Cemetery cleanup in McCandless uncovers forgotten past

Hidden beneath brush and dirt was the gravestone of Capt. Moses M. Warrick, 1884 to 1932, a fire marshal of Engine 38 in the City of Pittsburgh who was also a veteran of WWI and lived with his family in the Hill District.

Another grave was that of a baby, last name Hall, who died a few hours after being born with spina bifida. Then, there’s a man who was a wagoner during World War I, a person who hauled war supplies with a horse and buggy.

These are just a few of the stories of the forgotten graves located in Duncan Heights Cemetery, in McCandless, according to local Beth Burrell, who spearheads an ongoing project to clean up the site.

Volunteers returned on a recent rainy Saturday to continue on bringing a once-abandoned cemetery to life again.

“I don’t know these people. But I feel like everybody deserves a little bit of respect,” said Burrell, who has been researching it since she found a few graves about 10 years ago while walking her dog.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Burrell said.

Burrell held the first clean-up in April 2022.

This year, Memorial Park Church in McCandless initiated the cemetery clean-up as one of its Love Local Day projects on May 13, thanks to the suggestion of Jaime Dean, a church member, who had heard about the project.

“It has been a desire for a long time of MPC to see this sacred land brought back to a place of dignity and respect to all who are laid to rest there,” Dean said. “The people and veterans buried there are part of our Pittsburgh Heritage, their lives and stories worthy of remembering and honoring. It is our vision that one day the property can be used and enjoyed by our community and wildlife while providing paths connecting Sample Road and Duncan Ave for walkers and shoppers.”

Katie James, a spokesperson for the church, said, “Love Local Day is an opportunity for us to go out into the community and share the love of Jesus with our neighbors,” said “We have several organizations in the North Hills that we partner with, along with homeowners and projects like cleaning up the cemetery.”

Burrell invited back local Boy Scouts of America Scout Troops 329 and 9329 to help that day. Students from North Allegheny High School, nearby residents and other local church members also volunteered that morning.

Altogether, approximately 30 volunteers came to help remove trees, brush and uncover gravestones that were heavily buried in dirt, she said.

Last year, volunteers worked on clearing the lower portion of the cemetery, which has an entrance facing Duncan Road. This year, they worked on the upper portion where headstones of several African-American war veteran’s graves have been found.

The group received permission from North Park Baptist Church on Sample Road to access this portion as there’s no entrance.

“We reached them and then, as a direct result of the group’s work, ended up uncovering 15 more graves that we didn’t know were there including a fire captain from the City of Pittsburgh,” said Burrell, referring to Warrick’s grave.

The cemetery began when a Jewish grocery store owner in the Hill District bought the land as a “respectable place” for African-American citizens to bury family, Burrell said. In the 1930s, which seemed to be when most of the people there were buried, cemeteries for African Americans grave sites were separated in their own areas, often in less-than-desirable sites, she said.

The cemetery changed hands years later to under the name of the secretary of a funeral director in the North Side, leaving Burrell to question whether there was a conflict of interest. She said the cemetery became a place for many unmarked, forgotten graves. She doesn’t believe there was any real intent on maintaining it, with the last burials in the 1960s.

It was left for “nature to take its course,” she said. Many trees took root, breaking headstones and some graves are regularly flooded.

Last Saturday, volunteers had to dig through mounds of dirt to uncover headstones. And she is certain there are plenty of unmarked graves covered by debris that are yet to be found. Local This N’At Tree technicians chipped the logs and helped remove brush for free this past clean-up day.

Last year, a student at North Allegheny Senior High School, used the cemetery clean up as his Eagle Scout project.

Burrell was fortunate to come in contact with a genealogist from Maryland who was researching a relative buried there. Now the contact helps find information about the graves she finds.

It’s amazing there are all of these forgotten people behind many backyards in a busy, developed community like McCandless, she said.

Like the baby with the last name Hall. Burrell said she discovered the baby was Catholic but not yet baptized. She was buried at this cemetery.

“She didn’t live long but she still has a story,” Burrell said.

Burrell looks forward to working with volunteers of Memorial Park Church to conduct more cleanups. She created Friends of Duncan Heights Cemetery on Facebook for anyone interested in helping.

She is amazed so many came to volunteer their time to help.

“This weekend just reaffirmed how proud I am to be a part of this community.”