Burial grounds of Sint Eustatius
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There are 14 known cemeteries on St. Eustatius a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands, some of which are still in use.
List of cemeteries
[edit]- Old Church Cemetery
- Jewish Cemetery
- Anglican Cemetery
- Roman Catholic Cemetery
- Salem Cemetery
- Congo Cemetery
- Benners Family Graveyard
- Berkel Family Graveyard
- de Groebe Family Graveyard
- Cemetery at Schotsenhoek
- Plantation Graveyard at English Quarter
- Plantation Graveyard at Concordia
- Old Dutch Reformed Cemetery
- Lazareto Leper Colony
Unmarked cemeteries
[edit]Furthermore, St. Eustatius has several eighteenth-century burial sites of free and enslaved Africans that have been (partially) excavated by archaeologists, such as the slave cemetery of the Godet plantation on the west coast of the island, next to Fort Amsterdam. And the plantation Golden Rock nearby F.D. Roosevelt Airport. In 2021, at least 48 graves of enslaved people were found at the Golden Rock site.[1]
History
[edit]The Old Church Cemetery is considered the oldest cemetery in St. Eustatius. The oldest dated headstone in this cemetery is of Lucas Jacobsen, who died on Sept. 17, 1686. Jacobsen was a governor on St. Eustatius from 1671 to 1672.[2] On Salem Cemetery there is a cenotaph for three victims of World War II who were born on St. Eustatius: John Otavo Dembrooke,[3] James Clarence van Putten[4] and William Oraldo Hooker[5] On May 4, during the Remembrance of the Dead, they are remembered with a ceremony at the cemetery.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ McGreevy, Nora (2021-06-02). "Remains of Enslaved People Found at Site of 18th-Century Caribbean Plantation". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ^ J. Hartog, History of St. Eustatius. - Aruba: De Wit Stores N.V., 1976
- ^ "John Otavo Dembrooke". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ^ "James Clarence van Putten". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ^ "William Oraldo Hooker". Oorlogsgravenstichting (in Dutch). 19 November 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Solemn Memorial Day Ceremony held in St. Eustatius -". 5 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
External links
[edit]- Laurie J. Paonessa. The Cemeteries of St Eustatius, N.A: Status in a Caribbean Community (PDF) (MA thesis).