St Joseph RC cemetery restoration project

By Thais De Four

Citizens for Conservation

The St Joseph RC Church, St Joseph, stands guard over the weathered tombstones of the small cemetery that is part of its legacy. Each stone, from the grandest mausoleum to the simplest cross, whispers a story, a fragment of the rich tapestry that is Trinidad’s past.

On a large Amerindian settlement, the first Spanish immigrants founded San Jose de Oruña in 1592. St Joseph, as it became known, holds within the walls of the cemetery of the Catholic Church, its vibrant past as the island’s first capital. Here lie individuals whose lives were inextricably linked to the ebb and flow of empires and the making of a new society.

Imagine, for a moment, stepping back in time. Here lies Dona Isabella Fermin de Prado de Villegas, her ornate 1682 tomb, currently featured in the National Trust Heritage List as the oldest tomb in Trinidad and Tobago. Her only tie to the present is that she is an ancestor to the Farfan family, but who was she and what was her story?

Just a few paces away, a more modest tomb marks the resting place of Maria Antonia Monagas, the granddaughter of a Venezuelan revolutionary who found refuge, and ultimately her final peace, on these shores in the early 1800s. Look closely, and you might decipher the Spanish inscription on the gravestones of the 19th-century mausoleum, hinting at the earliest European settlers, like the Hernandez family, their fortunes intertwined with the island’s cocoa.

Tucked away in a quiet corner, the simple markers of the Giuseppi family, their Corsican roots, a subtle reminder of the diverse currents that fed into this island’s unique identity.

Then there are the more modest gravestones of Eliza Hobson and the true reflection of the mixture of cultures of Santo Assing, whose tomb bears a Chinese inscription.

These aren’t just names and dates; these are lives lived, loves lost, dreams pursued. They represent the Spanish administrators who shaped the colonial town, the French Creole families who brought their culture and enterprise, the resilient Venezuelan, Corsican, Chinese and Indian migrants seeking new beginnings, and all adding their distinct flavour to the island’s commerce.

Their stories, etched in stone, speak of the very origins of Trinidadian society, of intermarriage, of immigration, shared struggles, and the blending of traditions that forged the vibrant nation we know today.

But time is taking its toll. Inscriptions fade, stones crack, and some tombs are slowly yielding to this. The people of T&T are losing these vital threads to our past, these tangible links to the men and women who built St Joseph and, by extension, Trinidad.

This is why we urgently need your support. We are embarking on a vital project to restore and protect the Church records, digitally map the entire St Joseph RC cemetery, as well as the restoration of the older tombs dating from 1682 to 1900. Imagine a future where these stories are not lost to the elements, but preserved, catalogued, and made accessible to everyone.

This proposal will create an archive, which will allow researchers, genealogists, and curious minds from across the globe to explore these historical narratives. We can pinpoint the locations of these significant tombs and those still to be recovered, reconstruct family lineages, and visualise the migratory patterns that shaped our island. This shared heritage is not merely academic; it is alive in the faces and customs of contemporary Trinidadians. The restoration project becomes a living bridge between the past and the present, inviting descendants, historians, and curious alike to connect with their roots.

Any contribution—oral histories, knowledge and funding—will do more than just mend broken stone: it will mend gaps in our collective memory. It will allow us to honour all that made St Joseph, and by extension Trinidad and Tobago, the city and country that it is.

The Spanish, French, Venezuelan, Corsican, African, East Indian and Chinese communities, together, wove the intricate fabric of our shared heritage. It will empower us to tell their human stories, ensuring that the whispers from the St Joseph RC cemetery echo through generations to come. Join us in preserving this invaluable legacy, for in safeguarding their past, we illuminate our own future.

If you are willing to help with the conservation of this cemetery, please contact Citizens for Conservation at conservationtandt@gmail.com