St. Ninian's Cemetery Stone #4 Nora and Lizzie Fitzgerald Dimensions: 31” clear of 5 ½” base, base 11” sq, stone 8” sq. Orientation: East/West Inscription: NORA/ DIED APR. 16, 1891/ AGE 5 YRS/ LIZZIE/ DIED APR. 19, 1891/ AGE 9 YRS/ CHILDREN OF JOHN & MARY FITZGERALD Material: Marble Condition: The stone is still legible despite some staining, moss/lichen, and some fairly serious gouges taken out of the edges that obscure some of the text. The carving at the top of the stone – a cross and banner bearing the I.H.S. christogram – is a bit faint but still legible. The back of the stone is inscribed with the details of their father, John Fitzgerald’s death, just three days before the first of two his daughters. Nora and Lizzie Fitzgerald were the only daughters of John and Mary Fitzgerald (b. Ireland). The girls are recorded in the 1891 census (collected shortly before their death) as aged 9 and 4. Also recorded in the census are Michael, the eldest child at 14, and John A., age 6. There is little information regarding the cause or nature of their death given in their obituary: Fitzgerald – At Antigonish, on the 13^th and 22^nd Inst. respectively, Nora, aged five, and Elizabeth, aged nine, children of the late John Fitzgerald whose death has been noticed in The Casket of the 16^th Inst. The widow and […] mother has the condolence of the whole community. R.I.P. The notice about John Fitzgerald’s death was more informative: Fitzgerald – At Antigonish on Monday 13^th Inst. John Fitzgerald, in the 50^th year of his age. The deceased was native to Kerry, Ireland. In his early work, he had come out to Boston. There [illegible] subsequently removed to P.E. Island from which latter place he came to Antigonish some 13 years ago. During the years that have since gone by he made many friends here, and was generally esteemed as an upright, industrious man, a good neighbor, a sincere and practical Christian. His death was brought on by an attack of scarlet fever of a very malignant type which carried him after a few days of illness. The four little children are stricken with the same disease, two of whom are not expected to recover. Much sympathy is felt for his widow in her great bereavement. R.I.P. The boys did recover, but clearly Nora and Lizzie were less fortunate. A later piece in the Casket describes the similarly tragic fate of Mary Fitzgerald. In essence, the article relates Mrs. Fitzgerald fell ill while next to the river near her home, where she had frequented that week, and had drowned. The author describes how her mental and physical health had deteriorated since the passing of her husband and two daughters, and the news that her son Michael had died in Whitehorse (which proved to be false), but asserts that the “jury returned a verdict of accidental drowning.” There is no evidence that Mrs. Fitzgerald is buried within the confines of St. Ninian’s cemetery with any members of her family. Krista Farrell (edited by Christopher Greencorn) [ Back ]