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2002 - 2003 A year whet by and I had heard nothing from the Cemeteries Administrator, so when I returned to Ontario the following June I stopped by his office in Dunnville to obtain an explanation. It turned out that unbeknownst to me, someone approached the Cemeteries Administrator and indicated that "the family" (i.e., the extended Young family) did not want any change in the status quo of the Cemetery. The Cemeteries Administrator said that he did not want to become embroiled in a family dispute, so halted the move to restore the Cemetery. I was initially told that this had to be done since there was an application to the local architectural conservation agency to declare the Monument site (and the Cemetery?) a National Heritage site. After making further inquiries the truth came out. Suffice it to say that I was none too pleased with this latest development and went to the County and indicated my intention to let the Courts decide the issue (by this time I had the money to conduct a Court challenge). While contemplating my legal moves (which I mentioned to various family members), at the Young Family Reunion in July of 2002 an ad hoc committee was set up to pursue the matter of the Cemetery preservation and restoration without reverting to the Courts. Some of those at the Reunion (which I could not attend) also felt that plowing a cemetery was an unconscionable act, so decided to join with me in "the fight", but only if the Monument was not jeopardized. I agreed that working with a committee was probably the way to go, so family members Bob McBride, Tom Nelson and Ken Young "signed up" at the Reunion and included me as a member. I also enlisted the services of Ken Turner of Essex County who has a great deal of experience in these matters, and as a cemetery conservationist, he would orchestrate the repair of any tombstones located during the proposed excavation.
Unfortunately at the time, not only did I not have the support of the County, but the Province at first appeared to be unwilling to proceed. The Committee got into high gear and Tom went through all the land deeds, survey records etc. and provided a very detailed map of the area where the Cemetery was located (more detailed than my early production). Also, I contacted the Provincial Archaeologist who would, if things moved forward, be guiding the excavation to locate the site. He was extremely supportive. Armed with irrefutable facts (including a copy of the deed of transfer from McSorley to Timmerman in the 1980s where the Cemetery is mentioned), the Provincial Registrar Michael D'Mello decided that the matter should be pursued. He then contacted the land owner at addresses in Hagersville and Germany requesting permission of a "one day, one time" search for the Cemetery. After a lengthy interval, Mr. Timmerman contacted the Provincial authorities and granted his permission for a team to cross his land and search for the Cemetery - asking only that this be done after harvest of the crops. Things moved quickly from this point. To keep the County involved I had to agree to pay all the associated costs - backhoe and operator, as well as the survey. I then contacted individuals I trusted, family members who had grown up near the Cemetery and hunted there years ago who indicated that they would be able to pinpoint the location of the Cemetery - which along with Tom's documentation seemed to guarantee success. The Cemeteries Administrator for the County of Haldimand contacted me and indicated that the date of the search would be 17 October 2003, and that the Provincial Archaeologist would be available that day, and that a backhoe operator and equipment would be there. Things moved in fast frame as last minute details were put in place. |
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