St. Mary's Cemetery - Keyesville, Wisconsin 2008
St. Mary's Church at Keyesville. Behind this structure is the church cemetery. Today Keysville is an unincorporated village with only a church and school present. Click to Enlarge
This is one of the more unique tombstones found in the cemetery. Click to Enlarge.
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Both Catherine and William Rooney's base are similar, which also reflects that the stones were made to match each other.
The mystery is why he is buried between a McCloskey and a Huebesch instead of being laid to rest next to his wife of 30 years.
This small gravestone was nearly overgrown by grass and dirt, but is "Rosetta Stone" that links the Greenan family with the Greenau and Smyths buried in St. Mary's Church. While exploring the old cemetery, Mike Smith began working away at this gravestone. I don't think he knew what he was looking for, but something was driving him to dig around the stone's edges stone...and there it was... the stone that confirmed that Tearance Greenan and Tearance Greenau were one and the same person. This uncle brought John Smith and his siblings from Monaghan to Brooklyn in 1850.
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Our original plans did not include us going to Keyesville, as we already had photos of the four tombstones associated with our family. One thing we didn't expect was the size of these tombstones... Tim is in the foreground.
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The Rooney marker is located between a McCluskey and Huebsch marker. Click to Enlarge.
On your right is the tombstone of William Rooney, who was married to Catherine Greenan Smyth for almost 30 years. After her death, he remarried and is was buried with his second wife of nearly three years. This tombstone was a matching one to Catherine's (see stone on left rear when you enlarge). Over the years, Catherine's cross had been removed or destroyed.
As you click on this photo...look at the second back tombstone on your left ...this is Catherine's gravestone. It is similar with the exception that there is no cross on her stone.
One thing you notice in these old cemeteries is how many family members died in a single year.
History of St. Mary's Parish (1856-1895)
- First two Catholic families to settle in Ithaca were Wm. Misslich and Eberhard Walport (1855)
- The first Irish families to join the parish was in 1860 - the Dorgans. Later other Irish families joined such as the Killroy and Keegan families.
- Fr. Max Gaertner of Sauk City was the first to say Mass in Keyesville in 1856.
- In 1862, 31 families were members of St. Mary's Church.
- The first church was built in 1858 at a cost of $139. Because of extreme poverty of the parishoners, it took a long time to build.
- 1864, the first rectory is built for its first pastor, Fr. Wendelin Bernard, at a cost of $337.
- There was a succession of priests until 1878 when Fr. Koenig came to St. Mary's.
- By 1885, 85 families were members of the church. St. Mary's was the mother church with other parishes being supported by the priest in Keyesville.
- In 1885, Bear Valley wanted to create its own church, but Fr. Koenig's inability to make decisions caused problems. The church history notes only say this: it "will treat with charitable silence."
- 1892, Fr. Koenig leaves the parish due to ill health.