Located in Alma, Ontario, St. Anthony was the first Roman Catholic church in the area. The cemetery is said to have always been called 'St. Anthony' while the adjoining church was named Holy Name Church. The church was established in the mid 1800's and was closed in 1942, though the cemetery remained. The location is noted as a Peel Historical Site, as the area was once in what was called Peel Township (not to be confused with Peel County/Region of the Greater Toronto Area). I was not able to find a lot of information on the cemetery or it's history, though I did come across one notable grave which has quite the tale behind it.
Dorothy Carroll (nee Stevens) was born in Swanton, Vermont, where she met and married Peter Lawrence Carroll of Ireland, in 1836. The couple settled in Elora, Ontario, Canada, where they raised ten children together. Sadly, Dorothy passed away due to complications after the birth of her eleventh child in 1858. She was laid to rest in St. Anthony's Cemetery. Peter remained in the area until his parents, who had been living with him, passed away. He then moved to Michigan to be closer to his eldest son Edward. Together, they started a very successful fruit farming business. When Peter passed away in 1881, he was buried in St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Michigan.
When Dorothy's great-great-grandson paid a visit to her headstone in St. Anthony's he was upset to see the rate at which the stone was disintegrating. He asked permission from the Township of Mapleton to have it removed, restored and installed beside her husband's headstone in Michigan. The headstone stands there now, bright white and gleaming beside Peter's. A small plaque was left in the headstone's place in St. Anthony's in order to preserve the memory of Dorothy and the family history in the area. As for the family's Michigan fruit farm - part of the property is now the Chateau Grand Traverse, and the land on which the farm was is still called "Carroll's Hill".
Research credit to:
Findagrave.com
Wellington County Museum & Archives
