An unapproved cemetary

By Jennifer Weymark/Archivist

In 1992, the Region of Durham began work on expanding Harmony Road. Part of the area being widened was around the corners of King Street and Harmony Road, where the old Farewell Cemetery is located.

During this work, 38 graves were found outside the boundary of the cemetery. Once this was discovered, work halted and the Toronto firm of Archaeological Services Inc. was called in to excavate, move and reinter the remains.

Before the work commenced, the cemetery had to be proclaimed an “unapproved cemetery” by the Provincial Registrar of Cemeteries. This occurred in July 1993, permitting the region to proceed with the relocation of the human remains.

On July 27, 1993, the disinterment work began and was completed a month later. The remains of 38 skeletons or partial skeletons were recovered. Along with the skeletal remains, a wide array of coffin hardware was excavated.

Some of the items recovered are still typical coffin hardware today. A variety of handles, used to carry coffins, were unearthed as well as white metal coffin screws that were used in the construction of the coffins. Also unearthed were decorative items such as tin studs and name plates. These items were placed on the coffins as decorative elements and served no practical purposes.

One of the items excavated is something no longer part of traditional North American burial practices: viewing windows. There was a very real fear of being buried alive during the Victorian era. While it is unknown how often this actually occurred, the fear was real enough that a number of safety measures were built into coffins to assist those who had in fact been buried alive. One of the methods developed to help ease these fears was the placement of glass windows at the top portion of the casket. The viewing window was constructed to show the face of the deceased. The idea was that it would allow the family to study the deceased during the time before burial and thus ease fears of burying their loved one alive.

Once the excavation was completed and the skeletal remains reinterred within the cemetery, the coffin hardware that could not be identified with a specific burial were given to the Oshawa Community Museum. These items have undergone conservation work and will once again be on display, beginning May 14 as a part of Mourning After: The Victorian Celebration of Death.