Rev. Fr. Joseph A. Hartnett -- Calvary Hill Cemetery, Dallas TX - Graves Mentioning a Cause of Death on Waymarking.com

The Rev. Fr. Joseph Hartnett was the first priest ordained in and for the Diocese of Dallas. The Dallas diocese had been carved out of the Diocese of Galveston in 1890. Hartness was ordained a year later, serving as pastor of St. Patricks Church in Dallas before being named rector of what was then known as the Pro-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, built in 1899 as the seat of the diocese. (The Cathedral would be renamed the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1977.)

As rector of the Cathedral, when a smallpox outbreak raced through the poorer section of the city (where Catholic Irish and Italian immigrant parishoners lived), Fr. Hartnett decided it was his duty to travel to the pesthouse and minister to their spiritual needs.

In the course of his work with the smallpox sufferers, Fr. Hartnett became infected and died a month later.

A stained glass window was installed in his honor at the Cathedral.

His tombstine in Religious Circle at Calvary Cemetery reads as follows:

"In memory of
Rev. Fr. J. A. HARTNETT

Martyred Rector
of the Pro-Cathedral
of the Sacred Heart
Dallas Texas.

Born
April 28, 1859.

Ordained
July 5, 1891.

Died
March 7, 1899.

Requiescat in Pace, Amen."

Type of Death Listed: Other (not listed) Website (if available): [Web Link] Cause of death inscription on headstone: Not listed

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