GET THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR EVERY DAY

Belfast Telegraph

  • nijobfinder
  • nicarfinder
  • propertynews.com
  • Classified

Mass grave may house immigrants

By Clare Weir
Wednesday, 22 August 2007

Archaeologists in the US have uncovered a mass grave thought to be the final resting place of almost 60 immigrants from Londonderry, Tyrone and Donegal who died in mysterious circumstances.

The 175-year-old mystery of the railroad workers may now be solved after a team led by brothers Dr William and Frank Watson, using thermal imaging and ground-penetrating equipment, disturbed a 40ft by 20ft area which, they say, may contain the 57 bodies.

The labourers arrived in Pennsylvania in June 1832 to construct the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad but six weeks later all had died and were buried without ceremony in a ditch.

While the popular consensus is that the men perished in a cholera epidemic, there are also theories that they were murdered by anti-Irish vigilantes.

The year before, such feelings had sparked rioting in Philadelphia.

Excavations will now take place over the coming days to see if the men's final resting place has indeed been discovered - and Frank Watson has revealed that a local cemetery has offered to give the bodies a proper burial.

Speaking on radio today, he added that advances in thermal imaging technology had enabled the team to make further progress in the painstaking search.

"We have uncovered what we think is the site of this grave," he said.

"This is an enormously important breakthrough and we have an image of these poor men in their final repose.

"We have all the necessary permits for exhumation and to place them in properly consecrated ground and West Laurel Hill cemetery nearby agreed to take the remains and bury them properly."

Dr Watson inherited the legend from his grandfather, who was a railroad employee who compiled a list of files on the case.

"We now believe we are inches away from finding this grave and we are just itching for the rain to stop on the East Coast."

The grave may also be declared a crime scene by police if the remains are discovered to have died through violence.

Local man Brian Hegarty said today he believes that his relative may be one of those buried at Duffy's Cut.

Post a comment

Limit: 500 characters

View all comments that have been posted about this article

Comment
Your details

* Required field

Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP address logged and may be used to prevent further submissions. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by BelfastTelegraph.co.uk's Terms of Use.

Posts submitted in UPPERCASE letters will be rejected.

How may I find a list of the names of the men and their home towns? Were they all from Donegal, Tyrone and Derry? When I listen to a song written about the story, I believe I hear Shragraddy mentioned ... but unclear.

Posted by David Templeton | 18.01.09, 21:30 GMT

Post a complaint

Please note Name and E-mail are required.

Contact details

In Pictures: The Troubles

In Pictures: Northern Ireland Nightlife

Had a big night out? Click here to send us your pics

In Pictures: All Our Yesterdays

In Pictures: The Giant's Causeway

Day out at the Giant's Causeway, Antrim

Most viewed

TeleToons

TeleToons by Stevie Lee

Click here for audio version