Hello Brian I so enjoyed reading this! What a great experience to have had! Thank you very much for sharing it. Cheers Pat At 01:03 AM 1/18/05 -0500, gilchrists wrote: >There are so many that I can choose from but my favorite one by far is burial ground known as "Elmbank" or The 5th Line Roman Catholic burial ground. > >This churchyard WAS located INSIDE Pearson International Airport, not to be confused with the Richview United Church cemetery which is in the intersection of Highways 401 and 427 in Etobicoke. For many years this cemetery was not accessible to anyone but descendants, and one had to be escorted "air side" to view the monuments. You were driven / escorted out with flashing lights, had to cross runways - and planes were landing and taking off very close by ... It was truly an amazing genealogical experience that I will never forget. > >Recently, all the bodies and stones had to be relocated due to the need for a de-icing facility at Pearson International Airport, which for technical purposes, could not be located elsewhere in the grounds. > >So Elmbank became the largest single cemetery relocation project in Canadian history with over 600 bodies being reinterred with respect, grace and dignity. It was my honour and privilege to be the Project Genealogist for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto which oversaw the project. The field work was handled by one of Canada's most respect archaeologists, Dr. Ron Williamson, and his associates at Archaeological Services Incorporated, of Toronto. > >I was responsible for documenting the names and death dates of each deceased that I could identify - as there is no one source containing all the names and burial details. It was like working on about 150 family genealogies all at the same time, and in effect I have reconstructed the first three or four generations of each family known to be buried there! > >The first known burial was in 1833 and the last known burial was in 1939. > >The churchyard has been re-located to Assumption Cemetery, which is located on Tomken Road at the south east corner of Derry Road in the City of Mississauga. > >In the summer of 2004, an open air Mass was celebrated by Monsignor John Murphy of the Archdiocese of Toronto, and over 500 descendants and friends of the project attended. > >As you drive eastbound upon entering the gates on Tomken Road, and follow a road to either the left or right of the fountain, take one of the roads to the eastern most end of the cemetery and there you will find the beautifully situated, and now totally accessible relocated Elmbank, with as many of the original stones that could be rehabilitated located on top of the bodies that they represent. > >Stones which represent bodies that could not be identified are located on large raised tables, angled for ease of reading and so that the elements of snow and rain run off the tablets into the ground. > >Finally, there is a beautifully memorial which records the names of all the identified deceased thereon - some 325 names out of some 625 bodies. > >The cemetery transcription detailing the tombstone data, and the names included on the memorial will be available from me, at the address below, in a few weeks. If you wish to be notified of the availability of this publication, please send me an e-mail. > >This is one of my favorite burial grounds ... > >"Rest eternal Grant unto them O Lord, and May Light Perpetual shine upon them". > >J. Brian Gilchrist >Genealogical and Archival research analyst, >Box 74503, 270 The Kingsway, >ETOBICOKE, Ontario M9A 5E2 >gilchrists@idirect.com > >"I have the reputation of being fearless and decided, and whether correct or not, it saves me much trouble." - written by the Honourable and Right Reverend John Strachan, 1st Anglican Bishop of Toronto in 1846. > > >==== CA-ONT-CEMETERIES Mailing List ==== >READ the taglines! >Before you ask for a lookup ...check >http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~silentguardians/ >In search of site: http://ocml0.tripod.com/ > >============================== >New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&ta rgetid=5429 > >--- >[This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus] > > > --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus]

Is there anyone on this list who might have been around been they moved the cemeteries from the St. Lawrence that could tell us some more about it. While doing my research this summer in Stormont area and was doing a bit of reading on how they removed 100's of cemeteries from along the St. Lawrence to other cemeteries and the ones that weren't moved were cemented over before the flooding of the St. Lawrence. Really interesting stuff. Janine

Janine, Here is a link. http://ghosttownpics.com/lostvillages/indexAll.shtml Christine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janine" <janine@muskoka.com> To: <CA-ONT-CEMETERIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 2:23 PM Subject: RE: [ON-CEM] Brian's most unusual cemetery > Is there anyone on this list who might have been around been they moved the > cemeteries from the St. Lawrence that could tell us some more about it. > While doing my research this summer in Stormont area and was doing a bit of > reading on how they removed 100's of cemeteries from along the St. Lawrence > to other cemeteries and the ones that weren't moved were cemented over > before the flooding of the St. Lawrence. Really interesting stuff. > > Janine > > > > ==== CA-ONT-CEMETERIES Mailing List ==== > To UnSUBSCRIBE: to CA-ONT-CEMETERIES-L-request@rootsweb.com the word unsubscribe in the subject and body. > In search of site: http://ocml0.tripod.com > > ============================== > New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > >

I've never done this myself but I was once told, anyone researching the cemeteries in question should contact the Archive for Ontario Hydro. (Hydro One now). It is my understanding all of the cemeteries affected were surveyed and extensive records compiled before the flooding took place. This information comes from one of the many surveyors hired for this project. Not sure if the Ontario archives have copies or not... I always intended to follow-up on the suggestion, but it remains as one of my many projects still sitting on the back burner. David Original Message ----- From: Janine Is there anyone on this list who might have been around been they moved the cemeteries from the St. Lawrence that could tell us some more about it. While doing my research this summer in Stormont area and was doing a bit of reading on how they removed 100's of cemeteries from along the St. Lawrence to other cemeteries and the ones that weren't moved were cemented over before the flooding of the St. Lawrence. Really interesting stuff. Janine