View source for Cataraqui Cemetery

{{Short description|Historic cemetery in Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox cemetery
|name = Cataraqui Cemetery
|image = Cataraqui Cemetery.jpg
|imagesize = 280px
|caption = Cataraqui Cemetery
|established = 1850
|location = 927 Purdy's Mill Road<br />[[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], [[Ontario]], Canada
|coordinates = {{coord|44|15|52|N|76|32|28|W|type:landmark_region:CA-ON|display=title,inline}}
|type = <!-- private, public-->
|owner = <!-- entity that owns the cemetery-->
|size = {{convert|91|acre|km2}}
|graves=  >46,000
|findagraveid = 639423
|website = {{URL|www.cataraquicemetery.ca}}
{{Designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NHSC |designation1_offname=Sir John A. Macdonald Gravesite<br>National Historic Site of Canada |designation1_date=1938 |designation2=NHSC |designation2_offname=Cataraqui Cemetery<br>National Historic Site of Canada |designation2_date=2011 }}
}}
[[File:Funeral of Sir John A. Macdonald, Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston, Ont.jpg|thumb|right|alt=coffin on carriage|Funeral of [[John A. Macdonald]], Cataraqui Cemetery]]
[[File:Grave_of_Sir_John_A._Macdonald,_Kingston,_Ontario.jpg|thumb|right|alt=stone cross|Grave of John Alexander Macdonald]]

'''Cataraqui Cemetery''' is a non-denominational cemetery located in [[Kingston, Ontario]], Canada. Founded in 1850, it predates [[Canadian Confederation]], and continues as an active burial ground.<ref name="kam">{{cite web|url=http://www.kingstonmuseums.ca/historic-cataraqui-cemetery|title=Cataraqui Cemetery National Historic Site of Canada|website=Kingston Association of Museums|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> The cemetery is 91 acres in a rural setting with rolling wooded terrain, ponds and watercourses.<ref name="plaques">{{cite web|url=http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaques/Plaque_Frontenac67.html|title=The Cataraqui Cemetery Historical Plaque|website=Ontario's Historic Plaques|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> More than 46,000 individuals are interred within the grounds, and it is the final resting place of many prominent Canadians, including the burial site of Canada's first [[prime minister]], [[John A. Macdonald]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thegreatwaterway.com/pt-activities-await/cataraqui-cemetery/|title=Cataraqui Cemetery National Historic Site of Canada|website=The Great Waterway|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> The Macdonald family gravesite, and the cemetery itself, are both designated as [[National Historic Sites of Canada]].<ref name="Gerard">{{cite web|url=http://kingstonherald.com/news/historical-cataraqui-cemetary-201037849|title=Government of Canada Recognizes Historical Significance of Cataraqui Cemetery|last=Gerard|first=Steve|date=2012-01-17|website=Kingston Herald|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref><ref name="nhs1">{{DFHD|13020|Cataraqui Cemetery National Historic Site of Canada|2018-01-25}}</ref><ref name="nhs2">{{CRHP|12964|Sir John A. Macdonald gravesite|2018-01-25}}</ref>

==History==
The cemetery charter was created during a special act of the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]] on August 10, 1850.<ref name="cataraqui">{{cite web|url=
http://www.cataraquicemetery.ca/history-genealogy/history-of-cataraqui-cemetery/|title=History of Cataraqui Cemetery|website=Cataraqui Cemetery|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> The Cataraqui Cemetery was incorporated as a not-for-profit, non-denominational, and public resting place.<ref name="burial">{{cite web|url=http://lowerburialground.ca/history/kingstons-cemeteries/|title=Kingston's Cemeteries|website=Kingston's Lower Burial Ground|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> [[Alexander Campbell (Canadian senator)|Alexander Campbell]] served as the first president.<ref name="cataraqui" /> Architect Frederick Cornell designed the cemetery landscape.<ref name="nhs1" /> Interments increased quickly when the City of Kingston passed a by-law in 1864, preventing burials within the city limits.<ref name="burial" /> The gravesite of John A. Macdonald and family plot were recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada on May 19, 1938.<ref name="nhs2" /> Cataraqui Cemetery as a whole was recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada on July 19, 2011.<ref name="nhs1" />

==Notable interments==
Cataraqui Cemetery is the final resting place for many notable persons including politicians, businessmen, humanitarians, and authors.<ref name="interments">{{cite web|url=https://cataraquicemetery.ca/62/Notable-People.html|title=Notable People|website=Cataraqui Cemetery|access-date=April 19, 2025}}</ref> The cemetery contains the war graves of 61 service personnel from [[World War I]], and 84 from [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2066446/KINGSTON%20(CATARAQUI)%20CEMETERY|title=Kingston (Cataraqui) Cemetery |website=Commonwealth War Graves Commission|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] owns a section that is reserved for interring the remains of those who dedicate their bodies to education and research.<ref name="queensu">{{cite web|url=http://www.queensu.ca/encyclopedia/c/cataraqui-cemetery|title=Cataraqui Cemetery|website=Queen's Encyclopedia|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref>

<!-- New links in alphabetical order please -->
* [[Leonard Birchall]] – Royal Canadian Air Force officer<ref name="interments" />
* [[Thomas Burrowes (artist)|Thomas Burrowes]] – Artist and surveyor<ref name="interments" /> 
* [[John Counter]] – First mayor of the City of Kingston<ref name="interments" />
* [[Alexander Campbell (Canadian senator)|Alexander Campbell]] – Father of Confederation, and a former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyandinnovation.ca/stories/sir-alexander-campbell|title=Sir Alexander Campbell|website=History & Innovation|access-date=2018-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012822/http://www.historyandinnovation.ca/stories/sir-alexander-campbell|archive-date=2018-01-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Wallace Bruce Matthews Carruthers]] – Founder of the Canadian Signal Corps<ref name="interments" />
* [[Richard John Cartwright]] – Businessman and politician<ref name="interments" />
* [[Dick Cherry]] – professional ice hockey player<ref>{{cite web|title=Richard John "Dick" Cherry|url=https://cataraquicemetery.ca/tribute/details/1493/Richard-Cherry/obituary.html |website=Cataraqui Cemetery|date=2025|access-date=April 4, 2025}}</ref>                                                                                                                                              
* [[James Corry (academic)|James Alexander Corry]] – Academic and principal of Queen's University<ref name="queensu" />
* [[William Coverdale (architect)|William Coverdale]] – Architect<ref name="interments" />
* [[John Creighton (warden)|John Creighton]] – Politician and warden<ref name="interments" />
* [[John James Deutsch]] – Economist and principal of Queen's University<ref name="queensu" />
* [[Harriet Dobbs]] – Artist, writer and humanitarian<ref name="interments" />
* [[George Monro Grant]] – Minister and principal of Queen's College<ref name="queensu" />
* [[John Hamilton (Ontario politician)|John Hamilton]] – Politician and cofounder of Queen's University
* [[George Airey Kirkpatrick]] – Politician and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario<ref name="interments" />
* [[Thomas Kirkpatrick (Canadian politician)|Thomas Kirkpatrick]] – First mayor of the Town of Kingston
* [[William Leitch (scientist)|William Leitch]] – Scientist and principal of Queen's University.<ref name="queensu" />
* [[Evan MacColl]] – the poet of Loch Fyne
* [[John A. Macdonald]] – First Prime Minister of Canada<ref name="nhs2" />
* [[Archibald Cameron Macdonell]] – Police officer and soldier<ref name="interments" />
* [[Agnes Maule Machar]] – Author, poet and social reformer<ref name="interments" />
* [[John Machar]] – Principal of Queen's University<ref name="queensu" />
* [[William Archibald Mackintosh]] – Economist and principal of Queen's University<ref name="queensu" />
* [[Thomas McLeod (sailor)|Thomas McLeod]] – Scottish sailor who took part in three expeditions to the South Pole<ref name="interments" />
* [[James Morton (Canadian businessman)|James Morton]] – Politician, and businessman<ref name="interments" />
* [[Edward John Barker Pense]] – Politician, and newspaper editor<ref name="interments" />
* [[Guilford Bevil Reed]] – Canadian medical researcher<ref name="queensu" />
* [[James Richardson (1819-1892)|James Richardson]] – Businessman, founder of James Richardson and Sons, Limited<ref name="interments" />
* [[James Sampson (physician)|James Sampson]] – Doctor, politician and a founder of Kingston General Hospital<ref name="interments" />
* [[Charles Sangster]] – Poet, fellow of the Royal Society<ref name="interments" />
* [[David Chadwick Smith]] – Economist and principal of Queen's University<ref name="queensu" />
* [[Henry Smith (Canadian politician, born 1812)|Henry Smith]] – Politician and lawyer<ref name="interments" />
* [[James T. Sutherland]] – Soldier, and Hockey Hall of Fame member<ref name="interments" />
* [[Robert Charles Wallace]] – Geologist, educator, academic administrator<ref name="queensu" />
* [[Zachary Taylor Wood]] – Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, and Yukon Territory

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Jennifer McKendry (1995). ''Weep not for me : A photographic essay and history of Cataraqui Cemetery'' Kingston, Ontario
* John H. Grenville (2000). ''An illustrated guide to monuments, memorials & markers in the Kingston area''  Kingston Historical Society Plaque Committee,  Kingston, Ontario, Kingston Historical Society
* Jennifer McKendry (2003). ''Into the silent land : historic cemeteries & graveyards in Ontario'', Kingston, Ont., {{ISBN|978-0969718758}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.cataraquicemetery.ca/history-genealogy/history-of-cataraqui-cemetery/ History of Catarqui Cemetery]
* {{Find a Grave cemetery}}

{{NHSC}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kingston, Ontario]]
[[Category:Cemeteries in Ontario]]
[[Category:National Historic Sites in Ontario]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kingston, Ontario]]