This project builds upon the initial research coordinated by Liz Hardesty to identify and mark over 100 graves of Basques who were buried in the Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise, Idaho. These were the graves of immigrant Basques, some of whom were sheepherders, whose memory was unmarked at gravesites until that research project revealed the names and burial locations of over 60 Basques interred at this cemetery. Another 60 or so names were found, but their exact placement at this cemetery has yet to be determined. Although some were infants born in Boise to Basque parents on American soil, all of these Basques were placed to rest in the United States, not in the homeland of Euskal Herria. Boise Basque Dorothy Bicandi Aldecoa generously donated funding to install gravesite markers of those who were known due to extensive research, and she also funded a large commemorative monument at the cemetery in St. John’s Section where many Basques have been – and continue to be buried. The monument to “our Basque ancestors” at the cemetery demonstrated permanent respect for these Basques who were buried in Idaho.

Izan zirelako gara; garelako izango dira: because of them we are, and because of us, they will be.

This ancestral project is sponsored by the Basque Government, Office for the Basque Community Abroad; Boise State University’s Basque Global Collaborative; and the Basque Museum & Cultural Center. We thank the City of Boise, Department of Parks and Recreation at Morris Hill Cemetery for their assistance.

**For a spreadsheet that contains a full list of persons by name, that also includes NAME, PLOT, YEAR OF BIRTH, YEAR OF DEATH, PLACE OF BIRTH, PROVINCE, AGE AT DEATH, CAUSE OF DEATH, TRADE, FATHER, MOTHER, OTHER NOTES, please select “Download Data” at the base of this page.