The 2026 MCA Cemetery Tour: Brrrrr and Beyond

It's that time of year again, when dedicated tombstone tourists lace up their walking shoes and head to Delaware to board the bus. On October 17, I joined the Middlesex Centre Archives Cemetery & Heritage Tour, along with about 30 other bundled-up tourists who braved 10° C weather to visit our local pioneers. 

Our first stop was Birr (yesterday it was brrrr) United Church Cemetery. I've visited this cemetery many times before, mainly to see the oak grave marker of pioneer George McConnell. Here's one of many photos I've taken of it over the years:

At one time, many grave markers were of wood, for the obvious reason that trees were the one resource our ancestors had in abundance. Most of these markers have not survived, of course, but this one has, since the Birr Women's Institute set it in cement in 1924 and the cemetery board had it incorporated into this brick cairn in 1986. George McConnell, by the way, lived up near Elginfield and operated a small tavern. Rev. William Proudfoot, the early pioneer preacher, is said to have stayed overnight at McConnell's and, later, in his diary, praised the supper of "venison and tea for 1 s. 6d." *

I've also photographed this 1988 cairn, which contains the bell from S. S. # 5, Birr School. When the school closed, former pupil John Haskett purchased the bell at an auction. After his death, his sister, Neva Loft, donated the Bell to Birr United Church, to be erected in the cemetery. 
 

As for the former Birr United Church, built in 1879 as a Methodist building, it's across Thirteen Mile Road and renovated into a gorgeous home. A fabulous example of adaptive reuse:

But I never object to going back to places I like, even cemeteries. This time, I photographed a few other graves, including that of John Griffith, a weaver from Birr, Ireland. Griffith, who operated a small shop on the cemetery property, is credited with naming the community after his old home.

These monuments are for Thomas Langford and his wife Martha Parkinson, who departed Mountmellick, Queen's County, Ireland, and arrived in the former London Township with their four sons in 1827. Thomas' sister Maria and her husband Isaac Langford died of cholera on their own voyage to Canada, leaving eight orphaned children. Someone, perhaps Thomas, picked up the children in Hamilton, brought them by ox cart to London Township, and dispersed them to various family members. Among the adoptive parents were Thomas and Martha, although they'd had five more children of their own after settling in London. Then poor Thomas was injured by a falling log at a barn raising and died on October 23, 1838.** Stories like these make me so glad I'm living today. 

I've discussed "white bronze" (actually zinc) monuments before (here and here), but I keep finding more of these markers, probably built by the White Bronze Monument Company of St. Thomas:

A close-up of the figure above. An anchor is a symbol of Christian hope.

Another white bronze monument nearby is dedicated to Catherine Morrow, who died in 1883, aged 28. Her marker also has an anchor, among other symbols and inscriptions:

This gravestone bears the name of the monument manufacturer. C. Miller & Co., Ingersoll, which also operated under the name Dominion Marble Works, produced ornamental stonework and gravestones. The company exhibited at Ontario agricultural fairs, hoping folks would remember their name when it came time to order a grave marker.

To the rear of the cemetery is a pump with the initials "BT." Below it states "Pat'd. 1918." The pump was made by Beaty Bros. Ltd. of Fergus, Ontario, founded in 1874 by George and Matthew Beatty. In 1918, the company secured the Canadian patent for a double-acting pump. Eventually, George's son William Beatty held over 300 such patents. Pumps say "BT" instead of the whole name because the pump parts are so small. The company amalgamated with General Steel Wares in 1969.

Our next stop, Birr Trinity Anglican Cemetery, was just down Thirteen Mile Road to the west. I'd never been to this cemetery, and I was intrigued to discover it was much larger than I thought, stretching a long way back from the road:

This was once the site of Birr Trinity Anglican Church, a Gothic edifice that opened January 18, 1880. It was designed by London architect Thomas Tracy (1848-1925), who also designed the London Mechanics' Institute on Dundas, the Grigg House on Richmond Street,  and the 1878 High School at Dufferin and Waterloo.***

Birr Trinity Anglican, from the tour flyer.

Sadly, attendance in this church declined in the 1970s, and it closed for regular services. For years it remained available as a chapel for the cemetery and for special occasions like weddings and memorial services. At some point, however, it was demolished. Today, only the steps remain, leading to nothing:

The highest point in the cemetery is the mound on which the church stood:

The most remarkable monument here is undoubtedly that of the Hobbs family, constructed by Hayes Brothers of St. Marys. While it's not unusual to see the Independent  Order of Foresters (I.O.F.) insignia, I've never seen it with a stag's head before. Impressive.

Also of interest is this monument to William Clark, complete with sailing ship:

And here's William's wife Margaret, complete with bird (I think). Note, however, Margaret's monument tells us more about William than his wife. Clark was "Late a deputed Officer in H Majesties Revenue Coast Guard, England." Sounds like he served in the English anti-smuggling maritime service. And he was so darn proud of it he bragged about it on his spouse's grave. 

Next, our group arrived at Melville United Church**** Ivan. Here we enjoyed coffee and tea prepared by the church ladies and had a chance to see the sanctuary. Not to mention warm up for a few minutes.

There's no danger of Melville United going the way of Birr Trinity Anglican for some time. It's still a going concern.

With a simple, yet beautiful, interior:

The congregation even built a new side entrance in 2016, in a style and colour that complements the main building:

The most interesting grave in the adjoining Ivan Cemetery is likely that of little Jimmie Johnson, age 7, who perished in the Victoria steamship disaster, May 24, 1881. 

Jimmie's one-year-old sister Margaret was also thought to have drowned, but was revived and died in 1976 at the age of 96, the last known survivor of the disaster.*****

Another sad tale happened to the family below, although the marker doesn't record it. Mrs. Bessie Argo, wife of the Rev. Argo of Melville Church, went to London with three others on December 19, 1906, to buy presents for the Sunday School children. On their return home, as they approached the CPR crossing on Richmond Street, they heard a train whistle. The driver whipped the horses, but Mrs. Argo couldn't wait. She was so frightened she jumped out of the cutter and was killed instantly. The horses became excited and overturned the cutter a short distance away. Rev. Argo was left with five motherless children but was given a plot in the cemetery for free. ******

Last, our tour arrived at Melrose Cemetery at the corner of Egremont Road and Vanneck Drive. This corner was once the heart of the flourishing pioneer village of Melrose. Here a Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1872 and later became part of the United Church. 

Melrose United Church ca. 1930, from the tour flyer.

In 1961, a construction team working for the Department of Highways was widening Hwy. 22 (Egremont Road) near the church. Their work involved digging a ditch along the church's wall, which unfortunately resulted in the displacement of the wall and the discovery of quicksand along its base. 

Now if you're like me, you're surprised to hear we have quicksand in Middlesex County. I suppose I've seen too many Hollywood films and goofy old TV shows in which people were sucked into a bottomless pit. After thinking it over, I suppose quicksand can happen anywhere groundwater saturates the soil, making it unstable. It wouldn't have to be particularly deep.

At any rate, no one was allowed to worship in the church again. It closed and was demolished soon afterwards. The brand new organ was donated to Kilworth United and a stained glass window in memory of Mr. B. L. Cohoe was transferred to Hyde Park United.*******

So our tour saw another cemetery with a gaping hole where the church used to be:

This cemetery's celebrity is Robert Boston (1836-1922). Starting out as a Lobo Township councillor and reeve, Boston later became Middlesex Warden in 1889. He won a by-election in 1893 to become MP  for South Middlesex but didn't stand in the 1895 general election. Instead, he became Governor of the "London Gaol" from 1897 to 1906. "Mr. Lobo" was respected for his distinguished public service. Robert never married, and is buried with his sister Jane, who acted as his "hostess." ********

Below is the grave of Christian Boston, with what I think is a willow and a lighthouse. If that's a lighthouse, I suppose it would symbolize a guiding light through dark times, or perhaps a soul finding its way to a safe harbour in heaven. 

A lot of young children are buried at Melrose, a reminder of the days before vaccines:

Thanks to Krista Taylor, Middlesex Centre archivist, for organizing another interesting tour! Not to mention volunteers Bev Hughes and Glenn Scarborough, who provided interesting commentary at the cemeteries. 

* Jennie Raycraft Lewis, Llyndinshire: London Township, 1967, p. 46. 

** Alice Gibb, ed., London Township II: Families Past and Present. Arva, Ont.: The London Township History Book Committee, 2001, p. 246. 

*** The church has a brief write-up in Nancy Z. Tausky and Lynne D. DiStefano's Victorian Architcture in London and Southwestern Ontario: Symbols of Aspiration. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986, pp. 220-222. The writers noted the church has "an aura of Gothic mystery."

**** In 1869 the church was named Melville, probably after either Andrew Melville or James Melville, prominent Scottish Presbyterians. The Heritage of Lobo 1820-1990. Ilderton, Ont.: Lobo Township Heritage Group, 1990, p. 102. 

***** Daniel J. Brock, Fragments From The Forks. London: LMHS, 2011, p. 312.

****** The Heritage of Lobo, pp.102-103.

******* Above p. 101.

******** Above  pp. 268, 290.

Cemetery Hill

Ever wondered why cemeteries are built on hills? Because a great many of them are, you know, even in the great plain of southwestern Ontario. But why? I think there are both practical and spiritual reasons. 

In the nineteenth century, public health officials realized that burying bodies close to town centres or in valleys caused fluids from decomposing bodies to seep into shallow water tables and wells. Hilltop burial sites prevented rain runoff from pushing contaminants towards residential areas.

But even rural areas had hilltop graveyards:

Kintore Methodist Cemetery

Remember, high ground also protects graves from flooding and soil erosion. If a cemetery is built on a river's bank or floodplain, saturated soils and rising waters can displace coffins and push them right out of the earth. 

Kintore Presbyterian Cemetery

And in agrarian communities, settlers needed their most fertile, flat, and easily tillable land for crops and livestock. Steep hillsides were less suitable for farming, making them practical places for cemeteries.

St. Mary's Church and Cemetery, Napier

But there's more to it than all that. Hills are also closer to heaven. So there's symbolism here:

North Nissouri United Church

Hills are also scenic. In the nineteenth century, the Rural Cemetery Movement led to intentionally designed, parklike cemeteries that provided a contemplative and emotional experience for mourners. I'm not sure how many of our rural pioneers were concerned with aesthetics, but such ideas often "trickle down" eventually.

Campbell Cemetery, 23711 Amiens Road. As my friend said, "You wouldn't envy the pallbearers."

Arkona Cemetery.

The path leading to McQueen Cemetery north of Port Dover. Not for those with a heart condition.

Birr Anglican Cemetery. Birr Trinity Anglican once stood on the hill top. 

An Outing to Die For: The "Graveyard Girls" do Chatham-Kent

 If I spend any more time in cemeteries, I'll become a haunt.

Still, if you're into pioneer graveyards, summer is the season to visit. The warm weather, absence of snow cover, and firm, dry ground make this the ideal time to wander and read the inscriptions. 

So when I was invited by Maggie to join her and friends Ruth and Rosemary to visit five graveyards in rural Chatham-Kent, I was happy to go along. While Ruth was visiting loved ones in two of the cemeteries, the rest of us went along for interest's sake. 

Our first stop was Duart Cemetery in the small village of Duart, Orford Township. This public cemetery was never associated with a particular church. 

Kudos to Rosemary for finding what might be the most interesting monument at Duart, this "white bronze" hollow grave marker erected by the Fleming family. White bronze is a misnomer, as these monuments are actually pure zinc with the grey colour achieved by adding a chemical oxidizing agent. Probably made by the White Bronze Monument Company of St. Thomas, these markers were practically indestructible, free from corrosion, discolouration, moss or lichen growth. Made to imitate stone markers, they were usually obelisks like the one below. The name plates could be removed for updates, if necessary, and because the removal revealed a hollow space behind, a rumour arose that bootleggers were using them to store liquor.*

So why aren't there more of them? I'm guessing that a) they were expensive, and b) people at the time didn't know how long-lasting they'd be and continued to use the traditional stone. 

The Fleming monument has one of its sections removed, probably to be updated and reinserted. The crown at the top probably does not represent earthly royalty. Instead, it likely refers to the crown of life or glory, promised in scripture for those who endure hardships and remain faithful to Christ.

On this side, a thistle and a corn cob. The thistle represents Scotland, while the corn suggests the deceased was a farmer or harvester. Alternatively, the numerous kernels may represent prosperity, fertility, or rebirth.

On a third side, Lily of the Valley, suggesting innocence, and a rose (for England?)

Finally, a wheatsheaf, a chain and anchor, and a plow. The first may represent a long, fruitful life, while the anchor may indicate steadfast religious hope, and a plow is another agricultural reference. 

As for the village of Duart itself, it was originally called Kilmarnock but was renamed after Duart Castle on the Island of Mull in Scotland. Scottish settlers presumably named the village after the castle, ancestral home of the Maclean clan. Duart post office opened in 1857 and operated well into the twentieth century. But like many rural communities, Duart has seen better days.  While Duart Hall is a going concern, there are few other businesses or public buildings.

This Covenanted Baptist Church, built in 1896, is closed. Not the first church on the site, just the solid brick replacement for an earlier flimsier building. This Baptist sect had Scottish roots, being founded by Dugald Campbell. A small group, they had only five churches in southwestern Ontario in the 1850s.

Duart Presbyterian Church is gone already, having been demolished in 2010. 

Duart Presbyterian is commemorated by this monument in a village parkette. After the church contents were auctioned in the fall of 2010, a stained-glass window was saved by an anonymous donor and restored. This spring, the window was installed at The Gathering Place Community Church in Ridgetown. See here for details. 

Former commercial or industrial building, now a home.

Palmyra Cemetery

Palmyra, once the site of the famous Guyitt House, can scarcely be recognized as a hamlet at this point. However, there was a post office by that name from 1874 until 1918. 

The cemetery at 14048 Talbot Trail (Hwy. 3) has a lot of older graves arranged into cement pads:

One of the older monuments shows what appears to be grapes. These might symbolize the blood of Christ, the eucharist, and the promise of eternal life ... but might also signify fertility and abundance. The chain around the clasped hands represents John and Maria Barker's unbreakable bond, which not even death could sever. 

Rev. Henry Coates, Methodist minister. A weeping willow symbolizes mourning.

Abram Eberle, Deacon of the regular Baptist Church of Orford. According to ancestry.ca he was born in the U.S.A. in 1798 and died at Palmyra in 1851.

A poignant memorial to "Charlie," a son of John Wesley Knight and his wife Elizabeth A. Eberle. The lamb signifies innocence, but it's worth remembering that Christ is the "lamb of God," a sacrifice for humanity. The child is now safe with the Good Shepherd. 

The unfortunate Lucy, daughter of John and Jane Scott, was born in 1838 and married Christopher Matthew Smith before dying at the young age of 27 in 1865. Note the name of the stonemason, David R. Riggs, Chatham. According to a Kent County directory, Riggs was still in business on Talbot Street in 1880.

Keyes Cemetery

Across the road from Palmyra is the tiny Keyes family cemetery. These four stones may once have stood farther back on a pioneer farm and have been moved closer to the road. Note the use of the name Lorenzo, an unusual given name more common among Italian and Spanish families. 

Louks Cemetery

Another small family cemetery perched on a hill (or what passes for a hill in flat Chatham-Kent) next to a cornfield at 19119 Kenesserie Road. Second from left we see the old fashioned Christian name "Charity."

After an overly-long lunch at nearby Erieau, the Graveyard Girls visited Botany in Howard Township. Yes, Botany, as in the study of plants. No, I don't know how this lonely part of the former Kent County received its moniker. Cornelius McBrayne operated a post office by this name from 1865 to 1900. Was he honouring a relative sent to Botany Bay in Australia? Or is the name a reference to the dense woods found in pioneer days? If you know, do share.

There are two cemeteries at Botany, Methodist and Presbyterian, across the road from one another. In other words, finding a relative involves knowing which church they attended. There were indeed churches of both denominations in the area. Today, St. John's Botany United Church still holds services at 12377 Botany Line near Kent Bridge. The former Botany Howard Road United Church was demolished in 1998.

Monument at Botany.

On the Presbyterian side of the road, a monument to Edwin & Edna, twin children of Charles and Elizabeth (Chalcroft) Keech, born September 12, 1888, died 25 days later on October 7 (family info from ancestry.ca).

On the Methodist side, an inscription to Rhoda and Bruce McKay, a set of twins born November 11, 1880, and dying July 14, 1881, the children of John C. and Maria McKay. The Graveyard Girls discussed whether this family name is pronounced "McKay" or "McEye" without reaching a conclusion. As for me, I'm wondering whether it was common for twins to die on the same day, as apparently both sets of twins here did. While life expectancy for twins in the nineteenth century was often low, I am wondering if birth complications or a shared infection led to the twins' demise at the same time?

After leaving Botany, the dead-tired Graveyard Girls headed for home. But there will be more cemeteries in my future. I can feel it in my bones.

Three Graveyard Girls - myself, Ruth, and Rosemary - at Duart. Spooky photo in glorious black and white courtesy of Maggie Brannen.

*For more information, see William G. Stewart, Nature Rambles, 2000, pp. 56-62.