This weekend on Newmarket Today I have again chosen to continue my examination of the importance of ‘family cemeteries’ in the Newmarket area. This weekend the featured cemeteries may be a bit smaller and perhaps less well known but they are indeed excellent examples of the historical family cemeteries that I have been trying to highlight.
Given the number and uniqueness of the ‘family cemeteries’ that I have uncovered, I anticipate another edition later in the Spring.
Let us begin with a list of the ‘family cemeteries in York Region’ that I intend to examine this weekend. Again I remind you that you can find a full listing of the cemeteries in Ontario from the York Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society along with a comprehensive map showing the locations of the cemeteries across York Region.at Cemeteries – York Branch (ogs.on.ca).
These are the family and community cemeteries that I will be looking at this weekend:
- The Wesleyan Methodist Church Cemetery, established about 1824 on the north-east corner of Prospect and Timothy Street
- The Sharon Burying Ground, establish around 1820 on the east Side of Leslie Street just south of Sharon.
- The Baldwin Free Methodist Cemetery, established mid-1800’s and located at 160 Baldwin Road in Baldwin
- The Baldwin Christian Church Cemetery was established around 1888 and located at 5673 Smith Blvd in Baldwin.
- The Holborne-Glover Cemetery established in 1872 on the east of Kennedy Road in East Gwillimbury
- The Hartman Family Burying Ground was established in 1861 and is located at 5725 Davis Drive between Highway 48 and the 9th Concession Road.
- The Graham Family Cemetery establish in 1814 and relocated to the Aurora Cemetery.
- The Boyers Road Cemetery, established in 1866 and is located on the south side of Boyers Road, between The Queensway Northand Woodbine Avenue.in Georgina
- The Mann Cemetery, established in 1826 and located on Lot 17, Concession 3, on the west side of the North Queensway, just north of Old Homestead Road in Georgina.
- The Dickson Hill Cemetery, established in 1803 and located at 70 Dickson Hill Road in Markham.
We will start with two of the larger ‘family cemeteries’ and then look at some smaller ones. If you go back to the first article in this series, you will remember that cemeteries dedicated to a single family, religious or ethnic group are generally considered to be under the banner of the ‘family cemetery. The first two highlighted cemeteries are certainly excellent examples of this genera.
In the past I have written an article about this cemetery located on Prospect Hill, former site of the Alexander Muir School and now nursing home, located on the north-east corner of Prospect Street and Timothy Street in Newmarket.
Originally named the Wesleyan Methodist Church cemetery, it was in use from about 1824 to 1879, when the cemetery was supposedly closed, and families were asked to move the remains to the Newmarket Cemetery. As we know, many were not moved and we discovered that after the Alexander Muir school, which was built on this site, closed, the remains of many individuals, mostly children, were found in 1989 when a retirement home was built in its place.
About 77 individual skeletons were found, and forensic research discovered that about 49% of those were juveniles and that there were only 4 adults over 60 years of age amongst those found. The official Ontario Genealogical Society records indicate that there are no burials (or a least memorials) remaining, but the belief is that remains still exist on the site today.
Another cemetery that I have written about in the past is the Sharon Burying Ground located on Leslie Street just south of the village of Sharon, across the road from the Sharon Public School.
This cemetery is best known as the final resting place of many members of the Children of Peace, who built the Sharon Temple, as well as members of other prominent local families.
Four major historical figures associated with the Temple and The Children of Peace are interred there, David Willson, Founder of the Children of Peace along with his wife, Phoebe Titus, along with the Master Builder of the Sharon Temple, Ebenezer Doan, and his wife Elizabeth Paxon.
There are 348 memorials located on the property, the oldest marked graves dating from 1820’s and the last burial taking place in 1935. Sadly, the burial site began to suffer neglect as early as the late 1800s.
In 1952 a group of concerned descendants formally organized the Sharon Burying Ground Association to assume care of the site, a task that they still undertake to this day, having been incorporated in 2014. Finally in 1995, the Sharon Burying Ground was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as a site of historical importance.
Our next cemetery of interest is in Baldwin. Established in the mid-1800s, during a time when the Baldwin community was growing, the Baldwin Cemetery was also known as the Baldwin Free Methodist Cemetery, or the Cryderman Cemetery and is located at 160 Baldwin Road in Baldwin and has 246 memorials. If you wish to examine the records for this cemetery you can go to Ontario: Baldwin Christian Church Cemetery, York County – CanadaGenWeb Cemetery Project.
Like most cemeteries of the period, the land was likely donated or purchased by the residents, and it became a sacred ground for burials.
There is also a much smaller cemetery established around 1888 when the church was built and located at 5673 Smith Blvd. in Baldwin, called the Baldwin Christian Church Cemetery, also known as Baldwin Abandoned Cemetery. This cemetery has only got 6 memorials. Sadly, both the Christian Church and the cemetery are no longer there however the site is still of historical significance.
In the same general area is the Holborne Glover Cemetery, established around 1872 and situated on the south side of the Ravenshoe Road, east of Kennedy Road, on Lot 35, Concession 6, in East Gwillimbury.
Many of these historical cemeteries have their own boards and this cemetery is administered by the Holborne-Glover Cemetery Board. The cemetery is marked by a sign over the entrance gate reading “Holborne-Glover,” although the markers themselves read only ‘Holborn’
The Holborne and Glover families also erected a building to the west of the cemetery for worship by any denomination pertaining to Methodism. You will often find burial limited to a specific religious affiliation originally known as the Ravenshoe Chapel. Historically, the church was under the Queensville charge until a church union in 1925 when it became a part of the Keswick circuit.
The cemetery is fenced in and very well maintained. This cemetery, along with most of the cemeteries I am examining have been well researched and transcriptions have been published which consist of short histories and photographs in addition to the inscriptions (58 memorial records at the Holborne Glover Cemetery).
Our next cemetery under examination is the Hartman Cemetery located at 5725 Davis Drive and lies on the south side of Davis Drive, positioned between Highway 48 and the 9th Concession Road.
The Hartman Cemetery has a rich history with 522 memorials and is well worth a visit. In 1861, Allan Graham divided off a part of his land to be used as a “general Protestant burying ground”. It appears that the land was in use as a cemetery prior to that since some burials predate 1861. The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville took over the administration of the cemetery in 1986, and now, burials are only permitted to present plot-holders.
According to the transcript, several notable individuals were interred there (now part of the Aurora Cemetery) and include John Bowser (Project Construction Superintendent for the Empire State Building), Dr. Hillary (the first local doctor), and Roy Brown (the Canadian pilot who shot down Baron Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the “Red Baron,” in 1918). Additionally, Col. William. Graham, a British soldier who fought in the American Revolution and later settled in Canada as a United Empire Loyalist, is also buried there. The cemetery’s historical significance and its connection to prominent figures make it an interesting place to explore.
The cemetery is inactive, and its records are not transcribed or registered. However, it’s essential to recognize its role in preserving the memory of early settlers and their contributions to the community.
The next ‘family cemetery’ on our list is the Boyer’s Road Cemetery, which is also known as the Sheppard Family Cemetery and is located on Lot 20, Concession 3, in the Town of Georgina on the south side of Boyers Road, between The Queensway Northand Woodbine Avenue. Transcripts indicate that the Sheppard and Ford families appear to have used this cemetery as a family burial ground. The earliest marker in the cemetery dates to 1866.
Our next cemetery is also in the Georgina area. The Mann Cemetery, also known as the Sprague Family Burial Ground or the Christian Church Burial Grounds, was established in 1826 and is located on Lot 17, Concession 3, on the west side of the North Queensway, just north of Old Homestead Road in Georgina.
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For those whose interest is local genealogy, this cemetery has 243 memorial records listed. As I mentioned, this cemetery was originally the Christian Church Burial Grounds, and then known as the Sprague Cemetery. The earliest recorded burial is from 1826 and the latest in 1929 with the cemetery no longer active.
Our last cemetery to examine for this third article in this series is the Dickson Hill Cemetery, which was established in 1803, at 70 Dickson Hill Road in Markham. The entrance to the cemetery is on the west side of Dickson Hill Road. It is interesting that the sign at the cemetery reads ‘Dickson Hill Cemetery Est. 1812’. One source indicated that The Dickson Hill Cemetery has at least one surviving grave dating back to 1803, and burials taking place possibly as early as the 1790s.
Dickson Hill was a small community established around 1805 near Highway 48 and 19th Avenue in the Markham area. The community was named after John Dickson, an early settler who constructed a mill in the area.
This cemetery serves as the final resting place for several prominent local families like Raymer, Button, and Stouffer families. According to the Ontario Genealogical Society, Dickson Hill Cemetery has over 1,263 memorials listed in its listings.
We have now completed the third article in this series on local ‘family cemeteries. I hope that this article will prompt some of you to head out, as the weather improves and check these pieces of history out for yourself.
I will feature more installments from this series later in the year.
I hope to see you all back next weekend.
Additional Sources:
OGS Cemeteries – email: ogscemeteries@ogs.on.ca, website: https://ogs.on.ca
Copies of the various cemetery listings: Newmarket Library or buy from OGS York Region Branch Website
Unearthing History of York Region’s Pioneer Cemeteries – Cemeteries in Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill and Newmarket date back to the late 1700s, early 1800s By Adam Martin-Robbins Newmarket Era
Find A Grave – https://www.findagrave.com/
Newmarket resident Richard MacLeod, the History Hound, has been a local historian for more than 40 years. He writes a weekly feature about our town’s history in partnership with Newmarket Today, conducts heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, and leads local oral history interviews.
First Class sir Richard!