I See Dead People

Grave of James Murphy of Annaberg

 There are burial sites all over the island, some are substantial, like the one in Cruz Bay. Some are nothing more than a pile of rocks with a conch placed on it. Some present day family plots are comprised of 5 to 10 persons. Some of these graves are easy to find, some you have to know or get someone to tell you. It's a scavenger hunt into history.

The most interesting to me, the ones that hold the most mystery, are the historical graves hidden in the entangled woods. They weren't always hidden, the earth has taken them back, no one cares, their people have forsaken them, but they are there and shouldn't be forgotten by us. 
There are no slave graves, no marked ones anyway. Slaves were buried in poor soil unsuitable for farming, often without a box, or on the beach which was considered useless land. Not too long ago changing water levels exposed a number of human remains at Cinnamon Bay which turned out to be a slave burial. The remains were re-interred with a ceremony. But there are no known slave graves on St. John, though it's speculated there are some burials under the large Tamarind or Spirit Trees, as bones have been found by the present property owner when gardening. It's believed the spirit of the departed lives in the tree. This is the reason a Tamarind tree is not cut down or removed.

Post-Plantation Era Graves At Cinnamon Bay

Plantation Owner William Henry Marsh at Reef Bay

Danish Burial at Lameshur, Not Much left

Modern Day Cemetery in Cruz Bay

More Danish Graves at Lameshur

In the Cruz Bay Cemetery

A Mix in Cruz Bay

 I always visit Louise at Esperance. There she lies, in a romantic glade, solitary except for one unmarked pile of brick and stone. She's in a peaceful and positive spot behind the ruins of her home. If you stand by her grave you hear the wind, the rustling Tyre palm leaves, the birds, and the sun shines brightly on her white tabletop. Somebody loved Louise to give her a prominent tomb with a marble plaque. Maybe others feel the positive vibes because as yet no one has stolen her plaque to make a table out of it! I just can't imagine taking anything from a grave, not a stone, not a brick, and certainly not the headstone, but people are ...well you know, for lack of a better word ... people! In remembrance, some like minded hikers have left bits of pottery, glass bottles and shell on top of the grave. I think their thought has more meaning because the pieces are from her time. There is never any bad juju at Esperance. It always seems like a good spirit resides there. I've found out that the landowners at the Esperance Estate were good to their slaves, embraced the Moravians and provided medical aid to their workers and others. Later the property was sold to a doctor in 1830 who took care of the islands enslaved laborers until 1835 when the site was abandoned. Maybe their kind hearts, Louise's, the doctor's, are still there. 

I'm making this up, but you never know. Good to see you again, Louise!

Louise Sommer 1861

Heinrich Tonis, Grt Grandson of the Owner Claus At L'Esperance Ruins

Tonis' Engraving in Danish "23 September 1760?"

Anna Hjardemaal at Cinnamon Bay 

This grave belongs to Anna Margarethe Berner Hjardemaal. It reads "Remember Her With Love 1836". The decorative plaques have been stolen.

The bush used to guard it's secrets well. It was an adventure to search for the family plots but also to come across them by accident in wanderings. it's not easy to explore through the thorny plants and brave the overgrown animal paths to visit these silent friends. They had such hopes, didn't they?  These are just a few of the many "lost" burials on the island. They are my favorites, if it's possible to have an emotional feeling about such a thing. I said "used to guard" because all these sites are now exposed where they used to be hidden. In the last 6 years the trail maintenance volunteers have been clearing many of the more popular or important sites, with some opposition from a select few who feel they own the knowledge of where these places are and no one else should get to share that or enjoy them. We living have a weird interest in gravesites. I believe clearing the sites is a good thing. Louise would like to have people visit her.