Cemetery Records and Monumental Inscriptions
Cemetery records and monumental inscriptions are a very useful source of information for genealogists. Cemetery records document burials that have occurred in a particular cemetery, while monumental inscriptions are etched on grave markers or headstones. Although it should usually be possible to find a cemetery record corresponding to a monumental inscription, there may not always be a monumental inscription corresponding to a cemetery record. The family may not have purchased a headstone, or it may have been damaged or destroyed.
There are few early Chinese graves in Canada, due in part to the Chinese custom of burying a body twice. The first burial would be done in a shallow grave soon after death. Seven years later, the bones would be removed and placed in an urn which was then permanently placed in a family tomb. If a Chinese person died overseas, the first burial would take place in the country in which he or she died. For the second burial, the bones would be exhumed and shipped back to China. An article in the Vancouver World from October 12, 1899, describes preparations to return large numbers of bones to China for reburial during a sacred holiday in 1900.
From the earliest days, however, some Chinese were buried and remained in Canada. Over time, considerable numbers can be found in Canadian cemeteries.
British Columbia
In British Columbia, burials occurred in both Community and Church Cemeteries used by both Chinese and non-Chinese, and in separate Chinese Cemeteries. The Chinese Cemeteries section of the Image Gallery on the Historical Chinese Language Materials in British Columbia database includes pictures of Chinese tombstones from several B.C. cemeteries.
COMMUNITY AND CHURCH CEMETERIES
Many people of Chinese origin are buried in B.C. cemeteries. These include both community cemeteries without a religious or ethnic affiliation, and those associated with churches. In addition to community and church cemeteries, which were used by individuals of various ethnic origins, there were also separate Chinese Cemeteries (below).
One of the earliest, most historic public cemeteries in B.C. is Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria. The first Chinese burial there occurred on March 18, 1873, and was simply identified as "Chinaman No. 1." About twenty other individuals were similarly identified, but many Chinese names do appear in Ross Bay records. Chinese burials at Ross Bay took place in a segregated section of the cemetery near the water, and many graves were washed away during severe storms in 1909.
Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, opened in 1887, has many Chinese burials. It too had a separate Chinese section, in which the Chinese community built a ceremonial altar in 1902.
Records of Chinese burials can also be found at other cemeteries - religiously-affiliated and otherwise.
FINDING THE RECORDS
At the Vancouver Public Library
Vancouver Public Library owns many transcriptions of monumental inscriptions collected and published by the British Columbia Genealogical Society.
Records of burials for persons of Chinese origin have been noted in the titles at the end of this section, although in some cases there are very few.
Online
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many British Columbia cemeteries.
Burial information about many Chinese people is also included in the following databases:
Ross Bay Cemetery Search
This database indexes about 29,500 burials in Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, from 1872-1980.
Mountain View Cemetery
Vancouver's only cemetery is located west of Fraser Street, between 31st Avenue and 43rd Avenue. Owned and operated by the City of Vancouver since 1886, Mountain View is made up of 106 acres of land with approximately 92,000 grave sites and 145,000 interred remains. If you use an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, search cemetery records by name and zoom in on the grave site. An Android app is also being planned.
CHINESE CEMETERIES
Basics
Although many people of Chinese origin have been buried in Community and Church Cemeteries (above) in British Columbia, there are also several historic Chinese cemeteries.
Harling Point (Victoria)
In 1891 the Chinese Benevolent Association in Victoria purchased a 3.5 hectare piece of land with the intention of establishing a private Chinese cemetery. However, local farmers chased mourners away at the first planned burial and they never returned.
In 1902, the Association purchased another piece of land at Harling Point and established a Chinese cemetery. The first burial took place in 1903. Over 1000 Chinese were buried there. Adjacent to the cemetery are 13 communal graves containing unmarked remains that were to have been returned to China in keeping with Chinese custom.
The last burials occurred in 1950. The graveyard was subsequently neglected and fell into disrepair. It has since been restored and was declared a National Historic Site in 1996.
Kamloops Chinese Cemetery
A cemetery was created off Lombard Street in Kamloops for the Chinese community about the time that the city's main graveyard, Pioneer Cemetery, was established in the 1880s. The cemetery is being upgraded through a partnership between the Kamloops Chinese Cemetery Heritage Society and the City of Kamloops.
Cumberland Chinese Cemetery
Cumberland at one time had the fifth largest Chinese settlement in British Columbia. The cemetery is located on Cumberland Road, east of the town. It can still be visited, although much of it has been destroyed.
Nanaimo Chinese Cemetery
The coal company in Nanaimo, which employed many Chinese people, gave land for a Chinese burial ground on Stewart Avenue around 1890. It was in use until 1924, at which time the Chinese community contributed $2 per person for new burial grounds on Townsite Avenue. The City of Nanaimo's Heritage Register provides more information.
Other Chinese Cemeteries
In addition to the cemeteries in Victoria, Kamloops, Cumberland, and Nanaimo, there were Chinese cemeteries in Duncan, Prince George, and Vernon.
FINDING THE RECORDS
Records for B.C. Chinese cemeteries have not been transcribed or indexed. The only way to find out if a particular person was buried in one of the Chinese cemeteries is to visit the cemetery.
Grave markers may be in Chinese characters only or both in Chinese and in English.
Alberta
Community and church cemeteries in Alberta include many Chinese burials.
There is a separate Chinese cemetery in Calgary. As of 1997, there were approximately 1048 burials in the cemetery. More information is available on the City of Calgary's Chinese Cemetery web page.
FINDING THE RECORDS
Online
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Alberta cemeteries.
Alberta Ancestors, a cemeteries project by the Alberta Family Histories Society, currently has over 200,000 persons and 83 cemeteries added to their website.
Saskatchewan
Many Chinese burials are found in the records of Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society website includes a Cemetery Index page. The page provides the name and location of approximately 3500 cemetery and burial sites in Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan Genealogical Society has collected many burial records and entered the records into a general Saskatchewan Residents Index. The Society will search the database on your behalf for a reasonable fee. For more information, see the Society's Research Services page.
An earlier card index of Saskatchewan burial records was filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, and can be viewed in FamilySearch's Canada, Saskatchewan Cemetery Transcripts, ca. 1850-1994 collection.
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Saskatchewan cemeteries.
Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba's Municipal Cemeteries Branch web page provides browsable lists of burials in three Winnipeg cemeteries: St. Vital Cemetery, Transcona Cemetery, and Brookside Cemetery. A number of Chinese burials are listed.
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Manitoba cemeteries.
Ontario
Many people of Chinese origin are buried in Ontario cemeteries. These include both community cemeteries without a religious or ethnic affiliation, and those associated with specific churches.
FINDING THE RECORDS
Online
Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid
Over 2 million burials are listed in this searchable online database. Many Chinese names are included. A name search will generate a list of "hits", including the name of the individual, the cemetery in which they are buried, the location of the cemetery, and a reference number. The reference number indicates the name of the organization that contributed the record to the database. A list of addresses is included, which provides contact information that can be used to request a full transcription from the contributing organization. There is likely to be a small fee.
Cemeteries
This free database, compiled by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society comprises dozens of cemetery records from Carleton, Lanark, Leeds, Prescott, Russell, Renfrew Counties, and West Quebec. Some entries are duplicated in the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid.
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Ontario cemeteries.
Quebec
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Quebec cemeteries.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick Cemeteries is a searchable database that comprises records from New Brunswick cemeteries. The database is small, and the likelihood of finding a Chinese Canadian ancestor is remote.
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many New Brunswick cemeteries.
Nova Scotia
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Nova Scotia cemeteries.
Prince Edward Island
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Prince Edward Island cemeteries.
Newfoundland
Stonepics is a database that comprises 221,000 records of names and dates from the headstones and monuments of Newfoundland.
BillionGraves and Canadian Headstones cover many Newfoundland cemetaries.
Territories
The only cemeteries in the Territories for which transcribed information has been found are Pioneer Cemetery and Grey Mountain Cemetery, both in Whitehorse. A review of the records has not identified any individuals of apparent Chinese origin.