Appleby Pioneer Cemetery
Location:
Appleby Line (west side, north of Harvester Road), Burlington, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada.
Concession 3 SDS (South of Dundas Street), NE Lot 6, Nelson Township.
GPS:
Latitude: 43.37822°N
Longitude: –79.76926°W
History:
At the entrance to the cemetery are two gate posts. The south post reads: “The pioneer families of this district are interred here and in the earlier Mount Vernon Cemetery which lies a third mile to the east”. The north post says “Est. 1861”. This cemetery is in good condition and well maintained.
On January 24, 1847, a new brick church just north of the cemetery was dedicated. This replaced the frame church beside Mount Vernon cemetery that had served the Wesleyan Methodists of the area and had been known as Van Normans church.
Land for the church and cemetery was obtained from David Alton. The first burial was supposed to be that of Benjamin Matthewman in 1847 although there is no stone to support that story. The earliest burials we have recorded are in the 1860’s which supports the date on the entrance post.
The church was torn down in 1906 and the cemetery was operated by the Appleby Cemetery board which had formed in 1905.
In 1983, the administration was turned over to the City of Burlington.
Janet McKay and Jane Watt
Transcription purchase:
Transcriptions of this cemetery are available for digital download from the OGS website – click here to order via credit card.