Friday 14 December 2012

Low and behold...

Gentle reader, the plot thickens.

When I did my research on cemeteries in Quebec back in the fall of 2011 the consensus was that Methodists and Presbyterians were the denominations represented at Reilly Cemetery, along with a few Anglicans -- Anglicans like Catholics are usually buried in consecrated ground. Nowhere in my research did I come across any mention of any ceremony consecrating the ground at Reilly Cemetery, but that does not mean it never happened-- it just means I haven't seen any written record saying so. At the time I did my archival research the records for the Holy Trinity Church at Lascelles (Anglican) were nowhere to be found. When I put my lists of the confirmed and likely buried at Reilly Cemetery I used only those for which I had a written record. Two thirds of the headstones at Reilly Cemetery did not have corresponding entries in the Methodist and Presbyterian records. The Anglican records recently turned up-- they were there all along, just labelled in such a way as to be misleading. The Anglican diocese was of North Wakefield, the records were listed as being from Low. Well now that I have my hands on these I have started the long process of transcription, along with a few fools volunteers who have agreed to help me out. There are HUNDREDS of entries and we are doing them all-- baptisms, marriages AND burials. If you'd like to help out drop me a line, we need more willing victims to get this massive job done!

Anyhow, those familiar with this blog will remember that from time to time I could cheerfully choke men of the cloth for their less than adequate record keeping. Again I am experiencing that desire. John Seaman, long time minister at Holy Trinity, only very rarely records a place of burial, I have yet to see a cause of death or place of death, and his spelling and grammar are...interesting. I realize that everyone's handwriting has variations depending on haste, standing or sitting, angle of the paper and all that stuff but I"m pretty sure that someone else wrote out a fair number of the entries (naughty Vicar, NAUGHTY!)-- namely his wife. I base this on the 'hand', and the fact that she could spell and he could not. Mrs Seaman was also passingly familiar with the use of commas. Rev'd Seaman was fond of underlining AD, he often inserted e's or shortened words to suit his fancy or lack of space, and he joined people in Wholey Matrimony. Neither Mrs nor Rev'd Seaman were great with punctuation, for they capitalized almost capriciously and neither used periods. These little, sometimes entertaining, irritants are NOTHING compared to what is coming in another 20 years or so of records for I HAVE SEEN into the future (insert revivalist preacher tone here) and the man who replaced Seaman writes in loops. Seriously, lots and lots of loops with remarkably little by way of  dotted i's, crossed t's or any other differentiation of letters. Looking ahead to those records makes me want to cry.

What does all this have to do with Reilly Cemetery? Some of the names that are in those Holy Trinity records are very VERY familiar. Ignoring the vagarities of spelling there are Fairburn, Moore, Mahon, Riley, Shouldice, Shannon, Obre, and Chilcott names in these birth, marriage and burial records. I've recognized a few already but there is, frustratingly, no place of burial given most of the time. I'm wondering if those headstones without Presbyterian or Methodist records may belong to Anglicans...so that would mean that I need to add some names to the likely list and the paper over which I slaved so long and hard tells only part of the story. But that is the fun, and the point, of doing academic work-- there is always more to learn! No story is ever entirely told or unchanging and that appears to be the case at Reilly Cemetery.


Thursday 8 November 2012

The Presbyterian records, lost for a second time, are up

Yes, somehow I managed to lose this file...it was hidden in the deepest, darkest recesses of my computer's memory and only sheer serendipity lead to its discovery (actually I was looking for another file I managed to make go*poof*). So for your viewing pleasure, I direct you to the new pages I have put up. Both the Presbyterian and Methodist records for the entire diocese/charge are up. Have fun hunting!


Tuesday 16 October 2012

Methodist Records 1853-1900, Wakefield/Rupert QC area



Methodist Records 1853-1900
1.
Rugglis Allen farmer died on the twenty day of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty three buried on the thirtieth day of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty three
Christopher Davies, Isabella Davies} Witnesses
John Howe, Minister

2.
Abraham Irwin son of Joseph Irwin Farmer and Mary Pritchard his wife of the Township of Wakefield in the District of Ottawa died on the ninth day of July one thousand eight hundred and fifty three in Wakefield Buried in Wakefield July the tenth one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.

3.
Sarah Moor died in Masham August the eleventh one thousand eight hundred and fifty three intered in Masham Aug. the twelfth one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.
Adam Kennedy, William Kennedy} witnesses
John Howe, Minister

4.
George Johnston Senr Farmer died in Masham August the seventeenth one thousand eight hundred and fifty three intered in Masham August the nineteenth one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.
William Johnston, (Illegible) Wiggins} Witnesses
John Howe, Minister




5.
Mary Ann Hill wife of Joseph Hill died on the twenty fourth of October one thousand eight hundred and fifty three in Wakefield was buried in Wakefield October the twenty ninth one thousand eight hundred and fifty three
Jeremiah Mullen, Patrick Mullen} Witnesses
John Howe, Minister

6.
Francis son of Seth Cates merchant and Mary Link his wife of Wakefield died in Wakefield November the seventh one thousand eight hundred and fifty three was buried in Wakefield November the eights one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.
Joseph Irwin, Geo. Hall} Witnesses
John Howe, Minister

7.
Arthur Campbell, infant son of Hugh and Maria Turner, died in Templeton, December the seventeenth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty six
E. A. Glassford, Joseph Barber} witnesses
Geo. Carr, Minister

8.
James, son of John Douglas Irwin and Maria Stanley (?), born in the Township of Wakefield, on the second day of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven, died in the township of Wakefield on the third day of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven.
John Draper, Maria Draper} witnesses
Geo. Carr, Minister


9.
George Brash, farmer, of the Township of Templeton aged ____years Died in the Township of Templeton on the twenty third day of March , one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven.
William R. McLatchie (?), Elizabeth McLatchie (?)}  Witnesses
Geo. Carr, Minister

10.
(Illegible) Wright, farmer, of the township of Hull, aged forty seven baptized and died in the Township of Hull on the twenty second day of April one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven.
Mary Wright, Robert Sully} Witnesses
Geo. Carr, Minister

11.
Daniel Mc Donald, farmer, of the township of Masham, aged fifty (sixty?) eight years, Died in the Township of Masham, on the seventeenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven.
Mary Mc Donald, Robert Wiggins} Witnesses
Geo. Carr, Minister

12.
Robert Neeley, son of Alexander Neely and Ann Mills, aged twenty one years, Died in Wakefield on the thirty first day of July one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven
Alexander Neeley, Ann Neeley} witnesses
Geo Carr (?), Minister




13.
Thomas Copeland,  (illegible) and dry goods dealer aged sixty seven years, died in the Township of Wakefield, on the ninth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty eight.
James Copeland, William Copeland} witnesses
Geo. Carr, Minister

14.
Margaret Brown daughter of Thomas McNair and Margaret his wife aged twenty two years died in Masham on the (illegible) of March one thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Geo Hall (?), Ina Hall (?)} Witnesses
Michael Baxter, Minister

15.
George Wright native of Hull Canada baptized thirty six years died in the Township of Wright on the _______  and was buried in the aforementioned township on the _____ in the presence of subscribing witness
William Wright, Andrew Mc Cann
Mr Andrew Armstrong, Minister

16.
James Woods native of the County Armagh Ireland aged seventy years died in the Township of Masham in the County of Ottawa and Province of Canada on the first day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty and was buried in Masham on the third day of May one thousand eight hundred and sixty one in presence of the undersigned witnesses
James Woods, John Woods} witnesses
Andrew Armstrong, Minister


17. Hannah Parker Abbot, wife of William (illegible), farmer  of (illegible) was buried on the eleventh of January eighteen hundred and sixty nine
Andrew Pritchard, Samuel Wells Evans (?)} witnesses
Daniel Connolly, Minister

18.
William Edward son of Thomas and Elizabeth Fraser of the Township of (Illegible) county of Ottawa was born the sixth of August one thousand eight hundred and sixty seven and was buried September fourth one thousand eight hundred and seventy two by me in the presence of the following witnesses
(no witnesses names or signatures)
R. M. Hammond (minister)

19.
Ann, daughter of Samuel Chilcott farmer of the Township of Masham and County of Ottawa and Margaret Chilcott his wife was born the thirty first day of May one thousand eight hundred and fifty two and b__ied by me the third of November one thousand eight hundred and seventy two in the presence of the following witnesses
George Johnston, John Joints (?)} witnesses
R. M. Hammond (minister)

20.
M____, daughter of John McElroy (?), farmer of the Township of Templeton and County of Ottawa and Mary Jane Robinson his wife was born the seventeenth of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy three and buried by me the (illegible) of April one ____and eight hundred and seventy three in the ____sence of the following witnesses
___ McLatchie, ___ Mc Latchie
R. M. Hammond (minister)


21.
The nineteenth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy seven we the undersigned of North Wakefield in the County of Ottawa and Province of Quebec have interred in the Cemetery of North Wakefield the body of Ruggles Pritchard, son of Andrew Pritchard, merchant of North Wakefield and of Mary Eddie, deceased the seventeenth day of August and year aforesaid in this Parish aged twelve years. The witnesses were Margaret Keough and Eleanor Keough who have signed with us.
M. Keough, Ellie (?) Keough} witnesses
J. B. Keough (minister)

22.
The nineteenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine we the undersigned of North Wakefield in the County of Ottawa and the Province of Quebec have interred in the Cemetery of North Wakefield Andrew Pritchard of North Wakefield Merchant Husband of Mary Eddy deceased on the seventeenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine in this parish aged fifty nine years. The witnesses were Mary Pritchard and Francis Pritchard who have signed with us.
Mary Pritchard, Frances Pritchard} Witnesses
J. B. Keough (minister)

23.
The sixth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine we the undersigned of the Township of Wakefield in the County of Ottawa and the Province of Quebec have interred the body of Mary Gertrude daughter of Samuel Kennedy Farmer of Masham in the County aforesaid and Ann Hall, deceased on the fourth day of May in the year aforesaid in this Parish. The witnesses were Samuel Kennedy and Robert Kennedy who have signed with us.
Samuel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy} witnesses
J. B. Keough (minister)



24.
The twelfth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine we the undersigned of Wakefield in the County of Ottawa and Province of Quebec have interred in the Cemetery of Wakefield Robert Earle of Wakefield Farmer Husband of Charlet Baldwin deceased on the tenth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine in this parish aged seventy three. The Witnesses were
Erasmus Earle, Lizzie Earl
Jas. O’Hara, Methodist Minister

25.
Sarah Cross of the village of Wakefield in the County of Ottawa died on the twenty second of March 8in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty one and was buried by me on the twenty fifth day of the said month in the said year.
William Cross, Maria Cross} witnesses
Jas O’Hara (minister)

26.
John Arthur Mitchel of the Township of Masham in the County of Ottawa died on the twenty seventh day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty one and was buried by me on the twenty ninth day of the said month in the said year.
Joseph (illegible)
Mary Ann Mitchell

27.
Mary Ann (Illegible) of the Township of Masham  in the County of Ottawa died on the twenty sixth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty one and was buried by me on the twenty eighth day of the same month and in the same year.
J. Fallick (minister)
Robert (illegible), Jana (illegible)} witnesses
28.
On the ninth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two I the undersigned of North Wakefield interred in the Cemetery of Wakefield the body of Mary Margaret daughter of Daniel Morrison of Wakefield (illegible) and of (illegible) Susanna his wife deceased on the seventh day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
Daniel Morrison and Susanna Morrison (witnesses) signed with me.
J. Fallick (minister)

29.
On the nineteenth day of February n the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two I the undersignedof North Wakefield interred in the cemetery of Wakefield the body of Catherine M (?) daughter of Alexander Leggart (Taggart?) laboring man of Wakefield and of Jani his wife deceased on the eighteenth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight two. Age___ Alexander Leggart (Taggart?) signs with me.
Alexander Leggart (Taggart?) } witness
J. Fallick, minister

30.  On the twenty sixth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two I the undersigned Joseph Fallich interred in the Cemetery of Wakefield body of Dorris daughter of Erasmus Trowse farmer and of Annie his wife deceased March the twenty fourth in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two age three years two months and twenty days the witness as well as the father have signed.
Anne Trowse, George Trowse, Erasmus Trowse} Witnesses
J. Fallick (minister)

31.
Johanna Purdy of the Township of Eardly in the County of Ottawa wife of James Henry Brown farmer died September seventh in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two and was buried by me on the tenth day of the Said month in the Said year.
(Illegible) Brown, Eliza (illegible) Brown, James H. Brown} witnesses
Joseph Fallick (minister)
32.
Catherine Johnston of the Township of Masham in the County of Ottawa wife of William Johnston farmer died on the fourteenth day of October (?) in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two and was buried by me on the Sixteenth day of the said month in the said year. The witnesses have signed with us.
(illegible), William Johnston, Francis Johnston } Witnesses
J. Fallick (minister)

33.
On the twenty first day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty three I the undersigned interred in the Cemetery of Masham the Body of William Thompson son of James Thompson farmer and of his wife Mary Ann died Apr8il the nineteenth in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty three age twenty five.
James Thompson} witness
Joseph Fallick (minister)

34.
Adelaid Porter Pritchard of the Township of Masham County of Ottawa daughter of Tomas Pritchard farmer and of Elvira Hamilton his lawful wife died on the fourteenth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand and eight hundred and eighty three and was buried by me on the Sixteenth day of May in the same year and Township above mentioned in the presence of Said witnesses.
Thomas Pritchard, Ferguson Pritchard(?)} witnesses
J. Fallick (minister)

35.
Alexander E (illegible) of the Township ff Masham County of Ottawa died on the fifteenth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty three and was buried by me on the sixteenth day of the Said month in the Said year in the presences of the subscribed witnesses
Alexander Usher, Isabella McK (illegible), Thomas (illegible)} witnesses
J. Fallick (minister)

36.
James Thompson of the Township of Masham County of Ottawa Son of George Thompson and of Mary Ann (illegible) his wife died on the second day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty three and was buried by me in Masham on the fourth day of the said month and in the Said year as the (illegible). Relatives cannot write.
William Gibson, illegible} witnesses
J. Fallick (minister)

37.
Robert Edward Cross (?) of the Township of Hull in the County of Ottawa son of Robert Cross and Elizabeth Wells (?) his lawful wife died on the ninth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty three and was buried by me on the eleventh day of September in the same year and Township above mentioned .
Maea (?) Cross , Robert Cross } witnesses
J Fallick (minister)

38.
Richard Woodland of the Township of (illegible) in the County of Ottawa Son of Richard Woodland farmer and of Frances Machet his lawful wife died October twenty third in the year of our lord on thousand eight hundred and eighty three and was buried by me on the twenty (illegible) day of Said month of the Said year the Witnesses have signed
Frances Matchet, Frances Woodland, Richard Woodland }witnesses
J. Fallick (minister)





39.
William Copeland of the Township of Wakefield in the County of Ottawa farmer died on the ninth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty four and was buried by me on the eleventh day of the said month of the Said year.
(Illegible) Nickle} witness
J. Fallick (Minister)

40.
Robert Harbison of the Township of Masham in the County of Ottawa farmer died on the eight day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Eighty four and was buried by me on the Eleventh day of the Said month in the Said year. The proper witnesses cannot write.
George Harbison, Margaret Harbison } Witnesses
J. Fallick, Minister

41.
William Poole of Wakefield in the County of Ottawa Harness Maker died on the Thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight Hundred and eighty Two and was buried by me on the Second day of May of the Said month in the Same Year.
Joseph Fallick, Minister


42.
Elizabeth Ellend of the Township of Masham in the County of Ottawa farmer died on the Seventh day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty Four and was buried by me on the eight day of the Said month in the Said year. The relatives cannot write.
J. Fallick, Minister



43.
Fanny Woodland wife of Richard Woodland (illegible) of the Township of Masham County of Ottawa PQ died July twenty ninth eighteen eighty four aged sixty four and was interred by me in the Masham Cemetery on the thirty (illegible) first of above month and year in the presence of the following
James Gibson, John Thompson} Witnesses
J. C. (illegible looks like Osh--, possibly O’Hara) Minister

44.
Margaret Edith Murdock (Murdock struck out) daughter of James and Rebecca Murdoch died on the twenty-ninth day of January eighteen eighty five and was buried by me on the thirty first day  of the same month and in the same year/
Charles (illegible), A__ Ne__ (illegible)
J. C. Osborne (may not be correct, not on the list of Methodist ministers N Geggie)

45.
Mary Irwin of the township of Masham in the County of Ottawa (illegible) died on March twenty eight eighteen eighty four aged 76(?) and was buried by me in the (illegible) on the illegible day of the (illegible)
James Pritchard, (illegible) Pritchard } witnesses
(illegible) (Minister)

46.
Letitia  Johnston of the City of Ottawa wife of (Robt?) B. Johnston died on the (twenty?) seventh of June eighteen eighty-five of heart- disease aged sixty two years and was interred by me in the Mash (paper crumbled away) Cemetery on the thirtieth of the above month in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.
James Machet, Duncan McDonald } witnesses
J. C. O-----(illegible)

47.
Richard Thompson son of John Thompson farmer of Masham County, County of Ottawa, Province of Quebec, died on the eighteen day of August eighteen eighty f--- aged fourteen. Disease (Con—illegible) and was interred by me in the Masham Cemetery on the (illegible) day of the same month and year.
John Thompson, Edward Thompson} witnesses
J. C. Osborne (guessing at minister’s name, not on N. Geggie’s list) (Minister)

48.
George Hall Farmer of the township of Wakefield County of Ottawa province of Quebec died on the third of Sept eighteen eighty five aged eighty one and was interred by me in the Stevenson’s Cemetery on the fourth of the above month and year.
Erasmus Trowsse, W. C. Poole} witnesses
J.C. Osborne (minister)

49.
Thomas W. Trowse son of (illegible two initials) Trowse farmer of the township of Wakefield county of Ottawa pro. Of Quebec died Oct. Fifth aged seven years and eleven months and was interred by me on the fifth of the above month in Stephenson’s Cemetery.
Erasmus Trowsse, Wm. C. Poole } witnesses
J. C. Osborne (minister)

50
Rachel Pritchard widow of the late Wm. H. Pritchard of La peche village county of Ottawa province of Quebec died on the thirteenth day of November eighty eighty-five of cancer in the eightieth year of her aged and was interred by me in the (illegible)---sons burial-ground n the fifteenth of the above month and year in the presence of witnesses.
H (N or W) C. Chamberlin, Joseph Patterson } witnesses
J. C. Osborne (minister)









Wednesday 29 August 2012

Suffer the little children to come unto me...

One of the sobering realizations that I made while reading all those burial records was that a full one third of the interred were subadult-- under the age of 18. There were mothers that died shortly after childbirth too (though I didn't find a record of any such unfortunate mothers at Reilly Cemetery-- that doesn't mean there weren't any, just that there are no records that would indicate it). It was a dangerous time to be a child or a mother. There were very few things the doctors and midwives of the day could do and the burial demographic across Quebec and in Reilly Cemetery reflect this grim reality.

Another sobering realization came when comparing the lists of the dead according to the records and the names of those memorialized at Reilly Cemetery (using Elliot's 1972 list). The headstones and monuments commemorate 33 individuals. For these 33 people I have records of only 11. This does not mean we can just automatically triple the number of dead at Reilly Cemetery, but it does raise the possibility that such might well be the case.

Why are there so few records?

I can think of a few answers, but don't quote me on these-- they are just my thoughts on the subject:

a) in the early days maybe there wasn't a minister around to bury the dead
b) some records may have been lost
c) some records are definitely illegible
d) perhaps the minister was away that day burying someone else
e) maybe the minister never got around to writing up the record

Let's look at the information on the headstones of those commemorated at Reilly Cemetery but with no records...

1864 James Shouldice, aged 78 years (Headstone at RUC)
1864 Sarah Mitchell, wife of John Mahon, aged 82 years
1867 Wm Hindson Bennett, son of W. & M Bennett, aged 2 year, 4 mos
1874 Francis Cook, wife of Robert Nesbitt, aged 68 years
1875 Jane Mahon, wife of John Riley, aged 68 years
1876 Catherine Alice, daughter of J. & S Woods, 1 year, 6 months
1877 Alexander Usher, husband of Elizabeth Courtney, aged 74
1877 Elizabeth Courtney, wife if Alexander Usher, aged 73
1877 Jane Amanda Riley, daughter of G & E Riley, aged 2 years, 6 months
1878 Mary Reilly, wife of David Woods, aged 40 years
1880, 1882 Isobel and Jessie, daughters of Andrew and Elizabeth Hamilton
1881 Anne Dale, wife of Samuel Kennedy, aged 41 years
1886 James Woods, aged 60
1888 John Shouldice, aged 58 years (headstone at RUC)
1894 Wm Andrew Shannon, son of William and Sarah Jane Shannon, aged 17 years (headstone at RUC)
1896 David T.  Woods, aged 28 years
1899 David Woods, aged 70 years
1899 Sarah Reilly, wife of James Woods, aged 70 years
Undated Two infant children of Henry & Ann Mitchell

First we have no headstones here of those who died in the very early years of the settlement-- that doesn't mean there are no early settlers buried at Reilly Cemetery-- the confirmed records have two (Sarah Moor and George Johnston Sr). It is quite likely that there wasn't money in the early days for headstones but those two records show that ministers were around from time to time at least. In the 1860s the number without records is more than those with records. Interesting. I actually went down a rabbit hole on this and I don't have an adequate explanation-- at first I thought maybe there wasn't a Methodist minister, there was and he left records of burials in Masham and looking I see I have missed that one on my list so I will have to update the lists. Alas I had no proof reader so my lists are not perfect but they beat no list at all. I will fix.

If we take a quick look at the list above, 8 of the 22 people for which I don't have records were under age 18-- this is to be expected. But is a child as likely to be commemorated as an adult? Two of these monuments commemorate more than one child. Four children have their own monument. Multiple commemorations on one monument is not unusual for adults either so we can't read anything into this really.

Back to the lack of records... I went down another rabbit hole there...

When I was photographing the records there were 8 pages in a row that were totally illegible-- it was like they were bleached out and in that number of records I'd expect to see at least ONE death record, maybe more. Some ministers appeared to write things down on an irregular basis-- you can see this with  several births being bunched together, a few marriages in a row, and then deaths after that. My partner in crime and operator of the microfilm reader and I saw this pattern several times in the records. IF the 8 pages were done this way it could explain the lack of records in that period. I'd have to go back and see but I'm pretty sure those were 1860s or 70s. Can't remember which church. So illegible records may explain some of this. But not all. There were deaths with no records across the entire era. Maybe the minister who liked to write them all down in one sitting missed a few.

Maybe the minister was away that day, possibly burying someone else.  Alexander Usher and his wife Elizabeth Courtney died 19 days apart and there are no records for either of them. They were in their 70s, and disease often takes the very old and the very young. Can't prove it of course but it sure sounds like disease to me. According to the province of Quebec website, tuberculosis was the most common cause of death in adults in the 19th century. But where was the minister? Why is there no record? We may never know.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the standing stones. I think that the search of the records has confirmed what I long thought, that there are more people buried at Reilly Cemetery than the monuments out front would indicate. Conversely, the lack of records for two thirds of the commemorated (agreeing or disagreeing as the case may be) would support the possibility that there are far more people buried at Reilly Cemetery than the records indicate. I'm wondering if those standing stones I found while doing field work at Reilly Cemetery were indeed grave markers. Are they the graves of children or adults? The very large monuments at Reilly Cemetery are pretty much all commemorating adults. The very small marble monuments all commemorate children except for the round CMK which I believe was a foot stone for Catherin Mitchel Kennedy. If children generally rate small monuments, the standing stones may be predominantly for children. Just a thought. Maybe there are even more children without records than adults...

This is all conjecture...

Tuesday 28 August 2012

What's in a Name?

In a way I've touched on how researchers need to be careful about name spellings already. Reilly is not the only name that has a number of interesting variations-- there's McDonald/MacDonald, McCordel/McCorkel/McCortel and of course Moore/Moor. I'm sure there are others as well!

At the guided tour I gave on July 14, 2012, a small mystery was cleared up. Nesbit with one and two ts appears in various records. Apparently both spellings were common at one time. A Nesbitt family member told me that his family name had been spelled with one t until a male Nesbit married a female Nesbitt and she insisted on the two ts becoming the family spelling. Cool huh?

When reading old records you really have to keep your wits about you because some discoveries are entirely serendipitous (not looked for and all of a sudden there it is). It's pretty common for family names to be carried on from generation to generation, for example there are two Samuels Chilcott in the records. There were two Mrs Samuel Chilcott, both named Ellen. This came to light with the records from 1897 in which Ellen, wife of Samuel Chilcott, died at age 78 as did the infant son of Samuel and Ellen Chilcott. What is the likelihood of a 78 year old woman giving birth in 1897? To firm this up, the burial record for the aged Ellen Chilcott was witnessed by Ellen Chilcott. I suspect the younger was the daughter in law of the elder, but I don't know that for certain. I am sure a Chilcott family geneaologist would know.

A Mrs Samuel Gibson, nee Ellen Dacon, died at age 79 in 1885. Another Mrs Samuel Gibson, nee Mary Stevenson, died in 1892 at age 75.  A Samuel Gibson died at 48 in 1883, making it unlikely he was married to either lady. Another Samuel Gibson died in 1892 at age 86, but was he married to Ellen or Mary or both sequentially?

I have a few Alexanders... On a headstone at Reilly Cemetery (I have no matching records) the deaths of Alexander Usher, age 74, and his wife Elizabeth Courtney (age 73) are recorded as having taken place in 1877. The burial of an Alex E. _____ (illegible record) (1883?) with no next of kin given was witnessed by Alexander Usher. Another record in 1886 has an Alex Usher as signatory. In 1888 Maria O'Hara, wife of Alexander Usher died at age 48. Was the first Alexander father to the second or third Alexander Usher? Assuming Alex E. ____ was an Usher, I believe Alex E. ____ was the child of Alexander Usher (third in the list and signatory to the second's burial). Makes sense but is it so?
.
Of course the best way to find all this out would be to transcribe all the records, unfortunately time did not allow for this in my practicum. Wouldn't it be great if they all got done so little mysteries like these could be sorted out definitively?!

Edit-- did I mention that TWO Eliza McGees married Reilly men?

Monday 27 August 2012

Your questions answered...

Hi everyone!

I have started a FAQ to answer the questions people posed regarding Reilly Cemetery. I'll be adding to it over time so please keep sending along anything that comes to mind that you want to know about. I don't guarantee an answer but I'll try.


Wednesday 15 August 2012

What is important to YOU?

Hey folks, long time no see. No I didn't fall off the face of the Earth but I did have a lovely week at the lake. It's back to real life time now and I'm here to ask you to send me your thoughts on what YOU want to read about on this blog. I'm sure I can come up with more stuff, but it would be all my thoughts. Take a look back through the old posts, let me know where I could have added more. Tell me what is important to YOU about Reilly Cemetery. If I've missed a topic just let me know and I'll see if I can pull information together into a post!


Thursday 2 August 2012

Drum Roll Please....

I PASSED! Yes, the greatly esteemed professors liked my paper and I am now waiting on the finalization of my mark and then I can start the process to get my parchment. And as I promised, I have posted the expanded lists of confirmed and likely burials at Reilly Cemetery so I suggest those interested have another look-- there have been significant additions.

RECAP- the lists of confirmed burials are those whose burial records specify place of burial at Reilly Cemetery or any of its other names. Likely burials are those where place of burial is not listed but the place of residence is Township of Masham and the interred English speaking Protestants (French Protestants had their own cemetery at Duclos). These lists were compiled from the transcriptions that I myself did from microfilm pictures of the original records. These lists are by no means complete as many records were illegible and there are significant gaps in the church records, for example of the 33 people commemorated at Reilly Cemetery I have records for only 13...there could be a LOT more people buried at RC than we will ever know for certain.

I'm going on a week's vacation but when I get back I will have more for your reading pleasure.

Monday 30 July 2012

So close, so close and yet so far....

You may have noticed lately that I haven't been blogging as much as before. This is not because I have been ignoring the Reilly Cemetery-- far from it. I've been writing up my report. Day after day, map after map, page after ever loving page-- it's slowly coming together. I was such a dedicated student (insert halo here) that I even took my laptop and my materials to the cottage this weekend so I could keep working away. I've sent off two drafts to my respective and respected profs for their comment but being me, I don't wait, I keep on working away. The tome has grown, it could be used as a door stop or a speed bump in a busy parking lot.

Today I was working away, doing the detail stuff that drives everyone crazy like generating tables of contents and labelling figures. Fun wow. Oh yeah, and proof reading...I think I'm going blind and you can bet I will have missed some stuff because after a while you don't see the mistakes. Anyways, it was coming along swimmingly. Tables were generated, labels affixed, spell check and proof reading done, and I printed the sucker (in black and white to save ink). The printed copy turned out great.

But, (have I mentioned I'm a technodolt?) somehow I managed to make the whole file go *POOF* and blowed if I know where the hell it went. I looked, I screeched a little. I said a few naughty words. Then I grabbed my recently printed version, found the last version I had and redid two days work. The tables have been re done, the labels re affixed and the proof re reading can bloody well wait until I can see again (tomorrow). The file has been saved and will be sent  off site and out of this particular blasted computer for safe keeping, and so I don't have to do THAT again.

Live and learn and curse a little every now and then. I mess up therefore I am. Does anyone know how to say that in Latin? It could be my new motto.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Pictures by request




I was asked to post some pictures of the Reilly Cemetery as it was and as it is now. Frankly at first you could not see much of anything for the brambles and the trees. The pine tree limbs went pretty much down to the ground, the brambles grew up through them and it was bloody difficult to push through them to find much of anything. There was literally no view, it was just brambles. But if you look in these pics there are monument bases in them...



 



After the cleanup it was a lot easier but things were still pretty overgrown. Moss grows fat on a stationary Stone.




  

And here we have a lovely open space after the clearance days. What a difference! There was suddenly a view, and you could move without fighting a thousand thorns. This first pic is of north west corner and looking back just right of Rupert Union Cemetery. The strings and stakes were the grid I keep mentioning from which I measured everything.



Suddenly you could see the different plants growing here, in this case Solomon's Seal and day lilies. 

  
This is a picture of the center section, facing south. There was nothing to see before the clearance. Now it's a view that I have often enjoyed on my break-- that blue in the front left is Reilly Lake. Very peaceful...and remarkably few bugs too!


This is the south west area oriented somewhat to the north. Lots of lumps and bumps and bedrocks and now that the trees have been trimmed you can walk about without getting a limb in the face. Well, most of the time.



 So there you go, ask and ye shall receive.



Monday 23 July 2012

The times, they are a'changin'

When reading through the records one can easily start to think that they all look and sound alike. Born, died, place of residence, next of kin....insert needle on vinyl record screech here. Next of kin can be interesting sometimes.

Often you will see a person listed with his or her parents being the next of kin. Does this mean an infant? A child? A grown man or woman who has never married? There are records of people dying in their 30s, 40s, and considerably older than that with their parents as next of kin. Sometimes the record will say 'spinster' or 'an unmarried man' but usually there is no helpful adjective applied. Now where we lived for a number of years, also largely Irish though not necessarily protestant, the youngest child in a family might often stay behind to take care of the aging parents, and it was this child that would inherit the family farm (in appreciation of their care perhaps). Not always, but often this was the case. Seeing people in their 40s and 50s with their parents as next of kin made me wonder if this process was going on in the Gatineaus as well. I'm no historian, but it is an interesting thought, no?

In another, very different case, we have discrimination, full stop. A gentleman, well into his 60s when he died had his parents listed as was common, but the mother was not just listed as Jane Doe (maiden name) but Miss Jane Doe. Was this man a bastard? He does not appear to have been married and there is no occupation listed so the only truly important thing we learn about him from his burial record is that his parents weren't married. Maybe it was me, but I thought the tone of the record was judgmental, but how can one say that of the written word?

Then there's the case of the little boy, just 8 months old, we'll call him Jimmy Doe. He was the son of Miss Jane Doe and an unnamed father. The burial record took up the whole page, in fairly cramped handwriting and chronicled how the mother had the baby at X Home for Wayward Girls and then came to work for Mrs X Y as a housemaid and that the child had died and was buried next to the house but the mother was going to come back to retrieve the child's body at a later date... so I'm thinking to myself here but in that judgmental world, where having a bastard child was the ruin of a girl, would she have come back? I'm laying odds she didn't. What was interesting about this record was the level of detail the minister added that was not directly relevant to the poor child. It's like the child got lost in the story, but his bastardy did not.

In this way at least we are a kinder, gentler society today, in my honest opinion.

Sunday 22 July 2012

Tales from the Crypt

Well, ok, not quite. I picked the title to get your attention. I was asked at the end of the guided tour if I would continue the blog after my project is done...I guess that depends if I still have things I want to say!

In order to NOT bore to tears all those who came out to the tour I will now entertain you with a selection of tales gleaned from the records...

In 1876 Martha Henderson Somerville died and was buried at Reilly Cemetery. It appears that she and her husband, James, did not have children for after he died she was alone in this part of the country. In her later years she was taken in and cared for by Mr and Mrs Samuel Gibson. She died at age 88 or thereabouts as best as they could make it out. She has no fancy monument, perhaps because she did not have children to buy one for her. Perhaps one of those standing stones is for her. The nice thing is, compared to today at least, is that she was cared for in a family home and not in a nursing home...neighbours took care of neighbours back then. Maybe they still do in some places.

As for Mrs Samuel Gibson...in the records there are three Mrs Samuel Gibsons.. so I'm assuming that there's more than one Mr Samuel Gibson, probably at least two and maybe even three. I count three Mrs Samuel Chilcotts, two of which were Ellens. Two Eliza McGees married Reilly/Riley men. One could get a headache, seriously, sorting them out. Dates are the best clue of course, and ages where they are given (not always by a long shot).

Tomorrow...scandal!!!!

Monday 16 July 2012

I survived my first ever guided tour!

Saturday's guided tour went ok, I think. I didn't do a head count but there were between 10 and 20 people who turned out despite the heat and I was thrilled to see there was such interest in the Reilly Cemetery. I do hope I didn't bore anyone silly! A lot of very good questions got asked, I hope I was able to give coherent answers and that everyone learned at least one new thing about the place.

The tour took over an hour (lots of people had questions) and so a few people had to head off before we were done and so I didn't get a chance to let them know that there is gathering interest in having an annual clean up day/meet with other descendents. It was a LOT of work clearing the cemetery out and it would be a lot easier to keep it cleaned up than to start all over again in 10+ years time. Many hands make light work and the more we can get to turn out the better. If you are interested in such an event and would like to be kept informed please send an email to me at reillycemeteryproject@gmail.com and I will add you to the list!


Friday 13 July 2012

Photographs??? PLEASE!!!

I was hoping that someone who might be coming to the tour tomorrow, or someone who reads this blog (crickets sound...) might have some pictures of the Reilly Cemetery as it was before it was consolidated. Even better would be pics of individual stones with some sort of clue as to where it lay. I had one reader send me such a pic and it was very useful indeed. I was hoping that with this group of people coming that there might be more out there. I've seen the usual ones in the books. Does anyone have a picture of the old school house or of the old church? They would be very helpful too!

A reminder that I'd like to start the tour at the side gate that is behind the barn.. See you tomorrow!

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Details, details, the devil is in the details

Yes, I've been working with those pesky records again. Well actually today started off with trying to formalise my thoughts for the tour this weekend-- I ended up with WAAAY too much stuff-- it would have been like a Death by PowerPoint presentation so folks, I'm not going to do that to you. Instead I turned those notes into five pages (OK 8 pages) of new stuff for my research paper. Thus I am inflicting the boring stuff on my professors and not on you. You're welcome. I figure I might live longer that way-- can't you see the headlines?

Anthropologist Lynched by Enraged Tour Participants!

Windbag Gets Her Wind Knocked Out!

 Boredom Kills Tourists, Tour Guide (film at 11).

So the numbers and the evidence is piling up. There are a LOT of people buried at Reilly Cemetery if I'm halfway right. Yes, a lot of the names are familiar but there are a lot of names that seem to have come and gone, and there are some truly tragic stories in those records. Take the Lambert family-- three generations and their name effectively wiped out in the area along with 9 family members and 1 servant. These get mentioned in various places, well the family does, but the servant, no. His name was James Gundy and he was 17. They lived in the Township of Masham but their place of burial is NOT specified (guess which denomination was doing the records?) Me, I'd be burying them where the house was but chances are they are at RC. No proof so they are on the likely but not definite list. (Edit 12 July 2012-- I went back and counted the dead in this particular record, 9 people died in the fire, 8 were Lamberts, previously I had accepted the counts of others and written 9 Lamberts. Note to self, always check the original document, sigh.)

Yes, I am working on more lists for your reading pleasure, but they are going to have to wait to be posted until I have submitted my report and hopefully, gained the approval of my much esteemed and greatly loved professors (grin). Yes, they read this blog.

Yet another reminder that there will be parking behind the barn just west of the cemetery, stay right. There are no facilities there so be prepared. It's also deer fly season, don't say I didn't warn you. Sturdy shoes and long pants are recommended as things are still pretty rough in places.

Monday 9 July 2012

Here's something I think really needs to be done...



ALL the church records need to be transcribed. Right now they are available for viewing at GVHS on microfilm and in negative form (or from the BANQ at a buck a page). This is not at all easy to get at, nor is it particularly easy on the eyes. It would be a tremendous thing to have all the records moved to a more accessible format. I only did the Methodist and Presbyterian burial records, 400 of 'em in all. There's about 3 times that number of births and marriages that really should be transcribed. I worked out a process for doing the transcriptions and will be happy to discuss it with whoever takes it on. This is a big job, it's hard on the eyes, it's time consuming and it would be such a valuable tool because people call GVHS regularly trying to find these records! Oh and there's the records for the Anglican church too...forgot about them...didn't need them for my practicum...but those records need done too!

Is there any funding out there for doing stuff like this?

Back from vacation

Hey there! Sorry if it appeared that I had dropped off the face of the planet-- I hadn't really, I was just holed up at the lake during our yearly summer week off-- and a good thing too in that heat! But I'm back now and working away on the information I've gathered. For now I'm working on writing up the bulk of my report and after the tour on Saturday I'll get on to the mapping data. One thing at a time..

Speaking of Saturday, just a reminder that the ground is uneven and there are still lots of brambles about so be prepared! I wouldn't be surprised to see some deer flies too; they have been loving the heat a little too much. The landowner said he would be cutting his field so there will be parking available-- the driveway is just west of the barn, stay right. I would like to start at the original gate which is in the field behind the barn on the west side of the cemetery.

Another note-- I have concentrated my studies on the site itself and the records associated with it-- I'm not at this point collecting genealogies though there is a fellow in Wakefield who is -- I don't want to step on any toes and this project is big enough as it is! I can point you to him if you drop me an email. Anthropology is my field, along with Heritage Resources Management, so I am approaching the site from a concern for conservation, and with a focus on how the site fit into the community (who is buried there, why that particular spot, how they commemorated the dead, and so on). I'm basically trying to learn everything I can about the site itself, while it's still 'easy', and I'm hoping to promote an ongoing interest in caring for it. When something comes up that is outside of my area, I'll try to point you at someone who can help.




Friday 29 June 2012

A long HOT day at Reilly Cemetery

Boy it was hot yesterday! I didn't get to RC until 2:45 and worked my asbestos off until 8 pm but the mapping data collection is DONE. Now I can put the information all together and create maps of the site (after I've done a bunch of other stuff that is) which was a significant part of my practicum. I was able to identify another monument base last night so that leaves a few of the marble bases yet to mate with their headstones-- the headstones should have been easy but it really hasn't been that simple and that bugs me so I'll probably go back and measure again.

I had a visitor to the work site last night, had a good chat, and it gave me a chance to see what it really is that I want to share with people about the site-- so it was good practice for the upcoming guided tour. Now that I have the majority of the monuments figured out, and other features that I want to show people, I can start laying out a route-- some things have to come first so other stuff makes sense.

Just a reminder for those planning to come on the guided tour-- things are still a bit rough in there so sturdy shoes and long pants are recommended.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Primary documents or why I'm going gray these days...

Let me admit I had more than a few gray hairs when I started all this but I do believe that the spread of the gray is accelerating and I'm choosing to blame a lack of clarity in records.

If you have seen the list of interred you will have read the disclaimer up top that points out that the records at times leave a LOT to be desired. I've been trying to sort out when exactly the Reilly Cemetery went out of use and the Rupert Union became the predominant graveyard for the area. I have not found direct references to anyone specifically being buried at Rupert Union before 1911 (Methodist records) or 1916 (Presbyterian records). But there are a whole bunch of headstones at RUC that predate 1911 and 1916 and too many of them I think to have been moved like the Shouldice and Shannon ones we know were moved.

The written word is intended as a permanent record for those that come after us and want to know who, what, where, when, why and how. Now I have mentioned, have I not, that the early ministers, especially the Methodist ministers, weren't big on keeping records or perhaps weren't quite so literate themselves-- the handwriting at times seems to be of hands unaccustomed to the pen so maybe the leaving out of details is a lack of literacy. Maybe the records are just plain lost, or maybe they intended to but never got around to making those wonderful records we student types hold so dear. In later years this does not really hold water. The Presbyterian ministers were university educated and tended to leave really good records of who someone was , who they were married to, maiden names of wives and mothers, dates and place of interment. If these guys can differentiate between Halls, Stevenson, Pritchard, Brooks, Copeland, Chelsea, MacLaren, Wakefield. Lascelles, Thompson, Cantley, Johnston, or Moncrieff cemeteries (there are others as well), and take the time to mention anything out of the ordinary like death by disease or carting accident, someone being buried at his farm or beside a house then surely they can differentiate between the Public Cemetery at Masham (Reilly Cemetery) and the Union Cemetery at Masham (Rupert Union Cemetery). It is only in the earliest of the Presbyterian records that a place of burial is not specified. My notes show that the Methodist ministers were far more relaxed about such details, some being better records keepers than others, but there are a lot of Methodist burials that do not list a burial place.

I went down a rabbit hole today trying to figure out just when Rupert Union Cemetery went live, as it were. Local lore has the land donated around 1900, though I haven't checked the actual records as yet (but I will in time). That doesn't mean that burials at Reilly Cemetery stopped right away-- there would have been husbands and wives who wanted to be buried with their spouses, mothers and fathers who wanted to be near their children, and children who wanted to be buried near their parents. I suspect that there was an overlap of a number of years. There may well have been a requirement to have work done at the RUC site before it went into use, again it is said that the Johnston farmstead had to be cleared away first (Geggie I think, can't remember which book), and given that the RUC is very much a planned cemetery, I suspect time was spent having it laid out before burials began. When thinking of the above keep in mind that oral tradition has its faults, as memory is a funny thing and in the retelling almost all stories change just a little. Oh how I wish I could lay my hands on the early records for RUC!!

So back to my gray hairs... I was transcribing some more records, well into the 1900s and still getting people listed as buried at Masham/public cemetery at Masham and not at the Union Cemetery. So I started checking the headstones to see how many people recorded as being buried after 1899 have headstones at RUC. This got frustrating pretty quickly as the records and the headstones don't match. I have a hard time believing that an educated, long serving local minister (Robert Gamble, Presbyterian minister) who has managed in all of his burials to specify which graveyard, would be unaware of the difference between the two cemeteries. I have a hard time believing that the two witnesses on each and every record would fail to know the difference. Yes they were both public cemeteries but they lie some distance apart, they look different and they had different names long before Mr Gamble retired. Similarly the Methodist minister, Mark Styan I believe, in 1911 specifies, for the first time in the records I have found to date, a burial at the Union Cemetery in Masham. I also have a burial in Rupert in 1900 with no mention of Union, so is this indicative that Masham is becoming Rupert or is it the first burial at the new cemetery? Is Rupert the new town only and did Masham keep its identity as a separate place in those early 1900s?

What do the headstones at RUC dating from the early 1900s have in common? They are made of granite by and large, only one or two are of marble. Granite, as I mentioned in an earlier post, was available from the 1850s on, but it was hard to work, expensive and very very heavy so it didn't really catch on until the 20th. (Just a note, marble does not necessarily mean old.) As I also mentioned, monuments were often erected long after the deceased was buried. Is it possible that these 2 Methodist burials that specify interment at Masham Cemetery are a case where the family assumed because of the date of death and oral tradition that their kin was at RUC? These two are both female Johnstons who married Reillys. The RUC is on former Johnston land. Reilly Cemetery was once Johnston land too and was Reilly land for 100 years. You pick, I can't make up my mind. Maybe the place of memorial and the place of interment are not one and the same.

Now back to finding the dead...I was trying to find evidence of the interred that yesterday's lazy cleric could not be bothered to give. So I found 2 Gibson headstones form 1909, a Kennedy headstone, again 1909, and headstones for 4 people for whom I have no records. I went through all the pictures online (BLESS whomever posted them, thank you!) and as is no surprise really, there are a lot of people with no headstones at all. It's a bit surprising that such late burials have no records though (1897,1896, 1899, 1906). Were these erected at a later date as well? Are they at RUC or RC?

So where does this leave me? I think I'm going bald near my part from all the head scratching. If I follow my own rules I have to give preeminence to the records made at the time. This would tend to indicate that Mr Gamble never buried anyone at RUC (it's his successor who lists the first Presbyterian burial at RUC in 1916) and that there are a lot more people buried at Reilly Cemetery than we thought. Then again this would bring the ratio of monuments to interred into line with other cemeteries in the Gatineaus (Martin 2004). As for those without records, or with inadequate records, we will probably never know for sure. For those pre 1900 they are likely at RC, for those post 1900 who knows.

Monday 25 June 2012

Is it blasphemous to want to choke a preacher?

Today I am housebound due to an injury sustained doing laundry...but that is another story and not part of the blog save that I am today stuck in my desk chair because of it. Sigh. Being housebound has its advantages, including the time to get back to those pesky church records and it was several hours of working with my transcripts that have led me to the point of wanting to choke a dead man.

As I've said before I'm trying to get a handle on roughly how many people are buried at Reilly Cemetery. I've been looking for a clear(ish) date on when the Rupert Union Cemetery came into regular use, and thus Reilly Cemetery went OUT of regular use. This date has been somewhat elusive as the early records for the Rupert Union Cemetery do not appear to be readily at hand. In order to get at the information from another direction I have turned back to my negatives of old church records and lo and behold we have a kind, wonderful minister who having been in residence for a few years records the first burial at "Union Cemetery at Masham" of one of his parishioners in 1911 (edit June 26-- this sentence is unitentionally misleading. the record does not say it is the first burial at RUC, it is the first time I came across a reference to RUC, my apologies for the error). Thank you Mark Styan, Methodist Minister of long ago, for making a clear distinction between the two cemeteries in side by side entries made only a few months apart.

Back to my Pastoricidal tendencies...While plowing through the many post 1900 records I came across a whole bunch of records, sequentially listed no less, with no place of residence given and no place of burial. Women are Mrs This or Mrs That, with no maiden name given or the husband's first name omitted. It appears that a certain man of God by the name of Henry A. Young (Methodist minister 1905-1906) was not fond of adding such superfluous details. It is he I would cheerfully choke were he around to be thus done in. There are 12 entries with no useful details in that two year period. Now I can take a guess of course that names like Reilly, McCorkell, Chilcott, Shouldice, Kennedy, Usher or Wood are buried at Reilly Cemetery because these families are often buried there. But what about the Pritchards? Are they at the Pritchard Cemetery or had that closed by then? Alas, guessing is not good enough so I'm putting the lot under the "likely but not guaranteed to be buried at Reilly Cemetery" category.

I think it IS safe to say that burials did not stop at Reilly Cemetery at the stroke of midnight December 31, 1899. I need to prowl around RUC a bit, keeping in mind that headstones get moved, and maybe have a wee look at the Pritchard Cemetery as well if I can find out who to ask for permission. Knowing that headstones have been removed from the Reilly Cemetery in the past, and that headstones/monuments are often made well after the demise of the interred, I will have to give the written record the final word. What this means to little ole me is a great huge pile o' transcriptions yet to be done as I had stopped at 1899... there are about 140 entries in the Presbyterian records that come after that...I don't see this being done before the guided tour but I will do what I can.