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Saint Mary Cemetery (NT006)

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                                       St. Marys Cemetery (NT006)

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When a new Catholic church was built on Spring Street to serve the first parish, the building was dedicated (1852) to a new patron, St. Mary, Our Lady of the Isle, instead of St. Joseph. Same parish community, new name.

St. Joseph’s as a parish was not terminated, per se, as the parish lived on; it just changed its name. About thirty years later, Bishop Hendricken determined that the Newport community needed an additional parish to serve the faithful, so ordered the created of a new, separate parish, and the “St. Joseph’s” name was reactivated, for lack of a better word. So, while both parishes share a common root/ancestor on Barney Street, it is St. Mary’s that lays claim to being the oldest Catholic parish in Rhode Island.

Burials did not take place near the church but in a separate lot east of the Island Cemetery. John Sterling states that by 1890 the site was filled, and Catholic burials continued at St. Columba’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Middletown.  There are a large number of burials in this site for people of Irish heritage.

Notable burial:

Patrick Boyle- When Patrick Boyle became mayor in 1895, few could imagine it was the start of a political career in Newport that spanned over 20 years. He died in his 17th term as mayor of Newport in office in January 1923. No other person has been mayor longer.

 

Use this link for a complete listing of burials in this site on the Rhode Island database