Clyde River Remembers its Pioneers
[slideshow](Article as appeared in The Guardian, October 22, 2011) The Community of Clyde River has created a commemorative sign featuring the names of those buried in their pioneer cemetery along with photos of the site.
The cemetery is located on the banks of the Clyde River, which is a long distance from the road with no year-round access, so the sign will reside in the Baptist Church Cemetery on the Clyde River Road, and, during winter, it will be featured next door at the Riverview Community Centre.
Hilda (Murray) Beer of Clyde River is related to the many Murray’s and also the Henderson’s in the Pioneer Cemetery. The last burial was her great-grandmother Anne Murray who died in 1908 at age 101. The earliest burial was Margaret Murray who died in childbirth at 29 in 1842.
“It is interesting for me to see so many of my ancestors’ names and think about what life was like for them. I am pleased that these early families will be remembered in this way,” said Hilda.
Pioneer family names include Harvey, Henderson, Livingston, MacLauchlin, McLean, Morrow, Murray and Wares.
The Pioneer Cemetery was the original Baptist cemetery in the community until the current site was established beside the Clyde River Baptist Church. Just across the road is Burnside Presbyterian Church and cemetery, so for genealogical researchers, it will be convenient to have access to all the information within close proximity.
The creation of the sign continues the historical work the community has been actively involved in over these past few years and was funded with proceeds from the History and Stories of Clyde River, a book published by the History Committee in 2009. Since then, the community has continued writing about its history and current events on its website (www.clyderiverpei.com) and has attracted an active following of those with connections to Clyde River from around the world.
The cemetery sign features an expression in these pioneers’ mother tongue of Gaelic, “Cuimhnich air na daoine bho’n d’thanaig thu which translates to “Never forget those you come from”.
For a close up view of the sign, click here.