McLaren Cemetery

McLaren Cemetery is a small family plot located on Monarch Road, between Peniel Rd and Thunder Bridge Road, just outside of the town of Lindsay. It was apparently established in 1848 (though the first recorded death was from 1834) on the farm property owned by Angus and Margaret McLaren. It is currently being maintained by the city of Kawartha Lakes, and the site is well cared for, however some of the stones are falling into disrepair, and only one of them is left standing.

As you can see see in the above picture. the one stone standing is small and broken.

Another view of the one standing stone, unfortunately the break makes it unreadable. I'm going to assume it is a member of the McLaren family.

Angus McLaren, died April 5, 1848. Aged 59 years.
Daniel, died Aug 22, 1834. Aged 3 months.
Ewen, died 1844.

John Allen, died July 18, 1847. Aged 3 years.

Margaret, wife of Angus McLaren. Died Feb 10, 1880. Aged 72 years.

S. Oakley, died Mar 31, 18??. Aged 83 years.

May 20, 1837. Aged 13 years. No name visible on this monument.

James, son of William and Christina Routls. Died July 5, 1863. Aged 2 years

James Routls, died July 1865. Aged 55 years.

Unknown.

Unknown, died Mar 12, 1863. Aged 60 years. A Native of England.

Malcolm McLaren, died Aug 18, 1854. Aged 57 years. A Native of Glengary.

Blakely Cemetery

 Blakely Cemetery is a very small family plot located on the edge of a family farm on Old Mill Rd, Ops Township in Kawartha Lakes. It is maintained by the city of Kawartha Lakes, but over the last ten years, I have noticed that the size of this cemetery has gotten steadily smaller, though I don't know if they just chose to fence and maintain a smaller area. As far as I can tell there are only 4 monuments currently standing, though there may have been more previously. As you can see in the below picture, it is quite tiny.

 The cemetery takes its name from the Blakely family, who are the only people buried here as far as I can tell.

 Robert, died 1832. Aged 3 years.
Andrew, died Sept 6, 1932. Aged 13 years.
Children of John and Margaret Blakely.

S.P.

 Margaret, wife of John Blakely. Died April 15, 1858. Aged 73 years.
This picture was taken on a previous visit to the cemetery, the one I took today was fuzzy (probably due to my urge to dodge mosquitos).

Francis John, son of Margaret and John Blakely. Died June 16, 1856. Aged 3 years.

Galway Cavendish Pioneer Cemetery

 This little pioneer cemetery sits between the towns of Kinmount and Bobcaygeon, in the Kawartha Lakes area on County Rd 45. There is a little "cairn" in the centre if the field with a plaque on it dedicating it to the memory of the pioneers who once lived, and were buried in this area.

There is a total of three monuments that are still visible here, and a few places where there clearly were monuments once. It's a fairly large lot though, there must be several more people buried here.

William R Lawrence, Died 1884. Aged 4 years.
Eliza Lawrence, died 1887. Aged 20 years.
Children of Anthony Lawrence.

Thomas Lawrence, aged 65 years.
Thomas, son of Thomas and Jane, Died July 1871, aged 14 years
*as you can see from my pictures, the above monuments are no longer legible. The information on the names/dates I got from pictures on the Ontario Abandoned Places Website*

 The old tree in the centre of the cemetery.

Anthony Lawrence, April 15, 1892. Aged 58 years.

 If you are in the area it worth a stop by, a quick visit. Also, it is very, very close to Bury Green Rd where you can also find Hilyer's Cemetery and Telford Cemetery.

Cunningham Cemetery

Cunningham Cemetery is a tiny plot located on Mount Horeb road in the township of Ops, near Omemee. The first time I stumbled upon this location it was completely by accident, and I happened to see the old sign at the side of the road as I was driving by. However, upon getting out of my car all that I could find was a field with boulders and overgrown grass...also a weird abandoned hunting cabin.
I ended up leaving without ever actually finding any monuments, and assumed they were all gone.
Jump forward a few years and I was driving by again, but this time I saw this sign.

A new sign? Does that mean there was work being done to preserve this cemetery? And you can see in the background of this picture that an area of bush has been cut back and boulder have been placed marking the entrance. It is a short walk to the cemetery, and luckily the grass had been mowed down so that there was a path to follow. You actually have to walk into the woods a little bit.

This is what the cemetery looks like, and it's obvious that work has been done as the fencing around the cemetery is new. As you can see there are no standing stones left either.

 

Whether this is a remnant of a monument, or just another boulder is unclear, however much of the land in this little place looks a little lumpy, like there are other coffins buried here.

The only stone that clearly once was a monument, and it either can't be read or is facing down.

The only other stone n the yard that was clearly once a marker, and it has an engraved plaque on it.

James Cunningham 1775-1839
Eliza (Switzer) his wife 1777-1864
Born Adaire, Ireland
Settled here 1824
First white settler in Township of Ops
Jane 12th Child-wife of Arthur Corniel
There is some debate online as to whether Eliza's name was Eliza, or Ann, or Eliza Ann. Also, it's believed that the date of James death is incorrect and that it should be 1844, at least according to his most updated will. Also, Jane seems to be the 11th of 14 children, not 12th.

The original sign that was on the road.

 Leaving Cunningham Cemetery through the woods

And across the field, back to my car.

Bethel Cemetery-Janetville

There are plenty of "Bethel Cemeteries" out there, this one is located in/by Janetville in the Kawartha Lakes. It is right on the corner of Hwy 45 and Golf Course Rd. They've recently put a sign in front of it so it is easy to see, but prior to that, it was almost invisible. It is another abandoned pioneer cemetery, and all the monuments have been moved to one section at the back of the yard.

Montgomery- Catherine 1831-1898, John 1824-1903.

Mary Adelaide Boyd, died May 8, 1880. Aged 9 years, 8 months and 24 days.

Thomas Irvine, died Dec 23, 1873. Aged 28 years, 5 months, and 1 day.

Robert James Irvine, Jan 13, 1878-Nov 18, 1916.

Unfortunately, the top stone can't be identified. The bottom stone is Elizabeth Stinson, and I think it states she died Oct 8, 1870.

Unknown, died May 25, 1885? 25 years?

Rev. John Shannon, Wesleyan Minister, Died Sept 29, 1862. Aged 26 years.

Magahay-David Charles, died Jan 9, 1885. Aged 23 years. Also, Mary Ann, died Feb 27, 1863. Aged 3 years.

Samuel Stinson, Feb 2, 1837-Nov 9, 1912.

Jane Irvine, June 2, 1839- Aug 6, 1872 (wife)

Ann Graham, June 2, 1845-Apr 15, 1912 (wife)

Samuel Wesley, Dec 4, 1864-Apr 12, 1889 (son)

Thomas, aged 78 years. 

Hannah Irvine, died may 15 1887 (maybe? It's hard to read). Aged 86 years.

All I can make out on this are the letters W.S.C. Initials? Who knows now.

Another Stinson. In person, this is probably legible, but I can't make it out from the sun's glare in the picture. Next time I am passing through I will get the exact info for this monument.

While doing some research into this cemeteryI came across this article from 2007: Bethel Cemetery. I'm guessing the issue with the road has been solved, since the Hwy is still 2 lanes and the cemetery is still there? What I found interesting is what is said about the other pioneer cemeteries int he region. Also, does anyone actually know where St. Alban's is located? I hope it still exists, I'd like to visit it.

Telford Cemetery

Telford Cemetery is located on Bury's Green Road, and I found it on the same day I stumbled upon Hilyer's Cemetery.

Telford is another abandoned pioneer cemetery, but it's in a sad state. I can't find any real information about it, and unfortunately, it has been completely destroyed over the years. It is a fairly large yard so I would think there would be more graves here, however, there are few monuments, and of the ones standing none are legible. There is a large pile of battered stones in one corner of the yard, whether or not they were parts of old monuments is unknown.

As you can see, there is a small section of monuments at the back of this yard.

A closer look at what's left.

Still intact, however no inscription that can be read.

This must have been the base for a larger monument, that or the strangest shaped one I've ever seen.

Again, unknown.

Telford Cemetery won't give you much of a glimpse into the past, but it is still an interesting stop if you are a cemetery fan, like myself. Also, for those geocachers out there, there is a cache here.

This place is already in shambles, but please remember to treat it with respect. Take only photos, leave only footprints.