The cemetery of St.Mark’s Church predates the construction of the 1792 building by many years. Until the 1830’s this was the burial site for the entire town and reflects the rich diversity of the community over two centuries. 

This short walk through the churchyard provides an introduction. You may also want to examine other monuments along your way. 

When you stand with your back to the tower doors of the church you face west; north is on your right. 

1.
As you proceed north along the roadway from the church, the Soldiers’ plot is on your left. Many of the young men named here died overseas in two world wars, but their families required a local place of remembrance. The Canadian Legion has recognized these graves and others of veterans throughout the cemetery with its insignia and a flag.

2.
Moving north and away from the road toward the western boundary, you will find stones bearing the name Smith under the trees. These bear testimony to the tragedy in the lives of the early settlers. Within a five year span the mother and five of her children died. In 1849 the father died and he was just thirty. 

3.
Directly north of the Smith markers beyond the tree and facing north you will see, an unusual headstone bearing the name Robert Wilson, a memorial from his wife. At the top is the figure of a serpent with the words ”Upon thy belly shalt thou go”. 

4.
A low stone wall farther north marks the grave of William Claus. The inscription on the historical plaque provides details about the Claus and Johnson families. 

5.
Immediately to the west is a spire to Colonel Ralfe Clench, one of Butler’s Rangers and an early settler. He became the first town clerk, and later a judge of the Surrogate Court and member of the Provincial Legislature. 

6.
Two gravestones to the east of the rear corner of the Claus enclosure is a low, flat, rose granite marker to Elizabeth Asher (sic). As shown on this stone, she received civil honours from the Polish government for her work and humanitarian efforts in a Polish Relief campaign following the war. Among the hundreds of young Polish soldiers who had come to train in Canada so they might aid in the liberation of their country, many became ill during the influenza epidemic of 1917. They were nursed by Mrs. Ascher. Markers for twenty-four who died within a twelve month period can be found in the Polish Enclosure in the cemetery of St.Vincent de Paul. 

7.
One row south towards the church and slightly east is the oldest stone in the cemetery, that of Elizabeth Kerr. The daughter of Molly Brant and Sir William Johnson, she died here in 1794. She was the wife of the Surgeon General, Robert Kerr and niece of Joseph Brant, Chief of the Iroquois. 

8.
Directly ahead, and south towards the church stands a spire with a broken top. It is to the memory of John Waters one of the many black settlers who came to Canada after the American Revolution. As a loyalist he received a Crown Grant and became a farmer, tavern keeper and town councillor.  

9.
Continuing south and east in this same section you will see an unusual double tablet with a thistle motif that commemorates John and Margaret McFarland. The inscription tells of John’s return in 1815 from imprisonment by the Americans and his shock at seeing the destruction in the area. The McFarland house on the Niagara Parkway, built in 1800 by his son, served as a field hospital in the 1812 war and is today a museum. 

10.
As you move directly south toward the church and just across the roadway, you will see a monument to Benjamin Handley Geary. In the First World War he was awarded the Victoria Cross for “conspicuous bravery” at Hill 60 near Ypres. For twenty-four years he served as Sergeant-at-arms in the Ontario Legislature. 

11.
On the exterior wall of the church is a large plaque to Robert Addison, the first minister in this part of Ontario and to his sons-in-law Stevenson and Connolly. Addison’s parish extended from Lake Erie to Ancaster and York to London. Most of the Anglican parishes in the Niagara Peninsula began as the result of his efforts. The records he kept of baptisms, marriages and burials from 1792 to 1829 provide a significant source of historical information. 

12.
Directly north of the Addison plaque is a large flat stone in memory of Charles Morrison who died in 1804. The citizens of the town, when they returned after the American retreat in 1813 were horrified to discover that this monument had been desecrated. They believed that the American cooks had used it as a chopping block and it has borne that name ever since. The inscription indicated that, preferring to live as a British subject, Morrison had left Fort Michilimakinac when it was ceded to the United States in 1796. 

13.
East of the Morrison monument is a large altar tombstone to George Forsyth who died in 1806. There are scars on its surface as well. He was a Magistrate and Grand Master of the Masonic Order. 

14.
Between these two monuments you will find four marble corner posts. They mark the burial plot of Andrew Heron and his four wives whose names are found on the monument. Heron was the publisher of an early newspaper, The Niagara Gleaner, as well as publisher of many books written locally. He was the founder, secretary treasurer and librarian of Niagara’s first library. 

15.
The plot at the north east corner of the church, surrounded by an iron fence is that of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. The yacht “Foam” left Toronto in July of 1874 and foundered near the mouth of the Niagara River. The bodies of the seven young men on board were washed up near the town and buried here. 

16.
Just north east of the RCYC plot is a large stone known as Brock’s seat. In 1893, when the town was building a wharf along the river, William Kirby, a local historian and writer, had the stone moved to this spot. He feared the loss of the stone on which Brock had sat as he contemplated where the Americans might cross to attack. 

17.
Brock’s seat sits at the head of one of the more recognizable Trenches or rifle pits dug in 1813 by the occupying American soldiers in anticipation of an attack by the British army. 

18.
On a knoll and surrounded by an iron railing, directly north of the RCYC plot you will find a large coffin shaped stone. This is the burial place of the Honourable William Dickson and his wife, Charlotte Adlam. In addition to being an attorney and member of the legislature, he is the founder of the city of Galt, now part of Cambridge. 

19.
As you look east across the roadway, you will see two mausoleums. The one farther south is the Heather Mausoleum. Its lengthy inscription tells of the accomplishments of Major Heather and his wife, Williamina Pattison.




20.
Directly south of the Heather mausoleum is the Alma family plot. John Lees Alma had travelled extensively before settling down in Niagara. He was known locally as Lord John. 

21.
South, in front of the Alma plot is a Kingsmill monument. Lieutenant Colonel Kingsmill fought in the Battle of Waterloo and afterward was with the guards on St. Helena where Napoleon was held as prisoner. A number of the memorials in this area are to other members of this illustrious military family. 

22.
To the west of the Kingsmill monument are the low rectangular Plumb memorials bearing large crosses. Josiah Burr Plumb, although an American, settled in Niagara and married Elizabeth Street. He became a member of Parliament and the Speaker of the Canadian Senate. 

23.
East of the Kingsmill marker is the McMurray monument. It is a highly visible red granite spire. McMurray was a Rector of St. Mark’s. He had served previously as a missionary in Sault Ste. Marie where he met his wife, Charlotte Johnson, the granddaughter of the head chief of all the Chippawas. 

24.
South-west in front of the McMurray monument are four Paffard headstones. Henry Paffard was a business man and chemist who began the Niagara Apothecary. He became mayor of Niagara, and was responsible for the planting of trees along Queen Street and in Simcoe Park. A plaque on the front of the Court House provides more information about him. 

25.
As you look South from the Paffard stones, you will see a large, distinctive white marble monument. Katharina Haideen was born in Greece in 1823. She was captured by the Turks and sold as a slave. An Englishman purchased her and raised her as his daughter. She married Frederick Paffard and they immigrated to Canada. 

26.
In the next row and slightly west is a gray granite memorial to William Kirby. He was a novelist, poet and local historian. Although born in England, he became more loyalist than those who had suffered through the Revolutionary War. The Whitmore grandparents of his wife had been murdered in Pennsylvania during the Revolution. Their son, John was captured by the Indians and subsequently rescued by Daniel Servos. 

27.
There is a memorial garden against the east wall of the church. On the wall above people find a place to memorialize their loved ones whose ashes are scattered here. 

28.
Nearby the shade of a grove of Serviceberry trees invites you to sit in quiet contemplation. 

Additional information about this and the other historic cemeteries of Niagara on the Lake can be found in the Niagara Historical Society’s publication Stones, Saints and Sinners, available from the Niagara Historical Museum and St. Mark’s Church. A complete transcription is available from the Ontario Genealogical Society. 

Prepared by F. Habermehl & D. Combe of the Archives Committee of St.Mark’s Church