Stepney Cemetery

Birdsey's Plain Cemetery

Monroe, Connecticut

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Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery was established in 1794. It is in the Stepney area of the town of Monroe, Connecticut on Route 25, near the terminus of Route 59 (Stepney Road). Some common surnames represented in Stepney Cemetery are Beardsley, Booth, Burritt, Corning, Curtiss, Edwards, Fayerweather, French, Gilbert, Hawley, Hubbell, Nichols, Sherman, and Turney. Stepney Cemetery also boasts the final resting place of famed paranormal experts, Ed and Lorraine Warren. (Photos of their monument are toward the bottom of this page.) They lived just a few blocks away, and that is where their "museum" of the occult is located. The White Lady is said to frequent the cemetery, traveling between Stepney Cemetery and Union Cemetery along Route 59. (For more on the White Lady, visit the page for Union Cemetery.) Stepney Cemetery is also said to be infested with malevolent spirits. Supposedly the neighboring church (Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel) has performed the most exorcisms in the country, and the evil entities now gather in the adjacent graveyard.

UPDATE: Revisited Stepney Cemetery on 25 October 2024. (A few new photos have been added to this page.) The sign, above, has since been changed to state that "the oldest surviving tombstone is that of Betsey Sherman, 1794, age 5 yrs, 10m & 16 days." Unfortunately, most of the older stones (mid-1800s, back) are now illegible.

See how Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery features in Connecticut's "Little Salem".

Estimated number of interments, as of October 2024: at least 1452.

Photos taken 12 October 2008, 16 May 2010, 2 November 2019, and 25 October 2024.

The entrance to Stepney Cemetery.

The cemetery gates.

Another view of the cemetery.

The oldest stone I could find

(and that was still legible):

"In Memory of Mrs. ABIGAIL LEAVENWORTH

Wife of Mr. DANIEL LEAVENWORTH

who died May 6th 1801

in the 73d year of her age."

"ALLIE

Daughter of Homer & Eliza Toucey

Aged 17 yr's & 9 mo

Our dear one left us

June 6, 1882."

A monument for members of the Corning family. "In memory of Capt. Allen Corning Died in 1842 aged 82 y'rs He was a soldier and a pensioner of the Revolution, crossed the Delaware with Washington and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis."

"Philo T. Hubbell

Born In Monroe, Ct.

Died in Vicksburg, Miss.

April 16, 1846.

Aged 29 Y'rs. 7 Mo's. 10 D's."

The remainder of the inscription is illegible.

Curtis & Mary Sturges Cole.

Curtis died in 1861, aged 73.

Mary died in 18667, aged 77.

Ina Hill, died 1860, aged 6 months.

Bertha Hill, died 1877, aged 2 years.

Mary Leavenworth Hill, thier mother,

died 1903, aged 64.

"Rev. Stephen J. Stebbins was born in South Salem, NY. March 21st 1808. Died. After 40 y'rs in the Christian ministry in Bethel, CT. Feb. 23rd, 1876."

Also represented are Stebbins's three wives:

Sarah Bouton Stebbins (1807 - 1853)

Clara A. Benedict Stebbins (1819 - 1906)

Jane Warren Stebbins (1820 - 1856)

The Nichols monument has a moon and stars etched onto it.

Sylvester died in 1910, aged 69.

His wife, Abby, died 1896, aged 56.

Harry died 1933, aged 81.

His wife, Nellie, died 1897, aged 44.

"George S. Benning II.

Apr 27, 1967

Apr 29, 1967"

The remaining photos are of the resting place of internationally renowned paranormal experts, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Unfortunately, the highly glossy stone coupled with the time of day made it difficult to obtain clear photos. Ed and Lorraine Warren were world-famous for their embracing of the occult in their pursuit to exorcise the demonic and prove that life exists after death. They traveled extensively, helping people who were being terrorized by malicious, paranormal entities and educating the masses about life after death and protecting oneself from soliciting otherworldy evil. Cases they documented include the Amityville Horror, the possessed doll, Annabelle, the Perron family haunting (basis for the film, The Conjuring), the Lindley Street haunting (Bridgeport, CT), and the possession of Arne Cheyenne Johnson (the "devil made me do it" murder case). The Warrens created an occult museum in their garage, housing myriad objects that were supposedly cursed, possessed, or used in nefarious occult rites (including Annabelle). The Warrens wrote several books, including Graveyard, about nearby Union Cemetery. The couple resided in Stepney, just a few blocks from Stepney Green. Their occult museum is still located in Stepney. Ed and Lorraine Warren are buried in Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery.

The Warren monument, with a plaque in front and a bench for reflection. The first photo was taken May 2010; the second photo was taken in November 2019.

There is a cursive "W" at the top.

The body of the memorial states,

"Edward Warren Miney

Born Sept. 7, 1926

Died Aug. 23, 2006

His beloved wife Lorraine Rita Moran

Born Jan. 31, 1927

Died Apr. 18, 2019"

There is an engraving of Mary under the names/dates. Beneath "Warren" it says, "Sunday, Monday, always, their hearts were full of spring." There are flowers engraved at the bottom of the memorial. The flat stone is located in-between the monument and the memorial bench.

A close-up view of the Warren monument.

The right side of the monument is also inscribed. The top has "N.E.S.P.R. founded 1952" with a cross. (New England Society for Psychic Research)

The majority of the right side has an engraving of "Saint Michael the Archangel". Beneath this, "Defend us in battle be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the divine power of God - cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

"New England Society for Psychic Research founded 1952 by Ed and Lorraine Warren" is on the base.

The Warrens' monument (the photo above and the one following), 25 October 2024.