to notice letters. If I hadn't already had the name of the church and town, I might not have been able to decipher them on my own. One mystery solved.
Now I don't know why a pastor who last served in the Bronx ended up buried about 30 miles away in Queens, and I still don't know why someone brutalized his memorial, especially now that they would've had to have traveled to get to it.
(By the way, the icon I used here is from the angel in the photo. These are the past photos I've posted of the monument.)
Next time I go back, I have to see if there's text on the other sides. You can comment here or at the Dreamwidth crosspost.
comments at Dreamwidth.