Walkerton

*Town of Walkerton (Brockton) Public Cemetery*	The site was located using Google Earth which gave coordinates to the from gate off Cemetery Road as follows: 44^o 6' 58.59" N 81^o 8' 42.14" W which was spot on using a portable GPS unit to drive to the site. The digital GPS readings taken at the site were: 44.1162 N 81.1449W.
*General area of the Laughton Gravestones, looking south east. Approximately parallel to the centre of the chapel on the roundabout.*	The two stones of Jerome Laughton and Lillian Dinsmore (nee Laughton) are located in the North East Section of the cemetery. As you enter the cemetery there is a roundabout that encircles a small Chapel and maintenance building. These two stones are about half way down the left side road.
Gravestone of Jerome and Jean Laughton.	Jerome Laughton 1834 was born in the Orkney Islands (Scotland) and emigrated to Canada in May 1853. He is buried with his wife Jean Laughton (nee Smith), also from the Orkney Islands. Jerome M. Laughton Born: November 2, 1834 Died: January 30, 1925 Age at Death: 91 Jean Laughton Born: December 16, 1854 Died: ________ 1935 Age at Death: 81 Records show that they were married on July 16, 1874. Jean Smith was from a neighbouring parish in the Orkney Islands. Note: if Jerome came to Canada in 1853 with brother John, that means he married Jean in Canada - see if we can find details.
*Reverse of Jerome's gravestone visible from road, looking east.*	The rear or reverse sides of the majority of the gravestones show the family name in large letters. This certainly simplifies the process of find the stones from a distance! The quality of the text on the front of the stone appears to be excellent and certainly not what would be expected from a stone put up in 1925. I wonder if it was cleaned or repaired at some later date, perhaps only when Jean was interred in 1935. Jerome's children are listed as: William S. Laughton 1879 - _____ Herbert Laughton 1887 - 1950 Ida Laughton 1881 - 1891 Lillian Laughton 1889 - 1939 Ida died at 10 years of age in Walkerton but there was no indication of her burial at this location. Lillian is buried next to Jerome and Jean.
*Gravestone of Lillian Laughton.*	Lillian Laughton 1889 was the second daughter of Jerome and Jean Laughton as he stone lies immediately beside (to the north) of her parent's gravestone. There is no wording to indicate that Harry Dinsmore is buried at that location. We do know that the first daughter, Ida Laughton died at 10 years of age and is buried in Walkerton. There was no mention of her name on the gravestones and no sub-stones to indicate a child burial. Is Ida perhaps in the other plot that was owned by Jerome Laughton (see below about empty plot).
*Reverse of Lillian's gravestone, visible from road looking east.*	We have no records at his time of Harry C. Dinsmore and where he is buried. It does not appear to be at this location. Alternatively did Harry die later and his name was never added to the stone? Perhaps the Walkerton burial records will provide an answer to that question. We may not find the answer to these questions until years from now when the census records for that era are released.
Jerome and Jean, south, Lillian to the north. (note the Chapel in the rear of the picture - facing west)	This picture shows the general location of where the Laughton and Dinsmore grave sites are located. Note the Chapel building is to the rear of the stones in this picture. There are no "ground stones" in the vicinity of these markers, as are sometimes used to identify who is buried in a family plot.
*Empty plot (marked by binder) shown on records to be owned by Jerome Laughton.*	This general area was marked by the Town of Walkerton as a plot that was owned by Jerome "Jerry" Laughton. The notes from the Town suggest that he was buried here but the stone shown elsewhere shows he and Jean are buried in the same location. There are a number of possibilities here: The area is empty and Jerome still owns a plot in Walkerton that has not been used. Perhaps Ida, the daughter who died at age 10 is buried here as that would have been well before the death of her parents. The plot was sold to another person by Jerome or Jean and there is another "unmarked burial" in this area.
Van Wyck gravestone (centre of photograph). North of first road past the chapel on the west side, just south of the roundabout.	We now move to the Van Wyck area of the Walkerton Cemetery in the North West section. The Laughton's and Van Wyck's became connected in Walkerton when John Hugh Laughton 1859 married Louise Estelle Van Wyck 1860. John Hugh Laughton was the nephew of Jerome Laughton, son of John Laughton 1829. Eliza Van Wyck, who is named on this stone was the mother of Louise Estelle Van Wyck (see pictures below).
*Gravestone marked for Eliza Van Wyck, wife of John Van Wyck.*	This is the Van Wyck stone as first seen on June 15, 2009. Like many of the older stones of this era in the cemetery it was incrusted with what appears to be a "moss", as it is dry and easily scrapped off - but will not brush off. The bottom of the stone could not be read due to the build up of this material. I used a putty knife to scrap off that part of the stone so I could read the inscription. The top of the stone reads as follows: "In memory of Eliza Van Wyck, wife of John Van Wyck, died June 26, 1882 aged 49 years 6 m's"
Upper markings of Van Wyck stone.	Now that we had the correct first name, it was back to search for "Eliza Van Wyck". Eliza was found using the "Family Tree Program", or "Family Search" a free service of the Later-day Saints. Here is what was listed (Pilot Site) Name: Eliza Vanwyck Death date: 26 Jun 1882 Age at death: 49 years 6 months Death place: Walkerton, Bruce, Ontario Birthdate: 1833 Birthplace: Stormont Co, Ont Gender: Female Marital status: Married Spouse's name: John Vanwyck GSU film number: 1853235 Digital GS number: 4173029 Listed on the main site were other members of the family for the 1881 Census: John Van Wyck German, Age 48, Liquor Dealer Eliza Van Wyck Irish, Age 47 John Van Wyck German, Age 15 Abigal Van Wyck German, Age 13 We have the record of death and photographs of Abigal (sister of Louise Estelle Van Wyck) who died in Walkerton on February 5th 1888 (this link).
*Lower markings of Van Wyck stone after cleaning.*	The wording on the lower stone: In deaths cold arms lies sleeping here A tender parent, a companion dear In love she lived, in peace she died. Her life was asked but was denied. Walkerton Works A little further searching of the Archives and Census files and up comes a match. Eliza Van Wyck was "Elizabeth McNeil", of Irish Decent, born in Stormont County, Ontario. That historic county is in the vicinity of what we now know as Cornwall, Ontario.
My truck beside the Van Wyck gravestone. June 15th, 2009	We now know the identity of the Van Wyck's in our portrait collection, now prominently hanging in the Van Wyck Guest Suite at our home in Milton. John Van Wyck and his wife Eliza Van Wyck. They would be my: Great-Great-Grandparents The census records say John Van Wyck is "German", we were always told it was Pennsylvania Dutch. Did Grandfather George Van Wyck Laughton fight in the Great War (WW1 1914-1919) against his direct ancestors - the Germans? John would have been George's "Maternal Grandfather".
Marking stones in front of Eliza Van Wyck Gravestone. Unmarked stone and other marked "E.V." Stones marked "Grandma" and "Baby"	In addition to the main Van Wyck stone there are a number of smaller markers. It is not possible to state conclusively that these are related to the Van Wyck stone, however the fact that one is marked "E.V." (Eliza Van Wyck) suggests that to be the case. Of the other three, one clearly says "Grandma" and the other "Baby". For a fleeting moment I thought it said "Abby" which would have been for Abigal Van Wyck. We have her death card and information on the Van Wyck web page. There is nothing in the records stating that a "baby" died and was buried, however it may have been very young or even at birth, thus not recorded in the family history. It may have been recorded in the Family Bible, which unfortunately is not in my posession. The burial records for Walkerton will need to be checked to see if there are any listings of who is interned at each site.