Mount Calvary Cemetery (Davenport, Iowa)
Encyclopedia
Mount Calvary Cemetery is located in north-central Davenport, Iowa
, United States
. It was established as St. Marguerite’s Cemetery in the 1850s on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of property donated by Antoine LeClaire. At the time the cemetery lay outside the city of Davenport. Mount Calvary is in a section of the city that includes three other cemeteries: Davenport Memorial Park, Pine Hill
, and Mount Nebo, which is behind Pine Hill.
The first cemetery operated by the Catholic Church in Davenport was St. Mary's Cemetery in the west end. Bishop Mathias Loras
of Dubuque
bought that property on January 17, 1849 from Judge G.C.R. Mitchell for $120. The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
right of way was built through the southern section of the cemetery, and St. Mary's Church
was erected on the property in 1867. Eventually the cemetery became too crowded and Holy Family Cemetery was established in the west end. St. Mary's Cemetery was discontinued and the graves were moved to either Holy Family and Mount Calvary in the early 1900s.
Mount Calvary Cemetery contains the graves of the former bishops and priests of the Diocese of Davenport
that surround a crucifix
in the far end of the cemetery. Three of the bishops were initially interred in Sacred Heart Cathedral before being re-interred here in 1930. It also contains sections for the Carmelite Nuns, the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and the orphans from St. Vincent's Home.
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established as St. Marguerite’s Cemetery in the 1850s on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of property donated by Antoine LeClaire. At the time the cemetery lay outside the city of Davenport. Mount Calvary is in a section of the city that includes three other cemeteries: Davenport Memorial Park, Pine Hill
Pine Hill Cemetery (Davenport, Iowa)
Pine Hill Cemetery is located in north-central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is in a section of the city that includes three other cemeteries: Mount Calvary, Davenport Memorial Park and Mount Nebo, which is in the back of Pine Hill. One of the cemetery’s more prominent markers is a memorial...
, and Mount Nebo, which is behind Pine Hill.
The first cemetery operated by the Catholic Church in Davenport was St. Mary's Cemetery in the west end. Bishop Mathias Loras
Mathias Loras
Bishop Mathias Loras was an immigrant French priest to the United States who later became the first bishop of the Dubuque Diocese in what would become the state of Iowa.-Early Life & Ministry:...
of Dubuque
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counties north of Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and Clinton counties. ...
bought that property on January 17, 1849 from Judge G.C.R. Mitchell for $120. The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad was the first railroad in Iowa and was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport, Iowa on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs, Iowa on the Missouri River and was to play an important role in the construction of the First Transcontinental...
right of way was built through the southern section of the cemetery, and St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa)
Saint Mary's Catholic Church is a parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The church is located in Davenport, Iowa, United States, at the corner of Fillmore and W. 6th Streets. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church Complex...
was erected on the property in 1867. Eventually the cemetery became too crowded and Holy Family Cemetery was established in the west end. St. Mary's Cemetery was discontinued and the graves were moved to either Holy Family and Mount Calvary in the early 1900s.
Mount Calvary Cemetery contains the graves of the former bishops and priests of the Diocese of Davenport
Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is a diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa. There are within the diocese...
that surround a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
in the far end of the cemetery. Three of the bishops were initially interred in Sacred Heart Cathedral before being re-interred here in 1930. It also contains sections for the Carmelite Nuns, the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by their initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. BVM Sisters work in twenty-five U.S...
and the orphans from St. Vincent's Home.
Notable Burials
- Isabel BloomIsabel BloomIsabel Bloom was an artist who was born Isabel Scherer in Galveston, Texas, and raised in Davenport, Iowa. She learned sculpture while studying at the Stone City Art Colony in central Iowa under Florence Sprague...
(1908–2001), artist - Edward CatichEdward CatichFather Edward M. Catich was an American Roman Catholic priest, teacher, and calligrapher. He is noted for the fullest development of the thesis that the inscribed Imperial Roman capitals of the Augustan age and after owed their form wholly to the use of the flat brush, rather than to the...
(1906–1979), noted calligrapher and artist - Henry CosgroveHenry CosgroveHenry Cosgrove was a late 19th century and early 20th century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the second bishop of Diocese of Davenport, in the state of Iowa from 1884-1906....
(1834–1906), second Bishop of Davenport, 1884–1906 - James J. DavisJames J. Davis (Catholic bishop)James J. Davis was a 20th-century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in the state of Iowa from 1906 to 1926.-Early life and ministry:...
(1852–1926), third Bishop of Davenport, 1906–1926 - Ralph Leo HayesRalph Leo HayesRalph Leo Hayes was a 20th century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Helena in the state of Montana from 1933–1935, and as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in the state of Iowa from 1944-1966...
(1884–1970), fifth Bishop of Davenport, 1944–1966 - Antoine LeClaireAntoine LeClaireAntoine LeClaire was a US Army interpreter, landowner in Scott County, Iowa and Rock Island County, Illinois, businessman, philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport, Iowa-Early life:...
(1797–1861), co-founder of the city of Davenport - John McMullen, (1832–1882), first Bishop of Davenport, 1881–1883
- Jeremiah Henry MurphyJeremiah Henry MurphyJeremiah Henry Murphy was a two-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district....
(1835–1893), Mayor of Davenport; United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, 1883–1887 - Gerald Francis O'KeefeGerald Francis O'KeefeGerald Francis O'Keefe was a 20th century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul in the state of Minnesota from 1961–1966 and bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in the state of Iowa from 1966-1993.-Early Life &...
, (1918–2000), sixth Bishop of Davenport, 1966–1993 - Hal SkellyHal SkellyHal Skelly was an American Broadway and film actor.-Biography:J. Harold Skelly was born in Alleghenyville, Pennsylvania and spent his early years in Davenport, Iowa. He left home at the age of 15 and joined the circus. He acted in his first stage production, The Time, the Place and the Girl, at...
(1891–1934), stage and screen actor