A listing of the cemeteries within the Municipality of St-Chrysostôme that was originally within Châteauguay County (1855-1980) and is now in the MRC de Haut St-Laurent.
Note: All map images on this site have been created using
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2001 Copyright© 2000 Microsoft Corp.
They have been cropped and reduced in size where necessary to conserve space.
Click on name or on the index below to link to cemetery details.
Cimetière de Paroisse de St-Jean-Chrysostôme
Old Russeltown Cemeteries
Russeltown Protestant Cemetery
St-Matthew's Episcopal Cemetery (Edwardstown Anglican)
Old Edwardstown Cemetery
return
Cimetière de la Paroisse Saint-Jean-Chrysostôme
The Saint-Jean-Chrysostôme Parish Cemetery is located behind the parish church on Rue Notre-Dame in the Village of St-Chrysostôme. (45.104N/73.756W)
Before the present St-Matthew's Episcopal Cemetery was established in mid 1840s, there was a previous burying ground used by the local inhabitants located a short distance to the north on Rte 209. It has been mentioned in Sellar's history1 published first in 1888:
"In 1828 the population was sufficiently large to justify erecting a school, when Capt. Severs gave the land for it, specifying in the deed that part was to be used as a burying-place..."
There is no visible sign of the old cemetery on this location at the present time and no known records of the burials that may have been interred there.
Before the present Russeltown Protestant Cemetery was established in late 1820s, there were two previous burying grounds used by the local inhabitants. These have been described in Sellar's history2 published first in 1888:
"The first graveyard was formed opposite where the Presbyterian manse now is, and there the settlers buried until about 1820, when they abandoned it, owing to graves being so hard to dig, for a new spot on 205, where the soil is sandy. The first to be buried there was Fanny, a daughter of James Allen, and this spot was used until the church was built. Both these old graveyards are now plowed-land, and the sole trace they can furnish in future years will be the upturning of bones."
The Presbyterian Manse is still standing (now privately owned) and is the first house south of the present cemetery on the same side of the road. The cemetery would have been across the road from this house. The second cemetery on Lot 205 was at first perplexing until I realized that Lot 205 was actually on the other side of the seigniory boundry line in Hemmingford Township (later to become Havelock Township). It is the lot on the south east corner of Rte 203 and the Cowan Road (the boundary line runs along Cowan Road).
The Russeltown Protestant Cemetery dates from the late 1820s when it served a Methodist congregation. In the 1850s, it became a Presbyterian congregation and it is now part of the Hemmingford United Church. This cemetery is located at the old hamlet of Russeltown Flats, on Rte 203, on the hill just north of the corner with the Cowan Road. (45.070N/73.759W) In 1988, a project documented the memorial inscriptions3 and this information is now on-line.
The St-Matthew's Episcopal Church and Cemetery dates from the 1840s. It was also known as Edwardstown Anglican Cemetery due to being within the Edwardstown region of the Seigniory of Beauharnois. The church is now closed and boarded up to protect against vandalism. It is located on the north side Rte 209, 2.7km (1.7mi) ENE of the Village of St-Chrysostôme. The cemetery is quite small having about 45 stones but it is still active and well maintained. It has been fully documented4 in the fall of 2001 and is now on-line.
Sources:
1/ The History of the County of Huntingdon and of the Seigniories of Chateauguay & Beauharnois, Robert Sellar, 1888 (reprinted 1995 by Chateauguay Valley Historical Society) pg 528.
2/ ibid. pg 521-2.
3/ Russeltown Cemetery Monument Inscription List, Gerry Rogers, 1988
4/ St-Matthew's Episcopal (Edwardstown Anglican) Cemetery (St-Chrysostôme) Monument Inscription List, Burton Lang, 2002
ISBN 0-9689093-5-3
Copyright © 2001-7 Burton Lang. Revised:2007/01/29
HTML markup by Burton Lang.