![]() ![]() Since accepting ownership, the Village of Lisle has been committed to the restoration and preservation of the two-acres to ensure that its historical significance to the community endures. McKibben could no longer maintain the cemetery. The Village of Lisle acquired ownership of the property in 1987 when Mr. James Hatch cared for the cemetery until June 4, 1883, when the Lisle Cemetery Association was formally incorporated under Illinois state law to collect fees that would be used to manage, maintain and improve the site.Lisle resident Bill McKibben was the volunteer care taker of the cemetery from 1957 until 1987. Their ancestors are believed to have been in the second company of Pilgrims that arrived in America in 1626.įive of the first eleven European settlers to stake property claims in the area during the 1830s are buried in this quaint, rustic cemetery. James and his brother Luther traveled to Lisle from New England and were the first settlers in the area. ![]() Hatch donated a portion of his land so fellow settlers could bury their loved ones. Gangsters like like Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti (also buried at Mount Carmel), Paul “The Waiter” Ricca (buried across the street at Queen of Heaven) and Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo (buried at Queen of Heaven) took notice of Giancana and in the late 1930s, Giancana became the first 42er to join the Outfit.The cemetery was established in 1832 when James C. Giancana soon developed a reputation for being an excellent getaway driver (he was wheel man for Capone at one time), a high earner and a violent killer.Īfter Esposito’s murder, in which Giancana was allegedly involved, the 42 Gang became an extension of the Outfit. Sam Giancana joined the Forty-Two Gang, a juvenile street crew headed by boss Joseph Esposito. Among his other nicknames were, “Momo”, “Sam the Cigar,” and “Sammy.” He was the son of Sicilian immigrants. It’s the final resting place of Salvatore “Mooney Sam” Giancana. On the other side of Mount Carmel you can find the mausoleum of the Giancana family. This is the best picture I could get of the inside of the Weiss mausoleum. With Weiss and George “Bugs” Moran, O’Banion established the North Side Gang, which eventually controlled rum running, bootlegging and other illicit activities in northern Chicago. As a Polish-American, Weiss was a petty criminal who befriended Irish-American O’Banion. Wojciechowski (better known as Hymie Weiss) and Dean O’Banion. You can read more about that here.ĭeeper into Mount Carmel you can find two of Capone’s bitter enemies, Henry Earl J. He was first buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery but after his mother’s death in 1952, he was moved to Mount Carmel (along with his father and brother Salvatore) in hopes a change in location would stop the vandalism to his gravestone. His final years were spent at his Palm Beach mansion and he died of a stroke brought on by his late-stage syphilis.Īfter a wake in Miami, Capone’s body was sent to Chicago for burial. During his incarceration, the disease ate away at his mental capacities. He contracted syphilis in his youth and thought he was cured when it went into remission, so he never sought treatment. While Ralph was also jailed for tax evasion at one point, he was considered a minor player in the underworld.Ĭapone died in 1947 in Miami but not in a hail of gunfire. Ralph “Bottles” Capone was Al’s older brother, who got his nickname not from involvement in the Capone bootlegging empire but from running legitimate non-alcoholic beverage and bottling operations in Chicago. Not because I think Prohibition-era mobsters should be glamorized but because of the impact they had on Chicago at that time in history. I freely admit that I wanted to see Mount Carmel’s main claim to fame, the grave of notorious gangster Alphonse “Al” aka “Scarface” Capone. In all, the cemetery grounds contain over 400 family mausoleums. There are more than 226,275 graves/family mausoleums at Mount Carmel and about 800 people are interred there annually. At about 214 acres, Mount Carmel combined operations with Queen of Heaven Cemetery (which is across the street) in 1965. So after dropping off my fellas at the Arboretum, I headed over.Ĭonsecrated in 1901, Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery was the first cemetery to be opened in the western area of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Out of habit, I looked to see if there were any cemeteries nearby and my eyes lit up when I saw Mount Carmel was about 20 minutes away. My son was eager to visit a Lego exhibition at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. Getting to see Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery was an unexpected gift. Having visited Rosehill, Bohemian National and Graceland, I saved Mount Carmel Cemetery for last. Today’s post is Part I of the final installment of my Chicago Cemetery Adventure.
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