Mary Crane and Henry Charlton farmed a plot of land near the Annapolis River off what is now Mount Hanley Road. When they died in 1815 and 1816, they were buried at the edge of their field. “This would be at the back of the family property and they could assume there would have been other burials, because it was also common to have a burial site where there would be a few generations,” says Steve Skafte, author and explorer of the lost and abandoned of places and roads in the Annapolis Valley.
It was lost in the 1970s
But it appears that only Crane and Charlton were buried in the land, and the family soon broke up, leaving relatives today throughout North America and Europe. The family remained attached to the house and the headstone was last visited in the 1970s.
But the forests have completely reclaimed the land and efforts to find the tombstone have failed. Skafte heard about the expedition and searched for it for a period of two years.
Christopher Bent is a fifth-generation descendant and grew up in Nova Scotia, although he now lives in Windsor, Ont.
“They came to Nova Scotia from Massachusetts after the Acadians were driven out. They settled in Wilmot Township between 1762 and 1765,” Bent said.
Bent and Skafte added every grave they found to the Find a Grave website, but were unable to locate the missing headstone. Some locals thought they knew where it was, but they weren’t mobile enough to walk through the trees.
Random chat solves the case
But recently Skafte’s brother happened to mention it in conversation with a person who knew exactly where to find it. Skafte followed the directions across a stream and deep into the woods by the river. Skafte saw clues in what was not present. “Typically I find you don’t see a lot of rocks on the surface, and that suggests they were probably thrown into the river when they cleared the field.” Henry Charlton’s name shows his burial place. Mary Crane’s name is on the other half of the stone. (Jon Tattrie/CBC) And among the thick foliage in the stone forests, he spotted a broken stone slab, half buried in the earth. He dusted it off and realized he had found the lost tombstone for Mary Crane and Henry Charlton. “Steve is the one who is out there tirelessly hunting cemeteries and cleaning them up. He does the leg work and I’m incredibly grateful,” Bent said. When Skafte posted about it on social media, he heard from descendants of the area, in the US and Denmark. “I think it was very exciting for them. Until you see a stone, a lot of times people are unsure of people’s ages, the exact dates they lived or died, or even exactly where the family property was,” he said. . “It’s a connection for a lot of these people to be able to say, ‘Oh yeah, this is where we came from,’ which I think people care about now maybe more than ever.” MORE TOP STORIES
