Saint Louis Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. All of these graves are above ground vaults; most were constructed in the 18th century and 19th century.
Doug Keister, author/photographer of Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity states that
The custom of above-ground burial in New Orleans is a mixture of folklore and fact.
The vaults are in fact more due to French and Spanish tradition than they are to water table problems.
Cemeteries #1 and #2 are included on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail
Louisiana African American Heritage Trail
Louisiana African American Heritage Trail is a cultural heritage trail with 26 sites designated in 2008 by the state of Louisiana, from New Orleans along the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge and Shreveport, with sites in small towns and plantations also included. In New Orleans several sites are...
.
Saint Louis #1
St. Louis #2 is located some 3 blocks back from St. Louis #1, bordering Claiborne AvenueClaiborne Avenue
Claiborne Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana. It runs the length of the city, about , beginning at the Jefferson Parish line and ending at the St. Bernard Parish line; the street continues in each of these locations under different names. It is called South Claiborne Avenue...
. It was consecrated in 1823. A number of notable jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rhythm & blues musicians are buried here, including Danny Barker
Danny Barker
Danny Barker , born Daniel Moses Barker, was a jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player and author from New Orleans, founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band...
and Ernie K. Doe. Also entombed here is Dominique You
Dominique You
Dominique You was a privateer, pirate, and soldier.Born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1775, You joined the army of Revolutionary France as an artillerist. He served in the French Republic's artillery corp. In 1802 he accompanied General Victor Leclerc to Santo Domingo to quell...
, a notorious pirate Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte was a pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his elder brother, Pierre, spelled their last name Laffite, but English-language documents of the time used "Lafitte", and this is the commonly seen spelling in the United States, including for places...
who assisted in the defense of the city against the British in the Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
. Andre Cailloux
Andre Cailloux
Andre Cailloux was one of the first black officers in the Union Army to be killed in combat during the American Civil War. He died heroically during the unsuccessful first attack on the Confederate fortifications during the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana...
, African-American hero of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
is also buried here.
The cemetery received minor flooding during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, and its tombs seemed virtually untouched by the storm when the water went down, aside from the brownish waterline visible on all structures that were flooded.
There are many notable citizens of 19th and 20th century New Orleans laid to rest here. For example the tomb of Blessed Mother Henriette DeLille
Henriette DeLille
Venerable Henriette DeLille founded the Catholic order of the Sisters of the Holy Family, made up of free women of color, in New Orleans. The order provided nursing care and a home for orphans, later establishing schools as well. In 1989 the order formally opened its cause with the Vatican in...
, who is a candidate for sainthood by the Catholic Church, Jean Baptiste Dupeire (1795–1874) prominent citizen of New Orleans, among others.
It was listed in National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1975.
Politicians interred or entombed here:
- Pierre SouléPierre SouléPierre Soulé was a U.S. politician and diplomat from Louisiana during the mid-19th century. He is best known for his role in writing the Ostend Manifesto, which was written in 1854 as part of an attempt to annex Cuba to the United States...
(1801–1870) of New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La. Born in France, August 28, 1801. Member of Louisiana state senate, 1845; U.S. Senator from Louisiana, 1847, 1849–53; U.S. Minister to Spain, 1853–55; general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Died in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., March 26, 1870. - Charles GenoisCharles GenoisCharles Genois was the Mayor of New Orleans from May 1838 to May 1840. Genois's brief tenure has been characterized as feeble because of a stagnant period that followed the enterprise outbreak during his predecessor's term...
(c.1793-1866) of New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La. Whig Mayor of New Orleans, La., 1838-40. Died August 30, 1866. - Robert Brown Elliott (1842–1884), also known as R. B. Elliott, of South Carolina. Born in Massachusetts, 1842. Republican. Delegate to Republican National Convention from South Carolina, 1868 (alternate), 1880; member of South Carolina state legislature; U.S. Representative from South Carolina 3rd District, 1871-75. Black. Died in 1884.
- Paul CapdeviellePaul CapdeviellePaul Capdevielle was mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from May 9, 1900 to December 5, 1904.Of French descent, he was educated at the Jesuit College of New Orleans, graduating in 1861...
(1844–1922) of New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La. Born in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., 1844. Mayor of New Orleans, La., 1900-04. Died in Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, Miss., 1922. - Carleton HuntCarleton HuntCarleton Hunt was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana. He served one term as a Democrat....
(1836–1921) of Louisiana. Born in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, La., January 1, 1836. Nephew of Theodore Gaillard Hunt. Democrat. Served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; U.S. Representative from Louisiana 1st District, 1883-85. Died August 14, 1921. - Ignacy SzymańskiIgnacy SzymanskiIgnacy Szymański Ignatius Szymanski , his father was ...Szymanski, nicknamed Colonel Ski or Old Ski, was a Polish and American soldier. He served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
(1806–1874) was a Polish and American soldier. Born in New Orleans. He served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was appointed to colonel of Chalmette Regiment, mainly made of Scandinavian immigrants from the Louisiana State Militia. - Dominique You: Privateer.
Saint Louis #3
St. Louis #3 is located some 2 miles (3.2 km) back from the French Quarter, some 30 blocks from the Mississippi, fronting Esplanade AvenueEsplanade Avenue, New Orleans
-History:Esplanade runs from the Mississippi River front to the intersection with Carrollton Avenue just past Bayou St. John, and the entrance to City Park. In the 19th century it was important as a portage route of trade between the Bayou which linked to Lake Pontchartrain and the River...
near Bayou St. John
Bayou St. John
Bayou St. John is a bayou within the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.The Bayou as a natural feature drained the swampy land of a good portion of what was to become New Orleans into Lake Pontchartrain...
. It opened in 1854. The crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s on average are more elaborate than at the other St. Louis cemeteries, including a number of fine 19th century marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
tombs. Those entombed include ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
composer Paul Sarebresole
Paul Sarebresole
Paul Sarebresole was an early composer of ragtime music.Sarebresole was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His French ancestors spelled the family name "Sarrebresolles"....
and photographer E. J. Bellocq
E. J. Bellocq
John Ernest Joseph Bellocq was an American professional photographer who worked in New Orleans during the early 20th century. Bellocq is remembered for his haunting photographs of the prostitutes of Storyville, New Orleans' legalized red light district...
.
St. Louis #3 also includes a Greek Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
section. The cemetery was heavily flooded during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005, but its tombs escaped relatively unscathed. There was some plaster damage from debris.