Memorial Cemetery of Ste. Genevieve

11/06/2025

Memorial Cemetery in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Opened in 1787 (first documented burial in 1793), making it a key part of the French Colonial history of Ste. Genevieve

Memorial Cemetery of Ste. Genevieve
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11/01/2025

10/01/2025

Oct. 1, 1811

These dueling pistols were engaged in a famous duel that occurred October 1, 1811 between two men from Ste. Genevieve.
Collection of the Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center.

This duel was one of the most unfortunate tragedies in the history of Ste. Genevieve and was between Thomas T. Crittenden and Doctor Walter Fenwick. Mr. Crittenden, a lawyer, and Dr. Fenwick, a physician, were both popular and regarded by the community as brave and gallant men.
The duel came about because of a disagreement between Mr. Crittenden and Dr. Fenwick’s brother, Ezekiel Fenwick, which provoked Ezekiel to challenge Mr. Crittenden to a duel. Mr. Crittenden later refused to meet Ezekiel for the duel, whereupon Dr. Fenwick, seeing refusal as a personal affront, offered himself in his brother’s place. Mr. Crittenden accepted the offer, and on October 1, 1811, both parties met on Moreau’s Island a few miles below Ste. Genevieve and opposite Kaskaskia landing. Gen. Henry Dodge and Hon. John Scott were the seconds of the two parties. At first fire, Dr. Fenwick fell mortally wounded, and he died the next day. His gravestone reads, “Doctor Walter Fenwick, born 1771, died Oct. 2nd 1811.”

10/01/2025

Oct. 1, 1877

04/18/2025

The Ste. Genevieve Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was organized in June 1874. This fraternal organization visited the sick, relieved the distressed, buried the dead, and educated the orphan. In 1880, they moved their hall into the Bisch building at Merchant and Main. This building would later be torn down to construct what is now Audubon's restaurant. A portion of Memorial Cemetery in the northwest corner was used to bury Odd Fellow members. Two members were taken to court when they buried a fellow member after the Nov. 1881 closure of Memorial Cemetery. After many court delays, the two were fined $1 each in 1883. The local organization appears to have dissolved after that.
From the June 11, 1874 Fair Play

04/06/2025

Along with François, there are four others interred beneath the alter area of the Ste. Genevieve Catholic Parish: Francois Corset, longtime cantor of the church who died in 1798; Marie C. Valle, wife of François; Father Jacques Maxwell, pastor of Ste. Genevieve from 1797 to 1814, and Father Henri Pratt, a native of Ste. Genevieve and first Catholic priest born west of the Mississippi, who was pastor from 1816 to 1822. (stegenevieveparish.com)

This is the March 6, 1804 burial record of François Vallé fils, son of the original the first Ste. Genevieve François. He died just before the symbolic turnover of Spanish then French ownership of Upper Louisiana to the Americans at St. Louis on March 10, 1804. François had become ill in early February and had named his younger brother, Jean Baptiste, as an interim replacement. The record indicates that François was the Captain of the Milice and Commandant Civil and Militaire for the District (sic Ste. Genevieve.) He was buried under the Commandant's pew in Ste. Genevieve's wooden church constructed in the 1794 -1795 period.

04/05/2025

If Ste. Genevieve holds a special place in your heart and you delight in discovering random historical anecdotes, we highly recommend exploring local historian Robert Mueller's new page. Just tap the link to get there.

Landmark & Historical Place

03/29/2025

Restorations Planned and in Progress at Memorial Cemetery

It is no surprise to find the oldest cemetery in Missouri in Ste. Genevieve, the oldest permanent European settlement west of the Mississippi River in what is now Missouri. Flooding of the Mississippi caused a gradual relocation from the original town site on the Mississippi to the present town location on a higher level. By 1787, limited burials began at the New Town site. It was not until 1793 that Memorial Cemetery became the primary cemetery for the community. Catholics regardless of color or nationality were interred there and soon it also became the burial ground for non-Catholics as well. It is the final resting place of French families such as the Roziers, Valles, LeCleres, Lalumondieres, Thomures, LaRoses, and Beauvais’s, baptized Native Americans, and free and enslaved Blacks. Also interred there are distinguished Missouri educator Joseph Hertich, legislators such as Senator Lewis Linn, and Missouri’s first US Representative, John Scott. Between 3500 and 5000 bodies are believed to be buried there and as a result, the cemetery was closed to burials in 1881.

Owned by and supported by the City of Ste. Genevieve, the cemetery‘s ongoing maintenance and preservation is managed and partially funded by the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve. The Foundation has been engaged at the cemetery in several activities, starting last March with a seminar on gravestone preservation, sponsored by the National Park Service. With the knowledge gained at the seminar, volunteers have been at work cleaning the stones and monuments at the cemetery. Recently, the Missouri Department of Conservation partnered with the Foundation to facilitate an inventory analysis and future care and maintenance plan for the many trees in the cemetery.

With a new $60,000 grant from Les Amis-St. Louis, a French cultural organization that advocates for and supports historic resources along our local French Creole Corridor, and support from the City of Ste. Genevieve, the Foundation will repair the cemetery’s iron fence and continue the restoration of the cemetery's old gravestones and monuments. Members of the City, Foundation, and Les Amis recently met at the cemetery to review the proposed projects. Les Amis president, Kina Shapleigh remarked during the discussion, “In this rapidly changing world, few things remain more certain today than our French history, and the legacy we wish to leave for future generations. Les Amis deeply appreciates the Foundation’s tireless work and dedication in preserving and protecting Memorial Cemetery in Sainte Genevieve.” The Foundation and the citizens of Ste. Genevieve are grateful for Les Amis support.