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Naked and Beheaded: A Survey of Children’s Graves at Ross Bay Cemetery

With: Claire Rawlinson, Vanessa Futcher, Emily McClintock, and Anna Stefek.

            I would like to note that, due to the sensitive nature of the deceased, our interactions with the grave sites were as respectful as possible.

            Beginning in Ross Bay Cemetery with the rough idea to study the graves of children – defined in our study as a maximum age of ten years – we selected twelve graves as our data set; only eleven of these are children, as the Porter Twins are buried together. Of note; these are Christian graves.

            We studied the variation of children’s graves in Ross Bay Cemetery, examining the alignment (i.e. north – south, etc...), the formation of each monument and their variables. We were also interested in the age of the deceased and what information that may illuminate towards their life in Victoria during this time.

            Deciding to use predominantly Roman Catholic graves narrows the range of cultural and religious variations between grave types. This poses a problem too, in that the specificity limits the holistic, cultural representation.

            Our data set sought to answer the formation of graves and whether there was a correlation between style and type. However, we also wondered what relevant data the age of the children might provide towards life when they lived. Effectively, our data set answered these questions and while no absolutely specific information may be gleaned towards Victoria life from the grave sites themselves, we are able to deduce and make some assumptions based on recorded age.

            In this survey there are correlations between the alignments and style of graves. In association with Deirdre Crombie’s survey of children’s burial grounds of the Barony of Dunmore, the grave sites of our survey were all interred in east – west orientation, often with a boundary, and with all have a grave marker (Crombie: 1988). Six of the eleven graves are rectangular, “curbed” (Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria, no date given), plots with raised stone boundaries and internal headstones or markers. Mary Elizabeth Rickard’s grave is the largest of the graves surveyed and follows this plan (see map). The five graves that do not follow this are simple internments, with a marker or headstone, such as Edward Adams Lindsay, whose grave was the smallest surveyed. The structured alignment and similar styles show a contiguous Christian form, though there is variety there is also method and an awareness of acceptable custom and practice. I would like to note that much of the variety, at least within style, may be simple modifications in the details (such as the choice of headstones) and the erosion of time and weather (such as the possible replacement of Robert David Player’s headstone).

            Two of the children are dated to the 1990’s (Daisy Aleatha Annabelle Fisher and William Rhys Henderson-Van Rhyn) and two did not have dates present (Baby Turae and Mary Planche), although due to the wear these could be from the same period as the other seven children, who passed between 1917 and 1937. Today there are deaths of children and infants, such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but these children “ battled cholera, smallpox, [and] typhoid fever” (McKay: 2009), diseases which were still common in Victoria and Canada of the time. Many of these children were also born during World War One, between 1914 and 1918, and the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Neither of these may have been the cause of death, but they may have allowed for the circumstances leading to death.

            Effectively our survey answered our questions; we discovered consistent burial practices and styles, while the age of the individuals gave us a time period to place them in context. However, due to the focused scope of this survey towards predominantly Roman Catholic graves, it would be interesting to study a broader range of children’s graves between cultural and religious boundaries, in Ross Bay Cemetery and/or other Victoria cemeteries. I would expect to see similar findings in a broader survey, particularly continuous styles within varying religious groups.

Owain Nicholson

February 11, 2011

Works Cited:

Crombie, Deirdre. Children's Burial Grounds in the Barony of Dunmore: A Preliminary Note. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol. 41 (1987 – 88), pp 149-151.

McKay, Marion. Public Health Nursing in Early 20th Century Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. July – August 2009, Vol. 100 (4), pp. 249-52.

Old Cemetery Society of Victoria. Ross Bay Cemetery: Markers. No date given. Online at: http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/cem_rb_mar.htm [February 11, 2011].

Old Cemetery Society of Victoria. Ross Bay Cemetery: Sections. No date given. Online at: http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/cem_rb_sec.htm [February 11, 2011].