Allanburg Village Cemetery c.1813
In 1797 the Patent for the land on which the cemetery is located was issued from the Crown to John Vanderburg Sr. (200 acres). It passed then to Harmonious Vanderburg in 1825, and in March of 1844 he sold 1/4 ac. to Township Wardens Josiah H.E.Page, Wm. Wright (blacksmith), and Dilly Coleman (Innkeeper).
Like the Old Beaverdams Burying Ground, burials were recorded here for many years before the property was sold to the Township.
This cemetery is one of two very early cemeteries in the old Village of Allanburg area of Thorold. The other cemetery, the Upper Cemetery, is located quite close by. The area was first known as New Holland because of the large numbers of early settlers of Dutch origin. The land on which the village developed was granted to U.E.L. John Vanderburg who emigrated in 1784 from the Mohawk Valley in New York State with his wife and children. The village itself was laid out by Samuel Keefer in 1832, who also changed the name to Allanburgh (later Allanburg), in honour of William Allan, banker and Vice-President of the Welland Canal Company. It was here that George Keefer, first President of the Welland Canal Company, turned the sod for the first canal.
Many of the earliest settlers of the Allanburg area are buried in this cemetery. The first recorded burial is that of Noah Davis who died in 1813. His stone cannot now be found. The other earliest inscription was that of Mary Chrysler (1815). It is still there and would appear to be the oldest stone in the cemetery with a readable inscription. The last known burial was that of Mary Ann Radcliffe who died in December of 1876.
Many names are mentioned in this cemetery, e.g. John Chrysler, members of the Davis family, members of the Upper family, the Rannie family and others. Information on many of the names can be found in the records of the Niagara Peninsula Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, as well as the Research Report completed by Nora A. Reid, July 15-02.
This cemetery is an important part of the history of settlement in the Allanburg area, and, therefore, gives even greater meaning and scope to the heritage of the City of Thorold.
