- Along road
- Holy Cross Cemetery
- Coordinates
- 45.7277° N, 85.5238° WGoogle Maps: Holy Cross CemeteryDownload KML
- Eras
- Irish eraModern era
- Concepts
- catholicismheritagecommunityirish-arranmore
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Holy Cross Cemetery is the burial ground associated with Holy Cross Catholic Church on Beaver Island. The Michigan historical marker places the original 1860 church alongside the parish cemetery about one mile south of the present church site; the church was moved to its current location in 1957, while the cemetery remains modeled here as a separate physical resource.1
The Beaver Island Historical Society publishes a directory and map to help locate deceased family and friends. The directory is a community research resource, not a claim that the held project has a complete burial register or a definitive survey of the cemetery.2
Directory and evidence
The directory was assembled by cross-referencing church records, index cards, an older cemetery map, gravestones, deeds and genealogy research. Its entries record plot or lot locations, names, birth and death years, whether a marker or obituary is available, and known spouse or parent names. The page identifies unmarked burial sites with N.S. and explains that some dates in parentheses come from baptismal records or death certificates rather than a headstone.2
The source also warns that gravestone dates and other records can disagree, that the list of unmarked burials is still being expanded, and that the directory is updated when omissions or errors are reported. These qualifications matter: an entry in the directory is evidence about the Society’s current compilation, not by itself proof of every relationship, date, or burial location.2
Vernon memorial context
The March 2026 Northern Islander reports that three Gallagher sisters who died in the 1887 sinking of the steamer Vernon are commemorated by small headstones in Holy Cross Cemetery. The same account says Rose Gallagher’s body was recovered and buried there without a headstone. These are specific newspaper-reported memorial and burial claims, not an exhaustive list of the cemetery’s Vernon victims or all Gallagher burials.3
The May 1966 Beaver Beacon provides another direct burial attestation: after William A. Belfy’s death, a Requiem Mass was held at Holy Cross Church and he was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery. The notice does not identify a plot or establish that the cemetery directory contains a corresponding complete entry.
The May 1972 Beaver Beacon similarly reports that Lloyd McDonough’s funeral was held at Holy Cross Church on May 13 and that he was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery. This is a direct obituary attestation, not a plot-level directory record.4
The June–July 1970 issue adds two more direct burial attestations: J. Lawrence Malloy after June 20 services and John J. Ranger after his June 5 plane-accident death. Neither notice supplies a plot or a corresponding complete directory entry.5
The January 1971 Beaver Beacon reports that former Island resident Elizabeth Gallagher’s body was returned to Charlevoix after her January 2 funeral and says burial would be at Holy Cross Cemetery. Because the source uses future wording, this archive records it as an intended-burial attestation rather than a completed burial or plot claim.
The March 1971 issue records a second intended-burial case: Mary Elizabeth (Duffy) Gallagher died on March 11, received a Requiem Mass on March 13, and was expected to be returned to Beaver Island for spring burial. The report does not confirm the later burial or identify a plot. The April–May 1971 issue later reports her April 24 Requiem Mass and burial in the cemetery. It also reports Elizabeth Gallagher’s May 8 Requiem Mass and burial, resolving the January intended-burial wording into two later newspaper attestations.
Notable burials attested in the record
Beyond the individual attestations already cited, two 1950s-1960s notices illustrate the cemetery’s role across the island’s communities. James H. Gallagher’s May 1956 burial drew funeral services conducted by his own son, a priest, and ten other named clergy from across Michigan – evidence of the cemetery’s standing with a founding-generation Catholic family. In April 1961 the body of Mrs. Nancy Waubininkee, born on High Island and the mother of Mrs. Paul Kenwabikissee, was returned to the island for burial there, documenting Holy Cross Cemetery as a burial ground for at least one member of the island’s Anishinaabe community as well as its Irish- and French-descended Catholic families. Neither notice gives a plot location, and this article does not treat them as representative of the cemetery’s full range of burials.
Significance
Holy Cross Cemetery is the principal burial ground tied to the island’s oldest continuously operating institution, Holy Cross Catholic Church, and its newspaper-attested burials span the island’s Irish-settler, Anishinaabe and clergy-connected families across more than a century. Its association with the original 1860 church site, and its role in Northern Islander’s 2026 account of the 1887 Vernon sinking, tie it directly to the island’s documented Catholic and maritime history.
Open questions
- No source held here gives the cemetery’s founding date independent of the 1860 church’s own construction date, or a documented boundary distinct from the historical marker’s approximate placement.
- Whether the cemetery’s directory (Beaver Island Historical Society) is complete for burials before the Beacon’s own coverage begins in the 1950s is not established here.
- No source read here documents when, or whether, the cemetery formally expanded beyond its original nineteenth-century footprint after the 1957 relocation of the church itself.
Evidence limits
No source held here supplies a cemetery founding date, complete burial count, or formal boundary survey. The current OSM polygon centroid and nearby Holy Cross parcel representative point provide a reproducible present-day locator, but do not establish that every present plot occupies the original nineteenth-century boundary. Individual people and family relationships should be modeled only after their identities and supporting records have been separately reviewed.
See also
Footnotes
-
Michigan Historical Marker “Holy Cross Catholic Church,” marker ID L2251, front text. ↩
-
Beaver Island Historical Society, “Holy Cross Cemetery” directory and map. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
-
Connie Wojan, “The Stories Behind the Names of Islanders Lost on the Great Lakes,” Northern Islander, March 2026. ↩
-
Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Lloyd McDonough Passes.” ↩
-
Beaver Beacon, June–July 1970, “Islanders Pass On.” ↩
The dated record
Read the document
32 pages, rendered from the held scan.
Sources
- A remote researcher asked for photographs of George and Martha Miller's gravestones; Marie LaFreniere replied that she and her husband visited the cemetery and took pictures. The exchange documents community assistance with genealogy research, but the images and gravestone text are not held here and no burial identity is added from the request alone.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 00 · t000783
- Local directory page documents the cemetery map and a cross-referenced directory built from church records, index cards, the old cemetery map, gravestones, deeds and genealogy research. It gives lot locations, names, dates, marker/obituary indicators and known spouse or parent names, while warning about date discrepancies and ongoing updates.
- States that the original 1860 Holy Cross church stood alongside the parish cemetery about one mile south of the present church site; this establishes the cemetery's historical relationship to the relocated building but does not provide a cemetery founding date or boundary.state · michigan · historical_markers
- Lists Holy Cross Cemetery among the island's community heritage and visitor resources; it is a planning inventory, not a burial survey.
- The mapped Holy Cross Cemetery polygon intersects the mapped road named Holy Cross Cemetery. This is a current volunteered-map spatial association, not a surveyed boundary, access right, or proof that the road name historically derives from the cemetery.osm · cemeteries
- PIN 012-234-007-10 is owned by HOLY CROSS OF BEAVER ISLAND, carries current situs 26369 Old Church Crest Rd, and has the listed representative point near the mapped cemetery. This supports the current church-property association but is not a surveyed cemetery boundary or proof that the parcel contains every historical plot.county · charlevoix · parcels_arcgis · 2026-08-01 · island_parcel_attributes
- Reports that three Gallagher sisters who died in the 1887 Vernon sinking are commemorated by small headstones in Holy Cross Cemetery, and that Rose Gallagher was buried there without a headstone; the newspaper account is not a complete cemetery register.
- Reports that William A. Belfy's Requiem Mass was held at Holy Cross Church and that he was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery; it gives no plot location or complete burial record.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1966-05_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1966-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Lloyd McDonough’s May 13 funeral at Holy Cross Church and burial in Holy Cross Cemetery; it gives no plot location or independent burial record.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
- The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports the final date of the Holy Cross Cemetery Fund Drive changing from Labor Day to October 17.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the published source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports the Holy Cross Cemetery burials of J. Lawrence Malloy after his June 20 funeral and John J. Ranger after his June 5 death; it gives no plot locations or independent burial records.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1970-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1970-06_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Elizabeth Gallagher’s body was returned to Charlevoix after her January 2 Green Bay funeral and says burial would be at Holy Cross Cemetery; this is an intended-burial attestation, not confirmation of a completed burial or plot.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-01_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1971-01_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Mary Elizabeth Gallagher’s March 11 death, March 13 Requiem Mass, and plan to return her body to Beaver Island for spring burial in Holy Cross Cemetery; this is an intended-burial attestation, not confirmation of a completed burial or plot.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-03_Beaver-Beacon
- The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1971-03_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Mary Elizabeth Gallagher’s April 24 burial and Elizabeth Gallagher’s May 8 burial in Holy Cross Cemetery; these are direct newspaper burial attestations without plot locations or independent cemetery-register verification.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-04_Beaver-Beacon
- The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1971-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that John R. Martin’s burial in Holy Cross Cemetery was planned and thanks the Beaver Island Club of Grand Rapids for a $50 Cemetery Fund donation; the issue does not confirm Martin’s interment or provide a fund ledger.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-01_Beaver-Beacon
- The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-01_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports James H. Gallagher's May 2, 1956 burial in Holy Cross Cemetery, with funeral services conducted by his son, a priest, and attended by ten other named priests from across Michigan -- a direct burial attestation illustrating the cemetery's role for a founding-generation Catholic family with clergy in the family. It does not give a plot location. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1956-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that the body of Mrs. Nancy Waubininkee, born on High Island and mother of Mrs. Paul Kenwabikissee, was returned to Beaver Island on April 7, 1961 for burial at Holy Cross Cemetery -- a direct burial attestation for a member of the island's Anishinaabe community. It does not give a plot location.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-05_Beaver-Beacon
Added 31 July 2026 · revised 6 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Holy Cross Cemetery”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/structures/holy-cross-cemetery/, accessed [date], citing Matthew and Marie LaFreniere, “Holy Cross Cemetery...,” Beaver Island Forum, October 28–29, 2006, topic 783. (and 24 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-06. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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