Plans to dig up historic Georgina cemetery raise grave concerns

Land owner applied to dig up and move Johnston Cemetery in Pefferlaw

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 2, 2021
Amanda Persico

The Johnston family were some of the first settlers in Pefferlaw.

The brothers -- William and Robert -- founded the little town along the river in the 1820s, with William erecting the dam and building the mills, and Robert owning a farm and opening the first general store.

The William side of the Johnston family are buried on a private plot of land -- Auld Castle Cemetery -- off Park Road in Sutton, and the plot is designated as a historical site on the town’s heritage registrar.

The Johnston Cemetery is a 1,000 square-foot plot of land off Pefferlaw Road and is the final resting place for Robert and less than a dozen of his decedents, including his son William, one of the first wharf masters at Port Bolster.

The two brothers, separated by death, are further separated by historical significance as the town’s heritage committee recently started the historical designation process for the Johnston Cemetery.

“The (Johnston) cemetery is on the main street,” said Karen Wolfe, a Pefferlaw resident and member of the Georgina Historical Society.

“It’s part of our streetscape. It’s in our face every day. That has value.”

But the property owner is aiming to have the Robert Johnston family graves dug up and moved.

The cemetery, located on the former Johnston farm, and the mechanic’s garage, are owned by Sansiveria Investments Ltd., a private investment firm in Toronto that specializes in auto repair shops.

Sansiveria applied to the province’s burial registrar to move the Johnston Cemetery to the nearby Cooke’s Cemetery.

There is a 45-day public comment period, which started Jan. 20. Email comments can be sent to nancy.watkins@ontario.ca.

Along with the numerous "rest in peace" social media comments, there is also a strong historical connection to the Johnston family and the little cemetery encased by a wrought iron fence on the main street, dating back to 1860.

“Once you get rid of history, you never get it back,” said Wolfe, who already sent her submission to the burial registrar.

“Any heritage structure in situ has far more value where it is than if it’s picked up and moved," she added.

In line with policies set out by the province’s registrar, a property owner can apply to close a cemetery and move the graves and markers if there is no objection and if moving the graves is in the public interest, which includes maintenance of the cemetery and its markers and monuments; public safety; and to preserve the dignity, quiet and good order of the cemetery.

The same rules apply to a cemetery of historical value.

In fact, it’s up to the public to inform the registrar of the cemetery’s historical importance.

Wolfe garnered support from local, regional and provincial historical societies along with a number of genealogy societies, who object to moving the Johnston Cemetery.

The Georgina Advocate reached out to Sansiveria and asked: why the application was being put forward at this time; and what is the intentional use for the site once graves are removed?

Sansiveria, via comment from their lawyer, Edward Perlmutter, declined to comment.

“Closure of the cemetery will enable the property to be more fully used as part of the normal commercial development of the town,” reads the cemetery closure notice in the Advocate.

In her research to have the cemetery designated under the town’s heritage registrar, Wolfe uncovered a 2017 letter from Sansiveria via Perlmutter offering the Johnston Cemetery to the town as a donation.

“That would have solved the problem,” Wolfe said of the land donation, which was discussed in a closed session of council.

According to Wolfe, Perlmutter recently said the town also requested the small strip of land to the west of the Johnston Cemetery and the former church turned fire station.

“(Sansiveria) thought it was a land grab and walked away,” Wolfe said of the conversation with Perlmutter. “That’s when we lost the opportunity to protect this heritage site. It’s disappointing.”