Providence Primitive Methodist Cemetery, Sandhill

Main Gates of Providence Cemetery, Sandhill

Providence Methodist Cemetery was est. in 1823. The church seen in the back ground was built in 1906. It is plain and austere which was the style of many Methodist churches of that era. The church is no longer used for regular services.  The land that the cemetery and church are situated was donated by a Mr. Finch around 1823, the first church was built in 1860.  Up until that time people worshiped across the road at the home of Mr. Laycock and then later at the home of Mr. Isaac Thompson.  The cemetery is perhaps the oldest in Albion Twp and was the first to be incorporated in the Twp.  The earliest know burial is that of Thomas Blakeney in 1825. The cemetery is still active.



Grave of Pastor John A Hanna

The grave stone had been displaced from its foundation by a tree that appears to sprout directly from the grave. This is the burial site of Pastor John A Hanna, Pastor of St. Mary's Church in Midland.



Old headstones



 

Pioneer Headstones



This group of pioneer headstones is located on the north side of the church. Most are still quite legible but some are just fragments. There are still a number of pioneer or settler headstones located on this side that are not in the group cairn.

Corner Stone of Church Building

The corner stone which is located above the door to the church, simply states Providence Cemetery Co. 1906, which would have been when the cemetery was incorporated.

St. James Anglican Cemetery, Caledon

The land for the church and cemetery was donated by William Matthews in 1848. 

In 1901 St. James Church was relocated to the town of Caledon East and the roughcast church building on this site was torn down. The cemetery is maintained to day by a cemetery board.



Tomb of Clara Ann Swollow, aged 16 years.






 

Scott Family Monument

Richard Haviland, died 1876 at 32 years old



St. James Cemetery



I Break for Cemeteries

Yes I do, so don't follow too close behind me!!

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery, Concord



Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

   The Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery was est around 1807.  Located on the east side of Keele Street north of Langstaff Road  in Concord, it was here that the founding of the Canadian Synod of the Lutheran Church took place in 1861.  The original church building on this site was constructed in 1819, it was then replaced with the present building in 1860, the church still conducts services to this day.  Many names found on the tomb stones in this cemetery, such as Jacob Keefer, Isaac Murray, Oster, Troyer and Atkinson are now familiar street names within the City of Vaughan.

Keffer Memorial


 


Old Head Stones cira 1835 & 1836





Isaac Murray Monument



Holy Trinity Burying Ground, Thornhill.



Historic Plaque Holy Trinity



Holy Trinity Burying Ground was est in the early 1800's, it is the first official cemetery for Thornhill. It is located on Yonge St., north of Center Street, on the west side.  The Holy Trinity Church was built on this site in 1830, the church was moved in 1950 to Brooke Street. The church on this site today is the Thornhill Baptist Church, there has been a baptist congregation here since 1928.  A number of early burials in this cemetery are United Empire Loyalists who migrated to Upper Canada in the late 1700's and early 1800's.  The oldest head stone dated 1804 is for Rebecca Willson wife of John Willson, who fled New Jersey as loyalist refugees in 1793. 




Stone cairn commemorating the arrival of John Willson

 


Reverse of carin with John & Rebecca Willson's head stones





Loyalist grave markers.

 

Sharon Burying Ground, Sharon

Sharon Burying Ground

The Sharon Burying Ground, aka Children of Peace Burying Ground, was est in 1820, although oral tradition has it that the burial ground was being used as early as 1818.  At this time the land was owned by John Crone, who was not a member of the Children of  Peace.  The first member of the Children of Peace to be buried here was David Terry in 1820, who owned the west half of the land. The original cemetery was 82.5ft by 82.5ft, and it is in this area that most of the existing stones lay. The cemetery was expanded in 1878 when Jacob Lundy and his wife Hannah sold the northwest corner to the Trustees of the Children of Peace for $73.00. The last burial took place in 1935 and the cemetery was then officially closed.  The Burying Ground was designated an historical site in 1993.



Grave Stones of the Children of Peace

 The head stones of the Children of Peace are all orientated north-south.  Nonmembers of the Children of Peace also used the cemetery, they placed their graves along the south east fence line and orientated the stones east-west.



Grave Stones of nonmembers of the Children of Peace




Plaque and Iron Cemetery Gate 

 The iron gate and fence located on the east side of Leslie Street was donated by John Smith in 1927 as a memorial to his parents. The plaque was placed here in 1993 by the East Gwillimbury LACAC.



Graves of David & Phebe Willson




David Willson Leader of the Children of Peace

  David Willson and his wife along with a number of their family members and descendants are buried at the north end of the property.  He was originally from New York State and migrated to Upper Canada in 1801, where he joined the Society of Friends or Quakers, of which his wife Phebe was a member.  When his ministry was rejected by the Quakers at the beginning of the War of 1812, he founded his own sect, the Children of Peace.  He died in 1866 and it was at that time the sect started to dwindle and by 1889 was virtually non existent.