2022 Fund Recipient: The Victoria Lawn Cemetery Underground Railroad Restoration Project
Submitted by: Dr. Adam Montgomery and Rochelle Bush, Trustee and Historian for Salem Chapel BME Church National Historic Site.
Amount: $2000.00
From the application: “Together we began a project in spring 2021 under the auspices of the Salem Chapel BME Church National Historic Site (Harriet Tubmanโs site of worship during her time in Canada) to locate and restore gravestones for Black settlers who came to Canada on the Underground Railroad, passed away in St. Catharines, and are buried at Victoria Lawn Cemetery in St. Catharines, one of the Niagara Regionโs largest cemeteries. We have thus far located ten stones for people connected to the Underground Railroad, including Harriet Tubmanโs Canadian-born niece, Amanda Gales Taylor, and John Lindsay, a freedom seeker enslaved in Tennessee who escaped to Canada and with time became Niagaraโs wealthiest Black individual. We expect with time we will locate even more as we uncover more at family lots where we have already located one stone. In one case, while searching for one individual, we came across someone unexpected, and these kind of finds demonstrate the projectโs value for literally uncovering lost Black history.
Both Rochelle and I have ancestors connected to abolitionism and the Underground Railroad buried at Victoria Lawn, so this project is very dear to us. We have spent a year and a half researching (including using very detailed OGS transcripts โ thank you!) and have been thrilled with our finds. All our restoration efforts will go towards creating a free, self-guided walking tour for the public to learn about the important history of the Underground Railroad in Canada, as well as the history of the Black Canadian community and their important efforts building our early nation. Many of their descendants, Rochelle and I included, still live and thrive in the Niagara Region and beyond thanks to their efforts and perseverance.”
Once we learned that the contribution from the Cemetery Vandalism and Rehabilitation Fund would almost meet their fundraising goal for 2022, we reached out to the Niagara Peninsula Branch. Niagara Peninsula Branch Counsel, recognizing the importance of this project to their community’s history, unanimously voted to contribute an additional $1000.
About the Cemetery Vandalism and Rehabilitation Fund
The Ontario Genealogical Society is pleased to announce that it will be creating a fund dedicated to help support community efforts to repair damage to cemeteries incurred by acts of vandalism and for rehabilitation projects within cemeteries that are considered to have historical or cultural significance.
Vandalism in Ontario’s cemeteries has become a growing concern across the province in recent years. There have been a number of news stories showcasing the senseless acts that are destroying monuments and large parts of some cemeteries. In the aftermath of such acts, the responsibility for repairs has mostly fallen upon the Cemetery organization to pay for the refurbishment of the grounds and headstones. In today’s society, it has become increasingly difficult for these organizations to come up with the additional unplanned funds required to undertake these repairs, often employing the use of volunteers and secondary organizations such as the Scouts Canada to assist them. Often these other organizations resort to fundraising on their own to support the efforts.
To make a donation to the Cemetery Vandalism and Rehabilitation Fund, and help to support the incredible work being done to preserve cemeteries across Ontario, visit – https://ogs.on.ca/donate/cemetery-fund/