Showing posts with label cemeteries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cemeteries. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Charles Ollerhead and the Heart's Content Salvation Army Cemetery

Our last blog post on Charles Ollerhead and the Heart's Content Salvation Army cemetery inspired questions on who Charles Ollerhead was, and the history of this tiny, one-marker cemetery. More information was found in Connecting the Continents by Ted Rowe, an excerpt of which is available below.

Connecting the Continents by Ted Rowe.

Excerpt below was taken from: Rowe, Ted. Connecting the Continents. St. John’s: Breakwater Books Ltd.,
2009-04-21. Page 96-97, with the authors permission.

"The Salvation Army first appeared in Heart's Content in 1891, striking a chord with a young cable operator dedicated to the cause. Newcomers to Newfoundland, the Army brought a religious style especially appealing to those Methodists nostalgic for the lively, unrestrained prayer meetings of their earlier days. Carried on a wave of unabashed evangelical fervour, the Army swept through the outports and attained official standing as a religious denomination, which, among other things, allowed it to operate its own schools in a government-supported denominational education system. 

At first the congregation of St. Mary's, still mindful of the Wesley upsurge, did not know quite what to make of this new intrusion, but a congregational meeting in January 1892 found them ready to close ranks: 

Mr. Charlton asked who were members of the Church. Rev. Chairman stated that any persons who connected themselves with any other church or sect or enrolled themselves as members of S Army could not be members of the Church and pointed out that the Rector was not bound to bury a corpse simply because the friends of the deceased wished it. After some remarks by Messrs John Farnham, Gaden Rendell & others Mr. Charlton proposed, Mr. J. H. Moore seconded that persons joining any other church or enrolling as member of S Army be not allowed to use St. Mary's cemetery. Carried. 


Headstone of Charles Ollerhead, buried in the Salvation Army Cemetery
in Heart's Content. Photo courtesy of Ted Rowe.

No dithering as far as the Salvation Army was concerned. The Army's stalwart in Heart's Content was Charlie Ollerhead, a 20-year old Anglo employee whose father had broken away from the Church of England and married into the Methodist side of the Hopkins family. A bachelor with some spare time on his hands, Charlie Ollerhead became passionate in the cause. He volunteered as secretary of the Salvation Army in Newfoundland and spent his summer holidays helping out at headquarters in St. John's. His zeal is apparent in a small item penned for the Army's Canadian newspaper, The War Cry: 

One would think it an impossibility to have a public S.A. banquet in Heart's Content, the people seem to be so much opposed to us, but the Captain's faith ran high, and six of us took up our cross to beg (without a trial there's no denial), and the Lord opened the peo- ple's hearts and they helped us exceptionally well.  
We have no real barracks here, and we tried to get a hall, but failed to obtain one. We had with us Capt. Hoddinott and Bro. Howell, with his cornet and guitar, from Carbonear, also officers from Hant's Harbour and Scilly Cove. We had a nice crowd. The musical jubilee went with a swing. I believe everyone enjoyed themselves, and the unsaved had another chance to get ready to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb, but none would accept the invitation...We realized the nice little sum of thirty dollars…
 

The Army held their first meetings in a fishing shed on the Rockwood plantation, nicknamed the "tar-pot," where they attracted a contingent of men from Scilly Cove. By 1893, the Scilly Cove people branched off with a corps of their own. In Heart's Content a new barracks was established near the Main Brook. 

Charlie Ollerhead's soldiership was cut short by ill health in 1896. In March, the station superintendent advised that he take a fortnight off and noted that he would be wise to "discontinue his more active operations in connection with the Salvation Army, public speaking, shouting, excitement and late hours not being good for him." Anglo's general manager in London ruled that his occupations outside combined with his duties were too much, and he would have to resign one or the other. Ollerhead worked on and off until June when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He died in November. Forewarned by the Church of England policy on burial space, the Army had secured land for a cemetery on the barrens just behind Rowe's Bank. Charlie Ollerhead was the first and only soldier laid to rest there. After his passing the Army failed to gain a firm footing in Heart's Content and departed for good in the 1930s. Today, their tiny cemetery with its single gravesite is the only reminder that they were ever there." 


Learn more about the history of Heart's Content in Connecting the Continents by Ted Rowe (2009).




Thursday, November 7, 2024

Cemeteries as Community Heritage event in Heart's Content

Learn more about the cemeteries of Heart's Content database and more at the upcoming Cemeteries as Community Heritage event on November 21st. One cemetery included is the Heart's Content Salvation Army Cemetery, which only contains one headstone.

Headstone of Charles Ollerhead, buried in the Salvation Army Cemetery
in Heart's Content. Photo courtesy of Ted Rowe.

The headstone belongs to Charles Ollerhead, who died November 27th, 1896 at the age of 25. 

The inscription reads:

In Loving Memory of

Charles Ollerhead

who departed this life Novr 27th, 1896

Aged 25 years

He has crossed o'er the sea

He has reached the bright coast

He fell like a warrior

He died at his post



Learn more about the upcoming Cemeteries as Community Heritage event and register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1047957367697?aff=oddtdtcreator


Friday, July 15, 2022

Headstone Cleaning in Blackhead Cemetery

Yesterday our team headed out to the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Blackhead for a little introduction to headstone cleaning. We were joined by some volunteers from the Blackhead One Room School and Church Building which is just next door to the cemetery. To learn more about the St. Joseph's Chapel and it's heritage designation click here!

First we wet the headstones with water. Here Dale is using a garden sprayer to make sure to cover the whole stone with water before starting. 

Dale spraying a stone with water.

Next we mixed up a mix up a sprayer with 50% water and 50% D2 Biological Solution. D2 is biodegradable and safe to use on a range of surfaces including headstones to remove stains from mould, mildew, algae, lichens, and air pollutants. We also found out yesterday that it works well to remove bird poop as well! Here Lara is spraying a stone with the D2-water mixture. 

Lara spraying a headstone with D2 and water.

Next up we used *soft* bristle brushes (never metal) to make soft circular motions to clean the stone. We are extremely careful with the amount of pressure we place on the stone so we don't move or break the base. Lara is doing a demonstration for the group here.

Lara is carefully brushing the stone.

Here is a photo of the group hard at work!

Group cleaning headstones in the Blackhead cemetery.

Here are some before and after photos from our first headstone cleaning workshop in July 2021. This workshop was led by Robyn Lacy and Ian Petty of Black Cat Cemetery Preservation. You can see how the cleaning has brightened the stone and removed lichen. Over time the D2 will continue to work to brighten the headstone in the sun and deter further growth on the headstone. 



Thursday, March 10, 2022

Municipal Designation of Cemeteries - a How-To session with Heritage NL

 


Thursday, March 24, 2022
2:00 PM

Cemeteries throughout Newfoundland and Labrador are generally revered as special, sacred places. They occupy both emotional and physical space in our communities. Cemeteries are also expressions of our spiritual beliefs and cultural values, as well as rich repositories of genealogical and community history. 

Under the Municipalities Act, incorporated Newfoundland and Labrador municipalities can create Heritage Advisory Committees and designate locally important heritage buildings, structures and lands. In this free webinar, Heritage NL outreach officer Andrea O’Brien will walk you through the steps of how municipalities can designate cemeteries that fall within their town limits, and will explain what that means in terms of the protection of cemeteries as a historic resource. 

Register at:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j3FCItadRLuex16IG0l2VA


Friday, January 21, 2022

Living Heritage Podcast Ep210 Revitalization of St. Paul’s Anglican Cemetery with Ian Morris and Kevin Toope

Updated war memorial in St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery. November 2021.
Photo courtesy of Trinity Historical Society.


In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast we talk with Ian Morris and Kevin Toope of the Trinity Historical Society about the work of the society, their adopt a headstone project, and their research and revitalization plans for the St. Paul’s Anglican Cemetery. We also hear some of their favourite stories from their research, and their own connections to the cemetery.

The Trinity Historical Society preserves and promotes the history of Trinity, through the acquisition and preservation of artifacts and archives, and through the promotion and acquisition of historic properties. The Trinity Historical Society was organized in 1966. Originally the Trinity Historic Sites Committee, it was formed on February 7, 1964 to gather information on the history of Trinity and to preserve it for future generations. In 1971 it was incorporated under the laws of Newfoundland and it is a registered Charitable Organization.

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.

Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Known burials at the Old Methodist Cemetery at Jimmy Gilbert's Garden, Come By Chance

 


Heritage volunteers in the town of Come By Chance have been busy cleaning up an old, overgrown, Methodist cemetery. There are ten marked graves, with a number of other spaces which could possibly hold other burials. Parish records identify an additional eight individuals buried in the cemetery, without markers. Most are members of the Adams and Gilbert families, with a Dicks and Stanford also buried there.

You can see the headstone data for the Cemetery here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wwj5ASeEra5b_brTN9800RkzTI4DPcJ9gLmt2MDkShg/edit?usp=sharing

https://billiongraves.com/cemetery/Old-Methodist-Cemetery-at-Jimmy-Gilberts-Garden/341153



Friday, July 2, 2021

Living Heritage Podcast Ep206 Cemetery Clean Up Tips and Tricks, with Andrea O'Brien and Robyn Lacy


Often well-meaning people clean or “restore” old gravestones in ways that actually damage them or hasten their deterioration by using the wrong methods. In this episode of the podcast we talk with Andrea O’Brien and Robyn Lacy about some tips and tricks for cemetery cleanups including headstone cleaning and repairs. We also learn more about the work happening in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Cape Broyle including some stories of local characters buried in the cemetery.


Andrea O’Brien is Heritage NL’s Municipal Outreach Officer and Provincial Registrar. A graduate of Memorial University, she has a BA focusing on folklore, history, Newfoundland Studies, and English, a Bachelor of Education, and an MA in folklore. She serves as Heritage NL’s Register of Historic Places, Municipal Outreach Officer, Heritage Places Poster Contest coordinator, Historic Commemorations Program coordinator, and web manager.


Robyn Lacy is a PhD student in Historical Archaeology at Memorial University, studying 17th century burial landscapes in North America. She is also co-director of Black Cat Cemetery Preservation which specializes in historic gravestone and monument conservation and restoration in Canada. Wife and husband team Robyn Lacy and Ian Petty, have a combined 20 years of experience in the heritage sector as archaeologists, gravestone conservators, and cultural heritage technicians.

  

Check out our two upcoming cemetery workshops: Headstones Cleaning and Basic TLC for Old Headstones. These workshops are offered by Heritage NL with support of the Labour Market Partnerships program, Department of Immigration, Skills and Labour, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.

Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

So, you want to clean up an old cemetery? A free webinar June 28th

 



When: Jun 28, 2021, 7:00 PM Newfoundland and Labrador

Topic: So, you want to clean up an old cemetery? 

Is there an old or abandoned cemetery in your community that you want to see fixed up? Does your town, parish group, or heritage committee have questions about how to go about cleaning up a cemetery that is overgrown? Tune in to this free webinar with Heritage NL folklorist Dale Jarvis about where to get started (and the things you should definitely Not Be At!).


There are two ways you can take part in the webinar:

Join on Zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81124992058

Watch on Facebook Live:

https://www.facebook.com/events/840825376829880

Friday, March 19, 2021

Living Heritage Podcast Ep202 Black Cat Cemetery Preservation

Black Cat Cemetery Preservation specializes in historic gravestone and monument conservation and restoration in Canada. Husband and wife team Robyn Lacy and Ian Petty, have a combined 20 years of experience in the heritage sector as archaeologists, gravestone conservators, and cultural heritage technicians. They have worked across Canada and the United States, as well as on the Isle of Man, recording gravestones and cemeteries, conducting archaeological surveys, mapping sites, and evaluating heritage structures and landscapes.


What's that strange image on the stone? Listen in to find out!




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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum
professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the
community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Living Heritage Podcast Ep185 Using the BillionGraves app to document local cemeteries


Cemetery sleuths Dale Jarvis and Katie Crane introduce you to the BillionGraves app for your mobile phone.  BillionGraves is the world's largest GPS-linked cemetery data resource. As you take photos with the BillionGraves app, each gravestone is automatically marked with a GPS location. The data is then made readily available at BillionGraves.com for free for millions of families around the globe for generations to come. Dale and Katie talk about the intro workshops they've been running with communities, and give you some tips on how you can get started using your phone to document and map local cemeteries and grave markers.


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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum
professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the
community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Cemetery Conservation in Placentia: St. Luke's Anglican Churchyard

Last week we visited the most adorable churchyard in Placentia to teach a cemetery conservation workshop with the O'Reilly House Museum and other heritage volunteers.

St. Luke's Anglican Churchyard. Photo by Katie Crane.

St. Luke's Anglican Church has an ancient history. The current church was built between 1906 and 1908, but the original church that was on the site was built in 1689. Many of the stones in the churchyard are fieldstones, and there were a number of 17th century Basque stones which were removed for preservation, suggesting the use of the site as a burial ground predates the 1689 church. You can read more about the history of St. Luke's here.

Memento Mori stones for the Hobson family. Photo by Katie Crane.

Student workers, museum staff, and other heritage volunteers met inside St. Luke's Anglican Church to listen to Dale Jarvis and Andrea O'Brien discuss cemetery conservation. 

Dale talked about the Do's and Don'ts of cemetery conservation. Everyone was curious about how to properly clean and maintain gravestones in historic cemeteries, and how to make sure that information about the gravestones are properly documented using either written marker record forms, or apps like BillionGraves.

Andrea talked about how municipalities can designate historic cemeteries which can help protect them. She talked about the work that the cemetery committee and the Conservation Corps Green Team are doing in the Immaculate Conception cemetery in Cape Broyle. 

Afterwards, we had a short break in the rain, so we went outside and I walked people through how to use the BillionGraves app to document the inscriptions on the headstones. The recording is a work in progress, and you can check out the St. Luke's Anglican Cemetery page here.

Gravestones at St. Luke's Churchyard. Photo by Katie Crane.

If you want to learn more about the work that's going on in the Immaculate Conception cemetery in Cape Broyle, or why cemetery documentation and public engagement is important, you can check out the most recent HeritageNL newsletter here,

We'd love to visit more communities and help cemetery committees, museum workers, and heritage societies safeguard historic cemeteries. Have questions? Want us to visit your local cemetery and lead a documentation workshop? Get in touch! dale@heritagenl.ca or andrea@heritagenl.ca

Monday, June 10, 2019

New Perlican Field Trip

Jillian, Rachael, Eileen, Betty, Ruth, Kelley, and Dale talk with Ches Peddle of New Perlican.
On Tuesday, June 4, I headed out to New Perlican, Trinity Bay with Dale, our new summer student Rachael, and two professors in the folklore department. We were taking Dr. Jillian Gould, and Dr. Kelley Totten from Memorial University's Folklore Department to meet with members of the community in order to explore future partnerships between the heritage committee and the folklore department.

St. Augustine's Anglican Church
Our first stop was the town hall where we met with four members of Heritage New Perlican to talk about the possibility of the two groups working together on a future folklore field school. After our formal meeting we explored the community with a stop in St. Augustine's Anglican Church. This church was built in 1927 and is set to be deconsecrated this month.

Ches Peddle
Our next stop was one of the colourful stages that dot the harbour of New Perlican. Ches Peddle, who showed us around his stage, grew up and lives in Vitters Cove, New Perlican. He worked on boats, and spent time in the north with the Hudson Bay Company. Ches also builds boats, and each summer he places a flag on the local landmark, Peter's Finger. Ches took us through his stage, explained the different fishing gear, and pointed out who built some of the boats, and stages in the harbour.

Grave located on private property.
We made a quick stop in St. Mark's Anglican Cemetery. This cemetery was part of a clean up project in 2017. The project was another partnership with Heritage New Perlican, and Memorial University. We also stopped to see a lone grave from 1816 which is located on private property. Our last stop of the day was stop at Ron Peddle's and the St. Augustine Anglican Cemetery as no trip to New Perlican is complete without goats. Unfortunately we didn't see any cemetery goats! We did however see little Bella, who is a pet pygmy goat owned by a community member.

Folk art in New Perlican by George Burrage

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Drown'd by the stroke of a whale, 1782: the grave of Jonathan Webber


Recently, I came across an intriguing headstone inscription on the Stone Pics website, for the community of Harbour Grace, Conception Bay. It was for a young man who was killed by a whale, and who lies buried in St. Paul's Churchyard. The stone reads:

In memory of Jonathan the son of Henry & Elizabeth Webber. This stone is erected by his sorrowful parents. He was a dutiful child, a loving brother, his parents chief hope of children, was drown'd by the stroke of a whale the 12th & found 16th July, 1782, aged 18 years and 9 months, and lies interr'd here.

I asked Matthew McCarthy, the Economic Development Officer for the  Town of Harbour Grace if he knew about it, and he ventured out to the churchyard and took the attached photos. The stone lies approximately here.  Thanks to Anne Gosse, who sent along the entry on findagrave.com, which you can view here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179594281/jonathan-webber

"Whaling was an exceptionally dangerous business both physically and economically," reads the New Bedford Whaling Museum website, "In the Yankee whale fishery injuries and death were common to almost every voyage" (1).

As one example, the brig Emeline, of New Bedford, sailed from port on the 11th of July, 1841. The captain, Captain Wood, was killed by a whale in July, 1842 (2).  Consider also this dramatic report published in The Patriot And Terra-Nova Herald 1851-12-22, about the fate of the whaleship Ann Alexander, also of New Bedford, on 20th of August, under the command of Captain Deblois:
...while in pursuit of whales, two of his boats that were out in pursuit were attacked by a large sperm whale, and completely demolished. The captain promptly ordered a third boat, and proceeded to the assistance of the men, who were thrown into the sea by the destruction of their boats. He succeeded in rescuing all of them, and reached his ship in safety. But the whale becoming  more frantic with rage, immediately directed his course for the ship, and struck her abreast of her foremast, injuring her so badly that she instantly filled. All hands took to the boats on the 22nd, and were subsequently picked up by the ship Nantucket... (3)

While it isn't explicitly stated on the stone, it is likely that young Jonathan Webber was engaged in the whale fishery of the time. The whale fishery was well-established in 18th-century Newfoundland.  By 1750, the Webber family of Boston set up business in Harbour Grace and made strenuous efforts to promote a whale hunt in Conception Bay; in 1766 Governor Hugh Palliser oversaw regulations for preventing disputes amongst whalers that arose from claims to a share in any whales. The whaling factory in Harbour Grace closed circa 1913, but memories of it lived on well past that date: the Harbour Grace Regatta was established using whale boats for the races, a tradition that persisted up to 1971.



Works cited:

(1) https://www.whalingmuseum.org/learn/research-topics/overview-of-north-american-whaling/whales-hunting

(2)  http://mysite.du.edu/~ttyler/ploughboy/starbuck.htm page 149.

(3) http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/compoundobject/collection/the_patriot/id/1638/rec/9 page 3.


Got a whaling story from your community? Let me know at dale@heritagenl.ca



Thursday, December 27, 2018

Living Heritage Podcast Ep141 Cemeteries with Denise Mahoney

Denise Mahoney, City of Mississauga.
Photo by Jason Spencer.
Photo courtesy of: https://www.mississauga.com/photogallery/6311476/
Denise Mahoney is the Manager, Cemeteries & Operational Services, and Program Manager, Cemetery Legislation and Compliance for the City of Mississauga, Ontario. She has over 20 years experience managing municipal cemeteries, and the promotion of heritage resources connected to cemeteries and cenotaphs. In this episode, Denise discusses her family’s connection to Fishot Island, her interest in cemeteries, her position as a heritage coordinator and a cemetery manager with the City of Mississauga, cemetery records and mapping, and the preservation and education of cemeteries.

Download MP3

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The Living Heritage Podcast is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HFNL and CHMR Radio. Past episodes are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Monday, December 10, 2018

Bauline Burial Ground

Group in the unmarked cemetery.
On Thursday Dale and I met with three archaeologists from Memorial University, and three residents of Bauline to discuss the possibility of completing a project in an abandoned cemetery in the community. The unmarked cemetery is an old Methodist burying ground which predates the old United Church cemetery in the community.

Measuring out the cemetery. The rock walls delineating the cemetery can be seen in the foreground.
We met beside the United Church and walked down to the site which is on an incline and is only marked by a short rock wall. One of the residents pointed out two rocks which he was told by an older community member was the entrance to the graveyard.

Reviewing the church floor plans.
After a trip through the graveyard and a discussion of what the next steps were we visited the United Church building. The church is due to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020. Dale is completing some research on the history of the church itself and we were able to find some floor plans of some alterations done in the 1980s.

Undenominational Cemetery. 1925.
Once we finished exploring the church we took a quick detour on the way back to town to visit an undenominational graveyard where several goldpreachers or coonies are buried. We are also interested in learning more about this religion and are looking into where else there were goldpreachers practicing in Newfoundland and Labrador.

One of three marked stones in the undenominational graveyard.
Several unmarked stones are also located in the small graveyard.
Stay tuned for more updates on the church and the graveyard! But in the meantime if you have any information about either please reach out to Dale Jarvis at 739-1892 ex. 2 or dale@heritagenl.ca

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Update from the St. James Anglican Cemetery project, Carbonear



Last year, Heritage NL was asked by one of our Registered Heritage Structures, St. James Anglican in Carbonear, to give some advice on their cemetery cleanup project (see past blog entries here). A year into the project, they've made great strides to cut back invasive bushes and trees, trim rose bushes, and expose some hidden stones and markers.  A big shout out to Judy Symonds who has taken the lead on this project, and to last year's summer students for their excellent and careful work.

Yesterday, I was back in Carbonear to help give some training on this summer's phase of the project. The cemetery has been partially mapped, with the majority of the pre-1900s graves transcribed. Several plots were left unfinished, and there are quite a few 20th century grave markers that have not been recorded at all. So I worked with their current batch of summer students, and taught them how to use the Marker Record Form designed by the Family History Society.  The goal is to finish recording the south half of the cemetery.

One of the intriguing finds made this year was of a First World War Memorial Plaque (sometimes called a Dead Man's Penny) firmly mounted on concrete. The plaques were issued to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war, but it is rare to see one used as a cemetery memorial.




The plaque bears the name William Stephenson, who might possibly be this person:
https://www.therooms.ca/sites/default/files/stephenson_william_3737.pdf

More to come as research and documentation continue!

If you want to learn more about the process of cemetery transcription, we are holding a Cemetery Transcription Bee Thursday, August 9th, 2018 at 9am in partnership with Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum. This combination workshop/documentation project will instruct participants on how to transcribe grave markers. You’ll learn about the DOs and DON’Ts of recording inscriptions, tombstone symbols and stone types, how to fill out cemetery marker forms, and assist the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum in collecting tombstone information at the St. Francis of Assisi RC Cemetery.  Pre-registration required (right here!)

Monday, June 18, 2018

Grave of Phillip Louis, The Mount, Lower Island Cove



On a cold and wet Friday, June 15, 2018, I visited Lower Island Cove, Conception Bay North, with Judy Rogers as my guide. While there, Judy took me to one of the oldest burying places in Lower Island Cove, a section of the community on a hill close to the water, which is locally called The Mount.

The cemetery sits in a windswept, barren spot, overlooking the community, and wild grasses have largely obscured the majority of the rough-stone grave markers. There is only one visible carved tombstone, marking the grave of Judy's fourth-great-grandfather, Phillip Louis. The inscription reads:

--- 

IN
MEMORY OF
PHILLIP LOUIS
A NATIVE
OF THE ISLAND OF JERSEY
WHO AFTER A RESIDENCE
OF MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS
IN THIS PLACE
DIED ON THE 19TH NOVEMBER 1821
IN THE 78TH YEAR OF HIS AGE
RESPECTED AND ESTEEMED
FOR HIS HONESTY
AND
INTEGRITY

He came to his Grave in a Full age
like as a Shock of Corn cometh in
in his season

_____________

Be not Slothful,
but Followers of them who through Faith
and Patience inherit the Promises

---

The stone, reset in a more modern concrete base, also features a well-carved hourglass and scythe motif, surmounting a crossed arrow and trumpet. The scythe can be seen to represent the reaping of life and the hourglass representing that earthly time has run out. The hourglass has also been interpreted as a memento mori, reminding we visitors that we are one hour closer to our own deaths. More cheerfully, the ivy (or vines, botanists feel free to weigh in on this) on either side of the stone could be interpreted to represent memory, immortality, friendship, fidelity, faithfulness, undying affection, or eternal life.






Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Do You Know of Any Metal Grave Markers in Newfoundland and Labrador?


On a recent camping trip to the New-Wes-Valley area, I visited the Lumsden United Church Cemetery and came across the headstone of William Tuff, son of William and Susanah Tuff, who died 9th of October 1847 aged 28 years. What caught my attention with this headstone was that it's made of cast iron. I have seen one other cast iron marker, at Bethany United in Carbonear, and a small sheet metal marker in St. James Cemetery, also in Carbonear.


In a 2012 ICH Newsletter article, Patrick Carroll wrote about the tin monuments in Bonavista Bay, which you can read about here. There are also a few interesting zinc (or white bronze) grave markers in St. John's. The hollow zinc markers have an distinctive blue-gray colour that is easily recognized once you know what to look for.

The zinc or White Bronze grave marker of Isabell and S.H. Parsons at the General Protestant Cemetery in St. John's

Do you know of any others metal grave markers around the province? Do you have a relative whose grave is marked with one? Do you know anything about the makers of these headstones, particularly the cast iron ones?

~ Kelly

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Volunteer Opportunity - Cemetery Cleanup at St. James Anglican, Carbonear


Volunteer Cemetery Enthusiasts Wanted!

We've posted here and here about the ongoing cemetery conservation project underway at St. James Anglican Church in Carbonear, one of the Foundation's Registered Heritage Structures. You can read about the designation of the building here.

This Saturday, July 29th, 2017, from 9am-12pm, the cemetery committee is organizing a cemetery bee! Volunteers are invited to come help with some of the brush clearance, and to assist with opening up the historic formal entrance pathway to the churchyard, which has become overgrown over the years. The plan is to be able to have the pathway cleared back by the end of the summer, and to re-open on the historic iron gates which have been shut for some time.  Members of the cemetery committee will be on site to talk about the church, the cemetery project, and what they've uncovered so far, and I'll be there to answer your questions about graveyards, tombstone symbolism, and the do's and don'ts of cleaning up your own historic cemeteries and churchyards. We might even be able to offer you a cup of tea!



This is an outdoor, hands-on activity, so please have appropriate clothing, workboots, gloves, hats, sunblock, bug spray, etc. If you have your own loppers/pruning shears/secateurs, bring them along. Just curious, and want to see what we are up to? Come for a chat!

The church is located at 13 Bond Street, Carbonear [click here for map] with plenty of parking to the north side of the church hall. See you in Carbonear on Saturday morning!

- Dale Jarvis



Tuesday, July 11, 2017

A cemetery visit on Orangeman's Day - the grave of William Janes



Yesterday was Orangeman's Day in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the curious provincial holidays that some people get off work, and other people know nothing about.  While the Heritage Foundation office was closed, I headed off to Carbonear for a meeting about a possible future oral history project, and a visit to St. James Anglican to meet with their committee about their cemetery cleanup project. We'd blogged about St. James Anglican before (read here) and today was the first day their student workers in place. So off I went to help them make a plan for removing brush, and to prioritize which sections of the cemetery they should work on first.

When I arrived, the students had already cleared away some of the brush from around the memorial stone for William Janes, work appropriate, perhaps, for Orangeman's Day. William Janes was killed in the notorious Harbour Grace Affray, and his marker reads:

SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
WILLIAM JANES
AGED
22 YEARS
Who was shot dead whilst
walking in an Orange Pro
cession at Harbour Grace
ON DEC 26TH 1883.


There is a detailed account of the affray here:
http://canadianorangehistoricalsite.com/HabourGraceAffair.php