Douglas Catholic Cemetery

Established ca. 1912
Number of Burials: 30
Number of Grave Markers: 24

Latitude: 58.2806, Longitude: -134.4067
Acreage: .6 acres (26,300 sq. ft)

Site Description: The cemetery is irregular in shape and wraps around the Russian Orthodox Cemetery. It is located on a high bank above Douglas Highway which slopes steeply upward. A large white cross about 20 feet high dominates the site. Most grave markers and family plots are located at the top of the slope with numerous depressions evident below. Markers are wood, concrete, and stone with many in ruins. Historic photos indicate a fence once surrounded the cemetery. No evidence of the fence remains.

Records were not available to confirm the establishment of the Catholic Cemetery and there was no mention of it in newspapers of 1911 or 1912. However the grave of H. P. Carroll was the earliest marker identified with a date of 1912. Lillian McCormick, of a prominent Douglas Catholic family, was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery in 1911. According to a family member, this was because the Catholic Cemetery was not yet developed. It appears that all other McCormick family members were buried in the Catholic Cemetery.

The survey revealed 24 burial site markers. Based upon visual observations of ground depressions only another 6 burial sites are evident. This number may be low, however, as the area may have been regarded to plant and maintain grass. The descendants of the McCormick Family are primarily responsible for maintaining the cemetery by cutting the grass and periodically brush the area.

The Catholic Cemetery is located between the Odd Fellows and Native cemeteries. A stand of Spruce trees lies between the Catholic and Odd Fellows cemeteries and there is a small drainage ditch separating the Catholic and Native cemeteries. The Catholic Cemetery slopes gently up hill from a service road to the base of a condominium housing development. A large white cross is centered at the top of the cemetery. Most of the identifiable burial sites are toward the top of the slope. There are two burial sites at the lower end between the service road and Douglas Highway.

The earliest burial date identified was of H. P. Carroll, October 2, 1912. The most recent date is June 6, 1995 when the ashes of Kathleen Mary McCormick was placed at the family plot.

The grave markers in the Catholic Cemetery are a mixture of upright and flat granite either engraved of featuring a brass plaque. A couple of wooden markers remain but are deteriorating badly. The family plots feature low concrete boundary walls. The newer markers all lie flat.

Persons buried in this cemetery:

Afric, Anton ~ Born in Austria on January 29, 1877, died on December 8, 1937. He worked as a miner at the Treadwell Mine and later for the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company. He was a member of the Moose and Croation Lodges. An ad in a local newspaper refers to the Africh & Africh (sic) store and residence which he may have operated with his brother John.

Afric, Frank ~ 08 Aug 1880 - 12 Aug 1932

Afric, Joseph ~ 1889 - 09 Mar 1917

Andrews, Kathleen ~ 09 Jan 1905 - 02 Jul 1996

Battello, Luigi ~ 1877 - 18 Oct 1915

Bowman, Thomas J. ~ 17 Dec 1887 - 03 May 1957

Brown, Caroline ~ died 18 Apr 1935

Carroll, H. P. ~ 1868 - 1912

Cashen, Sadie ~ 1882 - 1957

Cashen, Thomas ~ Born on January 8, 1873, died on September 13, 1931. He was working as a blacksmith at the Treadwell Mine as early as 1901, when he married Sadie King. He continued working at the trade until the Treadwell cave-in in 1917. In 1925 he was a wharfinger for the city of Douglas.

Castel, Andrea Dal ~ 26 Jan 1891 - 28 Nov 1915

Hansen, Elizabeth ~ 04 Jan 1904 - 04 Mar 1946

Langfeldt, Madeline C. ~ 22 Aug 1909 - 18 May 1951

Leonardini, G. B. ~ 1857 - 22 Aug 1924

Marshal, Jack ~ 1866 - 24 Jun 1945

McCormick, Edward ~ 1885 - 1947

McCormick, Kathleen M. ~ 06 Jan 1907 - 06 Jun 1995

McCormick, Kevin Max ~ 1954 - 1954

McCormick, Norah ~ 08 Feb 1863 - 05 May 1930

McCormick, Raymond ~ 1897 - 1951

McCormick, Richard Sr. ~ Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania on August 8, 1859, died in Pacific Grove, California on May 3, 1934. He moved to Treadwell in 1886 where he worked as a blacksmith at the Mexican Mine. He married Nora Connors in 1888 with whom he had eleven children. He served as a postmaster at Treadwell in 1911 and later was employed at the Treadwell Foundry.

McCormick, Richard R. ~ 08 Jan 1894 - 08 Jun 1957

McCormick, Walter ~ 1907 - 1945

Riedi, Joseph L. ~ 12 Jun 1919 - 02 Aug 1966

Riedi, Madeline ~ Born in Alsace Lorraine (Germany) on July 16, 1885, died on October 1, 1947. She and her husband Joseph, arrived in Douglas around 1907. The operated a grocery store, a bakery and later a restaurant with Joseph's brother George who was a well known baker in Douglas since 1898.

Rigling, Agatha ~ 1843 - 1917

Saak, Kaa Gee ~ died 1929

Slujo, Mat ~ Born in Austria on January 15, 1886, died May 15, 1921. He was reportedly the last person to die at the Treadwell before it closed. He worked at the Ready Bullion mine, the only mine of the Treadwell group of mines not flooded in the 1917 cave-in. His widow, Sarka, was the daughter of Anton Krasel, a tailor, who operated a business on St. Anns Avenue as early as 1910.

Stevens, Henry ~ died 10 Jun 1941

Stevens, Jimmie ~ 1908 - 31 Mar 1942

Stevens, Lillian ~ died 27 Jul 1932

Stevens, Tom ~ died 02 Jul 1935

Stragier, Frank ~ 1914 - 30 Mar 1965

Stragier, Henry ~ 1887 - 1957

Stragier ~ 1887 - 1961

Williams, Tom ~ 1874 - 19 Jun 1944

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