Beechwood Cemetery

Yes, I went to a cemetery by myself to take photos. But Beechwood Cemetery is actually quite beautiful, and very old. It was a windy, chill day out today, but it seemed fitting for the setting I was in. I wore my plaid wool skirt again, and it's definitely good at keeping the cold at bay, at least during autumn.



I spent a chunk of my time righting fallen flower pots, brushing leaves off tombstones, and in one case, digging one out of the covering dirt. As you can see... this particular stone was quite hidden by the grass.



So I decided to dig it out, since nobody else seemed to be likely to do it any time soon. I was surprised just how far the dirt had overtaken.

"In memory of Magdalene Sophia Smith 1881 - 1958"

This large tombstone was very near the one I dug out of the dirt, and both date from around the same time, but this one still has someone who remembers the deceased to come leave them flowers.

I couldn't bring myself to sit or lean on any tombstones, but this huge old tree stump did the trick. There were so many squirrels running around in the golden leaves, it was difficult to see this place as a place of death.



And there were so many graves belonging to people who'd been born outside of Canada, immigrants into a young country coming from overseas.

Born in Finland.

From New Church, Kent, England.

Born in Cracow, Poland.

Originally from Manchester, England.

It's remarkable what you can learn about a person or family just from their gravestones. This guy was pretty interesting. He died young, at the age of 30, but in just 30 years he accomplished a lot. He immigrated to Canada and became a Chief Biologist working in Quebec, and for whatever reason, ended his days in Ottawa.



Then you get ones that are more vague, not even giving names for all buried. This next one notes the death of 3 children, but nowhere could I find their names.



This plain stone lets you know that the mother died in childbirth, as she and the unnamed infant both died the same year. Imagine though... 1880, giving birth at 39. That's considered risky today.





This young child's stone was completely hidden beneath the leaves, and the only thing telling me it was there was the pot of flowers and the little statues. There's something terribly saddening about baby graves especially, and I tried to steer clear of them most of my time there.





I've always had a particular interest in old graves. It's like a solid connection to the past that you can touch and feel. The people buried there were real people who lived real lives, and somehow seeing their tombstones brings that reality home to me more than anything else. I can't help but wonder what their lives were like, what thoughts they had.

Over 200 years ago, a baby named Theodora was born.

Did they have an arranged marriage, what with their age difference?

This beautiful headstone has stood here over 150 years.

Here someone made the effort to make certain that George's spot would not be lost to time, but I saw a lot of the older name markers completely rubbed clean of any letters, and those beneath now lie in mystery.

Piles of leaves everywhere, nearly up to my knees at times!

This one is somehow pretty, with the stone flower.

Some of the graves started getting rather large, the nearer I got to this old church.

Mausoleums always make me think of Ancient Romans.

This isn't actually a grave, but a memorial that was interesting and yet also rather creepy. The bottom text states that the people with which he worked decided to honour him with this bust and imposing monument, while the text above speaks of his life.

"In remembrance of Nicholas Flood Davin, Esquire, Barrister of the Middle Temple, London, England, and a King's Counsel in Canada, who sat for West Assiniboia in the House of Commons of Canada, from 1887 to 1900, and also served the Dominion as a Journalist and Man-of-Letters. Born at Kilfinane, Co. Limerick, Ireland, January 13th 1843, died at Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 18th, 1901."

You have to admit this bust is rather chilling.

Tomorrow I come back to Beechwood's northern entrance, to meet with about 1500 people for the Ottawa Zombie Walk. Death is inevitable, and it is a sad thing, but I left the cemetery today with a renewed thankfulness for my life. Tomorrow I will laugh in Death's face with hundreds of others, and live life to the full. I hope you will too. Cheers!