The Eltham Cemetery



The Eltham Cemetery, in Mt Pleasant Road, Eltham, is of great significance for the Sweeney clan as it marks the final resting place of many of those early Eltham pioneers who forged new lives in what was then an untamed and wild land.

The most significant plots and oldest are the Sweeney and Murray family plots which are shown below.



The Sweeney family plot contains the remains of Thomas Sweeney (1803-1867) who died in 1867 at age 64 and is buried with his wife Margaret and various children.



The Murray plot contains the remains of John Murray (died 1867 aged 50) and his wife Mary Murray (died 1909 aged 76).



Another significant plot is that of Mary Sweeney and her husband Michael Carrucan. Michael Carrucan was the oldest son of Patrick and Mary Carrucan. He inherited the Dalton Street farm from his father Patrick and farmed it until his death in 1943. His wife Mary was one of the grand daughters of Thomas Sweeney and married Michael in 1910 to unite these two great pioneering families.
.



Jim and his wife Mary Murray are buried in the simple plot shown below. Jim was the last of the Sweeney relatives living in Eltham and died in 1993.


This and much more information can be gleaned from the Eltham Cemetery records which are accessible via the Eltham Cemetery Trust website at http://www.elthamcemetery.com/

A search on the name 'Sweeney' in https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2297436/eltham-cemetery produces a list of 14 Sweeney family members buried at the Eltham Cemetery

Thomas Sweeney
Margaret Meehan Sweeney

Mary Fitzsimmons Sweeney
Patrick Sweeney
Margaret Sweeney
John Francis Sweeney
Ellen Mary Meagher Sweeney  
Annie Maria Sweeney
Johanna Marion Sweeney 

Elizabeth Agatha Sweeney
Agatha Margaret Sweeney
Agnes Sweeney
Caroline “Carrie” Sweeney
Arthur Sweeney
(1802 – 1867)    
(1809 – 1884)

(1837 – 1883)
(1839 – 1919)
(1841 – 1913)
(1844 – 1909)
(1846 – 1910)
(1848 – 1869)
(1850 – 1872)

(1871 – 1917)
(1872 – 1917)
(1873 – 1881)
(1878 – 1878)
(1881 – 1881)

There are also many other extended Sweeney Family members under surnames such as Murray, Carrucan and Ryan, etc.

A visit to the Eltham Cemetery is well worth the effort.