Brothers William and Frank Watson, the researchers who first uncovered Duffy’s Cut, believe they have discovered a second mass grave of Irish railroad workers buried in Malvern in 1832, writes Zoe Greenberg for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
William Watson is a historian at Immaculata University, while Frank Watson is a pastor and an archivist. They discovered more human remains in May, on land owned by Northwood Cemetery in Downingtown, around 11 miles from Duffy’s Cut.
Frank Watson believes they will once more find evidence of violence at the new site, just as they did at Duffy’s Cut.
Fifty-seven laborers arrived in Philadelphia from Derry, Ireland in the summer of 1832. Within eight weeks, all were dead.
Although the official account blamed cholera, the Watson brothers uncovered evidence of violence, including a skull with a bullet. Working with forensic anthropologists at Penn Museum, they believe some workers who did not have cholera were killed in a wave of anti-immigrant, anti-disease panic.
“The sad reality is these guys didn’t have a chance, pigeonholed and blamed for a disease that they didn’t bring,” said Frank Watson.
Read more about the newly discovered second mass grave in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
_____
