Remains from former Ottawa cemetery to be reburied in Vanier

By Michael Sun

Human remains found at the former Barrack Hill Cemetery from 19th-century Centretown will be reburied at Vanier’s Beechwood Cemetery in October after a public visitation took place at the Canadian Museum of History on Sept. 24.

In 2013, remains from at least 79 individuals were discovered in Bytown’s oldest Euro-Canadian cemetery, bounded by present-day Sparks, Elgin, Queen and Metcalfe streets, during light-rail construction in 2013.

Most of the remains from the cemetery, which had once been buried in wooden caskets that deteriorated over time, were relocated to the former Sandy Hill Cemetery (now the MacDonald Gardens Park on Cobourg Street) in the mid-19th century.

Three groups of exposed remains were found. Only the 79 sets of remains from the first group were included at the visitation, as the other two groups of burials are still being examined.  

Dr. Janet Young, the curator of physical anthropology responsible for examining the remains at the Canadian Museum of History, said the bones showed the diversity of people in 19th-century Bytown, which was renamed Ottawa in 1855.

The remains show different genders, ages, religions and causes of death.

“What a lot of the remains showed was that most of the adults, they had physiological stress in their childhood,” she said. “It could be they were sick (with) malnutrition.”

“It indicates that most of the individuals at the cemetery were not well off,” added Young. Causes of death included diphtheria, malaria and other diseases.

City of Ottawa archivist Paul Henry also examined the personal backgrounds of those buried in the old cemetery.

“These individuals came from all walks of life,” Henry said, although he noted that, “they’re mostly working class.”

Finding information on the buried individuals was difficult given the lack of records and the degraded quality of the remains, according to Henry and Young.

The Ontario government put out a notice for descendants to identify the remains, but only one individual met the criteria establishing a clear family connection.

“A lot of the remains were only partial,” Young said. “The bones were rather crushed and broken.” She said there was only one complete adult skeleton found, but thousands of bone fragments.

Parish records were used to identify possible interments as there were no burial records, she added.

Ben Mortimer, senior archeologist at the Paterson Group, worked on-site doing preliminary research on the remains.

Mortimer said he found personal information from parish records interesting. “It humanized the skeletal remains and added a personal context to it,” he said.

The remains were displayed in 19th-century-style caskets at the public visitation, where attendees had a chance to speak with experts. The caskets were black pine boxes with iron nails, according to Henry.

This is the first such public visitation in recent history, according to experts, making it a unique commemoration of Ottawa’s past.

Mortimer said it helps the community remember the cemetery. “I hope it would have a lasting impact,” he said.

Young said the visitation was a valuable opportunity to give members of the community insight into their heritage. “People can get a really good rounded sense what that time frame was,” she said.

The visitation helped add to the awareness of Ottawa’s history, according to Henry.

“It’s interesting to take that opportunity to encourage people to talk about their history and to better understand the growth and development of their city and how we came to be what we are today,” he said.

The nature of the visitation makes it unique compared to other ways of experiencing history, according to Henry.

“This is very much a living history moment,” he said. “This is directly connected to human lives and I think that makes this particular event, for me, engaging.”

Mortimer said the City of Ottawa selected Beechwood Cemetery for the re-burial because it is a national military cemetery and the National Cemetery of Canada.

Henry said the special caskets and the re-burial ceremony next month are a sign of respect for the remains of some of the region’s first non-Indigenous residents.

“These remains remained undiscovered and un-stewarded for 150 years,” he said. “We now have the opportunity in the 2017 year, to give dignity where dignity was denied.”