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economist suntribune june 24 1987 c3 tales tied in with tombstones fbttm i r nw bhf ij y ijas aw jposyii bblyf- hsieb it iijlja 33300 hiisa fmbr hhnptoj cshsi a kji 56 skkkss uftmie gmir m 3 m 3 4mf sv jbm- s5 t- iizsi shot down f is i wwaawapawsaaw william fteifl kawr gk 03abtdtspl i vvs of canaofesf jafm2i b aug- 8 i8c checker champ anchors away along with the bodies there are a lot of stories buried in markham cemeteries take little willie leaper for example who according to his gravestone was shot dead on feb 1 1868 or ludwig wide- man who was killed in the shortlived rebellion of 1837 one day while gathering in formation in st andrews cemetery i came across the leaper boys headstone but i almost didnt get a chance to find out what happened to young william a rainstorm hit and since it was close to noon i thought id eat lunch in the car waiting out the downpour i ended up near ly joining my graveside com panions however when i started choking on my sand wich all i could think of was oh great im going to choke to death in a graveyard fortu nately i survived to find out how 10yearold willie hap pened to get shot in fact the markham eco nomist ran a story on the in quest into willies death in its issue of feb 6 1868 moore terhune director of markham historical society dug up the story on willies de mise mr terhune is conduct ing a survey of headstones to straighten out cemetery and genealogical records in mar kham five days before the inquest on feb 1 1868 a shooting match using live pidgeons took place at the wellington hotel during the contest some pigeons escaped one of the birds flew into a small stable on one of the back streets a group of small boys mystery still unravelled went inside to drive it out two men george wilson and wal ter tane awaited outside quoting from the paper the bird made its appearance to those on the outside and was immediately fired at but most unfortunately little willie leapers head received a part of the charge of shot killing him instantly the coroners jury found that there was culpable negligence and that tane had killed the boy but coroner jc freel disagreed he said that either man could have done it there was no mention of subsequent charges being laid thus ended the short life of 10yearold willie leaper 119 years ago amateur scribes mr terhune also came across a couple of amateur scribes at the locust hill cemetery it wasnt an uncom mon practice in the 1800s for people to have their own in scriptions engraved on tomb stones some of the poetry is well read on elizabeth thornton died sept 5 1854 but that didnt stop her from writing now lam dead and in my grave and all my bones are rotten but christ himself will think of me when i am quite forgotten elizabeth thornton is my name and with my pen i wrote the same whilst grass is green and roses red here is my name altho im dead martimus badgerow who died in his 74th year aug 23 1853 offers passersby these comforting thoughts on his headstone reader behold as you pass by as you are now so once was i as i am now soon will you be so prepare for death and follow me obviously when mr badgerow went to the great beyond he didnt want to go it alone checker champ another unusual tombstone to be found in the st andrews cemetery is william flem ings it is the only one of its kind in all of north america says local historian john lunau mr fleming the champion draughts player of canada for 22 years has a regulation size checkerboard engraved on his marker but possibly the most unique marker is for two scottish nan nies who drowned in 1925 a matching pair of open limes tone books are set in a cairn of fieldstones there are headstones carved in the shape of sawedup tree trunks and an irishman buried in his 81st year has a little stone lamb sitting atop his grave in the st andrews cemetery others have some perplex ing puzzlers enscribed in stone such as one william kovi bomba b dec 26 1907 d jan 13 1975 whose headstone reads no one knows where the hobo goes where does the hobo go so far no one has been able to say for sure at the dixon hill cemetery north of major mackenzie hwy is the tomb of ludwig one of the oldest wideman who mr lunau says was killed in the william lyon mackenzie rebellion of 1837 this year is the 150th anniversary of the revolt which saw 800 rebels mostly far mers armed with staves and pitchforks march down yonge st to overthrow the gov ernment for its stand on the family compact an account of the battle says captain wideman w killed in the first actual contact be tween rebel and loyalist forces in a stand of woods just north of what is now mount pleasant cemetery gannon ball a cannon ball struck a dry hemlock tree scattering bark and splinters that was when captain wideman fell whether he was killed by the cannonball or by the explosion of wood splinters the account didnt say there are some 60 cemeteries in the markham area i only visited a few there are many more unusual stones waiting to be redisco vered by curious passersby some sunny sunday consider taking a stroll back in time through the lives of people who lived hundreds of years ago the deacon family erected this monument to their two nannies who drowned in a pond on their property story and photos by bruce etheridge