by Stephen A. Otto, 15 January 2005

Located a short distance west of Fort York, this burying ground occupies an area of 1.82 acres bounded by Strachan Avenue on the west, the tracks of the Canadian National Railway on the north, a surveyed line on the east, and a former railway right-of-way on the south.(1)

It is the city's third military cemetery. The first had been the old graveyard on Portland Street (Victoria Square) whose use from 1794 to 1863 has been well documented by Michael Rudman.(2) By 1863, however, it was full and no further burials were permitted. The last soldier laid to rest at Portland Street may have been James McQuarrick of the 63rd Regiment, who passed away in late April 1863.(3) When Sgt John Taylor of the 30th Regt. of Foot died on 19 June 1863 he was buried instead in the Necropolis, a public cemetery.(4) Presumably, the choice of a location for the new cemetery had not yet been approved.

The second military burying ground was situated on the Garrison Common within the present CNE Grounds near the Dufferin Gate. Likely the first person interred there, even before the ground was consecrated, was Pte James Walsh of the 30th Regt. whose funeral took place from "the Old Garrison" on 9 July 1863.(5) Unlike the Portland Street cemetery, the new one had Protestant and Roman Catholic sections. The former was dedicated by Bishop John Strachan on 4 August 1863, while the Catholic part was consecrated the following day by Bishop John J. Lynch.(6)

John Ross Robertson said only five or six interments took place there before the soil was found to be too wet and unsuitable for a cemetery. In late August 1863 a private of the 30th Regiment assigned to dig a grave for Pte John Mitchell was almost buried alive when the excavation collapsed around him.(7) Likely the last soldier to be buried in this ground was Pte John Harlow who died 21 Oct. 1863.(8)

Then, for a second time within four months, the military authorities had to pick a new burying ground. By mid-October, 1863, the lands on the east side of Strachan Avenue had been chosen and guidance was being sought from religious leaders on how to deal with the few burials in the second cemetery.(9) In early November Toronto City Council was asked if it had any objection to the opening of another military graveyard.(10) By the latter part of December a number of coffins had been moved to the new place.(11) The remains of Pte Walsh were among those transferred, since a gravestone bearing his name survives in the Strachan Avenue cemetery today. 

The third cemetery, like its predecessor, was divided into Protestant and Roman Catholic sections: the north half was reserved for Protestant burials and the south for the interment of Roman Catholics.(12) The former was consecrated on 18 December 1863 by Benjamin Cronyn, Anglican Bishop of Huron. Present at the ceremony were the Garrison choir and glee club, 100 strong, who marched round the ground three times under the direction of General Napier. The Roman Catholic section was dedicated on 22 December 1863 by Bishop Lynch.(13)

Unfortunately, no register of burials pertaining to the cemetery is known to exist. Hence, the information needed to compile a record of people interred there has had to be drawn from inscriptions on the markers that survive, from newspapers, regimental returns and archival records. The result is a list of 97 soldiers, veterans, their wives and children who died between 1862 and 1911. (Appendix A) A majority died from natural causes like asthma, consumption and aneurisms, but significant numbers drowned. (Appendix B) Most burials took place before 1870, when the British army turned Fort York over to the Canadian military and returned home. The religious affiliations of about forty-two are known: thirteen were Roman Catholic, nine were members of the Church of England, while the rest were "Protestant" or were buried in the Protestant part of the cemetery. 

This list is incomplete, since none of the documentary sources examined reported routinely on the deaths of soldiers' wives and children. Yet, as Michael Rudman has shown in his analysis of the Burial Record for the Old Garrison Burying Ground between 1825 and 1850, the number of adult females and children laid to rest there during that period (122) slightly exceeded the number of men (118).(14) Applying these ratios to the number of soldiers known to be buried in the Strachan Avenue ground (75), it follows that some 76 women and children may be interred there, though only 22 are known by name. In total, therefore, the cemetery may contain about 150 graves.

However, this number falls short of the approximately 200 graves John Ross Robertson said were there in 1888 after he counted the mounds of earth. His statement might be thought excessive but is corroborated somewhat by a memoir written about 1910 by a anonymous veteran who had served at Fort York in the 1860s.(15) The latter said that in 1863/4 a fatigue party from the 16th Regiment was assigned to help the military train transfer "60 or 70 bodies from Garrison Commons to Strachan Avenue, the men receiving 1s. 6d per day." Unless the old soldier erred in recalling that the second cemetery contained 60 or 70 burials, rather than only five or six, his account may explain the difference between the 150 burials extrapolated from known interments, and Robertson's count of 200 graves. More importantly, the 60 or 70 bodies he spoke of may have been the remains of soldiers who fell during the taking of York by the Americans in April, 1813. 

The records show that 130 men died in the attack on York: 55 Americans, 62 British regulars, 5 militia and 8 native allies. In his diary Ely Playter noted, "The Yankies had buried all the Dead & I perceived they had done it very ill."(16) Most were buried hurriedly in shallow graves. A month after the attack Mrs. W. D. Powell reported in a letter to her husband that Dr. Strachan and others had gone to "the melancholy spots where the remains of our brave defenders were deposited a few inches below the earth" to give them Christian burials and secure their graves.(17)

Among the casualties, an estimated 44 American and British soldiers were killed in an explosion of Fort York's grand powder magazine. Probably they were buried in one or more mass graves dug near the fort. Others who fell in battle were buried singly or in small numbers close to where they died. This could have been anywhere between where the invaders landed near the foot of present day Dowling Avenue and Fort York itself. In 1860 the remains of fifteen British and U.S. soldiers, identified from their buttons, were found in a trench grave near the intersection of Front Street with Bathurst by workmen excavating the footings there for a new bridge to the fort.(18) Scadding spoke of numerous skeletons being exposed as portions of the bank along the lakeshore fell away, but conceded some remains may have been those of early French and Indian traders. Only one washout is known by name: Capt. Neal McNeale of the Grenadier Co., 8th Regiment, whose bones came to light and were reinterred in 1829.(19) The bones of five American soldiers, identified by coins found among them, were uncovered in 1903 during the demolition of the fort's southeast bastion and eastern rampart to make way for an addition to a nearby pork-packing plant.(20)

Among the records of the City Parks department is a plan of the cemetery dated October 5, 1918. It locates 38 graves that had markers at that time; a majority of those markers still exist today. The plan also corroborates the description in a newspaper of the location of stones marking the graves "just inside the gate" of Colour Sgt John Hanney and Pte James Walsh, and of Denis Simpson "down in the corner."(21)

Pictures of the burying ground are rare. The earliest view, a pen-and-ink sketch made for John Ross Robertson in the 1880s, looks east across the cemetery towards Fort York. (Plate 1) A 1904 photograph was from a similar point of view. (Plate 2) Not reproduced here is a newspaper article of 1921 that was accompanied by a photograph of Hanney's and Walsh's stones.(22) The following year the City's Parks department prepared a sketch plan to illustrate a proposal to landscape the cemetery and assemble most of the stones in an artificial plot (Plate 3). This plot was depicted in a photograph taken in 1928 (Plate 4). A separate officers' plot containing four stones in good preservation was mapped on the sketch plan but does not show in the photo. It was left in situ until perhaps 1970.

Probably the withdrawal of the British army from Canada in 1870 had something to do with the speed with which the ground became overgrown and neglected. Few relatives of those interred there continued to live in Toronto and were able to pressure the authorities into maintaining the cemetery properly. A campaign to restore dignity to the site was sparked by a 1921 newspaper article describing the cemetery's condition as pitiful. The following year the Parks Department was authorized to level the mounds, collect the broken tablets into a square plot at the east end, replace the iron bars missing from the fence around the officers' plot, construct a cinder pathway across the ground and erect a flagpole, as shown in the sketch plan. The IODE traces its interest in the Strachan Avenue burying ground to 1922, when it presented a bronze tablet that was unveiled by the Mayor on 11 November. The IODE has held a ceremony at the cemetery on Remembrance Day annually since 1952, in recent years in co-operation with Heritage Toronto.

The grouping of broken tablets created in 1922 survived for less than fifty years. In 1970 City Council allowed the Toronto Historical Board, which had been given jurisdiction over the cemetery in 1961, to mount the markers in a brick wall in their present configuration.(23)

Notes to Text

1. Charles Unwin, O. L. S., "Plan Shewing Exhibition Park and Garrison Commons," Toronto 12th Sept. 1906. Scale 150 ft. to 1 inch, Attached to grant of Garrison Common lands to City of Toronto, 17 May 1909. City of Toronto Archives [hereafter CTA].
2. Michael J. Rudman, The Old Garrison Burying Ground. (1794-1862), rev. April, 1997. Privately published.
3. The Globe [Toronto], 28 April 1863, p. 1, c. 9. McQuarrick's remains were reported to have been interred in the cemetery attached to St. John's Church, Bathurst Street, leaving little doubt his resting place was the Portland Street graveyard.
4. Globe, 22 June 1863, p. 2, c. 4.
5. Globe, 9 July 1863, p. 2, c. 5.
6. The Canadian Freeman [Toronto], 6 August 1863, p. 2, c. 1.
7. Globe, 25 August 1863, p. 2, c. 7.
8. Public Record Office, London [hereafter PRO]: WO/3372, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
9. Lt. Col. George Peacock to the Rt. Rev. J. J. Lynch, D. D., 21 October 1863, (LAHO8.12); same to same, 26 October 1863 (LAHO8. 13), Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto [hereafter ARCAT].
10. The Leader [Toronto], 10 Nov. 1863.
11. Globe, 19 Dec. 1863, p. 2, c 4.
12. Anon., "Military Burying Grounds," n.d. MU 2095, misc. colln. #44, box 1, Ontario Archives
13. The Canadian Freeman [Toronto], 24 Dec. 1863, p. 2, c. 1.
14. Rudman, pp. 22, 32.
15. Anon., "Military Burying Grounds."
16. Diary of Ely Playter, 2 May 1813, Ontario Archives, reprinted in Edith Firth, The Town of York. 1793-1815, p. 282. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962
17. Mrs. Powell to W. D. Powell, 12 May 1813, Powell Papers, Toronto Reference Library.
18. Globe, 13 Aug. 1860, p. 2, c. 7
19. U.E. Loyalist [York], 9 May 1829
20. Globe, 27 Oct. 1903
21. Fred G. Griffin, "Old Soldiers in a Neglected Corner," Star Weekly, 20 Oct. 1921, p.9
22. Griffin.
23. City of Toronto by-law No. 84-70, passed March 4, 1970

Appendix A 
List of Persons Buried in Strachan Avenue Cemetery By Year

1863
Jul 7 Pte James Walsh, 30th Regt.
Aug 24 Pte John Mitchell, 30th Regt.
Oct 21 Pte John Harlow, 16th Regt.
Dec 28 Gunner Donald McTavish, 5th Batt, 10th Brigade, R.A. 

List of Persons Buried in Strachan Avenue Cemetery by Name

Markers in varying states of decay survive for the names bolded below. In some cases the inscriptions cannot be read completely or with confidence. Transcriptions have been made on several occasions, first in 1922 by an anonymous reporter for The Telegram; then in June, 1953, by John A. McGinnis; and most recently in 1992 by J. Brian Gilchrist and William J. Patton. The readable portions of the inscriptions are reproduced in the endnotes. 

Underlying this list is an assumption that, unless there is evidence to the contrary, any soldier who was reported in his regiment's return to have died while on duty in Toronto was interred here. 

Adams, Pte George, Ordnance Store Corps, late Royal Horse Artillery, d. Toronto, 18 Dec. 1903, age 54. Protestant.¹
Akers, Ensign J. Ramsay, 16th Regt., a native of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, drowned at Toronto, 9 April 1864, age 23²
Ballies, Serj Alex, 13th Hussars, b. Ayr, Scotland, d. Toronto, 2 June 1868 of consumption³
Brown, James, "G" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Bishop Staunton, Devon, d. Toronto 31 Jan 1867⁴
Bull, Cpl Charles, 13th Hussars, b. Cirencester, England, d. Toronto, 12 Jan. 1868⁵
Butler ---, newborn son of Serj. Alfred Butler, 2nd Batt., 17th Regt., d. Toronto, 1 Dec. 1867 of asthma, aged 2 days. Relig. C. of E.⁶
Buxton, Pte Mark, 17th Regt., d. Toronto, 11 Aug. 1866⁷
Cahill, Michael James, infant son of Michael and Mary Ann Cahill, 17th Regt., b. 11 Aug 1865, d. 20 May 1866, aged 9 mos. 11 days. Roman Catholic.⁸
Callaway, Pte Samuel, 17th Regt., b. Wradburn, [England?], d. Toronto, 29 July 1867⁹
Campbell, John, infant son of Serjt. John Campbell of 16th Regt., d. Toronto, 14 Mar 1865, aged 1 yr, 9 mos. Protestant.¹⁰
Cannon, Pte Hugh, 29th Regt., b. Glasgow, Scotland, d. Toronto, 8 June 1868¹¹
Carey, Catherine, d. .....1888. Roman Catholic¹²
Carroll, Pte Daniel, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Borrisokane, Tipperary, Ireland, d. Toronto, 12 Mar. 1865¹³
Carmody, Elizabeth, infant daughter of Pte Thomas Carmody, 47th Regt., d. Toronto, 15 Oct. 1865, age 2 mos. Roman Catholic.¹⁴
Chapman, Gunner F.D., "F" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Banff, Scotland, d. Toronto, 29 Nov. 186715
Cocker, Pte Joseph, 47th Regt., b. Ashton, [England?] d. Toronto, 29 Apr. 1866¹⁶
Common, Margaret, youngest daughter of Colour Sgt James Common Royal Cdn. Rifles, d. 31 August 1864, aged 1 yr 136 dys.¹⁷
Connell, Pte John, 17th Regt., b. Clonmel, Ireland, drowned in Toronto Bay, 27 Nov 1867¹⁸
Connell, Pte Robert, Royal Canadian Regt., d. 22 Dec. 1911, age 43 yrs. Protestant.¹⁹
Connarton [Connorton], Jane. Protestant.²⁰
Coulter, Troop Serj-Major Joseph, 13th Hussars, b. Dundalk, Scotland, d. Toronto, 8 Feb. 1869 of heart disease, aged 38 yrs. 5 mos. Relig. C. of E.²¹
Craig, Cpl. James William, b. Ireland, d. Toronto, 31 May 1890 of cerebral meningitis, age 24. Relig. C. of E.²²
Croft, Pte Thomas, 2nd Batt., 17th Regt., b. St. Andrew's, Devon, England, d. Toronto, 3 Jan. 1867 from "injuries received from a rupture."²³
Davis, Pte Thomas, 17th Regt., d. Toronto, 1 Oct. 1866²⁴
Dobbie, Pte John Hamilton, drowned 31 July 1905, age 33. Protestant.²⁵
Dummitt, Samuel B., infant son of Serj. Samuel Dummitt, 17th Regt., d. Toronto, 9 August 1867, aged 1 yr. 81 days. Protestant.26
Eagan, Lance-Corp Thomas, 16th Regt., b. Athlone, Westmeath, Ireland, d. Toronto, 18 Jan. 1865 of burst blood vessel near heart. Roman Catholic²⁷
Fitzgerald, —, formerly tailor in 4th Brigade, Royal Artillery, d. Toronto, 17 July 1867 by suicide, age about 36²⁸
Gallagher, Pte John, Royal Cdn. Rifles, b. Kildare, Ireland, d. Toronto, 20 July 1865²⁹
Galloway, Corp. John, 13th Hussars, b. Antrim, Ireland, d. Toronto, 4 Mar. 1869³⁰
Gathercole, Sgt-Maj Frederick Walter, Infantry School Corps, d. Toronto, 13 Feb. 1885, age 42. Roman Catholic³¹
Gathercole, Frederick Walter, Jr., son of Sgt-Maj F.W. Gathercole and Catherine Whelan, his wife; b. Collingwood, d. Toronto, 3 Jan. 1880 of bronchitis, age 2 yrs. 5 mos. Roman Catholic.³²
Gathercole, Walter, son of late Sgt-Maj F.W. Gathercole and Catherine Whelan, his wife; b. Toronto, d. Toronto, 1 June 1901 of consumption, age 19. Roman Catholic.³³
Gready, Pte Patrick, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland, d. Toronto, 20 Feb. 1865³⁴
Hanney, Colour Sgt John, 47th Regt., b. Woolwich, Kent, England, d. Toronto, 3 June 1865, age 36. Roman Catholic.³⁵
Harlow, Pte John, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. St. James, Dublin, Ireland, d. 21 Oct. 1863³⁶
Heath, Pte Edward A., cadet in Infantry School Corps, born England, d. Toronto, 2 Apr. 1885 of phthesis, age 24. Relig. C. of E.³⁷
Henniker, Pte James, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Little Chart, Kent, d. Toronto, 4 Feb. 1864³⁸
Hewlett, Serj. Josh., 13th Hussars, b. Marylebone, London, d. Toronto, 1 June 1868 of consumption³⁹
Holding, [Cpl?] Henry, Infantry School Corps (ISC), b. England, d. Toronto, 3 Apr. 1891 of debility after pleuropneumonia, age 20. Relig. C. of E.⁴⁰
Hutchison, Pte George, 17th Regt. Infantry, b. Bradford, England, d. Toronto, 14 Jun 1867⁴¹
Hyde, Pte George, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Coddington, Hereford, England, d. 22 Nov. 1864⁴²
Ifield, Driver James, "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Shadoxhurst?, England, d. Toronto, 16 Jan 1867⁴³
Jones, Frances M., infant daughter of Sgt-Major James and Agnes Jones, 29th Regt., d. Toronto, 27 Sept. 1868. Protestant.⁴⁴
Kilfoil, Pte Richard, 29th Regt., b. Worcester, England, d. Toronto, 6 October 1868 of febris typhoid, aged 21 yrs. Relig. C. of E.⁴⁵
Killegar, Pte Myles, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland, d. Toronto, 1 Apr. 1864⁴⁶
Lamb, Pte James, 13th Hussars, b. Kelso, Scotland, d. 11 Nov. 1868 after being hit by railway train⁴⁷
Lehene, Ellen, infant daughter of Sgt Jeremiah Lehene of 1st Batt. 16th Regt., and Margaret Casey, b. Toronto, Dec. 1863, d. Toronto, 16 Feb. 1865, aged 1 yr., 2 mos. Roman Catholic.⁴⁸
Leslie, Charles Henry, son of Capt. George Leslie, R.A., d. 12 Nov. 1864, aged 6 yrs. 4 mos.⁴⁹
Lewis, Walter Toronto, infant son of Frederick Lewis, d. Toronto, 4 October 1868. Protestant.⁵⁰
McCarthy, Michael, "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Buttevant?, Cork, Ireland, d. Toronto, 14 Feb 1865⁵¹
McCoy, Pte Michael, Company E, 47th Regt., b. Dundalk, Scotland, drowned in Toronto Bay, 26 Oct. 1865, aged about 32⁵²
McDonald, Lance-Corp Donald, Royal Regt. of Cdn. Infantry, b. 24 Sept 1863, d. Toronto, 26 October 1893, age 30. Protestant.⁵³
McFee, John, 5th Batt., 10th Brigade, R.A., d. Toronto 21 Mar 1864⁵⁴
McMahon, Trumpeter James, 13th Hussars, b. Thomastown (??), Roscommon, Ireland, d. Toronto, 23 May 1868⁵⁵
McTavish, Gunner Donald, 5th Batt., 10th Brigade, R. A., d. Toronto, 28 Dec.1863, age 26⁵⁶
Maher, Driver Daniel, "H" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Cranbrook, Kent, d. Toronto 21 Feb 1868⁵⁷
Matthews, Pte George, 13th Hussars, b. Brecon, Wales, drowned 5 July 1868, aged 32 yrs. 5 mos. Relig. C. of E.⁵⁸
Miller, Pte George, 13th Hussars, b. Poole, England, d. Toronto, 1 January 1868, age 30. Protestant.⁵⁹
Mills, David, "G" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Lanark, Scotland, d. Toronto, 9 Jul 1866⁶⁰
Mitchell, Pte John, 30th Regt. of Foot, b. Edinburgh, d. Toronto, 24 Aug. 1863⁶¹
Mulcahy, Pte F.C., 17th Regt., d. Toronto, 29 May 1868⁶²
Murphy, Pte Michael, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Myshall, Carlow, Ireland, d. Toronto, 29 Feb. 1864⁶³
Ormsby, Harriet Isabella, daughter of Supr. Barrack Serj Thomas Ormsby, late 91st Regt., d. Toronto, 26 March 1870, age 6 years, 4 months and 10 days. Protestant.⁶⁴
Ormsby, Minnie Jane, infant daughter of Supr. Barrack Serj Thomas Ormsby, late 91st Regt., d. Toronto, 16 Sept 1866, aged 2 mos., 12 days. Protestant.⁶⁵
Owen, Pte Hugh, Royal Canadian Dragoons, a native of Todcaster, Yorkshire, drowned Toronto, 26 August 1899, aged about 30. Protestant.⁶⁶
Phillips, Gunner John, "F" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Dorset, England, d. Toronto 4 Dec 1867⁶⁷
Rattle, Deputy Asst Commissary-Gen John Manley, M.A., Christ Church, Oxford, drowned at Port Hope, 3 Sept. 1866, aged 39⁶⁸
Restall, Margaret, daughter of Pte William Restall, musician in the Infantry School Corps, and his wife Margaret Douglas, b. Toronto, 12 Nov. 1889 d. Toronto, 4 Mar 1892 of laryngial diphtheria, age 2 yrs 4 mos. Relig. C. of E.⁶⁹
Robinson, Gunner Henry, "G" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted York, England, d. Toronto 29 Jul 1867⁷⁰
Ross, Rachel, wife of Sgt-Maj Wm. Ross, 4th Artillery, d. 16 August 1866, aged 89. Protestant.⁷¹
Ryan, Pte Cornelius, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Kilfinnane, Limerick, Ireland, d. Toronto, 23 Apr 1864. [Roman Catholic?]⁷²
Simpson [Sampson], Denis, d. 12 Aug 1875. Roman Catholic.⁷³
Shannaghan, Drummer John, 47th Regt. of Foot, b. Malta, d. Toronto 10 Sept. 1865⁷⁴
Simpkins, Pte Joseph, 17th Regt. of Infantry, b. Wolverhampton, England, d. Toronto, 6 Apr. 1867⁷⁵
Smeeton, Cpl John, 13th Hussars, b. Nottingham, England, drowned 23 July 1867, aged 30. Protestant.⁷⁶
Smith, Charles Frederick, d. 29 July 1867. Protestant.⁷⁷
Smith, Eliza J., d. 1866. Protestant.⁷⁸
Smith, Henry, 5th Batt., 10th Brigade, R. A., d. Toronto 25 Jan 1864⁷⁹
Smith, Mary Anne, d. ..... 1864. Protestant.⁸⁰
Smith, Wm. John, d. 1 April 1866. Protestant.⁸¹
Smith, William, "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Armagh, d. Toronto, 15 Feb 1867⁸²
Smith, William, "H" Batt., 4th Brigade, R. A., enlisted York, England, d. Toronto 25 Dec. 1867⁸³
Sudbury, William, "D" or Grey Battery, 4th Brigade, R. A., enlisted London, England, drowned in Toronto Bay, 10 October 1866⁸⁴
Sutherland Asst Commissary-Gen John Moira McLean, d. 9 Sept. 1864⁸⁵
Thomas, Gunner Augustus, "F" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A., enlisted Woolwich, England, d. Toronto 30 Jan. 1868_⁸⁶
Thomson, Isabella⁸⁷
Toole, Pte Christopher, 16th Regt. of Foot, b. Boyle, Roscommon, Ireland, d. 28 Nov. 1864⁸⁸
Travers, Pte John, 47th Regt., b. Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland, d. Toronto, 16 July 1866. Roman Catholic.⁸⁹
Walsh, Pte James, 30th Regt. of Foot, b. Cork, Ireland, drowned in Toronto Bay, 7 July 1863, age 26. Roman Catholic.⁹⁰
Walton, Pte Joseph, b. Westown, Bedford, England, d. Toronto 18 Oct. 1864⁹¹
Wilkinson, Pte John, 29th Regt., b. Ellesmere, England, d. Toronto, 20 May 1869⁹²
Wilmot, Hospital Serj-Major William, 13th Hussars, b. St. Pancras, London, d. Toronto, 18 Aug. 1868 of aneurism of aorta, aged 42 yrs. 5 mos. Relig. C. of E.⁹³
Wood, William Alexander, son of Wm. and Elizabeth Wood, b. Halifax, 14 June 1866, d. Toronto, 1 Apr 1867. Protestant.⁹⁴
Woodman, Sgt-Major —, Toronto Field Battery, d. Toronto, — Dec. 1891⁹⁵
[Infant], died 20 Dec. 1893, aged 2 yrs. 4 mos.
[Infant], died ——, aged 1 yr. & 4 ds.⁹⁶ 

Notes to Appendix B
Telegram, 18 Dec. 1903, p. 3, c. 1.

1. Public Record Office, London [hereafter PRO]: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot; Globe, 21 May 1864, p. 2, c. 5; ibid., 26 May 1864, p. 2, c. 5. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In memory of [J. Ramsay] Akers . . . [illegible]." Akers drowned with another soldier, Ensign B.O. Brownrigg, whose body was preserved, placed in a metallic coffin and sent to England instead of being buried in the Garrison Cemetery.PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars; Globe, 6 June 1868, p. 2, c. 6.
2. PRO: WO 10/2506, Quarterly Returns for "G" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
3. PRO: WO 12/1131, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars.
4. Diocese of Toronto Archives, Anglican Church of Canada [hereafter ADTA], Records of St. John the Evangelist, Toronto, military death reports, 1867-69.
5. PRO: WO 12/3490, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry.
6. Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto [hereafter ARCAT], Baprtismal Register for St. Mary's Parish, Toronto. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In Memory of / Michael James Cahill / son of / Michael & Mary Anne / Cahill / 47th Regiment / Born Aug. 11, 1865 / Died May 20, 1866 / Aged 9 months & 11 Days."
7. PRO: WO 12/3491, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry.
8. A surviving marker is inscribed, "This stone was erected by armory Serjt. John Campbell / I.B. / 16 Regt. / In memory of his son / John / Who Died / Mar. [14?] 1865 / Ae. 1 yr & 9 mo's / Suffer little children to come / unto me and forbid them not for / of such is the kingdom / of Heaven."
9. PRO: WO 12/4552, Quarterly Returns for 29th Regt. of Infantry.
10. "Remember Dead of 1812," Telegram [Toronto], 11 Nov. 1922.
11. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
12. ARCAT, Baptismal Register for St. Mary's Parish, Toronto. Also, Leader [Toronto], 18 Oct. 1865, p. 2, c. 7; ibid., 19 Oct. 1865, p. 2, c. 6; ibid., 20 Oct. 1865, p. 1, c. 8.
13. PRO: WO 10/2509, Quarterly Returns, "F" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
14. PRO: WO 12/5938, Quarterly Returns for 47th Regt. of Foot; Leader, 1 May 1866, p. 2, c. 5.
15. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / To the Memory of / Margaret Youngest Daughter / of Col Serg. James Common / R.C. Rifles, who died on the / 31 August 1864 aged 1 Year / and 136 Days / The Lord gave and the Lord Hath Taken / Away Blessed be the name of the Lord."
16. PRO: WO 12/3491, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry; Leader, 27 Nov. 1867, p. 2, c. 8; Globe, 28 Nov. 1867, p. 2, c. 7.
17. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In / Memory of / Pte. Robert Connell R.C.R. / Died / Dec 22nd 1911 / Aged 43 Years / Erected by his Comrades."
18. "Remember Dead of 1812," Telegram, 11 Nov. 1922. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Jane / Beloved daughter / Henry & Anne [?] / Connarton [?]."
19. PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly returns for 13th Hussars; ADTA, Parish records of St. John the Evangelist, Toronto, military death reports, 1867-69.
20. Ontario Archives [hereafter OA], RG 80-10, #021494 (1890). A newspaper n article ("Remember dead," Telegram, Nov. 11, 1922), says Cpl James W. Beaty who died May 31, 1890, is buried in the cemetery. A search of death records for York County in that year turned up no record for James W. Beaty but did uncover one for Cpl James William Craig who died on that date. A footstone bearing the initials "JWC" is found in the cemetery today.
21. PRO: WO 12/3490, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry; Globe, 4 Jan. 1867, p. 2, c. 4; Daily Telegraph [Toronto], 4 Jan, 1867, p. 2, c. 9.
22. PRO: WO 12/3490, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry.
23. Telegram, 1 Aug. 1905, p. 6, c. 5; Star, 1 Aug. 1905, p. 7, c. 5. A surviving marker is inscribed, "[In] Memory of Pte. / John Dobbie / No. 4438 / drowned / July 31, 1905 / Aged 33 yrs / [illeg. line]."
24. "Remember dead of 1812," Telegram, 11 Nov. 1922. In 1953 McGinnis documented a marker inscribed, "Samuel . . . Aug 9 18 . . 1 yr 81 days . . . in this and . . . for until thy mother . . . in therein thy joy and to . . .17th Regt." Although the stone is not found in the cemetery today, likely it was the one that marked the grave of infant Samuel B. Dummitt. The spelling of the surname has been checked in PRO: WO 12/3490.
25. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly returns for 16th Regt. of Foot; Globe, 19 Jan. 1865, p. 2, c. 5; ibid., 20 Jan. 1865, p. 2, c. 7; Daily Leader, 19 Jan. 1865, p. 2, c. 8; ibid., 20 Jan. 1865, p. 2, c. 7.
26. Globe, 19 July 1867, p. 2, c. 5; Leader, 18 July 1867, p. 2, c. 9
27. PRO: WO 12/5937, Quarterly Returns for 47th Regt. of Foot.
28. PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars.
29. Daily Mail [Toronto], 14 Feb. 1885, p. 9, c. 2, p. 16, c. 1; "Landmarks of Toronto: The Military Cemeteries," Telegram, 4 Oct. 1888, p. 4, c. 4-5. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / . . . / [Sergeant-Major F.W. Gathercole / of the C School of Infantry] / at New Fort Toronto / Feb. 13th 1885; / Aged 42 Years / Erected / in affectionate remembrance by his Comrades."
30. OA, RG 80-4, #019375 (1880). The existence of a small marker inscribed "FWG" that matches another inscribed "Walter" and is separate from Sgt-Maj F.W. Gathercole's monument suggests that F.W. Gathercole, Jr. is interred here too.
31. OA, RG 80-10, Registration of Deaths, #002557 (1901)
32. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
33. PRO: WO 12/5937, Quarterly Returns for 47th Regt. of Foot; "Landmarks of Toronto: The Military Cemeteries," Telegram, 4 Oct. 1888; Fred G. Griffin, "Old Soldiers in a Neglected Corner," Star Weekly, 20 Oct. 1921, p. 9, il. A surviving marker is inscribed, "IHS / In Memory of / John Hanney / of H.M. [47th] Regt / Died [3 June] / 1865 / Aged 36 yrs / This stone has been erected by his brother [Sergeants?]."
34. PRO: WO 12/3372, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot, 1st Batt.
35. OA, RG 80-10, Registration of Deaths, #020354 (1885). A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / to the [Memory of?] / Private E.A. Heath / . . . April 2, 1885 / ... / Erected / in affectionate rem[embrance] / By his [Comrades]."
36. PRO: WO 12/3372, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
37. PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars; Globe, 6 June 1868, p. 2, c. 6.
38. OA, RG 80-10,Registration of Deaths, #020021 (1891). In "Remember dead," Telegram, 1922, Holding's rank is given as Colonel but in view of his age at death (20) he probably held a lesser rank. A footstone inscribed "H.H." survives.
39. PRO: WO 12/3491, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry.
40. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
41. PRO: WO 10/2506, Quarterly Returns for "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
42. A marker survives and is inscribed, "Sacred / to the memory of Frances M. / daughter of / Serg't Major & Agnes / Jones 29 Reg't / Who departed this life / Sept. 27, 1868 / Ae. 1 Y'r & 3 D'ys." It bears the stonecarver's name, N.L. Steiner. A surviving footstone inscribed "F? M.J." may be related.
43. PRO: WO 12/4552, Quarterly Returns for 29th Regt. of Infantry; ADTA, Parish records of St. John the Evangelist, Toronto, military death reports, 1867-69.
44. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
45. PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly returns for 13th Hussars; Globe, 12 Nov. 1868, p. 4, c. 1; ibid., 13 Nov. 1868, p. 1, c. 8; Leader, 13 Nov. 1868, p. 2, c. 8.
46. ARCAT, Baptismal Register for St. Mary's Parish, Toronto; also "Remember dead," Telegram, 11 Nov. 1922. A surviving marker is inscribed, "This stone was / erected by / Jeremiah Lehene / Searg't IB 16th Reg. / In Memory of / his daughter / Ellen / Who Died / Feb. 16, 1865: / Ae. 1 yr. & 2 mo's. / Hark they whisper angels say(??) / Little sister's gone away."
47. A notice on 12 Nov. 1864 announcing the death of Charles Henry, second son of Capt. George Leslie, R.A., aged six years and nearly four months, appeared in The Globe, 14 Nov. 1864, p. 2, c. 9. The surviving marker is illegible except for the boy's first two names, but before 1970 when the markers were moved into the present configuration it was located in the "West" or Officer's plot. Fred G. Griffin, "Old Soldiers in a Neglected Corner, A Military Cemetery Crushed by City," Star Weekly, 29 Oct. 1921, p. 9, c. 2-4; "Remember Dead of 1812," Telegram, 11 Nov. 1922.
48. "Landmarks of Toronto: the Military Cemeteries," Telegram, 4 Oct. 1888; "Remember dead, " Telegram, 11 Nov. 1922. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / to the Memory of / Walter Toronto [Lewis]."
49. PRO: WO 10/250, Quarterly Returns for "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
50. PRO, WO 12/5937, Quarterly Returns for 47th Regt. of Foot; Globe, 9 Nov. 1865, p. 2, c. 5; ibid., 10 Nov. 1865, p. 2, c. 5; Leader, 9 Nov. 1865, p. 2, c. 6.
51. Telegram, 27 Oct. 1893, p. 2, c. 5. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In Memory of / Lce. Corp'l / Donald McDonald / Royal Regiment / of Canadian Infantry / Born 24th Sep. 1863 / Died 26 Oct. 1893 / Erected by the Officers / of his Corps in Recognition of his long and faithful / service in the Officers' Mess."
52. PRO: WO 10/2606, Quarterly Returns, 5th Batt., 10th Brigade, R.A. Also NAC, RG 8, C-2642, v. 74, p. 107. It appears that either John McFee or Henry Smith was the unnamed Royal Artilleryman who died in the quarter ending 31 Mar. 1864, as reported by George C. Williams, Chaplain to the Forces at Toronto.
53. PRO, WO 12/1132, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / To the Memory of / Trumpeter [James McMahon] / 13th Hussars / Died May 23, 1868 / Aged . . ."
54. PRO: WO 10/2606, Quarterly Returns for 5th Batt., 10th Brigade, R.A. Also, "Remember dead," Telegram, 1922, where the date of death is given in error as 1862.
55. PRO: WO 10/2511, Quarterly Returns, "H" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
56. PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars; ADTA, Parish records of St. John the Evangelist, Toronto, military death reports, 1867-69; Globe, 7 July 1868, p. 2, c. 4. In 1888 Robertson reported seeing a small marker or footstone inscribed "G.M." that may have been related but does not survive.
57. PRO: WO 12/1131, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / to the Memory of / Private George Miller / 13th Hussars: / Who Departed this life / Jan. 1st 1868. / Aged 30 years." It bears the stonecarver's name, N.L. Steiner. The footstone inscribed "G.M." (See endnote 58) may be related.
58. PRO: WO 10/2506, Quarterly Returns for "G" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
59. PRO: WO 12/4626, Quarterly Returns for 30th Regt. of Foot; Globe, 25 August 1863, p. 2, c. 7.
60. PRO: WO 12/4552, Quarterly Returns for 29th Regt. of Infantry. Mulcahy's own 17th regiment, which departed from Toronto on 13 May 1868, must have left him behind on account of his health.
61. PRO: WO 12/3372, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
62. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In Memory / of / Harriet Isabella, / daughter of / Sup'r. B'k. Serjt. Ormsby / who died / 26 March, 1870 / Aged 6 years, / 11 months & 10 days."
63. "Remember dead," Telegram, 1922. As late as 1953 McGinnis was able to document a marker inscribed, "In memory of Minnie daughter of Thomas Ormsby who died Sept. 16, 1866, aged 2 months 12 days." The marker does not survive in the cemetery today.
64. Telegram, 28 August 1899, p. 5, c. 1; Star 28 August 1899, p. 2, c. 4. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Erected / by his comrades / in / Memory of / Hugh Owen / Royal Canadian Dragoons / Accidentally drowned / Aug. 26 1899."
65. PRO: WO 10/2509, Quarterly Returns, "F" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
66. Globe, 7 Sept. 1866, p. 2, c. 4. Apparently Rattle jumped off the vessel Kingston into Lake Ontario near Port Hope. A surviving marker in the cemetery is inscribed, "In Memory of / John Manley Rattle / M.A. Christ Church, Oxford / Deputy Assistant Commissary / General / Who was acc[identally dr]owned / at [Port Hope] [C]anada / on the 3rd Sept [1866] / Aged 39 years / His brother officers in Canada / regretting his loss have thus / marked his last earthly / resting place."
67. OA, RG 80-4, Registration of Births, #046873 (1889); ibid. RG 80-10, Register of Deaths, #021534 (1892); also "Remember dead," Telegram, 1922.
68. PRO: WO 10/2509, Quarterly Returns, "G" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
69. "Landmarks of Toronto: The Military Cemeteries," Telegram, 4 Oct. 1888; "Remember dead" Telegram, 1922. Rachel Ross, a coloured woman, was the Commanding Officer's cook and the wife of Serj-Maj William Ross, 4th Artillery.
70. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot; Globe, 26 Apr. 1864, p. 2, c. 6; Irish Canadian, 27 Apr. 1864.
71. Griffin, Star Weekly, 29 Oct. 1921; also "Remember dead," Telegram, 1922. Griffin says Simpson was a Crimean War veteran who fought at Alma, Inkerman and Sebastopol. Therefore, he must have been older than age 28 when he died in 1875, as alleged by The Telegram. In 1921 a marker was noted that was inscribed in part, "He was a brave soldier and a kind husband." It may be the marker surviving today on which can be read, "This stone erected . . . /his bereaved . . ."
72. PRO: WO 12/5937, Quarterly Returns for 47th Regt. of Foot.
73. PRO: WO 12/3491, Quarterly Returns for 17th Regt. of Infantry.
74. PRO: WO 12/1131, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars; Globe, 24 Jul. 1867, p. 2, c. 6; ibid., 25 Jul. 1867, p. 2, c. 5-6. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / to the Memory of / Corporal John Smeeton, / 13th Hussars. / Who was accidentally drowned / in Lake Ontario on the / 23rd July, 1867, Aged 30 years. / This stone erected by the Officers of the Regiment as a / Mark of respect for his long / And faithful services." It bears the name of the stonemason Pearse.
75. "Remember Dead of 1812," Telegram, 11 Nov 1922.
76. Her grave is located on the 1918 plan, and 1866 is noted as the year of death.
77. PRO: WO 10/2606, Quarterly Returns, 5th Batt., 10th Brigade, R.A. Also NAC, RG 8, C-2642, v. 74, p. 107. It appears that either Henry Smith or John McFee was the unnamed Royal Artilleryman who died in the quarter ending 31 Mar. 1864, as reported by George C. Williams, Chaplain to the Forces at Toronto.
78. "Remember dead," Telegram, 11 Nov 1922. Her grave is located on the 1918 plan.
79. His grave is located on the 1918 plan, but no year of death is noted. In "Remember dead," Telegram, 1922, a Major John Smith was reported to be among those whose markers were still standing. Since Smith's marker did not stand within the officers' plot in 1918, however, he is unlikely to have been a Major. The stone may have been misread.
80. PRO: WO 10/2506, Quarterly Returns for "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
81. PRO: WO 10/2509, Quarterly Returns, "H" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A. Also Globe, 27 Dec. 1867, p. 2, c. 4. Smith was found dead in his bed.
82. PRO: WO 10/2506, Quarterly Returns for "D" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A. See also Daily Telegraph, 17 October 1866, p. 2, c. 7; Globe, 18 Oct. 1866, p. 2, c. 5. The newspapers reported his name in error as James Sidrich.
83. Globe, 10 Sept 1864, p. 2, c. 8. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In / Sacred Memory of / [John Moira] McLean Sutherland /"
84. PRO: WO 10/2511, Quarterly Returns, "F" Batt., 4th Brigade, R.A.
85. "Landmarks of Toronto: The Military Cemeteries," Telegram, 4 Oct. 1888.
86. PRO: WO 12/ 3373, Quarterly Returns, 16th Regt. of Foot.
87. PRO: WO 12/5938, Quarterly Returns for 47th Regt. of Foot; Daily Telegraph, 3 August 1866, p. 3, c. 1; Globe, 4 August 1866, p. 2, c. 8. The Globe says Travers was buried in the Catholic cemetery; presumably the Catholic portion of the military burying ground was meant.
88. PRO: WO 12/4626, Quarterly Returns for 30th Regt. of Foot; Globe, 8 July 1863, p. 2, c. 5; ibid., 9 July 1863, p. 2, c. 5; Fred G. Griffin, "Old Soldiers in a Neglected Corner," Star Weekly, 29 Oct. 1921, p. 9, il. A surviving marker is inscribed, "Sacred / To the Memory of / James Walsh / Private in [H.M. 30th Regiment] of Foot / He was alone and drowned in the Harbour / 7 July 1863 / in the [25 / 26] year of his age [illeg. lines] / Take heed, watch and pray / for ye know not when the time / is. Mark XIII, 33." It bears the name of the stonecarver, [N.L.] Steiner. There is also a surviving footstone inscribed "J.W."
89. PRO: WO 12/3373, Quarterly Returns for 16th Regt. of Foot.
90. PRO: WO 12/4553, Quarterly Returns for 29th Regt. of Infantry.
91. PRO: WO 12/1132, Quarterly Returns for 13th Hussars; ADTA, Parish Records of St. John the Evangelist, Toronto, military death reports, 1867-69.
92. A surviving marker is inscribed, "In memory of / Our Dear Little / William Alexander / Son of Wm. & Eliz'th Wood / Born in Halifax, N.S. / June 14, 1866 / Died April 1, 1867. / [illeg. 4-line verse]."
93. Globe, 12 Dec. 1891, p.20
94. A surviving marker is inscribed, ". . . [illeg.] / Died / Ae. 1 yr. & 4 ds. / Sleep on my loved one sleep / Sleep until th... / To join them in ... / In Heaven." It bears the name of the stonecarver, N.L. Steiner