Tripping Through the Headstones

 Found this little gem while just motoring on to another cemetery. 💀

Do Headstones Speak ? - Part II

Yes, they do actually they are very chatty. So watch the video and find out just how talkative they really are. 

Do Headstones Speak?? Part I

In short, yes they do.  As a matter of fact I though this would be just a quick little video, but the headstones have a lot to say, so this is Past I of II. 

So the next time you are wondering through and old graveyard, stop and listen to the stories these stones have to tell.

The Hangman's Graveyard -The Don Jail

Ohhh yes! The forgotten hangman's graveyard of the old Don Jail in Toronto Canada.

Fifteen condemned men were found under a parking lot of the jail in 2007, oops! 

This is their story.

Credit given to all third party material used. Fair use notice on possible copyright materials.

Where to Put the Gate - King City Cemetery

Yes, there was a disagreement about the cemetery gates. Watch the video and find out what happened.

Plus, you will get a great tour of the King City Cemetery to boot.

Taphophilia - Do You Have it???

 Do you have urges to go to churchyards, graveyards and cemeteries. Do you like to walk among the tombstones, gaze at the mausoleums.  If you do, you may have Taphophilia. don't worry it won't kill you.

No, it's not some dreaded virus or disease. It is simply the desire to learn and like and be in cemeteries and anything to do with funerals and their trappings. It isn't morbid, or disrespectful. Taphophiles have the highest respect and appreciation for such.

Don't be ashamed, come out of your tomb and celebrate your affliction.   

A Victorian Garden Cemetery

Established in 1869, Aurora Cemetery is a perfect example of a period Victorian Garden Cemetery. It is 27 acres of rolling hills and winding roads in which time stands still.

The First Cemetery of Summer

I just pointed the car in a westerly direction and drove. Found this little gem in Essa Twp. The Egbert Pioneer Cemetery was established in 1887 on land donated by Henry Morris who was the first Reeve of Essa Twp. His grandson James was the first burial after he drowned in the Nottawasaga River. 

A church once stood on the west side of the property and lasted until the unification in 1925 becoming part of the United Church of Canada. By the 1930's the congregation has started to dwindle and the church was closed and finally removed in the 1950's. The cemetery is a heritage landscape and is maintained by Essa Twp. 

Digging Up The Dead

What happened to Prospect Hill Cemetery, aka God's Acre???? The truly forgotten, until 1989, then the crap hit the fan. 

SURPRISE!!!! You've just bought a 19th century cemetery.  This lovely acre of land comes with 91 articulated supine burials. That's right folks, complete in their coffins. You can't get a better deal than that. 

Credits give to all third parties material. Fair use notice given on possible copy right materials.

What's Inside this Burial Vault. (Maple Cemetery)

This Gothic revival structure was built in 1882 from field stone harvested from the nearby fields that once surrounded the cemetery. But alas, they are no longer, replaced by condos, Walmart Stores and subdivisions. The "Vault" as it is more commonly known was built to temporarily house the dead, especially during the winter months when the ground was too frozen to dig the graves.

A receiving or holding vault should not be confused with a mausoleum, it was a temporary solution and came with a monthly storage fee which was in addition to the cost of the grave. Oh and just so you know if you died from any infectious deceases you could not be stored in the "vault". Things were different then. Even the undertakers got a bad wrap.

Today the "vault" is used for the storage of materials use in the care and maintenance of the cemetery. There are no rotting coffins or moldy crypts inside. That's right people, no dead bodies, so stop trying to break into it. Nothing to see here folks. It's just a monument to the past.

Leigh Corners Cemetery - East Oro

Leigh Corners is located in Oro-Medonte, more specifically, East Oro. The cemetery was established in 1840 when John Leigh donated a piece of his land for an Anglican Church and burial ground. The church would be eventually built down the road at Simpson's Corners, so John Leigh reserved the west side of the cemetery for his family plot.

A school was established on the site in 1853. To day it is still standing but is now a private home. For many years people would wonder how a school ended up in the middle of a cemetery. As the congregational cemetery is located on the south side of the school. The cemetery is closed and is a designated heritage site.

Inside a Dead House - King City Cemetery

The octagonal dead house is peculiar to Southern Ontario, essentially used as receiving or mortuary crypts to hold the dead during the cold winter months.  It is believed that only seven exist with a possible eighth somewhere in the Niagara Region. Today they are mainly used to store equipment not the dead. 

This video takes you inside one along with a bit of history with some of the artifacts still used by the cemetery care taker to this day.  

Rugby Congregational Cemetery - Oro Medonte

Located on Old Barrie Rd near 12th Line or Conc. 12, Lot 11 is the little cemetery known as Rugby Congregational Cemetery.  There is no cairn or plaque located here, just a small patch next to an old building, east of the Rugby Community Hall.  

The cemetery probably saw it's first burial in 1831 when little Mary Brown aged 4 years, 11 months died on September 15th, 1831.  This was followed by William Brown in 1834 at the age of 44 years. 

The congregation was not formed until 1847 by Rev. Ari Raymond, who built the church that once stood here and established the cemetery. The land was more than likely owned by the Brown family and used as a family burial plot until the congregation was established.

The congregation survived until the Methodist and Congregational church union in 1925 (United Church of Canada), then it moved to Hawkstone.  Sometime after that the church building was demolished, leaving the cemetery to mark the spot.  The last burial appears to have taken place in the early 1930's. 

The cemetery is closed and receives minimal maintenance. 

Kidd Cemetery/Vault - Caledon ON

First of all, please forgive the spelling error at the beginning of the video. It's meant to be 'Hidden" not 'Hiden." Thanks!

I have been looking for this vault for years, ever since I first heard of it and was about to give up. Then suddenly completely by accident I found the exact location on a post in Find a Grave.

Well, I could not resist, so I went there as soon as I possibly could. It did not disappoint. The only problem is the history. There appears to be several stories surrounding the vault's origins, none of which I could substantiate. But this is what I know.

The Kidd Cemetery was established in 1882 when John Kidd had his daughter who died in 1854 at the age of twelve moved to the property from her original burial site. The stone burial vault was built in 1892 just before his wife Jane's death in 1893. John would die in 1895 at the age of 97 and he would be entombed  along with his wife and daughter in the vault. But there is speculation that there is a fourth entombment, that being of John's son, George. There is no indication at all at the site that this is a fact. A large monument is located at the back of the crypt, with the names of John and his wife Jane. There are also the remnants of a gravestone from 1854 on what is actually the roof of the crypt. The crypt is built into a hillside. This gravestone is believed to be that of his daughter, Ann who died in 1854.

The crypt has been vandalized a couple of times so a new door with an alarm has been installed. The neighbors in the area also keep a close watch on anyone seen around the vault. So keep that in mind if you intend on visiting.   

St. Paul's & St. John's of Coulson's Hill (Bradford)

St. Paul's Anglican & St. John's Presbyterian are both located in Coulson's Hill in Bradford West Gwillimbury. They share a cemetery which is located between the two now abandoned church buildings.  

St Paul's was probably founded in the early 1840's the current church was originally built in 1854, was reconstructed in 1889 and rebuild again in 1916.  The first recorded burial was in 1842 for Jane Sheldon.

The Presbyterian church was found around the same time the current building was established in 1889. Burials like the Anglican church began in the early 1840's but the first church was built in 1857.

Both church buildings are no longer in use. The Presbyterian church closed sometime in the 1990's and relocated to a new building on the 10 Sideroad. The Anglican church closed sometime in the mid 2000's and joined the Trinity Anglican Church in Bradford.

Both cemeteries are well kept and still receive burials. 

Auld Scotch Settlement Presbyterian Cemetery- Bradford Ont.

Settled in 1819 by Highland Scots from Lord Selkirk's Red River colony. The first makeshift building was erected on this site in 1823 a second was built in 1827 and the present day church in 1869.

Services were held in Gaelic initially from the settler's native Scotland. The Auld Kirk Scotch settlement was the first and the largest settlement in all of Simcoe County. Many of the original settlers are buried in the cemetery within the church property. 

Services ending in 1940 when the church proved to be outdated and too small.  This location is now maintained by the municipality and is a designated historic site.

Apto (St. Patrick's) Catholic Cemetery, Springwater

Apto (St. Patrick's) Roman Catholic Cemetery is located on the north side of Horseshoe Valley Rd. east of Hwy 26 (Bayfield Rd) in Springwater (formally Flo's Twsp).

The land that the cemetery is situated on was donated by Patrick McAvoy in 1855 and was deed to the Roman Catholic Church in 1856.  There are burials on this land that predate the deed, probably by the McAvoy family who had buried several family members starting in 1847.

Back in the mid 1800's, Apto was a stop over for those travelling between Barrie and Penetanguishene. 

The site supported a church building and rectory until 1904 when the buildings were sold for $ 2,400.00. and eventually demolished. The parish was relocated and a new cemetery was established in Midhurst. The old cemetery continued in use until 1908 when the last burial of Michael Kelly took place.

In 1998, what was left of the old head stones were gathering into a cairn. The cairn was positioned between three family monuments, Hayes, McMahon and Savage, which still stand in there original positions. 

St James Anglican Cemetery, Crown Hill, Springwater ON

Grave or Gilbert Ord Lightbourn  O.B.E, M.A, D.D
Archdeacon of Simcoe

Grave of The Honorable Ernest Charles Drury
Premier of Ontario 1919 - 1923

 

St. James Church circa 1900.

St. James Anglican Church Cemetery is located next to the now Holy Cross St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church on Penetanguishene Road, in Crown Hill. 

The land for the Anglican Church and cemetery was donated by Thomas Mair in 1852. Services were held for over a century, then the last Anglican service was held on Easter Sunday in 1970.  Since 1984 the Greek Orthodox church has held services here. 

The cemetery contains the final resting place for many of the original settlers of the area. Some of the more notable burials are that of the Honourable Ernest Charles Drury, Premier of Ontario 1919 - 1923 and Gilbert Ord Lightbourn, O.B.E, M.A., D.D, Archdeacon of Simcoe.

Burials still continue for both the Anglican and Greek Orthodox parishes.

Bethesda Congregational Cemetery, Oro-Medonte ON

Bethesda Congregational Cemetery is located on the north side of Old Barrie Rd, just west of Line 2 in Oro-Medonte.  The congregation was originally established in 1838 by Rev. Ari Raymond and his wife who were sent to the area by the Congregational Church Mission in Boston to administer to the black community.

The original church on this site burnt to the ground in 1845. In 1846 Rev. Raymond built another house on this land and held services in the kitchen for many years.  In 1859 another wooden framed church was built and it was bricked over in 1890.  The congregation closed in 1899 and the church building was finally removed in 1965. In 1971 a memorial cairn was erected on the property.

The first burial took place around the early 1830's the last was in 2010.  The cemetery still receives burials for those who hold family plots.

Knox Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Oro-Medonte

Located on the north west corner of Old Barrie Road and the 9th Line is Knox Presbyterian Church Cemetery.  In 1842 a log school house was built on the south east corner of lot 12 conc 9 on the farm of Samuel Jermey. The Presbyterians held services there until they had built their own place of worship.

A church was eventually built by volunteer labour on lot 11 conc. 9 in 1844 with the assistance of a grant from the Hon.Isaac Buchanan of Hamilton Ontario.  The church was open for service in 1845 and held its last service in 1900.  Over the years the wooden church fell into disrepair, but was restored and is now used only for an annual memorial service held on the last weekend of June.

If you look inside of this small white washed building you will still see the wooden pews and pulpit. As well as the wood burning stove with the long pipe that runs the length the building to provide heat during the cold Canadian winters.

The cemetery is large and well maintained and is still in use to this day.