Holy Rood Cemetery

Holy Rood Cemetery is about a half mile from our house and it is where we frequently walk Stirling.  The graveyard was established in 1832 by Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown and has lots of Irish Catholics buried there. 

It has amazing views as well.  You can easily see the National Cathedral and down into Georgetown. It is a sad place too, as lots of the grave stones are toppled over or so corroded from acid rain that you can't read them anymore.  There are also about 1,000 unmarked graves for free and enslaved African-Americans in a back section, buried there around the time of the Civil War.

The earliest birth we have found so far is from 1818-- they were born in Ireland, died in District.  It is also amazing to walk through and see which names are out of fashion, back in, or have always been popular.  Lots of Williams on stones; alas, no Miriams, though I did find a Marian.

Georgetown University is now the caretaker of the cemetery, though there isn't much care going on besides grass being cut.  Supposedly they are trying to move out the bodies so they can develop the land, though there is no evidence of any related activity.