Bison @ Book Family Cemetery
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Cache is located in the historic Book Family Cemetery, also referred to as the Book/Parkin Cemetery.
The Cemetery is located at 281 Book Road East, and is not visible from either Book Road, or Highway 6. Access to the cemetery is via a steep gravel driveway from the North side of Book Road, that winds around the east side of the property to a gate at the north side of the cemetery. You will have to park and walk up, hence the terrain rating.
Cache is a bison tube and there is only a log so please BYOP.
Congratulations to Foam Follower on the FTF!!
The above is all you need in order to find the cache. Please read below for the history of this very historical site.
In July of 2010, the Book Family Cemetery was recommended by the City of Hamilton to be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The earliest record of settlers in Ancaster is of 22 men, often known as "James Wilson and Associates", who, in a petition dated 1793, stated that they were encouraged by the Land Board and Acting Surveyor to settle upon these lands. Joseph Book was confirmed as one of the initial 22 settlers in Ancaster Township.
The Book Cemetery, located at 281 Book Road East in Ancaster, is associated with and used by members of the Book Family as a private cemetery between 1815 and 1912. The northern portion of Lot 45, Concession 4, facing Garner Road East, was owned and occupied by various descendants of the Book Family. After John Book's death in 1827, his son George John Book inherited all of the 700 acres that had been granted to the family in 1801. George Book granted the north half of Lot 45, Concession 5 to his brother Adam in 1832. From this point onwards, the north half was also known as the south half of Lot 45, Concession 4. All shares of this lot, however, were eventually purchased by George John's youngest son, William Book in the 1870s. This property remained in the Book Family until 1998.
It is located in the southeast corner of the south half of Lot 45, Concession 4, immediately east of the original farm house location. The cemetery was established by John and Charity Book for their burial of their son, Henry, in 1815, and remained in use for the next 97 years with descendants of the family continuing to live in and around Ancaster. Out of 88 burial recorded in the cemetery, 85 monuments remain. This is considered a very high number for an early Euro-Canadian Pioneer Family Cemetery.
Several members of the Book Family had large families, connecting them with other local pioneer families such as Shaver, File, and Vansickle families. The cemetery, along with the house and farmland, remained in the ownership of the Book Family until 1907, at which time it was sold to Robert and William J. Parkin - relatives of the Book Family through marriage. The house on this property was still occupied by Lorne Parkin until 1998, his family being the seventh generation of descendants of John Book to live on the property, marking the end of 209 years of continuous ownership of the lot by members of the Book-Parkin family.
During the last decade of the 18th century, as more Euro-Canadian settlers moved into the Hamilton area, burial plots were small and privately owned, typically situated on or near family farms, reserved for family members, although neighbours occasionally joined together to form a common burial ground. This may have occurred to a minor extent with the Book Cemetery as there are a number of markers inscribed with the names of people who have no obvious relationship with the Book Family. These unrelated surnames might have belonged to people who passes away at the Book residence during the time it served as an informal hospital.
In 2004, Lot 45, containing the Book House and Cemetery, was divided by the construction of Highway 6 South. As a result, the landscape surrounding the Book Cemetery was substantially altered. A cut for the new highway was made through the moraine, forming a valley between the former Book property to the west . The original Book farmhouse (constructed 1812-1818) to the west of the cemetery was destroyed by fire in 2005.
The cemetery was originally accessed through the Book farmstead, now terminated by the construction of Highway 6. Direct access to the cemetery was then provided by the City of Hamilton from Book Road East. This access has allowed for continuous repair and maintenance, with a new wire fence installed around the perimeter of the cemetery.
Additional Hints
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