History Of
Cemetery
The history of the first Catholic Cemetery in Glace Bay
began with the establishment of the first Catholic Church in Glace Bay in 1865.
This church was officially opened on December 17, 1865 and
was called St Augustine. About one year later it was renamed St. Anne’s,
serving the Catholic population of Glace Bay and the surrounding areas.
In 1865 a Catholic Cemetery was established on King Edward
Street in Glace Bay. This Cemetery was the only Catholic Cemetery in the
Glace Bay area until new parishes were established.
As each new parish was established they soon made plans
for their own cemetery.
Around 1890, King Edward Street Cemetery was filling up so
a new Cemetery was established on Wallace’s Road, in Glace Bay.
This time period covers the phasing out of the King Edward
Street Cemetery and introducing the new St. Anne’s Cemetery on Wallace
Road.
In 1939 the last known burial in King Edward Street
Cemetery took place; however there are no records existing of burials at this
particular Cemetery.
Only 31 headstones revealed information as to who is
buried in the King Edward Street Cemetery.
St. Anne’s and St. John’s Cemetery covers some
48 acres of land.
St. John’s Parish was established on December 18,
1902, which had the northern section of the Cemetery and was considered to be
separate from St. Anne’s until 1990 when it again became part of St.
Anne’s Cemetery.
This Cemetery is now known as St. Anne’s, St.
John’s Cemetery and now is the burial site for four parishes St
Anne’s, St. John’s, St Leo’s, and Holy Cross Cemetery.
Please keep in mind that it was the burial site for
Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph’s prior to establishing their own
parishes and Cemeteries.
In order to establish some time frame when each parish
established its own cemetery the following dates should be of some help.
Immaculate Conception Parish: Established February 11, 1885 at Bridgeport, the first mass
was held 1899.
St. Joseph’s Parish in Reserve: Established in 1885, small church
built, a mission of Bridgeport, and later in 1895 became a separate parish.
St. John’s Parish: On December 18, 1902 became a mission of St. Anne’s,
then was established as own its own parish on February 8, 1903. This
parish had its own separate section of the Wallace’s Road Cemetery until
year 1990, now it is part of the entire Cemetery with no division between
parishes.
St. Anthony’s Parish: Established on August 31, 1903 and soon after established
its own cemetery. Burial previous to 1903 took place on Wallace’s
Road and King Edward Street Cemeteries.
Holy Cross Parish:
Was a mission of St. Anne’s in 1938. In December 1949 it became a
separate parish from St. Anne’s, although the parish used St.
Anne’s cemetery on Wallace’s Road.
Holy Family Parish in MacKay’s Corner: Established on September 29th, 1951. In
1959 the church became a parish, and in 1995 a mission of St.
Joseph’s. Most burials before 1951 took place in St. Anne’s
Cemetery on Wallace’s Road and
King Edward Street Cemetery: After 1951 this parish
used St. Joseph’s Cemetery on MacLeod's Road.
St. Leo’s Parish: Established in 1957, always used St. Anne’s Cemetery
on Wallace’s Road.
As a member of the Cape Breton Genealogy & Historical
Association, and St. Anne’s and St. John’s Cemetery Committee I
would like to thank both organizations for their effort and cooperation in
making cemetery records available to the public. I would especially like
to recognize the dedicated work of Mrs. Maureen McNeil from the Cape Breton
Genealogy & Historical Association (C.B.G.H.A.) and Mrs. Carmella Campbell,
president of St. Anne’s and St. John’s Cemetery.
I hope our cemetery files will help you in your search of
family roots.
Sincerely,
Gerald O’Neill
Cemetery
Committee and Cape Breton Genealogy & Historical Association Member.