Mountain View Cemetery (Vancouver)
Encyclopedia
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Opened in 1887, it is located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues. It is owned and operated by the City of Vancouver and occupies 106 acre (0.42896716 km²) of land, containing 92,000 grave sites and 145,000 interred remains.
History
Only one existing cemetery in the vicinity, Fraser Cemetery in New Westminster (established in 1870), is older than Mountain View. When Mountain View Cemetery opened in 1887, it supplanted burial grounds in what was designated Stanley ParkStanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
that same year as the city’s cemetery. The original parcel of land is now known as the “Old Cemetery” is bounded by Fraser Street on the east, 37th Avenue on the south, 33rd on the north, and a row of tall trees on the west. Land on the north of this was purchased in 1901 for an expansion from the Horne family, which became the “Horne I Addition.” The Jones farm on the south was added in 1910 as the Jones I and Jones II Additions, and in 1922, the Horne II was acquired on the west. The “1919 Addition” is a tract bounded by 41st and 43rd Avenues, and contains many victims of the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
pandemic that took many hundreds of lives of local residents. The final addition is the Abray Park Addition on the western side, acquired in 1941 and named after a squatter who previously lived on the land and tended an orchard and grazed cattle there. Burial sites historically were often grouped together along the lines of religion (e.g., Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
), nationality (e.g., Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese), or organizational affiliation (e.g., Freemasons and Oddfellows
Oddfellows
The name Oddfellows refers to a number of friendly societies and fraternal organisations operating in the United Kingdom. It also refers to a number of Lodges with histories dating back to the 18th century. These various organisations were set up to protect and care for their members and...
). Other groupings are pauper grave sites and war veterans. The cemetery also has Canadian military graves.
Disaster victims
- 1918 sinking of the SS Princess SophiaPrincess Sophia (steamer)The SS Princess Sophia was a steel-built coastal passenger liner in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway . Along with the SS Princess Adelaide the SS Princess Alice and the SS Princess Mary, the SS Princess Sophia was one of four sister ships built for CPR during 1910-1911.On...
near Juneau, AlaskaJuneau, AlaskaThe City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
, the worst maritime disaster in terms of casualties on the Pacific CoastPacific CoastA country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
of North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Sixty-six of the 353 passengers who perished were buried in Mountain View. - 1910 Rogers PassRogers PassRogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
slide disaster (62 victims, 30 buried at Mountain View) - 1909 Lakeview BCER streetcarBritish Columbia Electric RailwayThe British Columbia Electric Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia.Originally the parent company, and later a division, of BC Electric, the BCER operated public transportation in southwestern British Columbia from its establishment in the...
wreck. This was the worst transit accident in Vancouver’s history (15 killed, 12 buried at Mountain View).
Individuals
- Harry Churchill BeetHarry Churchill BeetHarry Churchill Beet VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. - Henry O. Bell-Irving, wealthy cannery owner
- Edward Evans Blackmore, local architect and designer of the city’s first Pantages Theatre.
- Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Carey, recipient of two DSODistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
s and the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
. - William Carey Ditmars, business man who brought the first automobile to Vancouver.
- Charles Edgar EdgettCharles Edgar EdgettColonel Charles Edgar Edgett was the warden of the British Columbia Penitentiary , the Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Department , an active anticommunist and opponent of organized labour in Vancouver, Canada.Colonel Edgett briefly served in the North West Mounted Police before receiving...
, warden of the BC Penitentiary from 1929-1931, Chief Constable of the Vancouver PoliceVancouver Police DepartmentThe Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.VPD was the first Canadian police force...
from 1931 to 1933, and zealous anticommunist. - Joe FortesJoe FortesSeraphim “Joe” Fortes is believed to have been born in Barbados in 1865. After leaving his homeland in his mid-teens, he worked in Britain for several years. In 1884 he sailed around Cape Horn from Liverpool on the "Robert Kerr", arriving in Burrard Inlet in September 1885...
, a.k.a., “Old Black Joe,” popular lifeguard. - Samuel Greer, fought with the CPRCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
over his claim to Kitsilano BeachKitsilano BeachKitsilano Beach is one of the most popular beaches in Vancouver, especially in the warm summer months. Located at the north edge of the Kitsilano neighbourhood, the beach faces out onto Burrard Inlet...
. - Eric HamberEric HamberEric Werge Hamber, was a Canadian businessman and the 15th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.-Early life:...
, Lieutenant Governor from 1936-1941. - Laurence William Herchmar, fifth commissioner of the North West Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
. - Harry JeromeHarry JeromeHenry "Harry" Winston Jerome, was a Canadian track and field runner. He was the grandson of John Howard, a railway porter who represented Canada in the 1912 Summer Olympics....
, Olympic runner. - John Chipman KerrJohn Chipman KerrJohn Chipman Kerr VC , was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.In 1912, after working as a lumberjack near Kootenay, B.C...
, Victoria Cross recipient - Thomas Ladner, founder of Ladner, British ColumbiaLadner, British ColumbiaLadner was created as a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River. It is a part of the Municipality of Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and a suburb of Vancouver....
. - Malcolm MacLennan, Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police, killed in the line of duty in 1917.
- Robert McBeathRobert McBeathRobert Gordon McBeath, VC born in Kinlochbervie, Sutherland was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious medal that can be awarded to members of British military forces...
, Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
recipient, killed in the line of duty as a Vancouver police constable in 1921 at the age of 23. - William McGuiganWilliam McGuiganDr. William J. McGuigan was the tenth Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia and served one term in 1904. He was born in Stratford, Ontario and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver.-References:...
, tenth mayor of Vancouver. - Sara Anne McLaganSara Anne McLaganSara Anne McLagan was the first Canadian woman newspaper editor.She was born near Belfast, but later came to Canada when her father when she was 3. Her father, Sergeant John C. Maclure, came to New Westminster in 1858 with the Royal Engineers. Her father also taught her telegraphy...
, first woman newspaper publisher in Canada. - James Skitt Mathews, Vancouver historian and archivist.
- Frank Rogers, labour organizer murdered during a 1903 strike against the CPR.
- Robertha Josephine Marshall, survivor of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic.
- Jonathan Rogers, builder of the Rogers Building on Granville StreetGranville StreetGranville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99.-Location:Granville Street runs generally north-south through the centre of Vancouver, passing through several neighbourhoods and commercial areas, differing appreciably in their land value and the...
. - Yip SangYip SangYip Sang was a prominent Chinese Canadian businessman, whose business and family flourished during the period when Chinese Canadians faced discrimination and restrictions....
, prominent Chinese business leader, founded the Wing Sang Company in 1888 and supplied the CPR with Chinese labourers. - Sarah Emily Service, mother of poet Robert W. ServiceRobert W. ServiceRobert William Service was a poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon".Service is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough...
. - Robert ShanklandRobert ShanklandRobert Shankland VC, DCM was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, Victoria Cross recipient. [NOTE: The cemetery records do not include any reference to Robert Shankland ever being interred in the cemetery. It may be that his cremated remains were scattered in the cemetery.] - Janet Smith, a.k.a. the “Scottish Nightingale,” murdered in 1924 in what became the notorious “Janet Smith CaseJanet Smith caseThe Janet Smith case concerns the murder of 22-year-old nursemaid Janet Kennedy Smith in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 26 July 1924, and the ensuing suspicions of a coverup.-Background:...
.”