THE FIVE MILE HOUSE BURYING GROUND

The burial sites of the first people of this area, the aboriginal, and later the French, unfortunately, have never been identified. One can surmise that markers used were, in all likelihood, Island sandstone which would not endure the ravages of time. Upon the arrival of the British Immigrants in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, a place for burial became essential (undoubtedly all too soon) well before the establishment of churches. In this particular area of the Island (now known as Marshfield, then identified as St. Peters Road, Lot 34) for those occupying the land on the north side of the road and from the south side of the road to the Hillsborough River such a burial ground was located a few hundred feet north of the St. Peters Road in a suitable place and known as the Five Mile House Burying Ground.

Upon doing property research for this book, the origin of this tract of land was discovered. In the will of James “New Inn” Ferguson dated 1864, he assigns his entire farm to his son James Richard, “reserving at the same time the piece of land which I gave along with the piece given by Mungo MacFarlane for a select burying ground, the persons to whom the said burying place shall be made over to pay me and my heirs and assigns, the yearly rent of one peppercom.” Fortunately, and probably by design, the site is somewhat of a knoll and has withstood the ages reasonably well in spite of years of neglect.

The earliest burial recorded on an existing tombstone is that of Janet, daughter of Peter and Janet MarFarlane, who died 25 July 1826 at the age of 13 years. The last burial was that of James Fraser age 66, and Peter Stewart age 82, who were found perished in their home in Harrington in

The cemetery after restoration.

1939. The funeral service was conducted by Rev. John C. MacNeil, the pastor of the Presbyterian Charge which included Marshfield, Harrington, Mount Stewart and Highfield.

Vital statistics dated Sept. 1978 indicate 75 known burials. One can assume many others have taken place but were not identified on marble or by any other lasting means, and were thus lost with time.

This Pioneer Cemetery, not unlike many throughout the Island which were not affiliated with a particular church, was neglected for many years and became completely overgrown with trees, and many stones were toppled and broken. In the early 1970’s, a consciousness of the necessity of restoring our past was initiated by the Alex Campbell government of the day. The Pioneer Cemetery in Marshfield became one of the beneficiaries of this program. The area was completely cleaned, the grounds were levelled and seeded, but most importantly the tomb— stones were cleaned, identified and erected in the best possible man- ner. From that time until recent years the Marshfield Women’s Institute took responsibility for the upkeep of the Cemetery.

In 1994, a Trust Fund Committee was established to assume the responsibility of care and maintenance of this Pioneer Cemetery. Thus arose the objective of raising funds to provide perpetual care. It is hoped that this book, which you have before you, will achieve this objective.

Submitted by Doris Wood