Book Review: Remember Me As You Pass By

Book

Remember Me As You Pass By: Stories from Prairie Graveyards
written by Nancy Millar

Nancy Millar learned two things as she explored Alberta’s graveyards: graveyards contain our history, and our history is never boring!

In this lively and most unusual history book, you’ll – learn about the real Sam McGee who lived and died in Alberta; discover why babies died in the bad old days; look at the differences between men and women in the graveyard; learn about the changing style in gravemarkers.

Nancy Millar’s refreshing perspective offers up an intriguing and very personal look at history that touches us all.

Review

Remember Me As You Pass By: Stories from Prairie Graveyards by Nancy Millar is interesting and while I definitely recommend it for anyone from Alberta or genealogy in the province, I confess to expecting more from the prairie provinces because of the subtitle "Stories from Prairie Graveyards" which would have been much more accurate to state "Stories from Alberta Graveyards".

The cover blurb of course does specify Alberta, but that isn't much help when you're looking for titles using keywords such as "cemetery" and "graveyard" to learn more about them in a library catalogue.

One way that I relate to how Miller chose to present her subject is that for me, the first and strongest draw to cemeteries has always been the markers. The ultimate footnote in the story of life. Only as I've started transcribing cemeteries have I become interested in learning the stories of the "permanent residents." Though of course, with Miller stating to have visited 250 some cemeteries while researching, only a small fraction of the most interesting stories were included in the book.

I do wish though that Miller had devoted more to "look[ing] at the differences between men and women in the graveyard; learn about the changing style in gravemarkers" as promised by the blurb. It's why I really wanted to read the book in the first place, to learn about those sort of things.

All in all though, I doubt any taphophilia would mind vegging out with this book.

Source: Millar, Nancy. Remember me as you pass by : stories from prairie graveyards. Calgary; Glenbow, 1994.

Visit to the Synod Office Archives

I arranged to visit the Diocese of Saskatchewan Synod Office for the Anglican Church to ask permission to view the burial record archives and copy the information.

I had no idea there was so many little things involved, not only in gaining permission to "publish" the information but how the information is kept. The Information Act only covers stuff before 1910, all my cemeteries are later on (I think) like Holy Trinity which was constructed in 1914.

I'll be writing a letter to the Diocese to see if I can publish the death dates, burial dates, where born, and late residence as well as name on this blog and in printouts that will be given to the researched churches, communities, and genealogical society.

That was also the only information that I was permitted to hand copy, nothing about cause of death but that isn't vitally important to me so of no real matter to my research. (Photocopying wasn't permitted.)

Although a cemetery, like Holy Trinity, may be Anglican they only have burial records for individuals that an Anglican minister preformed the burial service for. So that means that if a person was buried by a minister of a different church or community members if a minister wasn't available, that individual will not be in the Archive's registers.

Plus, a minister may serve one area but provide the service in another area an record the burial information in his 'home' area. To better explain, before Holy Trinity had it's own minister services were provided by the minister at the Sturgeon Lake Mission (Sturgeon Lake Indian Reserve #101) thus the data would be entered in the Sturgeon Lake Mission register not the Holy Trinity register.

Also, later on in the Holy Trinity register there was data for burials in Briarlea (St. Martin's Anglican Cemetery) as well as the two Wild Rose cemeteries that are community operated and not run by any religion.

And then there is the fact that register books aren't all organized the same, so while one book asks for birth, death, and burial dates another only has columns for death and burial dates.

Later I will be printing out what I typed up and taking it back to the Archives to confirm the information I copied to hopefully eliminate transcriber error. And as much as people bemoan archaic handwriting (and I fell I will fast be joining the ranks), I do have to say that I'm in love with Rev. Clayton's writing who served Holy Trinity from 1942 onward. He has very neat printing (yeah!) but slightly unusual due to the fact that his lowercase t's look like larger lowercase r's.

The Archives, once I've compiles everything, also intend to check my records against their computerized records to see if we all have the same thing.

But in any case, I enjoyed myself and look forward to my return visits. My only disappointment is learning that as the Anglican Church is a 'step' away from the Roman Catholic Church, other religiously affiliated cemeteries in my district, like St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery of Deer Ridge may not have centralized archives like the Anglican Diocese to visit.

Databases and Documents

After basically wrapping up the post, Documenting Information, I got into a discussion with my family's (on hiatus) genealogist about the best method for recording information and keeping track of where it comes from, what it is, etc.

First off, I was recommend to create a unique reference number for each individual to attach to their associate data, be it the gravestone inscription, photographs of grave site, history book entry, newspaper article or other.

So, that was though out for my reference numbers.

Name: FoxCem
Grave: 001
Singular marker: -0
Shared marker: -1
Not buried here: * (pre-erected marker, cenotaph)
Problem record: †(duplicate marker, illegible, unmarked)

So for example:

WilNor069-0 = Wild Rose North Cemetery, Grave 69, Single marker

FoxCem078-4* = Foxdale Cemetery, Grave 78, 4th listing on shared marker, Individual not buried at grave site

HolTri089-0†= Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Grave 89, Single marker, Problem record

Unfortunately, when new records are added, either new burials or learned of from another source beyond the physical gravestone record, the "grave number" won't be the grave site's actually order in the graveyard anymore.

Then the discussion moved onto what type of information I would be collecting which would dictate what type of database I would need to build. Access was mentioned, and when I checked for it on the Dell (essentially the "shared" computer in the household) Windows Office Home and Student 2007 was installed which means no Access.

But I decided to click on OneNote (being curious as to what it was) and went, gasp! This is awesome! The introduction visual is very good, the Notebook is basically your cabinet or notebook, Sections are the individual file folder or those sticky tabs that people stick into overwhelming textbooks, and Pages are the individual pages within a file.

It allows for me, organization by the data type as well as for the deceased individuals.

Then came the question, do I have it on Zousho (my laptop)? I didn't, having Windows Office Professional 2003 installed so I loaded on the 2007 (and got very, very ticked off that Office doesn't allow selective installs and removals). So, now it's on my computer, which is where all the graveyard photographs, transcript indexes, maps, etc. are stored and I'll soon be digitally organizing away!

The hard copies of things, like the transcription forms, will still be organized an kept on hand, but as I do such a large amount of Optical Character Recognition it will mean less printouts to fill up my filing cabinet.

Documenting Information

I have come to the conclusion, after transcribing two cemeteries to this date, for a total of one hundred seven gravestones, that I need a better documenting system then I currently have.

I compile names, birth and death dates, marker description and inscription in an Excel spreadsheet.

Spatial location and grave number is recorded in a Excel spreadsheet, graph paper, and on the form I originally used to copy the gravestone inscription.

But that does not allow for the information that I uncover from the districts local history books or other sources, like the names of parents, siblings, spouses, offspring and other family relations. Important dates from when they were married, to when they migrated to Canada or simply into the area, to their burial date.

I need to create a catalogue of index cards (or something similar), one side with the marker information, the other side with the other learned information and most importantly, where the information came from. I'm thinking connecting the cards to envelops to hold hard copies of the grave site photographs and the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) printouts of the original documentation would also be a good idea. Time consuming, but as I'm already planning to OCR the entries in the history books for the Tombstone Tuesday memes it wouldn't mean more work.

I think I'm also going to start cards (or forms) for the cemeteries themselves, information about establishment, marker types, condition of graveyard, last burial, etc.

I already have two forms for transcribing and cemetery information, copied from Sharon Debartolo Carmack's Your Guide to Cemetery Research with slight adjustments to the later for markers prevalent in my area. I just need to get more file folders for my filling cabinet and be consistent in the data I collect and enter.

So with those thoughts for now, I leave you with a question. What have been the trials and tribulations of other transcribers in the beginning of their endeavours?

I Have A Née Problem

There is a saying that bad things happen in threes, and while nothing "bad" has really happened it has been three instances of née that have brought me to my current (and slightly irrational I admit) frustration with née.

Or more precisely, other people's usage of née.

For those of you who don't know, née or nee, is an adjective that essentially translates as "born". Née is placed after the name of a married woman to introduce her maiden name, such as Elizabeth Darcy, née Bennet.

On tombstones it can be seen inscribed something along these lines (the examples are taken from Holy Trinity):

Nora Ellen
Anderson
(Hourie)
1886 – 1927

Celecia Alice Johnson
nee Halliday
March 3, 1914
February 13, 1987

Now for my née problem.

In Holy Trinity, there is a grave marker in what I call the Holmes Lot, as three Holmes—father Algernon Holmes with daughters Rose Robarts née Holmes and Grace Featherstone née Holmes—along with the sisters offspring are buried there. The tombstone reads:

Clara J. Wells
(nee Holmes)
1887 – 1984

Research in Our Harvest of Memories reveals however, that Clara is Algernon's wife. No where in the account does it make reference to the fact that she remarried after her death which could explain Clara's surname on the marker being Wells. Or else, Wells is her maiden name but that is not clearly stated either.

In any case the inscription of "(nee Holmes)" is incorrect. I know it is possible that she was born a Holmes (I have a neighbour who was born Anderson and married an Anderson) but there is nothing for the little amount of research I have done to indicate that possibility.

The second instance of née. The post office in the town where I work uses it's doors only for posting funeral notices. This last Friday, November 27th I went to fetch mail and found a notice for a:

Mrs Jane Doe (née Deer - née Buck)

(The reason for the brevity and ungulate references is that I didn't actually memorize the notice, just got annoyed with what I understand to be the incorrect usage of née. I'll try to do better in future.)

Then the third offence. I was browsing through Graveyard Rabbit blogs checking for updates, and came across the photo in the Cemeteries of Bloomington-North, Illinois blog run by Julie. The photo in question can be seen here, but the transcript is as follows:

Sarah A. Vreeland
nee Smith - nee McFee
Oct. 24, 1830, June 17, 1897

Which concludes the instances of frustration arousing offences that lead me to write this post.

I'm going to eventually work out the mystery of Clara as she's buried in one of "my" cemeteries, but I do wonder about the other two ladies. Of the nées attached to their names, is one actually their maiden name and the other their first husband? Or are both for husbands and the surname following their given name their maiden name?

Is there actually a pattern to what order the nées are listed, such as first husband's surname then maiden name? Or is it up to the person who does the "writing". What happens when you have a woman who's remaired three or more times?

Can anyone reading this explain why née is written the ways they are in these instances?

Flickr - Foxdale Collection Posted

Each time I use flickr, I learn something new and maybe by the time I get Wild Rose North up I'll have figured most of it out! As I'm adding to my photostream I'm keeping my eyes out for "views" and get a little thrill when someone took the time to look at my picture. (Thank you!)

Photographing the markers made me contemplate if it is better to photograph in overcast conditions instead of bright sunlight like I like to. Thought I definitely prefer the weather that comes with bright sunlight.

What I found unusual about the markers in Foxdale was that some of the wolf stones had holes in the chest area, very deep ones, that served as planters. I haven't seen that before and wonder if I'll come across that wolf stone design in other cemeteries.

The Foxdale Cemetery grave markers photograph set can be viewed here. (Have fun and hope someone finds someone they've been looking for.)

The cemetery's tombstone records have been transcribed and mapped, now all I have to figure out is where to post all the documents so that they're accessible to people online...

Flickr - Holy Trinity Collection Posted

Well, I've completed posting and labelling the photographs for the markers in Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery and they can be viewed here. The church and churchyard can be viewed here.

I started uploading earlier, but I was having troubles with my flickr account and then later my computer had problems (everything was recovered thankfully) and I've decided I won't be caught like that again so I spent the day uploading, tagging, and describing.

With winter closing in, I don't think I'll be getting out to take photos so I hope to get the maps and transcripts shorted out and posted before the Christmas season. I already have Foxdale Cemetery photographed and if I'm lucky, will be able to get Wild Rose North Cemetery before the snow flies (again).

I know that some people do photograph cemeteries in winter, but it's too easy to miss a marker buried under snow. Which is not something I, as a transcriber, want to do.

Learning on the Hunt

In a previous post I mentioned that some basic research went into the set up of this blog and how to actually proceed with a cemetery transcription. Some things that other people didn't mention/cover because they are already familiar with the entire process have presented some learning curves for me thought. Things that I thought I'd touch on.

First of all when photographing grave markers -- make sure to keep your toes out of the picture! Something I fell 'afoot' of on my first photo expedition and transcribing trip. It also gave me a few chuckles when I spotted the tip of a shoe on a photograph taken on a Boy Scout group for an Eagle Badge project on Names in Stone, an interactive cemetery on the web. (The story and project can be found in the site's 'News Room' tab.)

Multiple trips to Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery is also allowing me to work out the kinks in my transcribing process. I've basically worked it out to: paper form for recording the grave marker inscriptions, systematic photo taking (grave site, "footer" if inscribed as wolf stones are popular markers in my area, headstone), and grid paper to mark down grave site locations for mapping to show spatial relation.

So while the transcriptions and maps are coming along nicely on my computer, I'm still not to sure how to post all the gathered data on the blog. (Besides linking to my forthcoming Flickr collection.) Turning the "Tombstone Tuesday" meme into a regular method of posting all grave markers and inscriptions is a possibility, but there are not enough Tuesdays in a year for all the markers which means I'd be posting far into the future.

Maybe by making a "Tombstone Thursday" meme I'd get more up quicker? Unless of course I want to keep it weekly so that this blog is active far into the future. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Your thoughts?

Holy Trinity Historic Site

As mentioned in Our Harvest of Memories, Holy Trinity is a designated heritage site and the following is the entry from the government website "Saskatchewan Register of Heritage Properties - Tourism, Parts, Culture and Sports."

HERITAGE PROPERTY DETAILS

Name of Historic Place: Holy Trinity Anglican Church Site
Other Name(s): Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Date of Origin: 1914
Historic Use: Religious Facility or Place of Worship
Current Use: Religious Facility or Place of Worship
Location: Shellbrook RM 493

FORMAL RECOGNITION

Type of Recognition: Municipal Heritage Property
Date of Recognition: September 3, 1981

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church Site is a Municipal Heritage Property located approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Shellbrook. The designation applies to a small, wood-frame church built in 1914.

The heritage value of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church Site lies with its association to the establishment of the Anglican faith in this region of the province. Constructed by local builders and made from locally cut timber, this church was used by the congregation for more than forty years. It remains today one of the oldest Anglican churches in the Shellbrook region and was used until the congregation built a new church at another location in 1958.

The heritage value of the church also lies in its architecture. The church displays the traditional architectural style of rural churches and includes Gothic-Revival elements such as the arched windows, arched main entrance, and front bell tower.

Source: Rural Municipality of Shellbrook No. 493 Bylaw No. 5-1981.

Due to the website information being contained within a frame and not easily linked to, the site has a PDF which can be viewed here.

Heads up if you go looking for the page yourself, there are three other historic Holy Trinity Anglican churches in Saskatchewan, with a total of seven historical churches being named "Holy Trinity" so make sure what you're looking at is in R.M. 493.

Source: Holy Trinity Anglican Church Site - Shellbrook RM 493. 29-Aug-2009. www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/heritage-property-search

Holy Trinity Church at Sturgeon Valley

The following is a reproduction of a printout located within the Holy Trinity Church next to the guest registry:

Holy Trinity Church at Sturgeon Valley

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH is a log church located two and one half miles north and one mile west of Holbein, Saskatchewan. Previous to its construction in 1914, the Reverend Lewis LeClair held Anglican services in various district homes. In 1914, local muscle and broad-axes combined and produced the hewed, square timbers which became the frame of the church. All of the labour was donated, and the only funds for the construction came in a small grant from the Synod office for finishing lumber.

The first furnishings of the church included an altar, a box-stove, several coal-oil lamps and a few chairs and benches. The "Ladies Aid" (later the Women’s Auxiliary) raised money through ice cream socials and box socials for pew-materials. Mr. Rupert Bruce subsequently assembled and varnished the pews. Later, the Lofthouse family donated the pulpit in memory of their mother who drowned in the Sturgeon River not far from the church itself. The pulpit was built by Mr. Harold Atkinson of Prince Albert, who was Mrs. Lofthouse’s son-in-law.

A brass collection plate was donated in memory of the late Mrs. Rupert Bruce, president of Ladies Aid from 1914 until her death in 1928. The matching vases and Cross were placed in the church in memory of Mrs. Henry Shaw, a sometime nurse at Sturgeon Lake Mission and School. The first organ was a collapsible instrument, probably owned by the organist herself, Mrs. John Hahn.

Mrs. Rupert Bruce was the first W.A. president, and she served with Mrs. Wm. Taylor as vice-president and Hilda Lofthouse as secretary. Other members at the time were Mrs. George Wright, Mrs. Philip Hourie, Mrs. Charles Bruce, Mrs. Gilbertson, Mrs. W. H. Cowles, Mrs. Charles Cowles (the store-keeper's wife), Mrs. Joseph Bruce, Mrs. J. Saunders, Mrs. William Halliday, Mrs. Fred Holbrook and Mrs. Ernie Robarts.

The duties of Mr. LeClair at Sturgeon Lake Mission meant that he could provide only occasional services to Holy Trinity until 1918. At that date, Archdeacon (then Canon) Paul came to Sturgeon Lake and held regular services from 1921 to 1924. The Archdeacon's work among the Native people meant that he was required to go north in summer, being in residence at Sturgeon Valley only in the winter. During the summer student ministers conducted services in the church. One of these summer students went on to become the Right Reverend Harry Hives, Bishop of Keewatin.

The first marriage solemnized in Holy Trinity was performed by Mr. LeClair on May 1, 1916, uniting in Holy Matrimony Rose Holmes and Ernest Robarts, both of Sturgeon Valley. Another early wedding was that of Mr. and Mrs. William Taylor on September 29,1924. The last wedding on record at the church took place between LaVerne Anderson and Corey Ziegeman on the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, August 15, 1955.

The first Confirmation class was instructed by Archdeacon Paul. The first confirmation, by Bishop Lloyd of Saskatchewan, was held on May 25, 1923. Many adults and teenagers were confirmed at this time.

After Archdeacon Paul was called to another post services were conducted by student ministers during the summer; only occasional services took place during the winter, and these were usually taken by a clergyman from Prince Albert. In 1934 Mr. Richard Snaith, a Methodist minister, moved to Sturgeon Valley and requested Bishop Burch to license him as a lay-reader in the Anglican Church. For several years following that date Mr. Snaith conducted services as necessary, especially during the winter.

In 1958 the congregation had largely outgrown the log church, and it was necessary to build a new building for worship and Christian education. With a loan from the Synod Office, donations from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cowles, and the assistance of the Women's Auxiliary, work on the new church began in Spring, 1958.

By 1964 only occasional summer services and funerals were held at Holy Trinity. The churchyard has continued in use, and residents of the district attend to its upkeep.

Similar in many ways to the entry in Our Harvest of Memories, the printout does have nice additional information. When it was compiled is unknown but I guess the page I copied was printed within the 1990s due to the document being recognizable as a computer print off with Times New Roman text.

Source: The Anglican Parish of Shellbrook printout. Box 352, Shellbrook, SK, S0J 2E0. Office Telephone: 306-747-2595. Telephone Rectory: 306-747-2462

Holy Trinity Anglican Church and Cemetery History Excerpt

The following is an excerpt regarding Holy Trinity in the district of Sturgeon Valley from Our Harvest of Memories, a locally compiled history book:

Holy Trinity Church

This little old log church was built in 1914 in what was considered to be, at that time, the centre of the Sturgeon Valley settlement.

Mr. Mortimer Montgomery gave the parcel of land on which the church stands and he and Mr. Robert Lofthouse were instrumental in getting the work started. Local people of all denominations gave freely of their labour and a small grant from the Synod was used to buy the finishing lumber required. The furnishings were donated by members of the congregation in memory of their loved ones and the Ladies Aid raised sufficient money, by organizing socials, to pay for the pews, which were assembled and varnished by Mr. Rupert Bruce.

Holy Trinity Church about 1915.

The church was opened on November 1, 1914, by Bishop Newnham, with the Rev. LeClair assisting, and in the early days it was known as the "Church outside the Reserve", according to records in the Synod office.

Baptism of Valerie Ernst and Vern Ziegeman. Canon Payton, clergyman.

In the early days a branch of W.A. was formed with Mrs. Rupert Bruce as the first President, Mrs. Wm. Taylor as vice-president and Hilda Lofthouse as secretary. They were well supported by other women of the congregation and still continue to this day, only the name has since been changed to Anglican Church Women.

At first the Rev. LeClair, working from the Sturgeon Lake Mission, occasionally held services at Holy Trinity and performed any necessary functions until 1918, when the Archdeacon Paul was sent to the Mission and he held regular services at Holy Trinity from 1921 to 1924. As he worked among the Indians he went north in the summer and his place was taken at the church by students from the Theological College.

The first marriage solemnized in this little church was that of Rose Holmes and Ernest Robarts on May 1, 1916.

Rose Holmes and Ernest Robarts -- first wedding held in Holy Trinity Church, May 1, 1916.

The first confirmation class of teenagers and adults was instructed by Archdeacon Paul and confirmed by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Lloyd, (Bishop of Saskatchewan), on May 25, 1923, in Holy Trinity Church.

Confirmation service at Holy Trinity, October 13, 1947. L. to R., Back: Unknown, Ethel Anderson, Walter Anderson, Dreda Mason, Ross Mason. Front: Calvin Stene, Irvin Ziegeman, Mary Ernst, Olive Stene, Lavern Anderson, Elsi Anderson, Bishop Martin, Canon Payton.

When Archdeacon Paul was called to another post, services were conducted by students in the summer, with an occasional service in the winter, usually conducted by a clergyman from Prince Albert. Mr. Richard Snaith, a Methodist missionary in Australia, came to settle in Sturgeon Valley and was given permission by Bishop Burd to become a layreader in the Anglican church and he took the services in Holy Trinity Church for several years.

Church service at Holy Trinity, about 1929. L. to R., Staind Mr and Mrs Corydon Cowles, Joe Bruce, Marvin Cowles, Walter Featherstone, Mrs Lyons, Rose Roberts, Mrs Davidson (partial view), Mrs C. Bruce St. Dora Bruce, Rupert Bruce, Ruth Bruce, Granddad Smith, Jack Wright (partial view), Mrs Hann, George Wright, Jane Robinson, Syd Smith Sr., Jack Mitchell, Bishop Burd. Middle row, Seated: Mrs G. Wright holding Eleanor, Mrs Syd Smith Sr., Mrs J. Saunders, Grandma Smith, Kate Mitchell, Mrs Marvin Cowles. Front row, Seated: Bert Searle, Bert Wright, Audrey Smith, Milt Bruce, Dennis Deatherstone, Wilfred Wright, Bishop Burd's son, Lawrence Featherstone, Eileen Wright.

From March 1942 the church was in the charge of the Rev. W. G. Payton from Prince Albert. In time the settlement began to centre around Brant school and road conditions improved in that area, so church services were held there, especially in the winter. Services in the summer months were taken by a student minister from Emmanuel and St Chad's in Saskatoon, who would reside in the district for the duration of the college vacation. By now Holy Trinity Church had been stuccoed on the outside to preserve the log walls and the cemetery fenced and beautified by the work-bees that were held annually.

Holy Trinity Church after renovation, 1981. Corey Ziegeman in front.

In 1958 it was decided that a new church should be erected nearer to the centre of the district and the building of St. Luke's church was commenced. The much beloved little church, Holy Trinity, was restored in 1980 to an historical site. People in the district, as well as interested people from distant points, were anxious to make this church a monument to the dedicated people who had built it and the many who were laid to rest in the little cemetery alongside the church. Money was raised by donation and a government subsidy. Labour was willingly donated and the work was completed. The church holds many dear memories for the people of the district and, as an historic site, it will be preserved for many years to come.

Cairn, erected in front of Holy Trinity Church, 1982.

While there is only one mention of the churchyard next to the church, the entry is of interest for the history lesson and comparing how many of the mentioned names in relation to the church are actually buried in the churchyard (with or without markers).

Lofthouse, Bruce, Taylor, Snaith, Holmes, and Robarts are all surnames that appear in the text and for individuals in the graveyard. Of the specific individuals mentioned Rupert Bruce, Mary Bruce (Mrs. Rupert Bruce), and Rose Robarts nee Holmes, are buried in Holy Trinity. What the full relationship between the buried individuals and surnames mentioned in the history book remains to be investigated.

Source: Coles, Cathy, ed. "Holy Trinity Church." Our Harvest of Memories: Foxdale, Sturgeon Valley, Silver Cliff, Three Creeks, Rayside, Rich Valley. Shellbrook, SK: Shell River North Book Committee, 1983. pp. 491-493.

Learning More About Holy Trinity

My third expedition to Holy Trinity on August 25th turned into more than just a photo opportunity and checking my drafted churchyard map.

The previous night, Mom had gotten a phone call from Barbara Beck who is a member of the Prince Albert genealogical chapter that deals with the society's cemetery records. She was calling to inquire if Mom would go to Holy Trinity at 10:00 am as she was visiting with Dan Johnston to locate his grandfather's grave once again to mark the area where he will be erecting a gravestone shortly.

With school staring this week my Mom was unable to go but offered me happily in her place. So already having drafted a copy of the churchyard map onto my computer, I spent the morning sketching out a rough map on graph paper to detail new graves and check the existing map with the grave marker locations.

This is where it got confusing.

I knew previously, from Gerald Ernst who provided the churchyard map I was working from, that the plot arrangement had been more recent then the first burials so the churchyard isn't perfectly regimented. When first grave hunting with Dan Johnston, Art Jones, and Mom on June 7th we hunters had come to the conclusion based on tombstone location that lots 28, 29, and 30 had to be shifted one over so that lot 28 was in 29, 29 in 30, and 30 in 31.

I learned today that decision may be erroneous from Ron[ald] and Shelia (Wright) Mason, who joined Dan, Barbara -- and myself with their copy of the cemetery map and photocopies of the Synod office burial records -- that some years ago they moved all markers to disc the churchyard to level it off. So the tombstones predating that levelling might be in the wrong locations.

So, for example, though Tekla G. Viklund's gravestone is physically in the walkway between lots 28 and 29 her actual grave might very well be in plot 1 of lot 28.

Mason's familiarity with Holy Trinity comes from Shelia's father, Herb[bert G.] Wright, being responsible for the cemetery's upkeep in the past and has now passed onto them. As well as having an extensive amount of family buried in the cemetery already: grandparents, parents, sons, niece, and cousin.

So back to the issue of an accurate churchyard map. What would be best (beside ground penetrating radar being used of course, a rod to locate the graves, or backhoe to scrape the sod off to locate the grave shafts) would be to map the current plot locations and indicate all gravestone locations where they lie. Publisher and Excel don't allow for a quick method of doing that though (Barbara drafted her map in Publisher, I did mine in Excel), so it would be best to get out there with stakes, graphing paper, measuring tape, and string and draw everything. Afterwords it can be scanned in and 'computerized'.

Something fun to do in the future. But it might have to wait until much later as there are more cemeteries that I want to get to transcribe before the snow flies. I also got some genealogical society transcribers forms from Barbara and am quite looking froward to using them and seeing how they work out. I also learned that they aren't interested in inscriptions like "At rest" being recorded but information about the individual itself, something like "neé Someone, wife of Somebody" or marriage date if indicated. And with double tombstones, use only one space on the SGS form.

--
Edit: 29-Aug-2009. Added Shelia Mason's maiden name and name of father to entry.

Expeditions to Holy Trinity

My expeditions to the closest cemetery to my home, Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, happened in two stages. In the beginning of July on the 13th, later in August on the 23rd. The reason for the large gap between expeditions was the fact that the camera I use went on vacation -- to Ontario for one month and then British Columbia for a week. (Which has prompted me to consider purchasing my own camera for grave hunting expeditions.)

The expedition in July was done in the company of my two and half year old nephew, who loved the Anglican church but wasn't so enthused about Auntie taking photographs of graves. That day was split into two visits, one with the nephew and one while he was napping to get photo collection and inscriptions for about sixty of the graves.

The visit on August 23rd didn't just result in a complete transcription of the churchyard however. I went to the churchyard with Mom this time and while there we ran into three senior individuals who were looking for St. Luke's Anglican Church which was decommissioned approximately five years ago. They were to view the building to see if it would be suitable for their new church building as their community's church had burned down five months ago during the winter. So we visited, talked about Holy Trinity as a church and the cemetery, as well as St. Luke's (church with no cemetery), and St. Martin's in Briarlea (church with cemetery).

Visit concluded the three individuals went off to find St Luke's, Mom began to walk home as that had been what she'd planned to do, and I started photographing graves starting in the opposite corner of the churchyard so I didn't photograph graves that I'd covered back in July. I only covered twenty-one graves though before the batteries died in the camera. So I sighed and began the drive home and realised half way to my destination that I had the camera case with me at the churchyard -- the case with the extra batteries. But I decided that as I wasn't wearing sunscreen and it was a very sunny day I should probably get indoors anyways.

Loading the new photos onto my laptop, I began immediately compiling a photo directory with inscription information. Done that, I went back and reorganized July's data. Making and reorganizing the photo directories I discovered that I'd overlapped gravestones which means that I might actually be done with Holy Trinity but will know for sure when I compile a combined burial and gravestone record for the cemetery in the form of a transcript and map.

The third visit is to finalize the churchyard map as I realized that while I was certain I had a complete transcription of the churchyard on August 23rd, I didn't know the spatial locality of all the graves (oops!), to make sure I've documented all the markers, and take some better photographs of certain markers because of cloudy weather back in July.

First Grave Hunt Adventure

I had my first grave hunting adventure on June 7th at the Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery hunting for the unmarked grave of a man's grandfather. Including the grandson, Dan Johnston, there were two others with me, my mom and Art Jones, for a grave hunting group of four members.

Even though it was periodically raining, hailing, and sunny I had a fantastic time and can't wait to go on my next grave hunt.

First off, my mother and I visited Gerald Ernst who has in his possession a map of the Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery. He let us know that it isn't current as there are at least three burials in the cemetery since the map was last updated. He also explained to us that not all the noted graves have headstones and why some of the noted individuals are buried in the walkways -- either the individual was buried before they really regulated the plots or they were buried in winter when snow hid the plot makers. We borrowed the map for our hunt, with promises to return it, and were pleased to know that as we've expressed interest when the map has been updated copies will be made and we can get some.

The buried grandfather we knew was in Lot 27 Plot 4. This was indicated on the map and in the written cemetery records even though the surname was misspelled on the map. There was little doubt that the map J. J. JOHNSON was the records JOHNSTON because the records precede the map and the initials of the grandfather's first and middle name are consistent. The grandson even explained to us that while he believed his grandfather's correct name is 'John Joseph Johnston' he has regularly come across documentation for 'Joseph John Johnston' as paperwork filled out by the grandfather himself read the former and paperwork that would be completed by someone else read the later.

The trouble with locating Mr Johnston's unmarked grave is that while everything indicates he is buried in Lot 27 comparing nearby gravestones indicated Lot 27 was in one place, but once we located sufficient number of the plot markers for Lot 28 and 29, there was insufficient space in the physical cemetery to hold those three plots and have space for the walkway. So crisscrossing the area, we finally decided to ignore map Lot 28's headstone and compare with other existing headstones in the cemetery. We finally came to the conclusion that Lot 28 and 29 were misprinted on the map -- all other headstones matched their printed location on the map -- and successfully located what we were confident was Mr Johnston's real burial place. Pictures were taken of the area, including sufficient enough landmarks (i.e. gravestones, numbered fence posts) so that Mr Johnston can be locate more easily in the future by his grandson.

But working with the map got me going about mapping the cemetery out with GPS and in future bring in Group-Penetrating Radar to clearly define where the unmarked graves are. I would enjoy learning how to do both, but I think it would be really fun to be trained to use the GPR and an interesting career path. I can see it now "Have GPR: Will Map Your Cemetery!"

The Research In Setting Up "A Grave Undertaking"

Beyond the initial search for information regarding cemeteries in R.M. 493 there was a search into how does one correctly photograph grave markers, how does one transcribe a cemetery, preservation and restoration of graveyards, and a dozen and one other things that occur and learn about the more one because involved in cemeteries.

While I have borrowed from the regional library service all books under the category of “cemeteries”, “graves”, and “epitaphs” and their sub-catagories and expanded my search throughout the province and further. While the books were all enjoyable many were not relevant to my focus and/or to my area. So I once again turned to the Internet as a source of information.

The first search parameter I entered was “how to photograph gravestones” which turned up two very nice articles regarding the subject though one article, which was referenced by others, did have me searching the Internet in my attempt to successfully locate the actual article. So armed with their words of wisdom I moved onto researching the topic of how to transcribe.

Like previous there were many articles and websites located, one of which brought to me to my mind points to ponder -- in particular the interesting question of how to arrange the transcribe information: alphabetically or in order of burial? Alphabetical allows for quick location but burial location is also important, especially in family plots. The problem for me was solved when in my search I was directed to the Doukhobor Genealogy Website where they presented alphabetized transcripts and cemetery maps. The perfect solution in my opinion.

Searching on the topic of preservation and restoration lead to more articles, a video, and a book. Linking to this is identifying grave marker construction material (wood, slate, marble, sandstone, 'white bronze', limestone, bronze, granite) and what type of grave markers there are (upright, flat, pillow, plaques, crosses, etc.). There's so much to learn! That lead me into looking up cemetery terms learning their definitions and word origins and learning new words as well, like the lovely word “taphophile” of which I most definitely am one!

How I Became Interested in Cemeteries

I have long been interested in cemeteries and fascinated by grave markers. This interest grew and was nurtured by the manner in which I grew up interacting with graveyards. Visits to these sacred parcels of ground for me when I was a child always meant -- not that someone had died -- but that it was picnic time! More specifically, it was when the Anglican Parish of my community opened the historic Holy Trinity Anglican Church for a Sunday service and afternoon pot-luck picnic.

There was also two 'games' that were played between my siblings and I during long road trips. The less frequent one, was holding one's breath when passing by a cemetery which is occasionally very hard to do when the cemetery in question fills an entire city block and the vehicle you're in is stopped at a stoplight at one of the corners of said cemetery! I don't think we every quite succeeded with that one. But the most frequent 'game' happened on the long road trips in which my siblings and I would keep out our eyes for horses and when seeing them, claim and count them for ourselves. We would also keep our eyes peeled for cemeteries because the person who spotted it would yell out "Bury all your horses!"--and take the lead with the highest count of horses while everyone else had to start counting all over again.

My passion and appreciation continued to grow with the occasional visit to various cemeteries while vacationing in the province of Ontario primarily in the company of my mother hunting down unique grave markers, interesting names, unusual epitaphs, looking at dates and calculating math. (To be honest, my mother calculated the math and I was just suitably impressed with a person's age or saddened that they had died so young.)

As I grew older I grew interested in photographing my local cemeteries and have decided that 2009 is as good a year as any to start my ambitious project. To begin of course I needed to learn just how many cemeteries there are in the Rural Municipality of Shellbrook No. 493. So like any child that has grown up digitally, the first source of information that I sought was the Internet.

Entering the search parameters "cemeteries + rm of shellbrook," the first hit was for the CanadaGenWeb Cemetery Project (CGWCP) website with five cemeteries being registered in the CGWCP database. I knew automatically that that was not a correct total as two cemeteries that I pass daily on my way to work were not mentioned though a third one that I knew of was.

However CGWCP lead me to the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS) when I duh! -- my mother is a member of the local chapter! Ask her! -- Mom did not know the answer, but the SGS website does host a cemetery index which listed fourteen cemeteries for the R.M. of Shellbrook and with that list is the all important land location data.

So, next source of information was my father and his profusion of maps. Surprisingly Dad could not find his map for Shellbrook, just Canwood, Buckland and other neighbouring R.M.'s. But my questions were not a loss as Dad began to instruct me on how to actually decipher the Saskatchewan method of land location.

While waiting to get the R.M. of Shellbrook map I visited the local library, Shellbrook Public Library, and pulled from the shelf all the history books related to the various R.M. districts to see what I could learn from them about the history of any mentioned cemeteries and the unlikely discovery of a cemetery not mentioned in the SGS cemetery index or marked on the R.M. map.

And this is where I learned something interesting. The SGS index references cemeteries by the community district they are associated with while the history books reference cemeteries by their church affiliation or given name. So what the SGS index labels "Holbein - Sturgeon Valley" I have always called "Holy Trinity Anglican Church and Cemetery."

I was disappointed to learn that of the fourteen catalogued by the SGS, only nine are mentioned in the history books compiled by the local people and of those nine, only three were mentioned because of their religious affiliation and did not have individual entries. But I'll include the book exerts and other information for those mentioned cemeteries when I start posting about them.

Later Dad purchased a new R.M. map and we spent time one evening going over it. We got sidetracked however because though the map has a helpful little red cross in eleven spots that mark according to the legend "cemetery/church" -- in that order -- we knew that it was not entirely accurate as the legend also had a symbol representing community halls. Three of which we knew of were not indicated on the map and further pursuing of the map reveled that some of the residences were not located in the correct locations either. So the R.M. map is useful, and I intend on learning fully how to decipher land locations, but unfortunately the map is not entirely dependable.

So it will be interesting to discover in time just how many cemeteries there are in the R.M. of Shellbrook No. 493.