Update from All Saint’s/All Souls Day

This past Tuesday I decided to see if I could get into St. Louis #2 cemetery and find my family tomb(s).

To my surprise, we have THREE tombs in the cemetery. We have one in each square of the cemetery.

St. Louis #2 is made up of 3 squares blocks. They call each block 1, 2, and 3.

In Square 1:

We have a tall white tomb down the center of the row. The name on the tomb says Peyroux, but the two people buried inside do not have the family name. I have no idea who they are. Family, any idea?

In Square 2:

It took me quite a while to find it, but I found the tomb of Alfred Silvain Peyroux. He was born in 1829 and died in 1858 at the age of 29. (I suspect that is what the marker says.) Even though his is the only name on the tomb, I suspect there to be about 3-4 other family members in this tomb also. I have records that show his parents and other family members are buried here as well.

I did clean off the little weeds you see on the marker to honor the dead. There really was not much to clean at this site. It looked to be in great condition.

In Square 3:

After finding the tombs in Square 1 and 2, I was hoping to find a big tomb in Square 3 and to find all the names of the people I know to be buried in this cemetery. After 30 minutes of hunting, I found the spot where the tomb used to stand.

I was very disappointed! I was informed by the SAVE OUR CEMETERY volunteers that when the tomb is in such disrepair, they remove the bricks and mortar and bury the remains in the ground where the tomb once stood. So the good news is that we still have my family remains, but no tall, awesome tomb.

You will notice on the photo below the brick foundation. The volunteers also told me they leave the foundation to mark where the remains are buried.

I am glad I went to celebrate all Saint’s Day at the cemetery. There were quite a few people there cleaning graves and painting fences around their family tombs.

I am also considering talking to my family about having our tomb rebuilt in square 3 OR selling it for some mad cash. Evidently the land in St. Louis #2 is prime real estate. I can understand why. I would not mind my ashes resting that close to the heart of New Orleans for eternity.

Also for those who wondered…there were police stationed at the entrance to the cemetery. I am very glad I went. I just might make it a tradition.

Also, I will be donating to saveourcemeteries.org and you should too :) They were so helpful and nice. Let’s save our Cemeteries NOLA!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie