Est. 1861
Also known as Sacred Heart Cemetery, St. Mary’s Cemetery is located on Portage Ave. in Niagara Falls right next to Oakwood Cemetery. According to the information marker, the cemetery was established in 1861 and is the oldest Catholic cemetery in Niagara Falls where many immigrants from the early 19th and 20th centuries are buried.
Established in 1861, the oldest Catholic Cemetery in Niagara Falls, is the final resting place of many immigrants from the early 19th and 20th centuries.
On the right, South side of the driveway, are the graves of parishioners of St. Mary’s Church. On eat left, North side of the driveway, are the graves of parishioners of Sacred Heart Church.
As the informational sign says above, the cemetery is divided by sides of the driveway whereas the burials on the south side of the driveway are parishioners of St. Mary’s Church and those buried on the north side of the driveway are parishioners of Sacred Heart Church.
Many pictures have been taken and memorials made for those that are buried in this cemetery. You can visit the following websites:
Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2450221/st.-mary%27s-cemetery
BillionGraves: https://billiongraves.com/cemetery/St-Marys-Cemetery/339828
*Note – This cemetery didn’t exist on BillionGraves, so I added it. I’m not sure if there were any GPS-marked graves that will transfer over from Oakwood or if there just aren’t any pictures yet pinned for the cemetery. Regardless, there is noting there at this moment as it is a brand new cemetery.
The Niagara County Genealogy Society’s (NCGS) Library has a tombstone reading of the cemetery (separated by the north and south sides and indexed) that was done by Jerald and Dorothy Rolling in 1983-84.
The handwritten note on the page said to check the FamilySearch catalog for church records. That was a helpful note as I found the collections that the person was talking about! They original images are viewable and the collections have been indexed:
St. Mary’s Church Records on FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/30558?availability=Family%20History%20Library
Sacred Heart’s Church Records on FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/30545?availability=Family%20History%20Library
The NCGS Library also has a 5-page Tombstone Abstract document that was done by Robert P. Reilly for St. Mary’s Cemetery:
St. Mary’s Cemetery is not listed on Google Maps. However, Oakwood Cemetery is, and St. Mary’s is right next to it.