Hugh Joseph McDonald (1848-1895): Constructing Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

The life and times of a New Orleans cemetery caretaker.

Portrait of Hugh Joseph McDonald, from his obituary. New Orleans Daily Picayune, October 22, 1895. (New Orleans Public Library)

Adapted from Emily Ford, “The Stonecutters and Tomb Builders of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, Louisiana,” Master’s Thesis, Clemson University, 2013.

​New Orleans cemeteries are centers of its heritage, not only as the final resting place for great historical figures, but also as places where historic craftwork endures in brick and stone.  Within the avenues and aisles of the Saint Louis Cemeteries, Lafayette Cemeteries, St. Roch, St. Vincent de Paul, and others, there are hundreds of stonecutters, tomb builders, and vernacular architects for whom, it seems, only a carved signature remains.  In Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, for example, nearly two dozen tombs are signed by one such craftsman:  H.J. McDonald.[1] 
 
Hugh Joseph McDonald (1848 – 1895) was a stonecutter and tomb builder who spent most of his life within blocks of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.  He was a Civil War veteran, a state representative, local politician, and skilled craftsman.  He apprenticed with stonecutters and tomb builders who carried on a long tradition of stewardship to New Orleans cemeteries and, in turn, he mentored those who took his place.  He was active during a time of great technological, stylistic, and material changes to the crafts of masonry and monument carving.  As an artisan and as a member of his community, he earned his name, written in stone, among the tombs of New Orleans.  

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