The Importance of Geography

One of the things that I noticed in Ireland last time I visited was that tombstones frequently list the deceased’s home – much more frequently than I see on tombstones in the U.S. I posted last week about Charles Bird, late of Bective House, a local estate.

Proudstown is nearby in County Meath. From what I can tell, the racecourse that was known as Proudstown Park is actually in Navan, but Proudstown was the name of the railway stop that used to service that area. My understanding is that Proudstown might not be an official town, but it refers to a neighborhood or area. Anyone with better knowledge is welcome to help me out with this.

There is a Killeen Road about 4 kilometers away from the Hill of Tara.

What I found most interesting about the place names on Irish tombstones is that they are not just cities, but neighborhoods, regions, and even streets.

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Places I want to visit

Reading other cemetery blogs lets me learn about other cemeteries I want to visit someday. Here are a few, with links to the posts that sparked my interest.

Burial Hill – Plymouth, Massachusetts – Cemetery overlooking Plymouth Harbor dating back to the passengers from the Mayflower.

Bellefontaine Cemetery – St. Louis, Missouri – Bellefontaine is the final resting place of many prominent Americans, including suffragist Phoebe Couzins, the Busch brewing family, explorer William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame), and Civil War General Don Carlos Buell. My great great grandfather William H. Ilsley is supposed to be buried there. Bellefontaine is adjacent to Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery, whose famous residents include author Kate Chopin, Dred Scott (Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford), playwright Tennessee Williams, and Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Burying Point – Salem, Masschusetts – Oldest graveyard in Salem, dating back to the 17th century.

Bunhill Field – London, United Kingdom – Burial ground that is unconsecrated and has been used for those who died outside of the Church of England, including authors Daniel Defoe and John Bunyan and Society of Friends’ founder George Fox.

Trafalgar Cemetery – Gibraltar – The cemetery contains memorials for sailors in Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson’s fleet who died from wounds sustained during the naval battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

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