You Asked, We Answered: The Bracey Headstones

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement

While on tour, our Visitor Hosts are often asked questions that they may not be able to answer in that moment. However, we take note of the questions and try to find the answers afterwards. While on our Autumn Union Cemetery Tour, we were asked about the headstones for C.A. Bracey in the First World War Section.

The headstones in the World War sections of Union Cemetery all have a certain uniformity to them; when there is a stone or plot that deviates from those around it, it typically raises questions. This is what happened when we were asked about the headstone for C. A. Bracey. At the top of the plot, there is the headstone which is typical for soldiers, but in the middle of the plot, there is a separate marker.

Tour participant, Tom, was also curious about these markers and how similar the names were, so he undertook research about Bracey. We shared his write-up a few weeks ago. Thanks once again Tom for sharing what you found!

First, let’s answer one part of the question, why do some plots have more than one marker? At one point Union Cemetery allowed for two interments and four cremations in one plot (this has since changed to one interment and four cremations, as per the Cemetery’s website). When there are two markers seen on these veteran’s plots, more often than not, they are commemorating two individuals interred in the plot. A look at the names and dates helps to determine or assume the relationship. For example, just west of Bracey’s plot is a plot for the Brown family. There is a headstone for FW Brown (c. 1870 – 1932) and another marker for Leonard George Brown (1915-1997). By looking at the dates, it might be a safe assumption that there is a father and son buried in this plot.

First World War Soldier section of Union Cemetery; The headstones for Charles Bracey are near the bottom of the image; note, in the row above is another example of two markers for one plot

Looking at the Bracey plot raised some questions as the names on the two markers were very similar, served with the same regiment, but there was a five year discrepancy with the birth year. Having to make a quick assumption, I wondered if it was two brothers buried together, two brothers who served together and happened to die in the same year.

To learn more, and to confirm/disprove my suspicions, I started to research. I had some information to start my search, thanks to the headstones:

Large headstone:

• Charles A Bracey
• WWI Regimental Number: 814065
• Served with the 139th Battalion of the CEF
• Born 1867 (as per age of death), died December 22, 1933

Smaller Footstone:

• C.A. Bracey
• Served with the 5th Middlesex Regiment
• Also served with the 139th Battalion of the CEF
• Born 1872, died 1933

The regimental number provided what I needed to find his service file, made available through Library and Archives Canada. This is the information Tom used when he set out to research Bracey. You can also use this database to search by Surname and/or Given Name. There were 14 entries for Bracey; Charles was one result, and Cecil Bracey was another. A look at Cecil’s file seemed to indicate he wasn’t related to Charles. Nothing seemed to line up, so I very highly doubted the ‘C. A. Bracey’ was Cecil. I set him aside and looked at Charles’s service file.

Charles Bracey was born in Portsmouth, England, and when he enlisted in 1915, he was living in Cobourg, working as a Labourer, and his next of kin was ‘Mrs. Francis,’ his wife. When asked if he had ever served in any military force, his reply was ’11 years in Middlesex Reg’t.’

Interesting – remember, the footstone also indicated service with Middlesex. Also, his birth date, on the Attestation Paper, was September 21, 1871.

There are two attestation papers for Charles in his military file (one in September 1915 and one in November 1915) and therefore two Regimental numbers. He initially enlisted in September but was found medically unfit on November 5 and discharged. His second attestation papers were signed and dated three days later. A second casualty form appears in the file, dated August 25, 1916, and Charles was, once again, found medically unfit and discharged. On his medical papers, stating he was discharged due to a heart condition, it reads, “Man acknowledges 48 but looks older.”

After looking through the file, we’ve learned that Charles enlisted twice, was discharged twice due to being medically unfit, and there seems to be a discrepancy with his age, as per the medical papers. So, I went to ancestry.ca to see what else I could find.

Charles Augustus Bracey was born around 1868 (as per the 1871 and 1881 England Census). On November 16, 1891, Charles enlisted for the army – his British military service files were available for review on Ancestry.ca. He would serve 18 years with the Middlesex Regiment, where it appears he served for 12 years in India (recorded as ‘East Indies’ on the military records). He was discharged in 1909.

He was married to a woman named Frances, and together, they had eight children. By 1911, they immigrated to Canada and were living in Cobourg, later Oshawa. It was while in Cobourg that Charles tried twice to enlist for the First World War. By 1921, the family had moved to Oshawa and were residing in one of the Olive Avenue Rowhouses – these townhouses are still standing today.

Charles died in Oshawa in 1933 – by this time, the family was living on Nassau Street. His death certificate states he was born in 1867, and this is the date reflected on the large headstone. The smaller headstone, likely placed at some point by the family, has a different birth year and makes a point to commemorate his involvement with the Middlesex Regiment, a military career that lasted 18 years. Unlike other plots where two grave markers might commemorate two different people, with the plot for Bracey, there are two markers commemorating one person, Charles Augustus Bracey.

Finally, the last mystery we were left with was Charles’s birth year. If we’re looking at Censuses, the 1871 and 1881 England Census indicates a birth year of c. 1868/1869, while the 1921 Canadian Census reflects a birth year of 1869/1870. Military records give birth years of 1872 (as per enlistment with Middlesex Regiment in 1891) and 1871 (as per enlistment with the CEF, where it was later noted he looked older than his reported age). Finally, upon his death, the year of his birth is recorded as 1867, which is what appears on the military headstone. After sharing the Tom’s blog post a few weeks ago, one of Charles’s grandchildren left a comment, stating his birth year was 1868! It appears the Censuses taken closest to his birth were the most accurate for this information.

The Multiple Grave Markers of Charles A. Bracey

By Tom Craven

*Tom was on our September Union Cemetery Tour and was as curious about the two grave markers on the plot for Charles A. Bracey as we were! Thank you to Tom for taking the time to research this soldier and sharing your research with us.

Grave markers for Charles A Bracey in Union Cemetery

After looking at the military records for Charles A. Bracey I can only conclude that the reason for the smaller marker directly below the large grave marker is possibly to attempt to correct an error that appears in the larger marker, although I’m not sure it accomplishes this goal if, in fact, that was the goal. 

According to the military records, Bracey has two military numbers.  The first was 220072, and in that document, he has stated a Date of Birth of September 21, 1871.  He is deemed fit to serve on September 29, 1915 and his attestation papers were signed on September 27, 1915.  In the papers he acknowledges having served for 11 years in the Middlesex Regiment.  His age is listed as 44 years which, based on his acknowledged date of birth, would be correct.

A Casualty Form for Active Service appears under the 220072 military number dated November 5, 1915 in which he is deemed medically unfit to serve.

Bracey’s second attestation paper has a military number of 814065.  This is the number that appears on the larger grave marker.  His date of declaration is November 8, 1915, three days after his initial Casualty Form was created.  On these attestation papers he does not list the 11 years of service with the Middlesex Regiment that he had mentioned in the previous attestation document (under military number 220072).  His date of birth is once again listed as September 21, 1871, and his age is now recorded as 44 years and 2 months. He was certified as medically fit on November 8, 1915.  He lists a wife, Frances, and four children, Frances (age 9), Muriel (age 6) Lily (age 2), and Benjamin (9 months). 

He is eventually assigned to the 139^th Battalion and stationed at Valcartier, Quebec.  On August 25, 1916, he is, again, deemed medically unfit as he is diagnosed with mitral regurgitation (aka a heart murmur). He is also diagnosed with Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).  He is described as looking much older that the age of 46 and then 48 that he admits to being (when, in fact he is only 44, a month from his 45^th birthday).

So, he is discharged having never left Canada and never serves again.  The large grave marker states that he died in 1933 at the age of 66 however, being born in 1871 this would make him only 62 years of age.  The smaller marker may be an attempt to correct this error however, it states that he was born in 1872 which, according to the two sets of attestation papers is also incorrect.

There was another C. A. Bracey (Cecil A. Bracey) that enlisted however he was much younger than Charles and was from Toronto with no ties to Oshawa.  He claimed to be born September 24, 1898 and enlisted on January 12, 1917 however, it was later discovered that he lied about his date of birth and was actually underage when he enlisted and therefore discharged.

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Thank you Tom for sharing your research! On our September tour, we were asked why some plots had more than one grave marker, like Bracey’s did. In the following weeks, we will follow up on the story of Bracey, sharing about his life before the First World War and what steps we took to learn about this man.

Profiling: George McLaughlin

George William McLaughlin was born in Tyrone, Ontario on February 17, 1869. He was the third of five children born to parents Robert and Mary McLaughlin, along with his siblings John James (b. 1865), Mary (b. 1867), Robert Samuel (b. 1871), and Elizabeth Ann (b. 1874).

At an early age George showed an interest in the carriage business owned by his father.  He began his apprenticeship with the company by age 16, working first in the trimming shop. In the early days there were no conspicuous advantages to being the boss’s son.  George worked 70 hour a week, earning $3.00 per week ($2.50 of which was deducted for room and board).  His personality was well suited to salesmanship, and by 1892 he had become a junior partner in the McLaughlin Carriage Company.

A year later, in 1893, George married Annie Hodgson.  Annie had grown up in Tyrone, across the road from the McLaughlin homestead.  She and George would have four children – Ewart, Ray, Dorothy and Kathleen.

George McLaughlin, Annie (nee Hodson) with children, Dorothy, Ray, and Ewart. Oshawa Public Libraries, Local History Collection

In 1907 the McLaughlin Motor Car Company was formed.  With George as Treasurer, the McLaughlins began producing Buick car bodies for the Buick Motor Company of Flint, Michigan.  By 1915 they were producing Chevrolets.  The carriage company had been sold to Chevrolet Motor Company, and the Chevrolet Motor Company of Canada Limited was incorporated, with George as President.   In 1918 General Motors purchased the two businesses.  Younger brother Sam became President of the newly incorporated General Motors of Canada, while George fulfilled the role of Vice-President until his retirement at the age of 55 in 1924.

George is seated, first row, third from left

George McLaughlin was not idle in his retirement.  He remained on the boards of various companies, and his interest in them continued.  He travelled to Europe, the Mediterranean, and South Africa.  He also turned his attention to farming, which had been a life-long interest for George.  He purchased the McLaughlin family farms around Tyrone and land to the north of Oshawa and established progressive farming operations, importing pure-bred cattle which benefited the farming industry of Ontario and ultimately the whole of Canada.  George was known for his Clydesdale horses, Holstein cattle and prize-winning apples, and earned the distinguished title of “Master Farmer” for his contributions to farming.

During his lifetime, George McLaughlin made generous contributions to the community. He was modest about his philanthropic activities, such as the large amounts of time and money he devoted to community services and civic improvements.

George was the first president of various newly formed groups in Oshawa, including the Oshawa Welfare Board, the Boy Scout movement in Oshawa, and the Oshawa Chamber of Commerce.  He involved himself with the Children’s Aid Society, serving as President for a while, and devoted some of his best years to municipal office.

George and Annie made numerous donations towards school and church improvements, the Salvation Army, and the Red Cross.  For many years, George served on both the Board of Education and as Superintendent of the Sunday School at St. Andrew’s United Church.

In 1920 George and his brother Sam, in the name of General Motors of Canada, bought the land that would become Lakeview Park and sold it to the Town of Oshawa for one dollar.  In 1924 George tried to start a zoo in the park by introducing buffalo from Wainwright, Alberta.  Unfortunately the idea did not succeed, and the buffalo were relocated to the Riverdale Zoo in Toronto. 

Sam and George also donated the McLaughlin maternity wing to the Oshawa General Hospital, and contributed generously to the hospital endowment fund over the years.

On July 1, 1922 George McLaughlin presented the Union Cemetery to the Town of Oshawa.  He had purchased all outstanding stock of the holding company that operated the cemetery and turned it over to the town, making the cemetery a municipal affair from that point onward.  He also generously donated $500 towards the creation and upkeep of a soldiers plot in the cemetery.  A monument donated by George was erected in the cemetery in honour of the “boys from Ontario County, who served, fought and died for Canada in the Great War.”

DS Hoig noted that before the cemetery was transferred to the city, it had fallen into almost a state of neglect. Hoig wrote:

From this depth it was finally rescued by an outstanding citizen, well known for his interest in the affairs of this town. By buying stock in the Cemetery Corporation, found himself after a time in possession of a majority of the stock. From that moment no further dividends were paid, all monies that accrued from the sale of lots were applied year after year to the improvements and beautifying of the grounds… The whole business was carried through with so little fuss or publicity that the identity of this gentleman is known only to a few that were connected with this transaction.

George McLaughlin died of bowel cancer at the age of 73 on October 10, 1942.  Upon his death the family homestead near Tyrone was passed on to his son Ewart. He is laid to rest inside the Mausoleum at Union Cemetery.

His contributions to the automotive industry, to farming, and to the community are the legacies for which George McLaughlin should be remembered.

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References:

A Pictorial Biography of George W. McLaughlin (CD produced by and with the permission of Mary P. Hare) – MBE.

Henderson, Dorothy.  Robert McLaughlin:  Carriage Builder. Griffin Press Ltd., 1972.

McLaughlin Genealogy file, Oshawa Museum Archival Collection

Petrie, Roy.  Sam McLaughlin. Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd., 1981.

Robertson, Heather.  Driving Force.  McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1995.

Union Cemetery Receiving Vault

By Laura Suchan, Executive Director

A receiving vault (sometimes called a dead house) was a structure designed to temporarily store the dead during the winter months when it was too difficult to dig graves by hand.  When William Wells was exhumed in February 1895 from his grave in Union Cemetery, it took local gravediggers William and Joseph Luke three hours of hard work to carry out the task. William’s body was needed in a police investigation, and several of the Toronto daily newspapers were on site to report on the exhumation and noted the difficult conditions,

Heavy drifts had covered the spot in 3 feet of snow and access was only secured by shoveling a pathway to the place and no interments had been made in this part for a month.  The ground was frozen 2 feet deep and two gravediggers set to work with shovels and picks to clear away the stone and earth from the coffin.

The Globe, February 15, 1895

The exhumation of William Wells, Union Cemetery, February 1895. The Globe, February 15, 1895

Receiving vaults would be used to house the dead during the worst months of winter until burials could happen again. The receiving vaults would sometimes also be used to house bodies waiting for transportation or to have a mausoleum built. In times of epidemics, the vaults were used to store bodies until the graves could be dug.

To date, I haven’t found evidence of the early receiving vaults at Union Cemetery, however Melissa Cole and I were given access in 2019 to the receiving vault below the Union Cemetery mausoleum.  An Oshawa Daily Times article on the new mausoleum, dating from 1928,  briefly makes mention of the vault, “An important feature of the Oshawa mausoleum is that the basement contains forty-two crypts forming the Union Cemetery’s receiving vault for winter use…”

Union Cemetery’s receiving vault is located in the basement of the main mausoleum. Access to the vault is through a door at the back of the mausoleum. Inside the mausoleum is a lift (now boarded up) which lowered and raised coffins as needed.

Images: left column, top to bottom: Casket lift inside mausoleum; View of lift from inside the vault. It is boarded up and no longer used; Some of the 42 crypts in the vault. Right: Coffin trolley underneath the lift in the receiving vault.

One of the first things we noticed was the small size of the 42 crypts, unsuitable for the much larger casket dimensions of today.  

Today, the vault, like most others, is no longer in use. Once equipment such as steam shovels and backhoes came into use, graves could be dug in the winter, and receiving vaults were no longer needed.

Remembering the Lives Lost from the 1918 Flu Pandemic

By Laura Suchan, Executive Director

Recently one of my colleagues shared news of a project she was involved in to honour the more than 700 people who succumbed to influenza in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. The 1918 Influenza Kaori Cemetery Project was a two year project to remember those who died in the pandemic by cleaning their headstones, tidying burial plots and researching the family histories.  This project prompted me to think about Oshawa’s Union Cemetery and how many Influenza victims from the 1918 pandemic were buried in the cemetery.

In an earlier blog post about the Spanish Influenza, Curator Melissa Cole noted how the pandemic affected Oshawa.  The Spanish Flu reached the United States in March 1918 and soon after Canada, through troop, hospital and civilian ships sailing from England to Grosse Île.  The Ports of Montreal and Halifax soon became the main routes of infection into Canada, however by late June/early July the Flu spread across the country via the railway.   It came in multiple waves. The first wave took place in the spring of 1918, then in the fall of 1918, a mutation of the influenza virus produced an extremely contagious, virulent, and deadly form of the disease. This second wave caused 90% of the deaths that occurred during the pandemic. Subsequent waves took place in the spring of 1919 and the spring of 1920.  Between 1917 and 1918 the deaths recorded in Oshawa increased by 67 to 213 as compared to 146 in the earlier year.  Still, the situation in Oshawa was better than for many communities.  At the height of the pandemic, beds where placed in the armouries to treat the sick, and all churches and schools were closed to prevent it from spreading. 

To see just how devastating the Flu pandemic was in Oshawa, I turned to the Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas 1869-1948 database for the Town of Oshawa, for the months starting October 1, 1918 until March 31, 1919. Within this database I was able to search for any cause of death listed as “Influenza,” “Spanish Flu,” and “Flu.” I also looked for any case where the secondary cause of death was listed as influenza. In some cases, the coroner listed the cause of death as “Pneumonia” following a case of “Influenza.” If influenza was mentioned, I included the death. This was not in any means a scientific review of the data, however there were a few observations I was able to make.

Observations

• 50 – number of people who died as a result of the flu or an illness following the flu during the 6 month period
• 23 – deaths were reported in those 25 years of age or younger
• 2 months – the age of the youngest victim – Robert Starie
• 70 years – age of the oldest victim – Alvin Terry
• 30 – number of those buried in Union Cemetery
• Week of October 27-November 2 – the deadliest week in the 6 month period with 16 deaths. The previous week saw 15 deaths due to influenza.  These 2 weeks accounted for more than half the deaths reported in the 6 month period.
• October 1918 – the deadliest month with 35 deaths, followed by November 1918 with 7 deaths, February 1919 – 4 deaths, December 1918 with 3 deaths. January 1919 reported only 1 death and 0 deaths were reported in March 1919.

Remembering some of the victims of the pandemic

Hattie Hewson

Image from FindAGrave.com

Hattie Maud (Ham) Hewson lived on Ontario Street with her husband William when she passed away at the age of 39. Her official death record lists miscarriage and influenza as her causes of death. William passed away in 1960.

Alex Swankie

Image from FindAGrave.com

Alex Swankie was a Private with the 37^th Battalion and fought in France with the 60^th Battalion C.E.F. He was born in Scotland, November 11, 1891 and was a machinist by trade. According to his Attestation Papers, he signed up for the military in Niagara, June 10, 1915.  He was discharged from the 60^th Battalion in early 1917 as the result of a knee injury and was in outpatient treatment in Toronto until October 31, 1918. Alex died February 16, 1919 at the age of 27 of pneumonia and influenza.

Melville and Rose Babcock

Melville and Rose (Darlington) Babcock were married in 1900 and both died within one week of each other from the Flu.  Melville was the first to pass away on October 21 1918 at the Oshawa Hospital after suffering from the Flu for one week and pneumonia for 3 days.  Rose is listed as the informant for Melville’s death. Six days later, on October 27, 1918, Rose also succumbed to the flu at Oshawa Hospital. Rose is buried in Union Cemetery as noted in the death registry however there was no burial location noted.  There is a good possibility he is also in Union Cemetery.

Marjorie Lander

Influenza also touched the lives of two well known Oshawa families. Marjorie Gibson Hoig Lander was a young mother of at least 3 children when she passed away from influenza on November 7, 1918.  Marjorie was the daughter of Oshawa’s Dr. Hoig, and she married coal merchant Elgin Vesta Lander in 1910.  Lander was a successful coal and wood merchant, and the couple lived at 221 Simcoe Street North, just south of Parkwood.  Daughters Alice and Virginia were born in 1913 and 1915 followed by son David in 1917. Marjorie was only 31 years old when she died.  Her husband Elgin remarried in 1927 and died in 1976.  Both are buried in Union Cemetery.

Advertisement for Elgin Lander’s coal and wood business, 1911 Oshawa Business Directory, OPL Collection

Gladys McGregor

The year 1919 was not kind to the McGregor family.  Daughter Gladys Mae died in February of the flu, aged 13.  Her father Robert McGregor, a harness maker, died in June 1919 from Tuberculosis and mother Lucy Parish McGregor died in November 1919 of nephritis (swelling of the kidney). All three are buried in Union Cemetery.  Robert and Lucy had other children who would have been left orphans by their parents’ deaths.  

To find out more about the 1918 Influenza Kaori Cemetery Project please visit https://1918influenzakarori.weebly.com/home.html

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To view Laura’s research of people in the Town of Oshawa who died of Influenza between October 1918-March 1919, view this document:

oshawas-influenza-victimsDownload