Tombstone Tuesday: P.J. McGurty, Boilermaker

This small white tombstone is found in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio, along with many other military tombstones. The inscription reads:

BoilerMaker
P. J. McGurty
U.S. Navy

An obituary for Patrick J. McGurty appeared in the April 25, 1905 issue of the Sandusky Register. The article said that Patrick J. McGurty served on the U.S.S. Bennington in the U.S. Navy during the Spanish American War. Mr. McGurty was admitted to the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home from Lorain County, Ohio on December 3, 1902. He died in the home's hospital on April 20, 1905. He had fallen down some basement stairs in Sandusky, and fractured his tibia and fibula. These injuries, complicated by "alcoholic excesses," led to his death. His remains were sent from the hospital to Sandusky for burial in the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery. In the U.S. Census for 1900, Patrick J. McGurty was residing in Lucas County, Ohio, and was employed as a boiler maker. He stated that his parents had both been born in the country of Ireland.