Cemeteries History Circle, Saturday, August 24th, 1:30 p.m.

Pioneer Cemetery in Clyde River

The Clyde River History Committee will be hosting a Cemeteries History Circle on Saturday, August 24th from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Riverview Community Centre. We have chosen a summer date as we thought it would be a good time of year to also welcome those home from away who are interested in cemetery research and have local ancestral connections.

We are focusing on cemeteries within the area that have historical connections to Clyde River. This takes in communities extending anywhere from Emyvale/Riverdale, Bonshaw/Appin Road, Argyle Shore/Canoe Cove, Nine Mile Creek/Cumberland to North River/Warren Grove and all communities in between. There were also early pioneers buried in the Old Protestant Burying Ground in Charlottetown and with ancestral connections to those buried in Belfast area cemeteries. We would also be very interested in identifying cemeteries and family names of ancestral connections buried outside of PEI e.g. Boston/Quincy area, Western Canada, New Zealand and Australia or any other areas as this helps to tell the broader story of family connections and migration.

We have identified at least 32 cemeteries in the local area that range from larger ones still being used to pioneer and family plots. We invite participants to take along any research they have, so we can compare notes and help each other to solve any mysteries or gaps in research.

Our committee thought this event would be a great opportunity to broaden our network of historical enthusiasts/researchers and genealogists and to capture interesting stories about early settlers and founding families among our communities. We think it will be valuable to identify who is researching local, complementary topics, as this can ultimately help each of us gather a fuller historical picture.

We realize this is an ambitious adventure, so we will likely stay fairly high level and not delve too directly into specific family trees. However, the event will be a good opportunity for you to connect with those who are researching similar family trees which you could collaborate with after event.

We welcome you to RSVP for this event, but it’s not necessary. It would be very helpful to the committee if you could let us know you are planning to attend and what your specific interest/research is of any cemeteries in our area. It will assist us in customizing the format for the afternoon to best meet the interests of the audience. You can RSVP by adding a comment below or by emailing clyderiverpei@eastlink.ca.

We also welcome non-researchers who are interested in listening to the conversation. Sometimes we don’t realize how many stories have been passed down to us which may hold the clue to advance local historical research. That’s the fun of history. It’s like a large jigsaw puzzle and the missing pieces drive us to learn more.

For reference, here is the list of cemeteries in the area and a few stories that have been featured on our site:

1. Appin Road Cemetery
2. Argyle Shore Cemetery
3. Bonshaw Pioneer Cemetery
4. Brookfield Presbyterian Cemetery
5. Canoe Cove Presbyterian Cemetery
6. Old Protestant Cemetery (only aspect that connects to Clyde River ancestors) – story here
7. Churchill Presbyterian Cemetery – story references pioneers
8. Stewart Family Plot, Strathgartney – story references Stewart family
9. MacArthur Family Plot, Peter’s Road
10. Clyde River Burnside Presbyterian Cemetery – story here
11. Clyde River Baptist Church Cemetery
12. Clyde River Pioneer Cemetery – story listing all visible stones, story 2, story 3
13. West River United Church Cemetery, Cornwall
14. Newson Pioneer Cemetery, Ferry Road
15. Dockendorff Pioneer Cemetery. York Point Road
16. St. Martin’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Cumberland
17. East Wiltshire Baptist Cemetery
18. St. Anne Roman Catholic Cemetery, Emyvale
19. Hampshire United Methodist Cemetery
20. Kingston United Church Cemetery – story here
21. Howard Christian Cemetery, Kingston – story 1, story 2
22. Long Creek United Baptist Cemetery
23. Saint Thomas Anglican Cemetery, Long Creek
24. Long Creek Pioneer Cemetery
25. Hyde and Crosby Pioneer Cemetery – story on Hyde pioneers, story on Crosby pioneers
26. St. John’s Anglican Cemetery, Miltonvale
27. New Dominion United Church Cemetery
28. Ladner Family/Old Garden Cemetery
29. Port-la-Joye Cemetery, Rocky Point
30. St. Catherine’s Pioneer Cemetery – story 1, story 2
31. MacEachern Family Cemetery, St. Catherines
32. James Warren Pioneer Cemetery, Warren Grove

Additional articles/sites referencing genealogical connections:

• Histories and Stories of Clyde River (digital version of book)
• In Memoriam – Clyde River and area residents featured on this site
• Spencer 1806
• Clan MacMillan
• Hardships of Pioneering 1767
• Millar MacFadyen
• The Old Homestead on Linwood Road
• The Deacon’s Cane
• The Hickox Family
• Island Connections
• Collective Memories are Flowing
• Meadow Bank Pioneers
• Donation from Stewart Family
• www.janedyment.ca
• Gillespie Cousins
• Cousins Lost and Found – Part One
• Cousins Lost and Found – Part Two

If some of the family researchers in our website audience can only connect with us virtually, we welcome you to send along any information that you think would be helpful for us in our history circle discussions and, also, feel free to send along any questions you would like us to ask the group which will assist in your own research.

It is our hope that we will develop an excellent list of contacts from this event and this initiative will add value to our individual research efforts.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, August 24th at 1:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Vivian, Chair of Clyde River History Committee at vivian@eastlink.ca. We also welcome attendees to visit our museum that features over 200 artifacts and also several heritage family photos. This history circle will take place at Riverview Community Centre at 718 Clyde River Road. Refreshments will be served.