Irish Immigrants Laid To Rest In Laurel Hill Cemetery, 180 Years Later
By Oren Liebermann
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The funeral procession at West Laurel Hill Cemetery marked the end of a 180 year journey for four men and one woman, part of a group of Irish immigrants that died in 1832 working on the railroad at Duffy's Cut.
"They left there trying to better themselves," said Jimmy Meehan, an Irish immigrant from County Donegal, where many of the Duffy's Cut workers emigrated from.
"Within six weeks, they were all gone, never heard from again," Meehan added.
Experts suspect some of the 57 workers died of cholera, while others were murdered after contracting the disease. For nearly two centuries, they lay forgotten in a field near Malvern, with barely a mention in the history books. But ten years ago, Professor William Watson from Immaculata University set out to find his countrymen and share their story.
"There was an inevitability to all this. The stories of these men and women had to be told," said Watson.
A crowd gathered at the cemetery Friday to pay their final respects, the immigrant story familiar to many in attendance.
"These were my countrymen. They came to this country the same as I did, many years ago, looking for better opportunity," said Bernard Boyce, another descendant from County Donegal.
Only one of the bodies discovered at Duffy's Cut has been identified. John Ruddy, likely a teenager when he died, was sent back to Ireland to be buried. But experts have kept some of the remains of the other bodies with the hope of one day identifying them using advanced DNA testing.
"We're still working on it," said Norm Goodman, former Chester County Deputy Coroner, who worked on the Duffy's Cut case.
The immigrants came looking for the American dream, but generations later, their proper burial fulfilled another dream -- of keeping their story alive.
