In the first settlement of the U.E. Loyalists in the old Township of Adolphustown every lot situated on the north side of Hay Bay, consisting of the fourth and fifth concessions, was at once assigned and nearly every one of them was at once occupied. It so happens that every one of these lots lies fronting the waters of either Hay Bay, or Bay Quinte, and that was a very important matter in the days when there were no roads, wagons or horses, and the water was the one common highway.

There was but one burying ground in that part of the township, and it alone has been used by the people of that locality from the time of the first settlement of the township to this day with a slight exception to two. It will probably continue to be the last resting place of many of the residents of that locality for generations to come. It happens, however, that the descendants of the first Loyalists who cleared away the wilderness there and transferred the then "wild lots" into very fruitful and productive farms have now nearly all left the township. It is somewhat singular that of all the well-known of the earliest and largest families all over the old township of Adolphustown, only a very few bearing the old family names now remain living there. The old residents of three score and three score and ten years are now surrounded by those whose names and families they knew nothing of in their early years.

THE OLD BURYING GROUND

A recent visit to the old burying ground in the Fourth concession of the township of Adolphustown, located on the small hill on the farm now occupied by James McMorine and Wm. H. Cadman, was of unusual interest to the writer. It recalled the memories of many faces and histories of those familiar many years ago, who were active and influential citizens in their day, but who are now silently resting until the resurrection day. Just how early that "God's acre" was established, and began to be used we know not, but it was probably soon after the first deaths began to occur among the earliest of the settlers. There seems at no time to have been any other common burying place established, and few of the dead among the settlers were taken elsewhere for burial.

The interments of the first generation were nearly all made before there were headstones at all in use, and what red cedar posts and other articles may have been made use of to mark the respective graves are now all obliterated. The ground is now in a much better condition that most of our old country graveyards, having been recently well and substantially fenced, with a very substantial steel wire fence and red cedar posts. The most of the headstones that were ever put there - they are nearly all white marble slabs - are also in a fair state of preservation. Today, with a very small expenditure of time, labor and money, it can all be put in a good condition. Perhaps all it may now need is for some active person to take the initiative of starting a subscription for that purpose.

SOME FAMILIAR NAMES

Among the names inscribed on these headstones are numbers of those well-known and familiar to the inhabitants of years ago, but hardly now known at all. They may as well be taken in rotation as they lived along the Hay Bay front, commencing at "the Point" at the western extremity. There first come those of William Casey and his wife Martha Robinson. They were the pioneers of what was well-known as "Casey's Point" in early times, and the name was often given to the entire neighborhood. That point has become pretty well isolated now, but in the early days when canoes and small sailing boats were alone used for traveling purposes it was considered a very central locality.

William Casey and his brother Willet, who first settled in the second concession of Adolphustown, were among the well-known of the earliest U.E.L. refugees. They were natives of Providence, Rhode Island where their father was a silversmith of considerable prominence. They were both active in the British course during the years of the American revolution, and of course, they shared the fortune of all the other Loyalists of that day, and had to find refuge in Canada, their property having been confiscated. Willet lies buried, with his wife and several members of his family, in the old U.E.L. burying ground at the village of Adolphustown, and mention has been made of them before. William and representatives of three generations of his family lie buried here. His name appears on the on the official lists of the U.E.L.'s in the Provincial Crown Lands Department with this official record: "Was a master carpenter in Quartermaster General's Department at Yorktown (previous to the outbreak of the revolution.) Came in 1786." His name was on the Government list of 1786 of those to whom provisions were supplied. His name also appears in the Crown Lands as the one to whom the original deed was granted for lots 24, 25, and 26 of the fourth concession of Adolphustown - farms now owned by Dr. Ward and Isaiah Sherman. He lived on that farm till the day of his death, and reared a large family, whose descendants are now pretty generally scattered in various parts of this province and in British Columbia, and elsewhere. He died in 1842 at the ripe age of 82 years. He was a member of the first Methodist class formed in Upper Canada, at Adolphustown. In 1791, he was one of the builders of the historic old Methodist Church there - the first of the kind built in Upper Canada, and his name stands on the original subscription list as one of the largest subscribers for its erection. His wife, Martha Robinson, was a native of Duchess County, New York, and was a member of a well-known Quaker family there. She died in 1840 aged 77 years.

They built a large and comfortable dwelling house for themselves over a hundred years ago, which is still standing and is now occupied, sound and quite as warm today as most of the modern built dwellings. It has seen the whole of one century and the end and commencement of two others. In their day it was not an uncommon thing to see wolves, foxes and bears passing along the bay shore directly in front of their own doors, and bears used to swim across the bay there, where it was over a mile wide. Two of the daughters once saw a bear thus swimming to shore, and went down to meet him, knowing how wet and tired he would be after such a swim and actually killed him with an axe and club. And it was quite a large one, too.

One of their children only, Samuel Robinson, with his wife, Hannah Johnson, have their final resting place beside the parents. Their daughter Elizabeth Jane, who died a young woman, and a grandchild, Jewel J., a young son of the late Hiram Casey, of Kingston are also lying in the same family plot.

GERMAN FAMILY

Christopher German, another of the pioneer settlers, lived next farm to Wm. Casey, and now lies buried close beside him. He was a native of New York State, when yet a British province, and during the war of the revolution, and was a soldier of the King's Loyal Rangers. He appears to have come also in 1786, together with two brothers, one of whom settled in Fifth town, now Marysburgh, and the other in Ninth town, now Tyendinaga. They all reared large families, and their descendants are today very numerous and widely scattered nearly all over the country, but none of the name are now left residing in Adolphustown.

Christopher German was a man of a good deal of prominence and influence in his day. He was one of the early magistrates of the county and a member of the early Court of Requests. He was also a member of the first Methodist class formed in the province, a local preacher of some prominence, and a trustee of the first Methodist church built. The writer yet remembers the large and genial old man, full of good nature. He is said to have been a man of powerful bass voice, and that counted a good deal in a public man's favor in those early days. He died suddenly, of apoplexy in 1840 in the 74th year of his age. He was a large and successful farmer and influential business man. The farm is now owned by Mr. James Jaynes, and is considered one of the best in the entire township.

His wife, Catharine, lies by his side. She survived him several years and died in 1849 aged 79 years. They reared a large family, several of whom became well-known and highly respected men. Two of the children of this family, John and Jane, were among the ten victims of the great drowning that occurred on that fatal Sunday morning of June 1819. The parents had reached there by an earlier boat and were helpless witnesses to the death struggle in the waters of their children a few rods off. We have heard it said by some of those who were living at that time, that the agony of the mother during that terrible moment was among the worst agonies they ever witnessed. She was a beautiful singer, and was said to have been singing with the others in the prayer meeting in the church when the alarm of the drowning struggle was given, but was never known to sing again. They were healthy and promising young people.

Two at least of the sons of Christopher German became useful Methodist local preachers, like their father. They were Peter and Matthew. Peter was for many years a resident of Prince Edward county, where he died and his memory was long held in high esteem. His son, Rev. John Wesley German, is now a respected old superannuated Methodist minister, residing at Berlin, Ont. Matthew was many years a resident of this county and died in North Fredericksburgh in 1860 and he and his first wife, Margaret Smith, lie buried not far from the graves of their parents. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and ability, and highly respected in his day.

THE BOGARTS

It was partly on the well known Bogart homestead, in the fourth concession, that the burying ground is located, and its location there may have been because of the first interment of some members of that once very large and well known family. Members of five generations of that family have been interred there. The family were of Dutch origin, and may have been among the settlers of the New Netherlands - at Tapaan, on the Hudson river, before New York became an English colony. Gilbert (or Gyspert in Dutch), Bogart, the head of this family, came from New York with several of their children among the first refugees who left New York in 1785, in the vessels that passed around the Atlantic coast and up the St. Lawrence as far as Sorel, before the close of the season of that year. They located on lot 21, which was originally deeded by the government to Gilbert and his son Abraham, and on which they both lived and died and were buried. Gilbert died in 1829, in the 78th year of his age and his wife, Mariah Lent, in 1837 in her 95th year. Their son, Abraham Bogart, died in 1844, in his 82d year, and his wife, Maria Lazier, in 1874 in her 102d year. Their son, Lewis Lazier Bogart, died in 1888, in his 85th year, and his wife, Elizabeth Cronk, in 1890, in her 77th year. Cornelius V. Bogart, another son, died at Belleville in 1888, in his 80th year. It well be seen from these figures, and some that are to follow, that they all belonged in a family noted for their longevity. Members of five generations of that family have been buried in that now historic ground. Some of the bodies have since been moved to another plot, but still it pretty well deserved to be called, as it was once know, as "the Bogart burying ground."

ABRAHAM'S BOGART'S DESCENDANTS

In the old church records of St. Paul's Church, South Fredericksburgh - the first church of England built in the Midland district if not in the province - is Rev. John Langhorn's original certificate of the marriage of "Abraham Bogart, of Adolphustown, bachelor, and Mary Lazier, spinster, of Sophiasburgh." That occurred on March 18 1792, and the original certificate with their signatures attached thereto is now in the Bishop's office, Kingston. Mr. F. Richardson took an excellent photograph of it last year. They reared a large and somewhat remarkable family of ten children, nine of whom, were sons, "and there was not a drone or a black sheep among them" used to be remarked by the older people. They all lived to be elderly people, were married and had families of their own, except, Peter who was one of the victims of the great drowning, already referred to in his eighteenth year. The sons nearly all of whom became prominent and respected men attributed and very properly, no doubt, much of their success in life to their energetic mother, to whom they paid truly regal respect and homage when she became one hundred years old.

She had the good judgement to introduce them all to learn some industrial trade, and nearly every branch of industry then available was represented among them. Among the trades taught to some of them were the blacksmith, cooper, tailor, hatter, carpenter, shoe maker, and we are not sure that exhausts the list. It is yet well known what extensive and quite wealthy business men some of them became, but the prudent foresight of the mother was for "something to fall back on, in case they fail" in other business speculations.

For lack of available space now it will be necessary to defer to a future issue references to the families of the Coles, Bensons, Campbells, Huycks, Valleaus, Clarks, Hermances, Sobys and others whose names are marked on the various graves in this old ground that may also well deserve the title of another Adolphustown U.E.L. burying ground.