Saint Augustine Cemetery

Bridgeport, Connecticut

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Saint Augustine Cemetery, established in the 1860s, is located at 905 Artic Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is only a few blocks away from Lakeview Cemetery. Saint Augustine is located in a rough part of town (as the photos will show) and it is strewn with trash. What's peculiar about the cemetery is that, aside from numerous obelisks, there seem to be very few stones here. On closer inspection, one finds that the other stones have all been knocked over. Apparently, this was done intentionally in the 1950s to prevent additional vandalism. A majority of the burials date from the late 1800s. Many stones are for Irish immigrants; their county of origin is recorded on their monuments. Also interred here are several Civil War veterans and Charlie "The Bum" DeStasio, a local character.

Curious as to why Bridgeport - Connecticut's most populous city that can trace its earliest European settlement to 1644 - only has one cemetery with stones dating from the 1700s? Visit the page, The Mystery of Bridgeport's Missing Cemeteries.

Estimated number of interments, as of January 2024: at least 925.

Photos were taken 27 September 2018.

A view of St. Augustine, taken from the entrance.

"Erected by Rev. T.J. Synnott

to the memory of Wm. St Ledger

who died Feb. 19. 1864,

aged 46.

A native of Castlebar,

Co. Mayo, Ireland.

Requiescat in pace.

Amen."

"Rev. Thomas Drea,

Parochus Ecclesiae Stae Mariae.

Obiit 22 Julii 1873.

Aet Ate 52.

In memoria eret justus.

Requiescat in pace."

"To the memory of

James T. Synnott, MD

A native of Attymore,

Co. Kilkenny, Ireland,

who died at Middletown, C't.

March 4, 1873.

Aged. 24 Y'rs.

R.I.P."

"At rest.

Hannah"

Captain Edward N. Goodwin, died 16 December 1880. His stone is too eroded to read, but it details his military service. The following is from the Hartford Daily Courant, 18 Dec 1880: "Death of a National Guard Captain Captain Edward N. Goodwin, of company E, Bridgeport, Fourth regiment, died Thursday afternoon, and will be buried to-morrow. He was the oldest captain in the National Guard, being promoted to the captaincy from first lieutenant on the 31st of January, 1868. He was one of the best informed men in the service and had many friends. Captain John L. White of the Hartford City Guard stood next to Captain Goodwin in point of service and now becomes the senior captain of the C. N. G. who died at Middletown, C't."

View of the cemetery form the back right corner.

"James H. Barry died May 17, 1882,

Ae 21 y'rs 2 mo's 11 d's.

A youth of superior intellectual

abilities, of frank and charming

manners, filled with all noble

ambitions, obtained by open ways;

his family and acquaintance mourn him.

Eliza A. Barry

Died Jan. 19, 1874

Ae. 5 y'rs."

"John Barry died Mar. 3, 1883,

Ae 52 y'rs.

Johannah, his wife died April 8, 1902,"

Charlie "The Bum" DeStasio

1896 - 1965

Charlie was a local character, a homeless man who roamed the East side of Bridgeport for years, refusing all offers for a job or shelter.

View of the cemetery from the back, facing the entrance on Artic Street, with the old Remington shot tower across the road.

Aerial view of St. Augustine Cemetery, from Google maps.