Remembering Our Founding Parishioners
A Place of Peace and Remembrance
St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery is a quiet, sacred resting place for the founding parishioners and early Catholic families of St. Joseph Island. The cemetery reflects more than a century of faith, perseverance, and community life. Its earliest burials—such as Albert James Nelson (1894–1896) and Mary McMillan McCarty (1832–1901)—appear in the parish’s earliest documentation and predate the construction of St. Boniface Church in 1906 .
These early graves suggest that Catholic families established the site informally as a place to bury loved ones in consecrated ground long before the parish church was built.
St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery is officially listed as inactive in Ontario’s provincial cemetery registry. Inactive does not mean abandoned—it simply reflects that the cemetery is no longer accepting new interments.
Early Catholic Families of St. Joseph Island
Over time, the cemetery became the resting place for generations of island families—settlers, farmers, soldiers, Métis and French‑Canadian families, and parish founders whose names remain woven into the story of St. Boniface Parish. Families such as Nelson, McCarty, St. Martin, Reville, Aikens, and Vontom appear throughout the parish’s historical burial list .
Among the most significant memorials is the Vontom family plot, marking the resting place of two parish founders:
Professor George Vontom (1863–1906)
Rosa D’Erina Vontom (1871–1947)
Their lives and leadership helped shape the early Catholic community on St. Joseph Island
Visiting the Cemetery
The cemetery sits in a quiet woodland clearing, reached by a short lane off Ash Street. The lane is narrow and uneven, and parking is limited, so visitors are encouraged to car‑pool.
Walking gently on the uneven ground is recommended, and older headstones should not be touched or leaned on .
Those Who Rest Here
The cemetery holds 79 documented burials, representing the earliest generations of Catholic life in Hilton Township. These include pioneer settlers, parish founders, veterans, and families whose faith shaped the St. Boniface community from the late 19th century onward .
Some of the earliest recorded burials include:
Albert James Nelson (1894–1896)
Mary McCarty (1832–1901)
Nancy McQueen (unknown–1906)
Hugh McCarty (1833–1907)
Mary Desjardins (1825–1907)
Mary Belvall (1842–1907)
James Solomon (unknown–1907)
These names represent the earliest generations whose lives formed the foundation of our parish history.
Honouring Their Memory
This page is offered with gratitude for the generations of families whose lives shaped the Catholic community on St. Joseph Island and with respect for those who rest in this sacred place.
The cemetery remains a place of prayer, remembrance, and heritage—an enduring witness to the faith of those who came before us.
Explore the Records
Visitors may explore all documented memorials through the parish archives or the publicly available Find‑a‑Grave registry (click the link)
The full burial list, historical notes, and archival photographs are preserved in the parish’s cemetery binder for reference and stewardship.
