GC2EF3R Four funerals, two caskets and three burials (Traditional Cache) in Ontario, Canada created by Inkyfiller

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GC2EF3R ▼

A cache by Inkyfiller Message this owner

Hidden : 9/2/2010

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Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Salem Church is one of the first congregations established in Glengarry by Rev. John Bethune in 1787 and has served the community for 222 years. The cemetary is a history of local namesakes and the simple church has evolved over many years.

Margaret Sophia Groves, a farmer's daughter, was born in 1832, in a love story that defies words, she had four funerals, two caskets and three burials. . Margaret Sophia married John Angus "Cariboo" Cameron, 12 yrs older than her but who was to become a local legend and made a fortune in the goldfields of British Columbia. The voyage to B.C. via Panama was long and arduous and the Camerons set out with their 4 month old daughter Alice. Within a week of arriving in Victoria, Margaret Sophia became ill and never recovered. Mrs. Cameron died at 3 a.m. on October 23, 1862 in Richfield, B.C., on an abnormally cold morning with temperatures in the -30 range with howling gale force winds. Only 97 people of the 5000 at the mining town remained for the funeral. Her body was placed in a tin casket inside a wooden coffin and buried temporarily under an abandoned cabin in Richfield but John Cameron vowed he would carry out her last wish; to be buried at "home" in Cornwall. Exactly two months later, three days before Christmas, Cameron struck pay dirt, within a couple of months he was a wealthy but grieving man and he decided to head for the coast. With 22 hired men, he journeyed through a wilderness of extreme cold, snowdrifts, dense forest and mountainous terrain, often without a trail, dragging the coffin on an awkward toboggan heaped with blankets, food and 50 lbs of gold. On March 7, 1863, having travelled 600 miles, they finally reached their destination. Here Sophia had a well attended funeral, was preserved in alcohol in preparation for the long voyage back east, and re-buried. Cameron returned to his claim and worked it from April until October of 1863 and left with eight horses laden with gold, the equivalent of $5 million in today's dollars. Sophia was exhumed and continued on her journey via boat to San Francisco, Panama and New York city, where customs officials were dubious as to the contents of the sealed coffin due to its massive weight. The last leg of the journey home was by rail and Sophia was again buried, in the family plot in Cornwall. Cameron was generous with his money, giving two of his brothers large sums and buying two farms for another two brothers who had helped him in British Columbia. He built a beautiful estate on the banks of the St Lawrence river at Summerstown and called it Fairfield, then married Christianne Woods, the daughter of a respectable local family. However, rumors continued to grow. Why had John Cameron spent so much effort bringing Sophia back? Some speculated that he had sold her into slavery and the coffin was filled with reserve gold. It wasn't until a New York newspaper printed a story stating that Sophia had escaped slavery and had returned to Fairfield Estate that he summoned her parents and the coffin was exhumed and the alcohol drained. Sophia, preserved in the alcohol, was identified by her parents and laid to rest for the final time in the Salem Cemetery near Summerstown. Please be respectful while searching for this cache as this is an active cemetery. Take time to enjoy the rich history. . While in the area, you may wish to explore where Sophia was born! Cache GC2CMZG Sell'er de Route #6 by Canuckeh & Dutchmaster will take you there. I thank them for the history of Sophia that I have included in this cache.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Pnzzb'q CO wne

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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Four funerals, two caskets and three burials Traditional Cache

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