Cemeteries
St. Marys of the Barrens Cemetery
Perryville, Perry County, Missouri
Not all ancestors are represented on this page.
As research continues, additional ancestors and documentation will be included.
St. Mary's of the Barrens Cemetery is the oldest Catholic cemetery in Perry County. One of our founding citizens, Isadore Moore, referenced this cemetery when discussing the succession of the clergy to have visited the Louisiana Territory settlement that was to eventually become Perry County.
"The old chapel was built in 1812, the Reverend James Maxwell, Vical general, blessed it, and said the first mass; he served us the year 1813, but how often I cannot recollect, he was accidently killed by a fall from his horse in Easter time 1814. That Rev. Gentleman had some years previous occasionally said Mass a few times in the dwelling house of old Mr. Tucker. Perhaps it was in the year 1806, or 1807. There was a Revd. Gentleman by the name of O'Flinn came and stayed but a short time, he said Mass a few times at old Mr. Tucker's and blessed our first grave yard, near James May's place."
The "old Mr. Tucker" in Isadore Moore's recollection is our own ancestor, Joseph "Short" Tucker (1747-1816), another of the earliest citizens of The Barrens, or what was frequently referred to as "Tucker Settlement." St. Mary's Cemetery is also referenced in Timothy J. O'Rourke's Maryland Catholics on the Frontier, the Missouri and Texas Settlements:
"According to tradition, the first Mass was said at the home of Bede Moore. The cemetery alluded to has long since been abandoned, its presence unknown to most people. This resting place of the first pioneers is just north of the Seminary on a road called the Five-Mile Drive, on the west side of the road. It would be fitting if the local history buffs could spare time from the renovation of dilapidated houses to clean out the weeds and brush from the cemetery and place an historical marker by the roadside."
No obvious grave markers appear upright on the surface. However, there are markers that are either lying flat on the ground or partially buried. A listing of the individuals buried in this cemetery is available on the internet so it is my assumption that the records are housed somewhere within St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary or the with the Perry County Historical Society.
St. Mary's of the Barrens Cemetery is the final resting place of at least 249 early pioneers of Perry County. It is interesting to note that there are approximately 16 graves with a first name followed merely by "Unknown" (i.e. "Anna Unknown"). Notations on these individuals indicate that they were either slaves or "servants," often of a Mr. Wilkinson. Included among these burials is a "Henry Unknown," the son of Henry and Eugenia, "servants" of Fr. Rosati. Slavery was not uncommon among the Catholics at The Barrens. The U.S. Census 1850 Slave Schedule lists five slaves that were owned by St. Mary's Seminary and there was even a separate registry of slaves who were baptized as Catholics.
Although there are no photographs of the graves to include here, those buried in this early pioneer cemetery deserve to be memorialized. Below are members of our Gibbar family tree that have likely been buried in St. Mary's cemetery. There is a possiblity that, through marriage and name changes, an ancestor might have been inadvertently missed.
~ 3x Great Grandparents, 3x Great (Grand) Aunts & Uncles ~
Infant Tucker
1832 - 1832
~ 3x Great (Grand) Grand Aunt or Uncle~
INFANT TUCKER was born on January 10, 1832. He or she was the child of Mary Ann (nee Miles) Tucker and Nicholas Tucker, our 4x Great Grandparents. The child was delivered by Caesarean section after the death of the mother. The mother, Mary Ann (nee Miles) Tucker, doe not appear to be buried in this cemetery. INFANT TUCKER died on January 11, 1832 at one day old. He or she was our 3x Great (Grand) Aunt.
Jean Nicolas Gieber (Gibbar)
1799 - 1851
~ 3x Great Grandfather~
JEAN NICOLAS GIEBER was born on October 2, 1799, in Schorbach, France. He was the child of Maurice Gieber and Anne Barbe (nee Wagner) Gieber. Jean Nicolas married Anne Marie Drouard. The family immigrated to America and arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 6, 1832. Jean Nicolas married Mary Mattingly, daughter of Bartin Mattingly and Elizabeth (nee Cambron) Mattingly on September 8, 1835 in Perryville, Missouri. Mary Ann (nee Mattingly) Gibbar is also buried in this cemetery. She was born in 1816 and died in 1886 in Perry County, Missouri. Jean Nicolas died in 1851 in Perry County, Missouri. Jean Nicolas is our 3x Great Grandfather, the 2x great grandfather of our grandfather, James Henry Gibbar.
~ 4x Great Grandparents, 4x Great (Grand) Aunts & Uncles ~
Christina (nee Hagen) Tucker
1778 - 1828
~ 4x Great (Grand) Aunt ~
CHRISTINA (nee HAGAN) TUCKER was born [ ]. She was married to Peter Tucker. CHRISTINA (nee HAGAN) TUCKER died on March 20, 1828. She was our 4x Great (Grand) Aunt.
Joseph T. Tucker
1777 - 1833
~ 4x Great Grandfather ~
JOSEPH T. TUCKER was born in 1777 in St. Mary's County, Maryland.
Joseph married ...
Joseph Tucker died on July 25, 1833. He was our 4x Great Grandfather.
Peter Tucker
1777 - 1833
~ 4x Great (Grand) Uncle ~
PETER TUCKER was born in 1769...
Peter married ...
Peter Tucker died on December 24, 1845 in Perry County, Missouri. He was our 4x Great (Grand) Uncle.
~ 5x Great Grandparents, 5x Great (Grand) Aunts & Uncles ~
Mary "Polly" (nee Knott) Brewer Layton
1771 - 1852
~ 5x Great Grandmother ~
MARY "Polly" (nee KNOTT) BREWER LAYTON was born in 1772 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. She was the daughter of Richard "Basil" Knott and Mary (nee Drury) Knott. Polly married Charles Brewer from Nelson County, Kentucky in approximately 1790. Charles was the son of George and Mary (nee Williams) Brewer. After her husband's death, Polly married Ignatius Layton on July 25, 1837, in Perry County, Missouri. Polly died on February 2, 1852 in Perry County, Missouri. She was our 5x Great Grandmother.