From the Archives: Joe Morgue

A story is told that in the early days of Annapolis the sexton of St. Anne’s, Joseph Simmons, earned quite a reputation for himself. With long, unkempt hair and outmoded dress, this Dickensian caretaker doubled as gravedigger and became known as “Joe Morgue.” Funeral preparations were said to have been made a number of times for a resident who would fall comatose only to revive again. Joe having grown weary of digging the gentleman’s grave, on one occasion ignored the pounding as nit was lowered into the ground, saying the man had to die someday. The tale says tat Joe was restrained from throwing earth on top of the coffin, and the gentleman “lived to die another day.”

I am told that this story is told by those conducting the Halloween tour of the churchyard each year.

Carol Hjortsberg