History and Comments
Otis, LaPorte County, Indiana
New Durham Township
This site update on April 12, 2004.
Our thanks to Richard Blissmer for redoing the maps of St. Mary's at Otis. Please view pages as shown in the table below to view all 4 sections in St. Mary's Cemetery. This should help those searching to find location of various burials.
Reflections:
In the early summer of 2003 I had the opportunity
to examine this small little parish cemetery and pay homage to the graves of
those that helped this small community grow. As I stood there reflecting on the
lives of these individuals and how hard they must have worked to contribute to
their church and community, wonderful choir music came from the church located
in front of the cemetery. As a tribute to these families, I photographed many
of the stones that can be seen by going to the photo album linked to this page.
And as with all the cemeteries of La Porte County, we are trying to accrue as
much information about these ancestors buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
and burial locations of those not previously noted in listings.
Your help is needed. If you know of additional burials that aren't shown on our listings, attached to this site, please contact us. Because of the fire of 1917, which destroyed the church and rectory, death and burial recprds were lost up to that point. Many of the old stones have weathered away and wooden crosses have fallen victim to vandalism and the ravages of time. The sadness of this is that unless a grave is marked we don't know who some of the families buried in the cemetery are. In the next few months we will be adding additional information on the history of St. Mary's and also burials as those wishing to respond; share their family information with us. So I implore you, help us provide information for those through out the US that may be seeking their heritage. Also please keep in mind that Fr. Joseph Pusateri, who is the shepard of this church, does not have cemetery records dating back to before 1917. This is why we are presenting this listing as burials known within the cemetery, up to 2004.
History of Otis:
From Packard's History of LaPorte Co., In
1876 p. 80 - Ralph Loomis was listed as an early settler coming to New Durham
Twp., in which Otis is located, in 1834. The naming of the town of Otis is
explained on pp. 76-77: Settlement of the town commenced in 1851. No plat was
recorded until 1870 when Solomon Tucker filed the plat and called the town
"LaCroix". However, it was first known as "Salem Crossing" the name given it by
the Michigan Southern Railroad (two railroads crossed here). When the
postoffice was established here the name of "Salem Crossing" was also adopted
by the postal dept. However, the other railroad, the Louisville, New Albany
& Chicago Railraod called it "LaCroix", the name the proprietor Solomon
Tucker gave it. The inhabitants decided to settle the confusion by giving it a
third name suggesting the name of our representative in Congress, Packard. For
a time it was known as "Packard." In 1872 Cong. Packard recommended the name be
changed to "Otis", the name it is still known by.
