Tombstone Tourism: The Middlesex Centre Archives Cemetery Tour

On October 5, I attended Middlesex County Archives' Second Annual Cemetery Tour. Since I missed last year's trip, I really looked forward to the 2024 edition and this day of cemetery sightseeing did not disappoint. 

My friend and I are such keen Tombstone Tourists that we arrived absurdly early. But that was fine, since it gave us an opportunity to visit one of last year's graveyards while we awaited the start of this year's tour. 

Tiffany Cemetery

Across Gideon Road from Middlesex County Archives is Tiffany Cemetery, named after Gideon Tiffany who's buried there. (Yes, the road is named after him too.) It was Tiffany who donated land for this cemetery over 200 years ago and some burials did take place as early as 1805, like the sign says. 

Tiffany was one of those early pioneers who did some of everything. Despite being an American from New Hampshire, he went to Niagara to become King's Printer for Upper Canada in 1794. Later, in 1799, with his brother Silvester, he began publishing the Canada Constellation, Upper Canada's first independent newspaper. 

Perhaps Tiffany tired of the news business. In 1801, he purchased 2,200 acres in Delaware Township from Ebenezer Allan, taking over two sawmills owned by the latter. In the wilds of Delaware, he and his brother-in-law, Moses Brigham, produced lumber for the Detroit market. The village of Delaware was surveyed by Gideon's brother Oliver in the mid-1820s in hopes of it becoming the administrative and judicial seat of the London District. (No such luck.) For 30 years, Tiffany served in various township offices, including assessor and overseer of roads and fences. He also became a lieutenant in the 1st Middlesex Militia. Years later, he took the losing side in the 1837 Rebellion and was jailed for it ... but was tried and acquitted in 1838. 

As his gravemarker (right) states, he was born in 1774, came to Delaware in 1801, and died there aged 80 in 1854. He's buried with his wife, Ruth Tomlinson, who he married in about 1802 and who lived until 1850. The couple had five children who survived to adulthood. 

More information about this legendary pioneer can be found in this bio by another local legend, historian Dan Brock. 

Christ Church Pioneer Cemetery

At last the official tour began. The first official stop on this year's tour was back across the street, next to the Archives building. The land for this burial ground was donated by Dr. Oliver Tiffany in 1834. There was a frame church, Christ Church Anglican, on this site as early as the 1830s. Progress dictated that it should be replaced by a brick building in 1885. Alas, the era of church building is over and the age of church demolition has begun. Christ Church was demolished in 1999, leaving a large gap in the centre of the cemetery. 

The tour organizers outdid themselves in providing information. Archives volunteer Sid Prior placed signs on various graves with bios of the deceased. This had the effect of bringing the dead to life - figuratively, anyway - by letting us know who they were. No longer were they just names on a marker. 

Numerous gravemarkers are toppled over here. Rumour has it that, in another Anglican cemetery, a child was killed by a falling marker. To prevent this from happening at Christ Church, reps from the Diocese of Huron came out here and knocked over various monuments. It seems unlikely that the church itself would deliberately vandalize Christian graves to prevent accidental deaths (or lawsuits) and yet these tombstones are in worse condition than in most local cemeteries. If these were my relatives, I'd be quite annoyed. BTW, I've contacted the diocese about this but, to date, I've had no response. 

Our bus tour took us to Poplar Hill Baptist Church for lunch. Actually, we brought our own lunches but the church ladies served us tea and coffee in the church hall and opened the sanctuary for us to have a look. 

Poplar Hill Baptist Church is still active.

Close-up of painted balcony railing.

Wrought iron on pew.

Poplar Hill Cemetery

This is a biggie, the largest cemetery in the former Lobo Township, being four acres with a couple of acres in reserve. The first burial here was that of John McLellan in 1841:

But there are more Zavitz graves here than anybody else - 133 in total.* This infant is only one:

Below is a marker of "white bronze," many of which are scattered in cemeteries throughout southwestern Ontario. Actually, the markers are pure zinc, the colour is achieved by applying a chemical oxidizing agent. The result seems to be indestructible, free from corrosion, doesn't grow moss or lichen, doesn't absorb moisture and is unaffected by frost. The markers might have been made by the White Bronze Monument Company of St. Thomas, in business ca. 1883-1900 but not all markers have the maker's name. 

A "white bronze" marker is typically an obelisk, like this one with funerary urn up top.

Another interesting detail. Name plates like the one below could be removed to provide access to a hollow interior, giving rise to legends of markers being used by bootleggers to store liquor during Prohibition.**A more prosaic explanation is that the nameplates could be removed to be corrected or added to, if necessary.

Why aren't there more of these markers? Were they expensive or just too newfangled for stodgy Victorians?

Next, a couple of military men:

Asa John Patterson, son of Neil Patterson and Martha Coates, was born October 12, 1895. He enlisted in Strathroy on November 26, 1915. In A. Co. 135th Battalion. Died at Vimy Ridge April 9, 1917. Actual burial place is Nine Elms Military Cemetery north of Arras, France.

Private Leonard J. Smith, 4th Battalion CEF. Born on September 29, 1898 in Lobo Township, son of Judson Albert Smith and Loretta Ellen Quackenbush. He served in World War I but died in London at Westminster Hospitl of myocarditis, March 18, 1939, aged 40.

Interesting Sinclair family stone:

Note metal plate covering cavity on the right.

Empty. For a souvenir of the deceased? Original or added later?

By the way, our guide at Poplar Hill, Larry Griffith, informed us that Poplar Hill Cemetery saw a botched attempt at grave robbery in about 1902. The culprits were probably medical students looking for fresh cadavers. $50 was spent on ads in the London Free Press and London Advertiser newspapers offering a reward to apprehend the culprits but the reward was apparently unclaimed. How macabre.

St. John's Anglican Cemetery, Arva

Our third stop of the day was St. John's Anglican Church and Cemetery, southwest corner of Richmond Street and Medway Road. The land for the church and cemetery was donated by John Fraleigh way back when the roads were called Proof Line and Concession 7. A frame church was built in 1823 and the current church on the site in 1875. The village of Arva, by the way, was once known as St. John's, same as the church but, when a post office opened here in 1852, it was named Arva after a community in Ireland.

Interior, St. John's Anglican, Arva.

Grave of Rev. Charles Crosbie Brough, St. John's minister 1841-83. The north London neighbourhood of Broughdale was named for this family. 

A great many Shoebottoms in this cemetery, including this infant who lived 21 days.

An attractive row of Ardill graves.

Perhaps of greatest interest at Arva is a cairn moved here from another location. White Church Cemetery was located south of Fanshawe Park Road on the east side of Wonderland (formerly Concession 5 and Cameron Sideroad). In 1934, some burials were re-interred under a stone cairn built to display them. (Others burials couldn't be identified since their wooden markers had become illegible.) In the early 1990s, Fanshawe was widened and this cairn was professionally dismantled to be reassembled at Arva. 

If you're wondering how many human remains were left at Fanshawe and Wonderland, you're not alone. This is no one's fault. Some graves would not have had markers, older wooden markers had decayed, and it would be impossible to move everyone. 

Many have lived who have no memorial. 

* According to The Heritage of Lobo 1820-1990, p. 111. I'd hate to count them all myself.

** William G. Stewart, Nature Rambles, 2000, p. 56-62.

Day Trips: London & Middlesex Historical Society does Guelph

Guide Susan Ratcliffe 
with tour attendees.

 On September 28, LMHS held its annual fall bus tour. This   year's excursion was to Guelph, a city I'd only seen a couple   of times while driving through. Now that I've discovered   more of the city, I can confirm what I'd only suspected before,   that it's a city worth seeing if you're a fan of Ontario history   and architecture. (If you aren't, you're reading the wrong   blog.) 

 Guelph is nicknamed the Royal City. What's with that? Well,   city founder John Galt chose the name Guelph, a word that's   derived from the Italian Guelfo, which in turn is derived from   the Bavarian Welf. The reference is to the House of Welf and   was chosen to honour King George IV, reigning monarch at   the time of the city's founding. His Majesty's family, the   Hanoverians, were descended from the Welfs. Hence, the   "Royal City."*

 Leaving London bright and early, nearly thirty of us reached   Guelph at about 10:30, just in time to meet up with Susan   Ratcliffe, our guide for a downtown walking tour. Susan is   president of  ACO Guelph Wellington so she's the perfect   escort for a heritage tour of central Guelph. This is one   knowledgeable lady. She hardly consulted her cue cards as   she led Londoners around the core of the city she knows so   well.

Our tour began on "Catholic Hill," site of the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate and other buildings associated - or formerly associated - with the Roman Catholic Church. This hill, by the way, is the highest point in the city. When he founded Guelph in 1827, Galt set aside the hill for the church's use, as a compliment to his friend Bishop Alexander Macdonell. A local bylaw prevents any buildings from being taller than Catholic Hill, allowing it to remain the city's most outstanding feature. A far cry from London, where the Old Courthouse will be surrounded by skyscrapers in future. 

View of downtown Guelph from Catholic Hill.

The current structure is the third church to overlook the city. The first, a frame structure named St. Patrick's, was built by 1835 but burned down. Those early wooden buildings generally did sooner or later. Next came St. Bartholomew's which lasted a few decades. The current building, Our Lady Immaculate, designed in the Gothic Revival style by architect Joseph Connolly, was begun in 1877 using local limestone. The edifice was complete by 1888, except for the twin towers which weren't added until 1926.

Postcard dated 1907 shows church before towers added. **

The entire building was restored from 2007 to 2014 at a cost of over $12 million. The astronomical sum is worth it; there just has to be an impressive church on Catholic Hill. 

Many smaller churches dot downtown Guelph. Although they're less ornate (and less Catholic), they're still made of local limestone. A couple of them can be seen from Catholic Hill ...

... but there are many more. Not all of them are still churches. For example, Chalmers Presbyterian (later United) Church on Quebec Street is now Royal City Mission, a statement on the times in which we live. Those saddened to see a closed church may take comfort in the building's continued use for outreach to the poor. The former sanctuary is now a dining room.

Back on Catholic Hill, and built of local limestone, is the former Loretto Convent, now Guelph's Civic Museum (note Our Lady in the background). While an excellent example of adaptive reuse, I was reminded of Museum London, in that that the building seemed full of empty space. Humph. 

There's also the former St. Agnes School for girls, first built 1883, with its second floor and tower added 1908. It's been boarded up since 2015 so you can imagine the interior after nearly ten years abandonment. Any future purpose will need to be found quickly, but it's probably already too late to save this stately building.

A statue of Lt.-Col. John McRae is perched above the city nearby. Guelph's most famous son wrote the iconic poem "In Flander's Fields." Here he sits, surrounded by poppies and holding a notebook on which he's jotted the words since recited by millions:

According to a nearby plaque on the Civic Museum, this is the second casting of a famous sculpture by artist Ruth Abernethy, the first casting being in Ottawa. The statue was donated to the city by Citizens of Guelph in 2015 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the poem.

Our tour continued below Catholic Hill. Right at the bottom is the Albion Hotel, an 1856 tavern boasting the second oldest liquor license in Ontario.*** Known as The Albion since 1867, the building is said to be haunted by the ghost of a "white lady. But what old building doesn't have a ghost? Perhaps more surprising are the tales of Al Capone making bootlegging deals here during prohibition. And strangest of all, rumours of tunnels leading up to Our Lady, all closed off and collapsed. The tunnels are said to have been used for bootlegging - if they exist, which isn't proven.

Another building in nicely restored condition is the Petrie Building, the last remaining example in Canada of a pre-1890 machine-stamped metal-clad building. This downtown Guelph landmark, designed by architect John Day for pharmacist A. B. Petrie, opened in 1882. The facade was made by the Ohio firm of Bakewell and Mullins, which ran a mail order business allowing customers to create the exterior best suited to their business. Note the mortar and pestle, commonly in use by druggists, up on top. This building is gorgeous. And, gosh, the Second Empire Kelly Building next door looks pretty good too.

A 1911 postcard shows the Petrie and Kelly buildings at right.

Another early postcard shows Guelph's C.N.R. station: 

The station is still in use today:

Next stop: Old Guelph City Hall. Below is a postcard published by A. B. Petrie of Petrie building fame. Built in 1856, City Hall was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by architect William Thomas who also designed the Don Jail. Note the gigantic bell tower on top, that rang four times a day, at 7 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, and 6 pm, as well as for funerals and community events. Unfortunately, the bell tower was removed in the 1960s. A new City Hall was built 2006 and the old building became the Provincial Offences Court. For more details see this timeline. A photo of Guelph's new abomination City Hall is here. 

To the right in the postcard is the Ontario Winter Fair building constructed 1900. The last fair was held in 1938 and the building was renovated into Guelph Memorial Gardens in 1948. In 2006 work crews took down Memorial Gardens but preserved the historic Winter Fair wall. 

A highlight of the Old City Hall is the three carved keystones Thomas added to its front facade:

Over the front door is Zeus:

A river god, in honour of the nearby River Speed, is at the east end:

A bull's head is at the west end, indicting the entrance to what was once Guelph's market:

Nearby is a 1979 bronze bust of city founder John Galt. That year was not only the bicentennial of Galt's birth in Scotland but the 100th anniversary of Guelph's rise to city status. As superintendent of the Canada Company, it was Galt's job to create towns to service the agricultural settlement of the area.  The bust is placed a short distance from Macdonell and Wellington, where in 1827 Galt began cutting down the first tree on Guelph's town site. 

It may look like Galt's lower half is hiding in a box, but this bust by sculptor
John Miecznikowski actually sits on a tall black granite pillar.  

 

Another Galt tribute is this sign on a railroad bridge not far from the train station. It's looking a bit crumbly and in need of replacement.

After lunch at another restored building, Einstein's Cafe, we visited the McCrae House, a limestone building which was the birthplace of John McCrae (1872-1918). 

The exterior looks like this is one of those house museums decorated in antique furnishings. In fact, the interior is quite museum-like. I think I was initially disappointed but soon realized the importance of displays and artifacts highlighting the importance of McCrae and the First World War. 

A grave marker from Flanders Fields that once identified the burial site of an unknown Canadian soldier. It was brought to Canada by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in 1919.
An enlarged copy of McCrae's "In Flander's Fields" is displayed nearby.

While I've always known McCrae wrote "In Flander's Fields" I wasn't aware of everything else he did. Graduating from Guelph Collegiate at 16, he won a scholarship to the University of Toronto where he studied medicine on a scholarship. He worked at Toronto General and Johns Hopkins. Eventually he became a professor of pathology at the University of Vermont and later was resident pathologist at Montreal General. He coauthored a pathology textbook in 1912.

Like many boys, McCrae served in the militia. He joined the Canadian Field Artillery during the Boer War and won a medal. In 1914, when the First World War began, he volunteered for service at age 41. He was appointed Medical Officer and Major of the 1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, and treated the wounded in a bunker at the Second Battle of Ypres, 1915. 

When his friend Lt. Alexis Helmer was killed in battle, McCrae was inspired to write his famous poem. "In Flanders Fields" first appeared anonymously in Punch magazine on December 8, 1915. In the index for that year his name was misspelled McCree. But despite the error, McCrae soon became a household name all over the world, his poem one of the best-known of World War I, perhaps of all time. On January 28, 1918, while commanding No. 3 Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne, McCrae died of pneumonia. 

An outdoor memorial in a magnificent garden.

* https://vintageguelph.ca/2019/06/05/why-is-guelph-called-the-royal-city/

** All postcards are from the author's collection.

*** According to our guide. But she didn't say who had the first. If you know, do tell.