--- title: Navigating Calvary Cemetery description: I am fortunate to be the oldest of eleven grandchildren. image: https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Clavary-Cemetery-1a-1024x574-1.jpg --- # [Vita Brevis A resource for family history from AmericanAncestors.org](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) - [Home](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/) - [About](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/01/generatio-longa-vita-brevis/) - [Authors](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/#) - [Robert Charles Anderson](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/randerson) - [Scott Steward](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ssteward) - [Alicia Crane Williams](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/acwilliams) - [A-F](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/#) - [Robert Charles Anderson](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/randerson) - [Jason Amos](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/jamos) - [Emily Baldoni](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ebaldoni) - [Sally Benny](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/sbenny) - [Nancy Bernard](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/nbernard) - [Lynn Betlock](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/lbetlock) - [Kristin Britanik](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/kbritanik) - [Laura Brown](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/lbrown) - [Stephanie Call](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/scall) - [Christopher C. Child](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/cchild) - [Ralph Crandall](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/rcrandall) - [Lael Dalal](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ldalal) - [Marie Daly](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/mdaly) - [David Dearborn](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ddearborn) - [Sheilagh Doerfler](http://http://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/sdoerfler) - Tom Dreyer - [Katrina Fahy](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/kfahy) - [Lindsay Fulton](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/lfulton) - [G-M](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/#) - [Zachary Garceau](http://http://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/zgarceau) - [Judi Garner](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/jgarner) - [Andy Hanson-Dvoracek](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/andyhd) - [Helen Herzer](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/hherzer) - [Henry Hoff](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/hhoff) - [Alice Kane](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/akane/) - [Johnna Kaplan](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/jkaplan) - [Andrew Krea](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/akrea) - [David Allen Lambert](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/dalambert/) - [Ann Lawthers](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/alawthers) - [Don LeClair](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/dleclair) - [Christopher Lee](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/cclee) - [Katherine Lonergan](http://http://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/klonergan) - [Judith Lucey](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/jlucey) - [Jean Maguire](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/jmaguire) - [Rhonda McClure](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/rmcclure) - [Anne Meringolo](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ameringolo) - [P-Z](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/#) - [Eileen Pironti](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/epironti) - [Molly Rogers](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/mrogers) - [Deb Rossi](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/drossi) - [Timothy Salls](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/tsalls) - [Meaghan E. H. Siekman](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/msiekman) - [D. Brenton Simons](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/dbsimons) - [Susan Sloan](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ssloan) - [Scott Steward](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ssteward) - [Penny Stratton](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/pstratton) - [Sam Sturgis](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/ssturgis) - [Helen Schatvet Ullmann](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/hsullmann) - [Roger Thompson](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/rthompson) - [Leah Walczak](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/lwalczak/) - [Leslie A. Weston](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/lweston) - [Alicia Crane Williams](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/acwilliams) - [Ryan Woods](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/author/rwoods) - [Subscribe](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/blog/subscribe/) - [AmericanAncestors.org](https://americanancestors.org) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Navigating Calvary Cemetery [November 24, 2015](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2015/11/navigating-calvary-cemetery) [American History](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history), [Research Methods](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-methods), [Object Lessons](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/object-lessons), [Family stories](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-stories) [Lindsay Fulton](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/lfulton) [![Clavary Cemetery 1a](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Clavary-Cemetery-1a-1024x574-1.jpg?width=604&height=339&name=Clavary-Cemetery-1a-1024x574-1.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Clavary-Cemetery-1a-1.jpg)I am fortunate to be the oldest of eleven grandchildren. Because of my age, I was old enough to remember attending my great-great-aunt’s eightieth birthday party, dancing with my great-grandmother at my aunt’s wedding, and eating several Thanksgiving dinners with my great-great-uncle. I enjoyed spending time with my Lowell and Manhattan relatives; they had really cool stories about playing street games, stealing from ice trucks and, on one specific occasion, a time in which they were detained by police for catcalling an officer on horseback. So, when NEHGS sent me to Ridgefield, Connecticut, for a genealogical fair, I decided to take a slight detour to visit my storytelling ancestors who are buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens. Now, [Calvary Cemetery](http://www.nymoon.com/pubs/undertone/dead/) contains the largest number of interments of any cemetery in the United States (about 3 million). So, rather than walking aimlessly through acres of tombstones, I called my mother (who checked with Nana) for the burial plot information of my great-grandparents: “Mary Mohan is Section 63, Plot 59, Grave 2. If you are looking at the stone, then Nana Agnes is behind, maybe 3 or 4 rows.” Armed with the information from Nana, I downloaded a [map of Calvary Cemetery](http://www.calvarycemeteryqueens.com/pdf/Calvary-Cemetery-Map.pdf), located Section 63, and went confidently on my way… When I first pulled up to Fourth Calvary Cemetery, I immediately remembered my great-grandmother’s Agnes’s funeral. I was only 8 years old, but I distinctly recalled the sound of airplanes flying into La Guardia and the rumble of the Long Island Expressway as I stood quietly, listening to the remarks from my uncle Dan. And, when I followed the map to Section 63, further and further from the highway overpass, I became less confident in my memory of the day. I thought that Nana Agnes was buried closer to the Expressway… [![Calvary Cemetery 2](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Calvary-Cemetery-2-225x300-1.jpg?width=225&height=300&name=Calvary-Cemetery-2-225x300-1.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Calvary-Cemetery-2-1.jpg)Upon arriving at Section 63 I immediately found Nana Mohan; her husband, Patrick Mohan; their 3-year-old son, Eugene Mohan; and their adult son, Kevin. I took several pictures of the grave (which were subsequently uploaded to [www.findagrave.com](http://www.findagrave.com)) and began looking for the tombstone of my Nana Agnes, who was supposedly buried three or four rows behind Nana Mohan. Yet, after traversing the entirety of Section 63, I was unable to locate her grave. Maybe my grandmother was mistaken? Maybe she was buried closer to the highway overpass, as I remembered? [![Calvary Cemetery 4](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Calvary-Cemetery-4-300x241-1.jpg?width=300&height=241&name=Calvary-Cemetery-4-300x241-1.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Calvary-Cemetery-4-1.jpg)As I tried to recall that day in August of 1990, I walked closer to the overpass, trying to pinpoint the place that I stood as an 8-year-old. I went from Section 63 to an area closer to the Expressway: Section 58. And bingo! after a few minutes I found the tombstone of my great-grandmother, Agnes N. Ambrose; her mother, Bridget Carey; her father, James P. Carey; and her 12-year-old sister, Florence Carey. I was so impressed with my memory, especially considering the distance between the two stones was not three or four rows, as mom and Nana remembered, but about 560 feet. [![Calvary Cemetery 3a](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Calvary-Cemetery-3a-300x257-1.jpg?width=300&height=257&name=Calvary-Cemetery-3a-300x257-1.jpg)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Calvary-Cemetery-3a-1.jpg) The distance between the two lots. Now in the defense of my mother and grandmother (whom I love dearly), Calvary Cemetery is gigantic. So I can see that when family members are buried a stone’s throw from one another (if you can throw like Cy Young), it may seem as if they are only a few rows from one another. And while I often rely on my grandmother and mother’s input, this occasion reminded me to use caution when interviewing family members. Because memory can be tricky: family members can recall names, events, places, and ages differently, just as my memory of Calvary Cemetery was unlike my mother and grandmother’s recollections. So while family stories are a wonderful research tool, researchers must work to detangle memories and family lore from the facts. ### Share this: - [mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2015/11/navigating-calvary-cemetery](mailto:?body=https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2015/11/navigating-calvary-cemetery) - - - More - - ![Lindsay Fulton](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/hubfs/Lindsay_Fulton_Jan25.jpg) ## About Lindsay Fulton Lindsay Fulton is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer who joined American Ancestors in 2012. She leads the Research and Library Services team as Chief Research Officer, as well as the research team working on 10 Million Names. In addition to helping constituents with their research, Lindsay has authored a Portable Genealogists on the topics of Applying to Lineage Societies and the United States Federal Census (1790-1950), and is a frequent contributor to the American Ancestors blog, Vita-Brevis. She was featured in the Emmy-Winning Program: Finding your Roots: The Seedlings, a web series inspired by the PBS series “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.", as well as another popular PBS series, “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love.” Before, American Ancestors, Lindsay worked at the National Archives and Records Administration in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she designed and implemented an original curriculum program exploring the Chinese Exclusion Era for elementary school students. She holds a B.A. from Merrimack College and M.A. from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Area of Expertise: State and Federal Censuses, New England, Ireland, and New York research, with a focus on research methodology and organization. Lindsay also oversees the research team working on the 10 Million Names project.[View all posts by Lindsay Fulton →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/author/lfulton) [← Deeds: Part One](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2015/11/deeds-1) [Educable children →](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2015/11/educable-children) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ### Recent Posts [How Bronzed Baby Shoes Became More Than Just a Mother’s Treasure!](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/bronzed-baby-shoes) [Charles Bulfinch – A Father of Federal Style Architecture](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/charles-bulfinch) [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) ### Archives - [October 2014 (27)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/10) - [December 2015 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/12) - [July 2020 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2020/07) - [April 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/04) - [July 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/07) - [December 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/12) - [July 2015 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/07) - [March 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/03) - [May 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/05) - [August 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2018/01) - [March 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/03) - [August 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/08) - [April 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/04) - [September 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/09) - [October 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/10) - [March 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/03) - [June 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/06) - [August 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/08) - [September 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/11) - [December 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/01) - [June 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/06) - [November 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/11) ### Categories - [Family stories (1261)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/family-stories) - [American History (1137)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/american-history) - [Critical Analysis (1126)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/critical-analysis) - [Research Methods (881)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-methods) - [Brick Walls (674)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/brick-walls) - [Object Lessons (617)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/object-lessons) - [Spotlight (617)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/spotlight) - [Genealogical Writing (554)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/genealogical-writing) - [Research tips (510)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/research-tips) - [Serendipity (479)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/serendipity) - [Road Trips (393)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/tag/road-trips) ### Recent Posts [How Bronzed Baby Shoes Became More Than Just a Mother’s Treasure!](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/bronzed-baby-shoes) [Charles Bulfinch – A Father of Federal Style Architecture](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/charles-bulfinch) [Sailor Bill and His Forgotten Wife](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/sailor-bill-and-his-forgotten-wife) [Professor X](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/professor-x) [Part I: Malaga Island, Maine](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/part-i-malaga-island-maine) ### Meta - [Log in](https://vita-brevis.org/wp-login.php) - [Entries RSS](https://vita-brevis.org/feed/) - [Comments RSS](https://vita-brevis.org/comments/feed/) - [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/) ### Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. ### Archives - [October 2014 (27)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/10) - [December 2015 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/12) - [July 2020 (24)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2020/07) - [April 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/04) - [July 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/07) - [December 2014 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/12) - [July 2015 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/07) - [March 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/03) - [May 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/05) - [August 2017 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/08) - [January 2018 (23)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2018/01) - [March 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/03) - [August 2014 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2014/08) - [April 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/04) - [September 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/09) - [October 2015 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2015/10) - [March 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/03) - [June 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/06) - [August 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/08) - [September 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/09) - [November 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/11) - [December 2016 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2016/12) - [January 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/01) - [June 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/06) - [November 2017 (22)](https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/archive/2017/11)