Homer Cemetery: Historical and Neglected

Gravestones obscured by fallen tree

Homer Cemetery is an inactive cemetery located in the shadow of the Garden City Skyway across the Welland Canal from St. Catharines. The cemetery is sometimes referred to as the Ten Mile Creek Burying Ground, although the actual creek was obliterated by the construction of the fourth Welland Canal in 1926.

Gravestone
encroachment

From a historical standpoint, Homer is one of the most interesting cemeteries in the Niagara Peninsula. It is an old graveyard, and is the burial place of several of the first settlers west of the Niagara River. In the graveyard can be found several members of Butler's Rangers — Loyalists who fought for Great Britain against the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Also buried at Homer are numerous veterans of the War of 1812.

Despite its historical significance, Homer is a badly neglected cemetery. Most of the gravestones lie horizontally on the ground. Grass and earth have encroached on the stones to the point that many have almost disappeared. In the process of photographing the gravestones this past summer, I often had to carefully remove the grass and soil. Due to a lack of rain this summer, this was relatively easy, but it was still dusty and time-consuming work.

Excavated
gravestone

Two large trees have fallen at the back of the cemetery, obscuring a number of the gravestones, including that Mary Read (1764-1839), wife of George Read (1763-1834), a private in Butler’s Rangers. The trees apparently fell many years ago. Why no one has brought in a chainsaw and removed them is a mystery.

Homer Cemetery is located on land that was granted to George Read’s brother, William Read (1759-1831). In his 1795 petition requesting land on behalf on his wife and five children, William writes that he, “with the assistance of his neighbours has erected a church on his premises in which Divine Service had been performed by the Rev’d Mr. Addison. The log church stood until 1832 when it was destroyed by fire. A church of brick was built to replace it, but this was torn down in 1939 when the four-lane Queen Elizabeth Way was built.

By the 1930s the cemetery had become so overgrown that a fire was set to clear out the undergrowth. This had the unfortunate effect of cracking or descaling a number of the older stones. A stone cairn and commemorative plaque was also installed about this time.

The cemetery has been transcribed on a number of occasions, beginning with a partial transcription by Janet Carnochan in 1898. In 1928, W.G. Reive recorded most of the gravestones, and also noted that the cemetery was overgrown and poorly maintained. In 1984 and 1985, the Niagara Peninsula Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society undertook a systematic transcription. A quarter century later this transcription is invaluable for locating individual stones and discerning faded inscriptions.

George Grass
1789-1813

In her 1898 transcription, Carnochan notes the gravestone of George Grass (1789-1813) who was killed on May 1813 during the Battle of Fort George. Grass is one of few “Canadian” soldiers who died during the War of 1812 whose graves are marked. Also mentioned are the gravestones of Solomon Secord (1756-1799), a Lieutenant in Butler’s Rangers; Jacob Ball (1777-1820) and his wife Elizabeth (1790-1892); Margaret Hare (1764-1851), whose first husband was Solomon Secord, and whose second was Peter Hare, who also was a Lieutenant in Butler’s Rangers. Finally Carnochan records the epitaph for the double stone to Francis Goring Parnall and Elizabeth Secord.

William Havens
1738-1800

Conspicuously absent from Carnochan’s account is the oldest gravestone in the cemetery, that of William Havens (1738-1800). The stone is incorporated into a much larger monument that documents the history of the Havens family, beginning with their emigration from Wales to Rhode Island in 1638. Unfortunately, the original stone for William’s wife, Lydia Masters (1742-1817) which was also incorporated into the monument, no longer exists.

It is unfortunate that Homer Cemetery is not better maintained. The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake lists Homer Cemetery on its website as one of ten inactive cemeteries “that are cared for by our staff.” The care of cemeteries, however, must go beyond just cutting the grass. It must include preventing gravestones from disappearing altogether.

Petticoat Rule: Hannah Jarvis (1763-1845)

Hamilton Family Burial Ground, Queenston, Ontario

The Hamilton Family Burial Ground is a small cemetery located in village of Queenston, halfway between Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. As would be expected, most of the gravestones commemorate members of the Hamilton family—a family of considerable influence and power during the early days of Upper Canada (Ontario). The graveyard is situated on the grounds of the Greek Revival mansion known as Willowbank, built by Alexander Hamilton around 1834. Willowbank is now a National Historic Site, and is also the home of the School of Restoration Arts.

The School of Restoration Arts offers a Diploma in Heritage Conversation, and is making the effort to restore and maintain the cemetery. A blog entry by one of the students describes repairs that were recently made to two of the gravestones. A number of other stones, however, still require attention.

Alexander Hamilton
1794-1839

One of these stones belongs to Alexander Hamilton, third son of the merchant Robert Hamilton. Alexander was born at Queenston in 1794. He served with distinction during the War of 1812, and afterwards held a variety of important positions including sheriff of the Niagara District. As sheriff, Hamilton was required to perform the hanging of a condemned prisoner when the executioner failed to show. Some sources claim that Hamilton was so affected by the hanging that his health failed, and that this resulted in his death in 1839.

Alexander Hamilton's widow, Hannah, continued to live at Willowbank until her own death in 1888. Hannah was the daughter of William Jarvis, provincial secretary and registrar of Upper Canada. Alexander's untimely death left Hannah with the task of managing the estate, and of raising their numerous children, one of whom was born after the death of his father.

Hannah Jarvis with
her daughters Maria
and Augusta
(James Earl Raise,
1791, oil on canvas,
Royal Ontario Museum)

Hannah received help from her widowed mother, Hannah Owens Peters, who had been living with her daughter at the time of Alexander's death. Born in Connecticut in 1763, and after spending several years in England, the elder Hannah became an member of the "aristocracy" of Upper Canada. A significant amount of correspondence written by and about Hannah has been deposited at Library and Archives Canada, the Archives of Ontario, and the University of Guelph, providing a fascinating glimpse into her life.

One such glimpse is given by a former slave. Although uncommon, slavery did exist during the early days of Upper Canada, and several were owned by the Jarvis family. The 1797 wedding of "Moses & Phoebe, Negro slaves of Mr. Secy. Jarvis" is recorded in the records of St Mark's Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Henry Lewis, who escaped and fled to New York, wrote a letter to his former owner in 1798.

The reason why I left your house is this. Your woman vexed me to so high a degree that is was far beyond the power of man to support it.

Different attitudes towards slavery was one the reasons why Hannah Jarvis was not impressed with John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe took measures to limit slavery in Upper Canada; measures that ensured the eventual end of the institution. Hannah wrote that Simcoe, "by a piece of chicanery has freed all the Negroes by which he has rendered himself unpopular..." Hannah firmly believed that Simcoe's appointment as Lieutenant Governor was entirely due to his wife's money and influence, and frequently complained of "petticoat rule."

Hannah Jarvis was highly critically of Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of the Lieutenant Governor, at one point calling her a "little stuttering Vixon." Hannah was quick to notice Elizabeth Simcoe's absence at a ball celebrating the King's Birthday, suggesting that Mrs. Simcoe had been deliberately sick. Hannah seemed to blame Elizabeth Simcoe for just about everything. Writing about how a chest of linens had become mildewed aboard ship, Hannah noted that "Mrs. Simcoe's things escaped."

For her part, Elizabeth Simcoe barely mentions Hannah Jarvis in her diary, although other members of Upper Canada society make frequent appearances.

In other letters, Hannah Jarvis complains about the difficulty of finding servants, since the best servants would frequently "take up land and work for themselves. She complains about a cook she was able to employ: "Nasty, Sulky, Ill Tempered Creature." She complains about the prevalence of disease: "Ague and Fever are so prevalent that whole Families are confined at once..." In letters to her family in England she complains about the high costs of goods in "this Grim country," and asks that shoes, fabric, castor oil, and other goods to be sent to her.

John Graves and Elizabeth Simcoe returned to England in 1796, but Hannah Jarvis remained in "this Grim country" for the rest of her life. After the death of William Jarvis in 1817, Hannah made lengthy visits to her daughters, and eventually moved in with her daughter Hannah and son-in-law Alexander Hamilton in Queenston. Alexander Hamilton's death in 1839 reduced the family to poverty, and forced the elder Hannah to take over the housekeeping at Willowbank. A woman who once had slaves and servants, spent the last few years of her life cooking, washing, ironing, and cleaning.

Hannah Owens Peters, wife of William Jarvis, was buried in the Hamilton Family Burial Ground in 1845.

Hannah Jarvis (1763-1845)

Melancholy Tragedy: The Murders of Sarah and Annie Pethebridge

Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum

October of 1871 is perhaps best known as the month of the Great Chicago Fire, allegedly begun when Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern. But for the secluded North Devon village of Yarnscombe, October 1871 is the month when Jane Pethebridge murdered her two daughters.

Jane Pickard, oldest daughter of James Pickard (1813-1897) and Sarah May (1813-1876), was born in Fremington, Devon in 1839. In 1855, Jane married George Pethebridge, the son of Thomas Pethebridge (1816- ?) and Rebecca (1816-1872).  Sometime after their marriage, Jane and George moved to Aberavon, Glamorgan, Wales, where their daughter, Elizabeth, was born during the summer of 1858. George was badly injured in a mining accident, and the family returned to Fremington to live with Jane's parents. Unfortunately, George succumbed to his injuries during the summer of 1860.

For the next few years, Elizabeth was raised by her grandparents, as Jane had obtained a position with a family in London. Finally, in the summer of 1868, in Exeter, Jane married Richard Pethebridge, the younger brother of her first husband. Richard was born in Yarnscombe, Devon in 1837. He was a road labourer, and lived with Jane in a cottage in the village. Their daughter Annie was born a year later in the summer of 1869. Another daughter, Sarah, followed in the winter of 1871.

On Thursday, October 5, 1871, Jane sent her daughter Elizabeth to fetch some beer from her aunt, Mary Ann Pearce, who lived at East Orchard Farm about a mile away. On her way back, a neighbour, Emma Moon, the wife of Police Constable James Moon, called to Elizabeth and asked her if she knew that her mother had gone out. Mrs. Moon then urged Elizabeth to check on her step-sisters. When she got home, Elizabeth went upstairs to find the two girls on the bed. Thinking they were asleep, she tried to wake Annie but soon realized that neither child was breathing. Elizabeth ran back to her neighbour and told Mrs. Moon that her sisters were dead. Emma fetched her husband who after a quick examination of the crime scene set out after Jane. He caught up with her outside of Yarnscombe on the road to Barnstaple, brought her back to his house, and charged her with murder.

Later that evening PC Moon, accompanied by Charles Richard Jones, a surgeon from Great Torrington, examined the crime scene more closely. They discovered marks around the necks of both children, as well as a bruise on Annie's forehead. PC Moon also found two lengths of string, with which the two girls had apparently been strangled.

Newspaper coverage of the murders was extensive. Trewman's Exeter Flying Post refers to Jane as "crippled and paralysed" but states she ran from her house without the aid of her crutches intending to drown herself. PC Moon mentions that she had a walking stick when he arrested her. The reporter states that at her appearance before the magistrates in Great Torrington, Jane had "a somewhat forbidding countenance, and she betrayed no traces of compunction."

The North Devon Journal provides a more detailed picture. Annie’s birth had left Jane paralysed on her right side, and although her mother had partially recovered, it was Elizabeth who largely managed the household. Jane was also subject to seizures.

During the Victorian Era, there was a growing awareness of mental illness, and the possibility that a person might not be criminally responsible for their actions. This was especially the case when a mother murdered her child. To an educated person, the thought of a sane woman murdering a child was inconceivable. As a result, insanity became a foregone conclusion is these cases.

At the Devon Assizes a month later, the presiding judge, Baron Martin, instructed the Grand Jury to discharge Jane, after hearing medical evidence that she was "of unsound mind." The judge then directed that Jane "be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure."

Jane was sent to the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum in Berkshire, where she died in 1881. At the time of the 1881 Census, her daughter Elizabeth was a domestic servant at a lodging house in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. In the spring of 1882 she married Frank King. Together they raised a large family, although it is unlikely that Elizabeth's children ever knew about their step-aunts.

Sources:

North Devon Journal, October 12, 1871
North Devon Journal, December 21, 1871
Trewman's Exeter Flying Post, October 11, 1871
Trewman's Exeter Flying Post, December 20, 1871

Ponsonby Pioneer

Ponsonby Pioneer Cemetery, Nichol, Wellington, Ontario

After three and a half days of "off-and-on" rain, we had a few hours of partially cloudy skies, so I took advantage of the good weather and visited Ponsonby Pioneer Cemetery in Wellington County north of Guelph, Ontario.

The Ponsonby Hotel

Ponsonby started as a stagecoach stop along the Gaxafraxa Settlement Road, leading north from Guelph into the wilderness known as the Queen's Bush. The settlement was originally named Thorpeville, after the first postmaster, John Thorpe. In 1863 the named was changed to Ponsonby. By this time Ponsonby was a thriving community with a hotel, wagonmaker, carpenter, butcher, blacksmith, and general store. Ponsonby today is a ghost town. The only remnants from its heyday are the hotel, which is now a private dwelling, and the cemetery.

In 1843 a 3/4 acre lot for a cemetery was purchased by Bethany Methodist Church. The cemetery remained active until about 1888. In the 20th century the cemetery became the victim of road widening. The existing gravestones were placed into a sloping concrete pad facing the road. In 1958, a cairn was erected on the site by the congregation of Bethany United Church, the successor to Bethany Methodist. 

Thomas HOWSE
(1788-1874)

The gravestones are for the most part in good condition, athough no longer in situ. The gravestone of Thomas Howse is particularly striking and bears a poetic epitaph: 

     He's gone! the loved and cherished one;
     Like some bright star he passed away.
     Death claimed his victim and he sank,
     Calm as the sun's expiring ray. 

Thomas Howse was born on 20 Apr 1788 in Aynho, Northamptonshire, England. He emigrated to Canada with his wife Mary Churchley (1787- ?) and seven children in the 1830s, and settled in Pilkington Township west of Ponsonby. Thomas's family was one of several Aynho families that emigrated from England to the Ponsonby area.

Also at Ponsonby are the gravestones for Thomas's son George Howse (1819-1858), his daughter Elizabeth (1826-1878), his daughter Mary (1823-1855), Thomas's unmarried sister, Ann Howse (1788-1880), and two grandchildren.

Cove Pioneer Cemetery

Cove Pioneer Cemetery, Nassagaweya, Halton, Ontario

Cove Pioneer Cemetery is a small graveyard in Nassagaweya Township, east of Guelph, Ontario. According to The History of Eden Mills, a Methodist Chapel was built on this site in 1844, on land donated by William Martin. The chapel was constructed of cedar logs. 14 years later, in 1862, the chapel closed due to the difficulty of finding a minister. The building remained on the site until 1900 when it was moved to a neighbouring farm.

The oldest burial inscription is apparently dated 4 Jan 1846. The latest  inscription is that for George Martin (1838-1898), possibly a son of William Martin (? -1859) who is also buried at Cove. George Martin's gravestone also lists his wife, Frances James (1843-1878) and four children: Eleanor (1873-1873), Albert (1876-1876), Thomas (1870-1877), and Mary (1878-1878).

During the 20th century the 31 surviving gravestones were mounted onto a sloping concrete pad. Weathering, moss and lichen, unfortunately, have resulted in many of the gravestones becoming illegible.

Disappearing History: Virgil Methodist

In Disappearing History of Niagara: The Graveyards of a Frontier Township, David Hemmings writes:

With remarkably little in provincial government regulation to protect and honor the deceased of this area, many of the historic graveyards in the township are now in relatively poor condition and, over the years, gravestones have been vandalized and left to crumble and crack without proper attention. For those of us interested in finding evidence of ancestors buried here, or simply in the history of those who built the living fabric of this area, the continual erosion of gravestones and even whole graveyards is problematic.

One such graveyard is the Virgil Methodist Cemetery. This small cemetery is sometimes referred to as the Virgil United Church Cemetery, although only a few burials occurred here after the Methodists combined with the Presbyterians in 1925 to form the United Church of Canada. The church itself closed in 1965 when the congregation joined Grace United in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and was presumably demolished shortly thereafter.

Virgil Methodist Church

A plaque at the front of the cemetery tells how the hamlet of Virgil was once known as Lawrenceville, named after George Lawrence, a member of Butler's Rangers during the Revolutionary War, and an early Methodist leader. In 1840, Lawrence donated land for a meeting house and cemetery. The plaque also states:

In this graveyard is a stone reading "George Lawrence, born March 26th, 1757, died Aug. 5th, 1848, aged 91 years."

Ironically, George Lawrence's gravestone is one of the stones in poor condition. Whether from erosion or vandalism, this broken stone is no longer readable, and because it lies horizontally, has become encroached with grass and earth.

Several transcriptions of the cemetery are in existence. Janet Carnochan's 1902 work Inscriptions and Graves in the Niagara Peninsula describes Lawrence's gravestone and mentions the surnames of a few others buried in the graveyard. W.G. Reive's 1927 transcription is more complete, although he describes the graveyard as "much neglected."  W.M. Willis in 1962 remarked how the churchyard was "badly neglected" and the stones "hard to read." The most detailed transcription is that produced in 1984 as part of the Ontario Genealogical Society project to transcribe all cemeteries in the province.

When I recently photographed the graveyard for the CanadaGenWeb Cemetery Project, I was able to find and photograph all but two of stones listed in the OGS Transcription. One of the missing stones is that of Esther Cain, wife of Barnabas Cain, a local "hero" of the War of 1812 whose stone was listed as missing by Reive in 1927.

Both Willis and the OGS transcription record a gravestone where the only information visible was the name Alphord. I did not have high hopes of finding this stone, however, not only was Alphord's stone extant, but more of the inscription was visible. Further non-invasive cleaning revealed the following:

ALPHORD

Son of

Joseph & Jane

CORNICK

[died] Oct. 2, 1843

Alphord CORNICK, was the son of Joseph CORNICK and Jane LAWRENCE. Jane was the granddaughter of George LAWRENCE (1757-1848). In the late 1840s, Joseph and Jane moved to Caledonia in Haldimand County. Jane died in 1851 and was buried at St Paul's Anglican Cemetery in Caledonia. After her death, Joseph CORNICK apparently married her sister Sarah LAWRENCE (1832- ?).

Howitt Memorial Cemetery

Howitt Monument, Howitt Memorial Cemetery

Howitt Memorial Cemetery is a well-kept cemetery in Puslinch Township southwest of Guelph, Ontario, located on the southwest corner of Laird Road West and Sideroad 10.

Howitt Memorial Church
(1886-1983)

Until 1983, a small church stood beside the cemetery, although regular services had not been held there since 1929. The stone church was built in 1886, replacing a wooden church that built on the property of John Howitt in 1843. From 1843 until 1925, the church served a Methodist congregation. In 1925 the Methodists merged with the Presbyterians and the Congregationists to form the United Church of Canada. Four years later, however, the members of Howitt Memorial decided to join the congregation of  Norfolk United in Guelph, and the church was closed.

Dominating the cemetery is the monument to John HOWITT (1805-1881). John was born in Derbyshire and came to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1834. Shortly after his arrival he purchased 500 acres in Guelph Township known as "The Grange" and 800 acres in Puslinch Township including the land now occupied by the cemetery. He married twice and had 22 children, 13 of whom are commemorated on his monument. Other Howitt children are buried nearby. Despite being a Methodist, John was known as "Quaker" Howitt due to his pacifist beliefs. He was said to be the largest landowner in Wellington County, and was a breeder of purebred shorthorn cattle.

John KIRKLAND (1804-1857)

Most of the gravestones in the cemetery date from the second half of the 19th century. The oldest stone is that of Frank HEATH (1835-1848). Frank was most likely the son of Edmond Field HEATH (? - 1871), a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo. Another important early stone is that of John KIRKLAND (1804-1857) and his wife Sarah ATTENBOROUGH (1802-1858). The stone is now broken (although still quite readable), however, a photograph of the intact stone from the 1960s survives.

"Gone Home"

In the process of photographing and indexing all the stones at Howitt Cemetery for the CanadaGebWeb Cemetery Project, it became clear that I had possibly missed a stone. As part of the process of indexing the photographs, I cross-check against published transcriptions, in this case a 1985 transcription published by the Wellington Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS). According to the transcription, a gravestone to Hannah EVANS (? -1877), daughter of James and Sarah EVANS, should be found beside the monument to her parents, which is located at the treeline bordering the west side of the cemetery.

While I didn't find Hannah's gravestone (although I did find a base for one), I did find two other monuments not listed in the 1985 transcription. The first was a fragment of a gravestone bearing an epitaph that implores the reader "Weep not" because "I am not dead but sleeping here." The second turned out to be a footstone. The stone was almost completely buried by soil and leaf litter. Using plastic tools and my hands (never use metal tools around gravestones) I uncovered a footstone with the words "Father" and "Gone home" and an engraving of a winged crown.

Unknown, Died Oct., 8, 1881

There is also one gravestone which I photographed that wasn't listed in the transcription. The gravestone is broken, so no name is visible, however, the date and age of death is quite clear. Unfortunately, a check of Ontario death registrations using Ancestry.ca did not reveal any likely candidates. So not only do I not know why this gravestone wasn't included in the OGS transcription, I also do not whose gravestone it is.

The caretakers of Howitt Memorial have done a good job of protecting the older gravestones. While many of these gravestones are no longer vertical, and some are broken, concrete pads have been poured and the gravestones laid on top. This has prevented grass from encroaching on the stones, and made my job of photographing them much easier.