The dead of famous/infamous Duffy's Cut have comrades down the line in a potter's field, part of Northwood Cemetery in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
The Duffy's cut historical team, led by Dr. William Watson of Immaculata University in Malvern, and his brother, Rev. Frank, have found skeletal remains near the later potter's field area at Northwood which, says Watson, are presumed to be from "the Irish railroaders of 1832 at railroad mile 48 at Downingtown."
According to Dr. Watson, what has been discovered is "part of a jaw, two teeth and miscellaneous other fragments."
Watson said: "We found the remains on May 15 after a radar hit at a spot described in Pennypacker's History of Downingtown from 1909 and noted in the November 7, 1832 Village Record. That spot was thickly vegetated until the cemetery recently cleared the area.
"We anticipate resuming our excavation in Downingtown soon. We stopped after finding the first bones - which are part of a man's face - and made the necessary notifications."
According to Dr. Watson, X-rays of the teeth were taken by forensic dentist Dr. Matt Patterson, who noted that the heavily grooved teeth indicate clenching and grinding that was also found on the teeth of the workers at Duffy's Cut.
Watson outlines the background story thus: "Eleven miles west of Duffy's Cut, in Downingtown, an Irish immigrant railroader crew died of cholera (and possibly violence) during the summer of 1832 at the same time as the deaths of 57 Irish immigrant railroaders at Duffy's Cut.
"The Village Record newspaper reported on November 7, 1832 that an unnamed Irish railroader escaped from Duffy's Cut and ran west to another Irish railroader crew located in Downingtown. The newspaper reported that he infected that other Irish railroader crew, causing deaths among those workers.
"Subsequent research revealed violence directed against the immigrant workers at both Duffy's Cut and at Downingtown. Charles H. Pennypacker, in his History of Downingtown (1909) explained that the bodies of the Irish dead in Downingtown were buried about a mile north of the track line above Lancaster Pike in land that became a Potter's Field and was made into Northwood Cemetery in 1872.
"Pennypacker's description of precisely where those workers were buried - in a piece of terrain that was until recently covered with thick vegetation - became visible to the Duffy's Cut researchers on April 27, 2025 and project archaeologist Matthew Peace of U.S. Radar located a subsurface 'anomaly' at that spot.
"On May 15, 2025, after five years of archival and archaeological exploration, members of the Duffy's Cut team (Bill and Frank Watson and Bob McAllister) located the first human remains at the spot indicated by Pennypacker.
"Forensic specialist Dr. Matt Patterson identified the remains as human. Work will be ongoing to reveal the extent of the burials and if possible, do forensic research on the remains. The Immaculata student dig crew (now mostly alumni) who helped to find the burials at Duffy's Cut will continue to assist in the search at Northwood."
