I have been interested in history for almost as long as I can remember. My mother and grandfather took me to see the King Tut exhibit at the AGO in 1979 when I was six years old.  An interest in “Dead Canadians” might seem a far distance from ancient Egypt, but not really when you consider that both relate to the study of funerary practices and remembering the deceased.

I began researching my family history when I was fourteen, for the Bronze level of my Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. This project has led to a lifelong passion for seeking out family, often quite distantly related, in census records, church archives and of course, cemeteries. While my mother’s ancestors came to Canada around the turn of the 20^th century, portions of my father’s family came to Canada in the early 1800s. So, while I can claim roots back to England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and even Mennonites from Switzerland, it turns out I have a lot of relatives who are ‘dead Canadians’!

My particular areas of interest for Dead Canadians are: abandoned graveyards, pioneer cemeteries, and the burial locations of early settlers. I am also interested in capturing information about the lives and deaths of British “Home Children”, of which I am one of four million estimated Canadian descendants.