Summary
Holy Cross Cemetery is the burial ground associated with Holy Cross Catholic Church on Beaver Island. The Michigan historical marker places the original 1860 church alongside the parish cemetery about one mile south of the present church site; the church was moved to its current location in 1957, while the cemetery remains modeled here as a separate physical resource.1
The Beaver Island Historical Society publishes a directory and map to help locate deceased family and friends. The directory is a community research resource, not a claim that the held project has a complete burial register or a definitive survey of the cemetery.2
Directory and evidence
The directory was assembled by cross-referencing church records, index cards, an older cemetery map, gravestones, deeds and genealogy research. Its entries record plot or lot locations, names, birth and death years, whether a marker or obituary is available, and known spouse or parent names. The page identifies unmarked burial sites with N.S. and explains that some dates in parentheses come from baptismal records or death certificates rather than a headstone.2
The source also warns that gravestone dates and other records can disagree, that the list of unmarked burials is still being expanded, and that the directory is updated when omissions or errors are reported. These qualifications matter: an entry in the directory is evidence about the Society’s current compilation, not by itself proof of every relationship, date, or burial location.2
Vernon memorial context
The March 2026 Northern Islander reports that three Gallagher sisters who died in the 1887 sinking of the steamer Vernon are commemorated by small headstones in Holy Cross Cemetery. The same account says Rose Gallagher’s body was recovered and buried there without a headstone. These are specific newspaper-reported memorial and burial claims, not an exhaustive list of the cemetery’s Vernon victims or all Gallagher burials.3
The May 1966 Beaver Beacon provides another direct burial attestation: after William A. Belfy’s death, a Requiem Mass was held at Holy Cross Church and he was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery. The notice does not identify a plot or establish that the cemetery directory contains a corresponding complete entry.
The May 1972 Beaver Beacon similarly reports that Lloyd McDonough’s funeral was held at Holy Cross Church on May 13 and that he was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery. This is a direct obituary attestation, not a plot-level directory record.4
The June–July 1970 issue adds two more direct burial attestations: J. Lawrence Malloy after June 20 services and John J. Ranger after his June 5 plane-accident death. Neither notice supplies a plot or a corresponding complete directory entry.5
The January 1971 Beaver Beacon reports that former Island resident Elizabeth Gallagher’s body was returned to Charlevoix after her January 2 funeral and says burial would be at Holy Cross Cemetery. Because the source uses future wording, the graph keeps this as an intended-burial attestation rather than a completed burial or plot claim.
The March 1971 issue records a second intended-burial case: Mary Elizabeth (Duffy) Gallagher died on March 11, received a Requiem Mass on March 13, and was expected to be returned to Beaver Island for spring burial. The report does not confirm the later burial or identify a plot. The April–May 1971 issue later reports her April 24 Requiem Mass and burial in the cemetery. It also reports Elizabeth Gallagher’s May 8 Requiem Mass and burial, resolving the January intended-burial wording into two later newspaper attestations.
Evidence limits
No source held here supplies a cemetery founding date, complete burial count, formal boundary survey, or exact coordinates. The marker establishes the cemetery’s association with the original church site, but does not by itself establish that every present plot occupies the original nineteenth-century boundary. Individual people and family relationships should be modeled only after their identities and supporting records have been separately reviewed.
See also
- Holy Cross Catholic Church
- Holy Cross Catholic Church building
- Irish settlement of Beaver Island
- Beaver Island Historical Society
- Death of William A. Belfy (1966)
Footnotes
-
Michigan Historical Marker “Holy Cross Catholic Church,” marker ID L2251 (
data/state/michigan/historical_markers.geojson), front text. ↩ -
Beaver Island Historical Society, “Holy Cross Cemetery” directory and map (
data/websites/www.beaverislandhistory.org/markdown/holy-cross-cemetery/index.md). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 -
Connie Wojan, “The Stories Behind the Names of Islanders Lost on the Great Lakes,” Northern Islander, March 2026 (
data/books/internet_archive/northern_islander_2026.03/northern_islander_2026.03_djvu.txt). ↩ -
Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Lloyd McDonough Passes.” ↩
-
Beaver Beacon, June–July 1970, “Islanders Pass On.” ↩
Sources
- Beaver Island Historical Society, "Holy Cross Cemetery" directory and map.Local directory page documents the cemetery map and a cross-referenced directory built from church records, index cards, the old cemetery map, gravestones, deeds and genealogy research. It gives lot locations, names, dates, marker/obituary indicators and known spouse or parent names, while warning about date discrepancies and ongoing updates.
- Michigan Historical Marker "Holy Cross Catholic Church," Michigan Historical Commission, marker ID L2251, registry listing year 2013, erected 2014.States that the original 1860 Holy Cross church stood alongside the parish cemetery about one mile south of the present church site; this establishes the cemetery's historical relationship to the relocated building but does not provide a cemetery founding date or boundary.state · michigan · historical_markers
- Beaver Island Master Plan (St. James Township / Peaine Township, 2023), Community Facilities and cultural-resources chapters.Lists Holy Cross Cemetery among the island's community heritage and visitor resources; it is a planning inventory, not a burial survey.
- Connie Wojan, "The Stories Behind the Names of Islanders Lost on the Great Lakes," Northern Islander, March 2026.Reports that three Gallagher sisters who died in the 1887 Vernon sinking are commemorated by small headstones in Holy Cross Cemetery, and that Rose Gallagher was buried there without a headstone; the newspaper account is not a complete cemetery register.
- Beaver Beacon, May 1966, “Obituaries: William A. Belfy.”Reports that William A. Belfy's Requiem Mass was held at Holy Cross Church and that he was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery; it gives no plot location or complete burial record.
- Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Lloyd McDonough Passes.”Reports Lloyd McDonough’s May 13 funeral at Holy Cross Church and burial in Holy Cross Cemetery; it gives no plot location or independent burial record.
- Beaver Beacon, August 1973, “Cemetery Fund Drive.”Reports the final date of the Holy Cross Cemetery Fund Drive changing from Labor Day to October 17.
- Beaver Beacon, June–July 1970, “Islanders Pass On.”Reports the Holy Cross Cemetery burials of J. Lawrence Malloy after his June 20 funeral and John J. Ranger after his June 5 death; it gives no plot locations or independent burial records.
- Beaver Beacon, January 1971, “Obituaries: Miss Elizabeth Gallagher.”Reports that Elizabeth Gallagher’s body was returned to Charlevoix after her January 2 Green Bay funeral and says burial would be at Holy Cross Cemetery; this is an intended-burial attestation, not confirmation of a completed burial or plot.
- Beaver Beacon, March 1971, “Obituaries: Mary Elizabeth Gallagher.”Reports Mary Elizabeth Gallagher’s March 11 death, March 13 Requiem Mass, and plan to return her body to Beaver Island for spring burial in Holy Cross Cemetery; this is an intended-burial attestation, not confirmation of a completed burial or plot.
- Beaver Beacon, April–May 1971, “Obituaries: Mrs. William J. (Mary Elizabeth) Gallagher” and “Miss Elizabeth Gallagher.”Reports Mary Elizabeth Gallagher’s April 24 burial and Elizabeth Gallagher’s May 8 burial in Holy Cross Cemetery; these are direct newspaper burial attestations without plot locations or independent cemetery-register verification.
- Beaver Beacon, January 1974, “John R. Martin” and “To The Beaver Island Club of Grand Rapids — Thank You.”Reports that John R. Martin’s burial in Holy Cross Cemetery was planned and thanks the Beaver Island Club of Grand Rapids for a $50 Cemetery Fund donation; the issue does not confirm Martin’s interment or provide a fund ledger.