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Notre Dame Bay ~ NDB West / Exploits District

Pilley's Island - Old Methodist Cemetery

The following inscriptions are from the old Methodist Church Cemetery at the little outport community of Pilley's Island (Green Bay), in a peaceful little churchyard beside the old, now-condemned Methodist Church. Photographs, along with a brief but very interesting history of the community which once was a little mining town in the 1890s and early 1900s, are posted at a site nearby and inform visitors that the church was built in 1897, and according to the friendly and eager-to-help gentleman who stopped by in his truck to greet us, the old church is no longer being used, that "they says it's too dangerous, and they buries the people now in the other graveyards down by Spencer's Dock". As far as I possibly could, the following covers most of the gravestones in this old cemetery.

Headstone inscriptions were transcribed by BARBARA PEDERSON, October 1998. While I have endeavored to be as correct as humanly possible, there may be typographical errors.

NAME RELATION BIRTH DEATH AGE/INFORMATION
Pte. George SIMMS son of William and Nora SIMMS
who was killed while fighting for the Empire on the Gallipoli Peninsula 1915 aged 29 years

Rosanna PRIDE beloved wife of Thomas PRIDE
Oct. 3, 1906 aged 52 years; (Very weathered stone, lying on ground.)

Lilly Belle [HOWELL] daughter of [unclear] and Susannah HOWELL
Sept.12, 1907 aged 20 years 10 months

Frederick-Charles-[CHUBB] son of John and Sarah CHUBB
Dec. 1, 1905 aged 16 years & 7 months

Francis [CURTIS] husband of Louisa CURTIS
June 11, 1908 aged 66-1/2 years

Philip LEDREW

Apr. 9, 190[9] [?] aged 81 years; (Stone very weathered, lying on ground)
Susie [LEDREW] beloved wife of Philip LEDREW
Aug. 8, 1915 aged 49 years.

Anna Pearl [LEDREW] children of Philip & Susan LEDREW
June 19, 1907 aged 12 years 5 months
Frederick Ar(d?)am [LEDREW] Also
Sept. 14, 1903 aged 1 year 4 months

Willis Hector [PARSONS] adopted son of Arthur & Emma PARSONS
Jan. 27, 1911 aged 15 months

Eva Lucy [LOCKE] child of Edwin & Dorcas LOCKE
Oct. 17, 1904 aged 1 year 8 months

Minnie [HOWELL] daughter of George A. & Mary HOWELL
May 7, 1911 aged 20 years
George A. [HOWELL] husband of Mary P. HOWELL
Jan. 4, 1915 aged 58 years & 8 months
Note: This stone is lying on ground, part of top broken off and missing.

Adolphus [WHITE] Adopted son of Manuel & Martha WHITE
Nov. 3, 1918 aged 22 years & 4 months; The Royal Nfld. Regt. (Stone is broken and fallen.)

William [COBB] husband of Lucy COBB
Nov. 2, 1910 aged 73 [?]
Note: The age appeared to be 73, and it was difficult to know if there was anything below this because of the closeness to the ground.

Stanley [WHITE] Erected by William & Rosanna WHITE In memory of their beloved son Stanley


Note: The top part of stone was on the ground on which was the above inscription, the bottom part is missing.

John ROBERTS

Dec. 29, 1896 aged 56 years
Mary [ROBERTS] Also his beloved wife Mary
Feb. 5, 1921 aged 79 years

Marjorie Chaplin children of Doctor and Mrs. Geo. [?] BOWDEN
Dec. 21, 1902 aged 4 years 11 months
Eric Mercer

Dec. 28, 1902 aged 1 year 10 months; (On same stone)

Diana [SHEARING] wife of John SHEARING
Oct. 25, 1902 aged 52 years & 7 months.
John SHEARING



Note: This is all that could be read from the stone as it had sunk into the ground and I couldn't get over that iron fence. I believe this is the one where there were other headstones in the plot but the names were hidden from the growth of brush - I was alone and had no stick to push the brush away... talk about agonizing...

Sarah [BUDGELL] wife of William BUDGELL
Jan. 9, 1914 aged 40 years.

Roland [BUDGELL] son of William & Sarah BUDGELL
July 19, 1912 aged 9 months & 22 days

Frederick GUY (unable to read this second line)
Feb. 3, 1920 aged 50 years.
Note: This record was taken from 2 slabs of a headstone placed near each other on the ground, so I am assuming the top {name} and bottom part {date} both belong to this same "soul".

Tobias GUY husband of Hannah GUY
Nov. 5, 1918 aged 43 years; (Top half of stone only)

Maniah [?] John son of John & Catherine GUY
Jan. 27, 1905 aged 22 years & 5 months
Note: Fallen and sinking into the ground, could not be sure of first name.

Mary A. BARNES wife of Duncan BARNES
Sept. 24, 1907 aged 26 years
Wilfred BARNES Also their beloved child
Apr. 20, 1907 aged 9 months

Nellie MILLS

Dec. 2, 1918 aged 16-1/2 years

Nathan Oliver Lawton WAKEFIELD son of Thomas & Amelia WAKEFIELD


Note: The following grave was in a far corner of the cemetery, holding just one little white gravestone which was enclosed by a peculiar but fascinating (now rusted) wrought iron surround, a four-sided fence with the iron rungs going all the way up to meet at a point in the center, and a "leaf-like" symbol at each corner post and at the top. It appears to be the grave of a child, and the stone looked as it has eroded or was broken at the bottom, and is now sinking into the ground and the only wording I could get was:

George M. HACKETT

Apr. 22 [?], 1903 aged 41 years; (Stone fallen on the ground)
Elvira Pearl HACKETT

Jan. 20, 1904 aged 12 years
Eric George HACKETT

May 13, 1904 aged 1 year 7 months

Cha(rles?) [LEDREW] husband of Phoebe LEDREW
Aug. 24, 1903 aged 44 years; (This one has fallen and is sinking into ground.)
Phoebe LEDREW our dear mother
Oct. 5, 1924 aged 56 years.

George HACKETT

Oct. 19, 1919 aged 31 years & 5 months; (Broken and sinking into ground.)

Willis [STUCKLESS] husband of Thurza STUCKLESS
Apr. 28, 1912 aged 36 years
Eric [STUCKLESS] child of Willis & Thurza STUCKLESS
June 7, 1905 aged 9 months.
Jonathan [STUCKLESS] son of Uriah and Elizabeth STUCKLESS
9 Feb. 1905 aged 27 years.
Uriah [STUCKLESS] husband of Martha M. STUCKLESS
June 22, 1913 aged 66 years.
A. Chester A. [STUCKLESS] child of Elias C. & Francis G. STUCKLESS
Aug. 22, 1907 aged 4 months 6 days
Note: All in same plot, wrought iron fence surround - managed to get over this fence without too much trouble.

© 1998 Barbara Pederson and NL GenWeb
Notre Dame Bay West / Exploits