If these stones could speak…
He placed a musket to his heart, pulled the trigger and died instantly. No one will ever know why Lieutenant Zachariah Mudge, a convivial 31 year old bachelor, chose to end his days in the little cottage on Emily Street. He was interred on June 10, 1831 in Victoria Square Cemetery - today an unexpected and peaceful haven at Portland and Wellington Streets in downtown Toronto.
The cemetery was active from 1793-1863. This map dates from 1842
Cemetery in 1913
A recent winter
A row of remembrance, incorporating the few surviving tombstones, has been installed of late. The tallest stone is that of Lieutenant Mudge.
Zachariah's sad tale has been made into an opera!
Sharing Zachary's resting place are some 400 individuals, including cholera victims and War of 1812 casualties. The one-armed army veteran who watches over this burial ground is the creation of Walter Allward whose majestic monument crowns the World War I battlefield at Vimy Ridge in France.
Perhaps the most poignant memory associated with this hallowed ground concerns a tiny child:
"She was the sweetest tempered pretty child imaginable, just beginning to talk and walk," wrote a grief-stricken mother. "The suddenness of the event you may be sure shocked me inexpressibly." Little Elizabeth Simcoe, aged 15 months, daughter of Lieutenant Governor and Mrs. John Graves Simcoe, was buried here, near her home, on April 21, 1794. Her long-gone grave marker was inscribed "Happy In the Lord". It is a sad irony that it was her father who established this cemetery. She was the first to be interred here.
The surviving records for this gently melancholy place are available for consultation in the Canadiana Department.
Victoria Memorial Park Cemetery c.1793-1862
This register represents just one of thousands of Ontario tombstone transcription and burial record lists in our holdings. It is thanks to the relentless labours of volunteers of the Ontario Genealogical Society that most of these precious lists (including many a vanished stone) subsist. Please refer to the OGS finding aid:
Remember to visit and preserve our cemeteries, not just the records!
One thought on “If these stones could speak…”
Every life has a story, after all. Aside from the history books, you get another glimpse at an era thanks to these little tidbits. It’s fascinating to imagine how life must have been by trying to understand the events concerning one’s death…