Trinity Cemetery was founded on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...

(20 June) in 1869 as the first cemetery of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie The Diocese of Erie ( la, Dioecesis Eriensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in western Pennsylvania. It was founded on July 29, 1853. It is one of seven suffragan dioceses in Pennsylvania that make ...

. It is located on West Lake Road in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. The parish cemeteries of Holy Trinity and St. Stanislaus were incorporated into Trinity Cemetery.

History

The earliest known Catholic cemetery in Erie was on land purchased on East 9th Street in 1837 and consecrated to that purpose on 2 August 1840. A site on Chestnut Street was acquired by the pastor of St. Mary's Church in 1848 and used by German Catholics. Remains were relocated from the East 9th Street cemetery to the Chestnut Street site during this period. The Chestnut Street cemetery was closed to new interments when Trinity Cemetery opened in 1869. Circa 1837, St. Patrick's Church purchased a small lot on 3rd Street between German Street and Parade Street as its first cemetery. When were acquired in 1852 at 24th Street and Sassafras Street, the congregation moved remains from Third Street to the new site. This cemetery was closed to new interments and many bodies relocated to Trinity Cemetery after it opened. As of 1884, some families had refused consent for the bodies of loved ones to be relocated. Trinity Cemetery, consisting of of well-appointed walks, driveways, and ornamental trees and located about west of the city, was dedicated on 23 May 1869 in a consecration ceremony conducted by representatives of the diocese and area parishes and witnessed by thousands of local area residents. Bishop

Tobias Mullen Tobias Mullen (March 4, 1818 – April 22, 1900) was an Ireland, Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania from 1868 to until his death in 1899 ...

and a host of local clergy processed from 8th Street to the cemetery that Sunday afternoon.

Notable interments

Notable people buried at Trinity Cemetery: *

Philip Cochran Philip Gerald Cochran (born in Erie, Pennsylvania January 29, 1910 – August 26, 1979) was an officer in the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Army Air Forces. Cochran developed many tactical air combat, air transport, and ...

(1910–1979),

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

who fought in World War II and was the inspiration for comic strip characters by

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography ...

. * Dell Darling (1863–1904),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the Chicago White Stockings and appears on the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals all-time roster :''This list is complete and up-to-date through the 2022 season.'' The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared in at least one game for the St. Louis Cardinals franchise, including the 1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings, th ...

s * William F. Finneran (1878–1961), Major League Baseball

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

* James Edward Gannon (1873–1966), Major League Baseball player for the

Pittsburgh Innocents The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

* Michael Liebel, Jr. (1870–1927), Former

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and Mayor of Erie *

Reinhard Liebel Reinhard Liebel (January 31, 1841 – March 11, 1905) was a businessman and politician from Erie, Pennsylvania. Reinhard was a member of the Liebel family, which was one of the oldest and most prominent families in Erie. Early life Reinhard was b ...

, former President of ''South Erie Iron Works'' and Member of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Common Council and Select Council of Erie * Michael Morrison (1869–1955), Major League Baseball pitcher for the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

, Syracuse Stars, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Frank Polaski Frank Polaski (December 19, 1904 – July 1, 1996) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Early life and education He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in 1929 and Northwestern Unive ...

(1904–1996), politician *

Fitzhugh Townsend Samuel George Fitzhugh Townsend (April 1872 – December 11, 1906) was an American Fencing, fencer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He competed under the name Fitzhugh Townsend. It was known that Fitzhugh was his middle name and wa ...

(1872–1906), fencer

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic cemeteries in Pennsylvania Cemeteries in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Erie, Pennsylvania 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania