Map of Toronto indicating the location of Potter's Field in 1837[/caption]
York desperately needed a burial option for those who weren’t associated with the predominant churches of the day. In late 1825, public notices appeared calling “a meeting of the inhabitants of York” at the Masonic Lodge on Colborne Street south of King Street. William Poyntz Patrick was named chairman, and William Lyon Mackenzie was appointed secretary for the meeting, which he reported on in the December 8th issue of the “Colonial Advocate,” the newspaper he had founded the year before. Thomas Carfrae, Jr. who had been asked to find a suitable piece of land for York’s first public burial ground for “all classes and sects,” reported that he had located a six-acre property at what is now the north-west corner of Bloor and Yonge Streets, one mile north of the town limits of York. The property was part of the farm of John Elmsley. Carfrae’s recommendation was approved by the meeting and Messrs. Patrick, Carfrae and Mackenzie were asked to draft a petition to the two members of the Legislature representing York, “praying for an act of incorporation” for the public burying place. The petitions were successful, and an Act of Incorporation was passed on January 30th, 1826. The cost for the burial ground was $300 which was raised through public subscription, with no one person permitted to give more than one dollar. Five men were appointed Trustees of the York General Burying Grounds: Thomas Carfrae, Jr.; Peter Paterson; John Ewart; Thomas Helliwell; and, Dr. Thomas D. Morrison. Unfortunately for the Trustees, their work wasn’t over.
[caption id="attachment_337" align="alignleft" width="300"]
The North-West corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets early 1900s[/caption]
Following incorporation in 1834, the City of Toronto grew rapidly northwards and in no time at all, the cemetery was outside the required one mile beyond the city limits. In 1849, the Trustees once again petitioned parliament, this time to allow them to purchase new land in the township of York. They repeated the petition two years later and were able to buy up to 25 acres of land in York township. In the meantime, the town of Yorkville came into existence north of Toronto, and the residents objected to the nearby Potters Field. In 1855, they were successful in petitioning the government to close the cemetery. The Trustees were empowered to sell the land as soon as all the remains had been removed, and re-buried. Most of the remains were removed by friends and relatives, with the Trustees providing equivalent burial space elsewhere. Those remains that hadn’t been claimed by 1875 were removed by the Trustees, and Potters Field was finally closed. Of those remaining, 984 were re-buried in the Necropolis, which the Trustees had bought in 1855. The remaining 364 bodies were moved to the new Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Both of these properties were the requisite one mile beyond the city limits.
May 18, 2022
Potters Field and the Roots of Mount Pleasant Group
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