The following teaser is from an excellent article posted in the May 28, 2012 online edition of the Orangeville Banner.
When Sean White was searching for a prospective grave plot for himself at Greenwood Cemetery last Thursday (May 24), the Orangeville man was surprised by what he found.
Searching the cemetery lands, White went a little bit off the beaten track and followed the dirt road at the western edge of the cemetery into the nearby woods. As the sun shone through the trees, White saw the silhouette of several tombstones standing along the property’s fence line.
Upon closer inspection, White discovered about 15 tombstones — some standing, others toppled, and several crumbled or broken. Many of them weren’t legible, but of the ones that were, epitaphs like “Susan C. Chaffen died June 22, 1855”, “John Merryweather died Aug. 7, 1857 aged 38. Native of Yorkshire, England”, and “Sarah wife of James Conley died Oct. 11, 1853”, among a few others, could be made out.
“They’re from the 19th century,” White said. “I have to let somebody know about this. … The forgotten grave of the 19th century.”
They’re not quite forgotten, but “unaccounted for” would be a more accurate description, explained Steve Brown, archivist for the Dufferin County Museum & Archives (DCMA). While it is unlikely their bodies were buried there, how did their headstones get placed on the forested perimeter of Greenwood Cemetery?
“How much of a story do you want?” Brown laughed. “There is a bit more to it than just an old headstone.”
