Mark Kearney born 1896 Dublin Ireland and died 1920 Jacksonville Florida

[Runner55]

Further to the reply I posted a few minutes ago, I also think you're probably right that Mark might not be physically buried in the grave, and that's why the headstone just says 'In Memory Of'.  Maybe he fell overboard and body was never recovered, so it's just a memorial marker put there by the shipping company on behalf of his family back in Ireland.

As I said in the last note, I'll check that out with the cemetery.

Thanks again!

Runner55

[Lisa in California]

Earlier, I tried a somewhat quick search and didn’t find anything, but I didn’t exhaust all search terms:
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/search/
[I’ve never used the site before; I believe it is a safe site. (I’m always overly-cautious when using new sites.)]

Looking at the death certificate, it looks like he died in/on St. John’s River.  I tried searching for various search terms such as his surname, drowned, drowning and St. John’s River.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t make out the name of the vessel but according to the internet, S.S. stands for, among other things, steam ship.

[Runner55]

Thank you Lisa. Much appreciated.

[Lisa in California]

You are very welcome.

I’m not convinced that he wasn’t buried in the cemetery.  Unfortunately, I’m a very literal person, but the death certificate states that the body was removed or buried on October 19, 1920.  Wouldn’t that item be left blank if there wasn’t a body? 

I also looked on the internet and according to a couple of websites, In Memory Of wording wasn’t that uncommon.  But, who knows when looking on the internet, eh?

Last thing, I wonder if the remains weren’t discovered right away or they couldn’t immediately identify him; the remains were buried/removed quite a few days after his death. 

[Runner55]

Hi Lisa

Yes, indeed, you're right. I overlooked that point  .... in my excitement (!) There is clear reference of a physical body, so unless he was buried later at sea, on the return journey, he could well be interred there.

Some interesting lines for me to follow up.

Runner55

[Lisa in California]

Hmm, good point - I wonder if he was buried at sea? The remains were removed and supposedly taken to the cemetery but the certificate didn’t state that he was actually buried.

Hopefully, someone in the cemetery office will have answers for you. A helpful hint, if you mention your relationship to Mr. Kearney and that you live in England, they may be a wee bit more helpful than they might otherwise be for a “local” looking for answers.  I had absolutely wonderful help when I was searching from California for my Canadian ancestors.

Best of luck.  Please let us know if you receive results.