The Chaffey's Lock and Area Heritage Society looks after two cemeteries, the Chaffey's Lock Cemetery (see below)
and the Clear Lake Cemetery (click on this link)
and the Clear Lake Cemetery (click on this link)
Chaffey's Lock Cemetery
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The Chaffey’s Lock cemetery was established before the construction of the Rideau Canal. On September 21, 1825 Joseph Poole, a recently arrived settler from Somersetshire in England, was the first person to be interred here. Joseph’s daughter Mary Anne had recently married the mill owner of the Chaffey’s complex. Traces of his gravestone have recently been uncovered near Mary Anne’s monument. Although Samuel Chaffey, the founder of the mill site, died in July, 1827 at Edmund’s Lock, the Brockville newspaper recorded that he was buried in Chaffey’s. At this point, the cemetery was a family plot similar to many family plots in this era. However, when local canal construction began in 1828, the purpose of the little cemetery changed.
Malaria was an ongoing problem during the construction of the Rideau Canal. John Sheriff, the original contractor, and many unnamed workers lost their lives that year. The canal allotted half an acre as a burial ground and used the existing site where Poole and Chaffey were resting. Most lock stations had land requisitioned for this use as deaths from malaria, other diseases and industrial accidents were common. We know that one man, Charles McLaren, expired from a kick from a horse in August, 1830 and is probably buried here. Martha Whalen from Clear Lake drowned crossing Indian Lake and she, too, may have been buried in this cemetery There were few cemetery records kept until the 1880s although settlers were known to be interred there. Following her death in 1888, Mary Anne Chaffey Scott was buried here beside her father and presumably her first husband. Mary Anne had tragically lost two husbands by the time she was 30. Her second husband, John Scott, drowned in a canoeing accident in the early 1830s, but it is uncertain if he was buried in this cemetery. Mary Anne raised her two children near Newboro and continued to keep house for her bachelor brother John until she died. Her monument is the only one visible today. From Catholic records we know that Thomas Doyle was buried in Chaffey’s in 1893. We believe members of the Brady, Simmons, and Doyle families are there as well, but wooden crosses were often used at the time and eventually rotted. In the 1960s, there were several broken stones obvious in the cemetery. The last known internments were Thomas Simmons, the ship’s captain, and his brother Charles in 1930, according to the recollections of family members. Considering that these deaths occurred during the depression, many families did not have the income to erect memorial stones. Another factor contributing to the lack of gravestones was the practice in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s of cleaning up old cemeteries and disposing of the markers. We know that the Chaffey’s cemetery was cleaned up several times over the years. The cemetery was rehabilitated by members of the Chaffey's Lock and Area Heritage Society in the 1990s. The area was cleared and 79 grave sites were identified. Many of the field stones markers were restored. Adjacent to the cemetery, a memory wall was constructed to honour those who have loved and contributed to the community. A winding path leads from the road (next to Brown's Marina) to the memory wall and cemetery. The memory wall continues to provides a link to Chaffey’s for all local residents and cottagers. Individuals and families can purchase a space on the Wall and install a plaque in memory of those who love Chaffey’s Lock. |
The original wooden markers have long since rotted away leaving some of the old graves marked only by field stones
Chaffey's Plot (left) and headstone & fieldstone markers.
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