Written By JoAnn Galbraith and Marilyn McCallum
Tread Softly & Speak a Name
There is something about a cemetery that draws one in. One of the ways to learn history is to read, the other is to stand before a gravestone. Sometimes it isn’t the words but the images on a marker that tell the story or at least a hint that there is a story to be told. You wouldn’t normally think of a graveyard as having reading material for social history but when you put the words together with the dates, the names, the symbols, sometimes a grave marker may pose a mystery in what it doesn’t say and become even more mysterious in what it does say. We may all find ourselves in a graveyard now and then, maybe to place flowers at the stone of a loved one or just to tread softly and speak a name.
On a recent trip down Riverside Drive at the bottom of a shallow ravine just off the dusty gravel road, we turned into a laneway that divided into two lanes. We took the lane that passed by the farmer’s barn where a meandering creek is maneuvered by crossing a man-made bridge. Once over the culvert and around a bend nestled in a grove of trees, we approached a very small serene cemetery. The gate is flanked by a red brick pillar on each side and is surrounded on three sides by a ravine. We were in awe of the tranquil setting and one was able to imagine in the magical solitude, the Daoine Sidhe (Scottish fairies) floating among the stones in the sunlight peeping through the trees and the sound of bagpipes playing their lament.
The Murray Cemetery
Malcolm Murray and his family arrived in Canada in 1831, and in 1841 he was granted a crown deed to the north half of lot 8 on the 5th range south of the Longwoods Road in Ekfrid Township. Malcolm and Sara’s son John was a school teacher; one day after taking a walk around the property, John remarked to his parents that there was a certain knoll that would make a fine burial place and that he would like to be buried there. John died in 1844 and, as to his wishes he was buried in what would later become the Murray Cemetery.
Prior to his death in 1864, Malcolm Murray had reserved ¼ acre around the grave of his son John for the burial of him and his wife. His son Dougald would inherit the rest of the property.
One hundred and fifty-five years ago—in 1871—at the home of Malcolm Campbell, members of the River Thames Ekfrid community gathered to discuss measures to obtain a burial ground on the property of Dougald Murray. A note was taken to form a cemetery and the deed was registered July 24, 1871 for 5/8 of an acre. The following persons were present and interested in the matter: Dougald Murray, David Gentleman, James Alexander, Robert Campbell, James Brodie, Archie McGugan, Alexander Campbell, John Graham and Malcolm Campbell.
Later when James Murray owned the farm, the grounds were enlarged to make room for some older settlers. The names of early settlers as recorded in this cemetery are: Murray, Fletcher, Campbell, Brodie, Fraser, Johnson, McNeil, Graham, Kerr, McGugan, Ansley, Mullins, McCallum, Gentleman, Davis, McKellar, Sinclair, Urquhart. Many of the stones indicate these early settlers immigrated from Argylshire, Dunbartonshire, Strone Mallon Farm in Loch Langside, Roseneath, Greenoch, Inverness, and Isley, in Scotland. Unfortunately, there are people buried without markers and it seems children buried without parents. In 1981, the cemetery board paid for repairs to many of the broken and fallen stones. The cemetery is cared for by a board.
There are Scotch thistles on each side of the Murray name, on the salmon granite stone erected in memory of the family of Malcolm and wife Sarah McPherson along with their birth and death years. It reads that Neil lived to be a good age and was most likely not married as there is no wife mentioned and he was the tailor by trade. The stone also tells us that John died at a very young age and by choosing this as his final resting place he founded the cemetery. Etched at the bottom is their birthplace: Natives of Argylshire, Scotland.
A salmon granite stone with the word uncle at the top indicates the final resting place of Malcolm Campbell the secretary on the first board of the Murray Cemetery in 1871. He was born at Strone Mallon Farm, Loch Langside, DumbartonShire Scotland December 12th, 1812, immigrated to Canada 1834 and settled on Lot 6, Range 4, Ekfrid; where he died on October 17th, 1904. What it doesn’t tell us is, even though he was a teacher by profession, his main interest was politics. In 1851, 52, and 53, he was auditor of Ekfrid Township accounts. In 1854 - 1858 he was elected councillor and also served as Reeve in the Township of Ekfrid. In 1867, he made an unsuccessful bid in West Middlesex for the local legislature. When in 1866 he was elected Warden of Middlesex he was no doubt responsible in building the first bridge, a wooden one, to span the Thames River connecting the most southerly tip of Ekfrid Township to Southwold Township.
And so, it is with the markers in our cemeteries, it is their job to hold still, keep the faith, tell the story and to stand as a reminder of the life lived.
