Biscotasing Cemetery
The Biscotasing cemetery is located at N47.30021° W82.10627° and is approximately 2600sq meters in size. The cemetery is shared between parishioners of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.
Joseph and Irma “Erma” Mathilda (nee Bouchat) Everard were married on Dec 27, 1879, in Saint-Mard, Luxembourg, Belgium and immigrated to Canada in 1886. While living in Biscotasing, Joseph and Erma gave birth to Maria Julie on May 4, 1888. Sadly, three months later on July 13, 1888, Marie Julie passed away. On July 15, 1888, Marie Julie became the earliest recorded catholic to be buried in the cemetery. Indeed, Marie is believed to be the first recorded burial in this sacred place.
The Jesuit’s records, where Maria’s internment record was found, described the location of Marie Julie’s burial as being “near the school”. The record goes on to record many more burials at this location thus becoming the village’s cemetery for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church.
Over the years, the cemetery has been largely maintained by volunteers. These volunteers have put in many hours of hard work to keep the grounds. Today, the graveyard is maintained by Rachel Charette. Before Rachel took the job, the cemetery grounds were maintained by such hard-working folks as Mary Kohls (1919-2014), followed by Hector St. Denis (1934-2022). Mary and Hector, however, have not been the only one to have helped maintain the graveyard. Over the years, many others have given both time and resources to the upkeep.
Families of Roman Catholics who wish to see their loved ones receive the Catholic rite of burial in Biscotasing can contact the parish office to make arrangements.
Other early recorded burial locations in Biscotasing
In addition to the cemetery formed near the school, St. Anne’s internment records also show two other burial locations for the first few years that records were kept.
The first burial location is recorded as “Half mile west of Bisco on south side of tracks”. Three people are shown as interned here.
The internment record was badly faded and only the surnames are legible. The first name in the internment record is “Quinguet”, 40 years old, and interned on September 11, 1888. The next two persons listed after the September 1888 dates are “Tremblay” and “Drolet”. Sadly, the burial dates for the “Tremblay” and “Drolet” were also badly faded and only a partial year (189-) could be made out in the registry. The next legible date in the record was July 1896 (a person buried near the school).
The second burial location in the Jesuit’s internment record lists the location as “near the home of Desharnais”. Two persons are buried here. They are Joseph-Jean Mathias Roussell (March 6, 1891 – April 13, 1891) and Joseph-Francis Roussell (September 30, 1893 – October 11, 1893). Both were children of Jean Mathias Roussell (1864-1959) and Célina Michaud (1867-1959).
Book of Life
In 2023, Rachel Charette, the current cemetery caretaker, undertook a genealogical project to record the names of the souls that are interned in the Cemetery. In May 2024, Rachel erected a cross at the cemetery to commemorate all the souls that are interned and has placed a “Book of Life” listing those souls that have a memorial monument in the cemetery and those who do not have a monument.
Rachel has spent many hours sifting through historical documents, including documents on the Ancestry website. Many documents were in poor condition, had very bad handwriting, or were incomplete. If anyone sees any errors or omissions, please contact Rachel using the link below.
There is currently 92 people with a headstone and approximately 181 people without a headstone.
Rachel’s work can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the buttons below;
Last Updated on: August 12, 2024
