Two church buildings had stood on the corner lot, which was also the cemetery lot, and some felt the new building should go on the old site. Mayfield families wanted it built on the Mayfield road. A third group wanted it to be to the east of the old site, south of the main road toward Rustico.
John Franklin McNeill offered to donate a site at the third location. A committee consisting of Donald Montgomery Simpson (the writer's Fat her), John Hillman and John Franklin McNeill, was appointed to recommend a selection. The committee recommended the third choice, - the present site. The recommendation was approved and in 1901 the land donated by John Franklin McNeill was chosen and construction
begun. It was opened for worship in 1902.
The excerpt above is from the book "
Cavendish - Its History, Its People, Its Founding Families - Simpsons McNeills Clarks and their Kin", by Harold H. Simpson, dizitized by
Electric Scotland.
Today the cemetery is best known as the resting place of
Lucy Maud Montgomery, renowned author and writer of best selling book "
Anne of Green Gables".
In fact, over the cemetery entrance is a beautiful wrought iron archway, supported on each end by stone plinths, the lettering on which reads, not
Cavendish Cemetery but
RESTING PLACE OF L. M. MONTGOMERY CAVENDISH.
Each of the arch's plinths has a wingwall with a granite plaque attached. The plaque on the right reads:
CAVENDISH
CEMETERY
Founded 1835
This arch presented by
J.A. Bamber and Friends
1985
While the plaque on the left reads:
In memory of
Reverend R.J. Berlis, D.D.C.D.
of Montreal who began his
Presbyterian ministry on
P.E.I. in 1930 and departed
this life here August 26, 1984.
His last words:
"How wonderful to die here
on this beloved island
in peace.
Cavendish Cemetery
Here is an example of a small rural cemetery that is an international tourist attraction due to the notoriety of one of those who are interred there. The wrought iron arch around the front gate proclaims not the name of the cemetery, but the fact that it is the "Resting Place of L.M. Montgomery".
Lucy Maud Montgomery endeared herself to the world as the author of the "Anne of Green Gables" books. People flock from all over the world to pay homage to the author's birthplace, the cottage which inspired the books, and her gravesite (where she is interred with her husband, the Rev. Ewin MacDonald). It is not hard to find the grave of the famous author: just follow the path from the front gate. Also resting in the cemetery are the well marked graves of Montgomery's mother and grand parents.
From the University of Calgary