- Human remains have been unearthed from under the roots system of this tree at Duffy's Cut.
They were buried with little or no ceremony 180 years ago but now respect will finally be accorded the Irish railroad workers who perished at Duffy's Cut outside Philadelphia.
The Duffy's Cut reburial ceremony will be held this coming Friday, March 9, at nearby West Laurel Hill Cemetery. The Irish ambassador to the U.S., Michael Collins, will attend a gathering that will bestow all the trapping of a Christian funeral.
According to organizers of the reburial, in the summer of 1832, 57 Irish laborers died suddenly while building the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad between Malvern and Frazer in Pennsylvania at a site that became known as Duffy's Cut.
They had arrived in Philadelphia from Derry on the ship, the John Stamp, on June 23, 1832. Within five weeks of their arrival in what is now Chester County, all 57 were dead, reportedly from cholera.
Since 2003, the Duffy's Cut team has excavated a wooded area near the campus of Immaculata University looking for the remains of all 57. After extensive forensic examination, it was determined that some workers were victims of violence and that only a handful likely died from cholera.
"Since the first set of remains was found in March 2009, the remains of six bodies have been found. Sadly, the remaining individuals are buried in a mass grave directly under the Amtrak train tracks and cannot be exhumed," said Immaculata's Dr. Bill Watson, a leader of the excavation project.
"All railroad workers from Duffy's Cut will be honored at the ceremony. While only five men and one woman were exhumed from the mass burial site, it is our honor to bury these remains and remember all those who lost their lives at the Duffy's Cut site," said Watson.
