Sacred Heart Cemetery
Laporte, PA
Next to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which is
pictured at the bottom of this page.
Transcribed by our local cemetery research team in November 2001
This site has been subsequently updated and maintained by Bob Sweeney, Bart Cavanaugh, Deb Wilson and Mike Dempsey.
Here is a link to a photo of what the Sacred Heart Lot looked like after this beautiful old church was torn down in 2009.
Beginning in October and November 2005, respectively, Michael
Dempsey and Deb Wilson offered to contribute
pictures of selected tombstones and markers from this cemetery. We will link these pictures
as they become available and are appreciative of Mike's efforts in this regard. Mike is a
descendant of the multifaceted Dempsey families of Sullivan County. Deb is a descendant of
the Keeler family from the Davidson/Nordmont area. We will distinguish Deb's photos from
Mike's by embedding them in a crimson field.
Then, in November 2005, Deb Wilson located and photographed several tombstones in the woods
behind the church. She reports that her grandmother once told her that
these graves were for workers who had labored in the nearby tannery at Thorndale.
At one time, this tannery was the largest employer in Laporte, but it closed in 1894.
We do not know why they were buried away from the burial ground near the church; perhaps
they were not Catholic or were of unknown religious orientation. We know a little bit
about the Nolans, who were the wife and daughters of Edward Nolan, a local Laporte farmer.
Catherine Nolan, who died in 1897, was twice widowed. Born Catherine Donahoo, she lost
her first husband, Patrick Sweeney, in 1854, and her second husband, Edward Nolan, also preceded
her in death. Peter Jankowsky/i/a appears as a laborer in the 1930 Federal census for nearby
Davidson Township. He is a 64 year old laborer living with his wife Agnes. He was born
in Bavaria and she came from Alsace-Lorraine. There is a note at the bottom of
this page that provides more detail on the Jankowski family. We would appreciate
any further inputs from knowledgeable readers. We present Deb's transcription and
photos of these grave markers at the end of the formal cemetery list below.
Beginning in March 2014, the Sullivan County Historical Society
and Museum (SCHS&M) provided an update that includes previously
unlisted interments, as well as additional information on several
of the interments that we did have. This information was extracted
from current and old records in the possesssion of that
organization. We have color coded those entries
in crimson, and express our
sincere appreciaton for this information to our colleagues at SCHS&M.
Last Updated: December 2014
Sacred Heart Cemetery
Laporte, Sullivan County, PA
July 6, 2002
Photo Taken by Mike and Debbie Krause
