In the April/May issue of Kingston Relations, I wrote an article about photographing gravestones in numerous cemeteries for the Lanark County publications that our Branch has for sale. There are eight publications covering thirty-three cemeteries. The original photos were taken over thirty years ago, and all are in black and white, so they do not reproduce well. These cemeteries are in rural Dalhousie and North Sherbrooke Townships. Some are as small as one stone, while others are much larger. In one publication, eighteen of the twenty cemeteries were each transcribed on a single page. Finding these cemeteries was the first challenge, and that part is not finished. Among the cemeteries already discovered, there are some unique gravestones.
This William Barrie stone is in the Barrie Cemetery and is still legible after many years. This will replace the existing photograph in the publication.
The photo of the George Paul stone in the Chalmers or Lakeside Cemetery shows how much deterioration has taken place since the previous photo was taken. Thankfully, I had the transcription and original photo for comparison, because the stone is now broken and very hard to read.
The McDougall stone is the only one in this well-kept cemetery and is in very good condition.
The last photo was taken at the Umpherston Cemetery. This shows one corner post and two taller posts marking the main entrance. This cemetery is on an old road allowance, a few hundred yards off the road and is overgrown. There are several field stones but no visible carved gravestones. The large boulder contains a metal plaque with the names and dates of several people in the Umpherston family.
As mentioned, you can read more about my field trips to locate these cemeteries in the April-May issue of Kingston Relations. The Lanark cemetery publications (with new cover photographs) now available are: Crawfords Cemetery, Crawfords Additions and Highland Line Cemetery. The following have cover and individual gravestone photos: Laidleys and Rokeby Cemeteries, Pinehurst & McVeigh’s Cemeteries and Rideau Ferry & St. James Anglican Cemeteries. The remaining two publications will be finalized later this year.
