Though often referred to as "Canada’s Oldest Regular Cemetery", an exact date of establishment for Garrison Cemetery has proven to be elusive. The oldest known burial, that of Pierre, I LeJeune, (1595 - 1636) was in 1636, when the French controlled Fort Anne, then known as Port Royal. Scottish colonizers built the first fort on what is now the site of Fort Anne in 1629. Next, the French built a succession of four forts on the site beginning in 1643, naming it Port Royal. In 1710, when Port Royal fell to the British, it was renamed Fort Anne. As all early burials here were either unmarked or marked with wooden markers, long since decayed, the earliest remaining tombstone is from 1720, that of Bathiah Douglass who died October 1, 1720 in her 37th year. Hers is also the oldest known English tombstone in Canada.
Canada’s Oldest Regular Cemetery:
Garrison Cemetery, Annapolis Royal, N.S.
Canada’s oldest formal cemetery is Garrison Cemetery, which is situated adjacent to historic Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. While Garrison Cemetery is not as large as the nearly-as-old eighteenth-century burial grounds in Halifax, the setting — amidst the rolling hills of the Fort’s grounds and the sweeping Annapolis River close by — is especially picturesque. Given that Annapolis Royal served as both the capital of Acadia and later as the first capital of Nova Scotia, the well-worn tombstones on the cemetery grounds are quite old indeed, as attested by the protective marker frames.
From Roots to the Past
Two cemeteries are located in this burial ground: the earlier Acadian parish cemetery and the later Church of England cemetery. The wooden markers once placed on most of the graves have long since decayed. The gravestones that remain represent only a small portion of the burials here.
Starting in the middle section, the Roman Catholic parish of St. Jean Baptiste located its cemetery in the area. Acadians from the Port-Royal French soldiers and administrators along with their families were buried here. There are no original signs of this cemetery visible.
When the British took the fort in 1710, they established a cemetery. This burial ground served the garrison and the Town of Annapolis Royal from 1710 until 1940.
From a plaque in the cemetery
Garrison Cemetery is also the resting place of a lady believed to be Canada's first female peace officer,
Rose Fortune (1774–1864), a Black Loyalist and native of the U.S. Born into slavery in Philadelphia, she escaped to Annapolis Royal during the American Revolution at the age of 10. In her honour, in May of 2015, the name M/V
Fundy Rose was given to the ferry that crosses the Bay of Fundy from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick. In 2017 she was further honoured with a video and a lovely monument placed in the Garrison Graveyard. A direct descendant, Daurene Lewis, was elected Mayor of Annapolis Royal in 1984, becoming the first African-Canadian woman to attain that position.
Some like Rose Fortune have no marker left to indicate her passing. The burial records of St. Luke’s Church of England indicate she was buried on Feb. 20, 1864. Rose, a Black Loyalist, originally a native of the U.S., is considered by some to be the first female police officer in Canada.
Rose began a luggage transport business to and from the docks using a wheelbarrow at first and then a cart. Later, she became the unofficial police officer for Annapolis Royal, patrolling the wharfs and town, imposing curfews and keeping youth in line. Rose’s daughter, Jane Godfrey, and her son-in-law, Isaac Godfrey, are buried in the Garrison Cemetery, near the entrance to the court house.
From The Halifax Chronicle Herald