Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Late in December 2021 when I read my copy of the Transcript, a couple of things caught my eye. First, there was a great picture of my mom, Kathy O’Connor, and second, a listing of all the unmarked graves in Eddy County. In the list, the family name O’Keefe stood out to me. I knew that my second great-grandmother was an O’Keefe, so these people were family. Armed with an Ancestry account and a lot of free time (it was during the semester break from my college teaching job), I dove into researching the O’Keefe in the unmarked grave list.

The O’Keefes were one of the Irish families, which also included the O’Connors, O’Connells, Carrolls, Caseys and Fitzgeralds that settled in Munster Township in the 1880s. I always assumed that Munster Township was named for Munster, Germany due to the many German settlers in the area. The reality is that Munster township is named for the ancient kingdom of Munster, which encompassed most of southern Ireland, including Boherbue, Cork, from where my people emigrated.

My first research into the O’Keefes concentrated on John and Jack O’Keefe. I determined that there are actually three John O’Keefes buried in St. John’s Cemetery and each of them comes from a different branch of the O’Keefe family.

Jack O’Keefe (John Joseph, 1867-1932) was born in Boherbue, Cork, Ireland and his sister, Mary (O’Keefe) O’Connor, was my second great grandmother. He was married twice, first to Johanna McCarthy who died in 1920 and then Johanna’s sister, Helen McCarthy. His grave is unmarked, but we assume that he is buried next to his first wife in Block 7, Lot 5.

John O’Keefe (1862-1923) was born in Wisconsin to Dennis and Catherine (O’Connor) O’Keefe. Catherine was the sister to my third great-grandfather. (Yes, I know the family tree has some tangled branches.) While John was born in Wisconsin, he grew up in Kaniyohi County, Minn. with his siblings, Honora, Mary, Ellen, Dennis, Daniel Williams (DW) and Kathryn. By 1910, John, Dennis, DW and Kathryn had all moved to Munster township. John, DW and Kathryn are buried in Block 2, Lot 51, but his headstone was moved to Block 2, Lot 10 to make way for an access road. DW and Kathryn are buried in Block 6, Lot 4, but only Kathryn’s grave is marked.

The third and final John O’Keefe is John Leo O’Keefe (1911-1972). He is the son of Patrick and Catherine (Herlihy) O’Keefe. Patrick was the brother of Jack and Mary O’Keefe, so this John is the nephew of the first John (another tangled branch). John Leo is buried in Block 6, Lot 3 and has just a metal funeral home marker.

The last O’Keefe on the unmarked graves list is George O’Keefe. George Cornelius (1876-1963) is the son of Michael and Johanna (Hogan) O’Keefe and the stepson of Honora (O’Connor) O’Keefe. Honora is my second great grandfather’s sister. (Even more tangled branches.)

George married Delia Marie LaPierre and had five children. The unmarked grave was not for George, but for his youngest daughter, Alice, who died just three days after birth in 1929. Alice is buried near her maternal grandparents, Joseph and Mary LaPierre (Joe and Mrs. Joe LaPierre in the unmarked grave list); aunt, Alice LaPierre Clute; and cousin Arthur Clute, in Block 6, Lot 12. George and Delia died in Wisconsin and are buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetary in Woodruff, Wisc.

Unfortunately, I had to go back to work and my free time ended. My mom has taken over the research into the other unmarked graves in St. John’s and Prairie Home Cemeteries. Look for further updates from her in this seies, “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.” I personally look forward to hearing about these lost but hopefully not forgotten early settlers of Eddy County.