Tolomato Cemetery

 St. Augustine, Florida 

Thursday, February 24, 2022

    Tolomato Cemetery (Catholic cemetery) located on Cordova Street, right off Orange Street, was an in-use cemetery from the eighteenth century until 1884. This place is the resting place of 1,000 Augustinians, including many others of importance to the history of Florida.  There are many legends and tales, which also reveal real stories of real people, among being haunted. Burials here "include those of people from Spain, Cuba, Ireland, Minorca, Italy, Greece, Africa, Haiti, France, and the American South and Northeast - as well as the graves of soldiers from both sides of the Civil War, . . ." The Cathedral parish and the Diocese of St. Augustine still own, maintain and protect the cemetery. 

http://www.tolomatocemetery.com/history.html

Exterior Photo 1

Exterior Photo 2

Artifact Photo 1

    Juan Francisco Ruiz Del Canto was a Revolutionary War Patriot born December 13, 1730, in St. Augustine Florida. He acted as a Spanish agent sent to the Yuchi Indians in 1779 and 1780 to British Florida to secure their support for Governor Bernardo de Galvez. He later captured a British Captain and took him to Cuba for questioning, providing intelligence that aided the Spanish in the planning of the successful Seige of Pensacola by General Bernardo de Galvez. Juan was also responsible for the supervision of the Castillo de San Marcos, and when the Spanish left St. Augustine in 1763, he was appointed by the Governor as one of the groups of three Spanish citizens who oversaw the mapping, sale, and settlement of Spanish properties with the incoming British. 

Artifact Photo 2

    Bishop Augustin Verot was born May 1805 in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, and died June 1876 in St. Augustine, Florida. He was a French-American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Savannah and the first bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. He studied at St-Sulpice, Paris, was ordained priest, and joined the Society of Saint-Sulpice, and in 1830 came to Baltimore to teach science, philosophy, and theology at St. Mary's College. He served as pastor of Saint Paul Catholic Church in Maryland. In 1857, he was declared bishop in the Baltimore Cathedral. Verot sailed for France in 1859 after returning to his home country for the first time in nearly three decades. Augustin Verot was also Vicar Apostolic of Florida and the third Bishop of Savannah. He had a prominent role in the Civil War which lead to him becoming the first Bishop of St. Augustine in 1870. 

Image in Conversation #1

https://nylandmarks.org/what-we-do/success-story/prospect-cemetery-and-chapel-of-the-sisters/ 

    The cemetery presented above is Prospect Cemetery located in the Jamaica section of the New York City borough of the Queens. It was established in 1668 and is generally known as the Presbyterian burial ground and is one of the few remaining Colonial cemeteries in Queens. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the cemetery as the oldest cemetery in New York. The cemetery includes approximately 240 family plots containing 2,100 burials and dates from the founding of the cemetery to the late 20th century. Two researchers from the Rufus King Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution discovered the names of 54 individuals who served as soldiers during the Revolutionary War, who were buried in this cemetery. After the 1980s and before, plans were made by individuals to properly maintain and preserve Prospect Cemetery. 

    Visiting Tolomato Cemetery made me think of other cemeteries near my hometown which brought up the idea of New York City into my mind. Walking around St. Augustine and seeing the graves of soldiers, I knew there would be some buried in New York as well. Both of the cemeteries are extremely old, but still being preserved today. 

Image in Conversation #2

    

https://wtop.com/arlington/2020/10/jfks-gravesite-at-arlington-national-cemetery-to-reopen-oct-3/

    Pictured above is the burial site for former President John F. Kennedy. He was born May 29, 1917, and passed away November 22, 1963. He was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination near the end of his third year in office. He served at the height of the Cold War. Kennedy had also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He also presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps, Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the continuation of the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the moon before 1970. 

    This cemetery reminded me of who I remembered who left an imprint on the United States and the first person who came to mind was John F. Kennedy because he was one of the Presidents that I learned most about. His death also came as a shock because he was assassinated as most of us know. His burial site is very different than those in Tolomato Cemetery which is why I also was drawn to the differences in the way the places look. 

Literature in Conversation

    In the excerpt from Lukao, [you] had said "I was talking to my dad, who passed away when I was eleven. I felt like I was in a different space, here but not here. I kept thinking about people who I had lost, and I felt them around me," (Perez). This quote resonates with this site visit because we had the experience of visiting a cemetery. At the point where it references the people lost and feeling them around is how I feel when I lose someone I love. When someone dies, their spirit and energy are still surrounding you and allow you to feel in touch with them even though they aren't physically here. They are present within your mind and your heart which is all that matters. 

Creative Component 

medium: computer paper and colored pencils