The Forgotten Cemetery of the St. Vital Parish (1879-1885)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE FORGOTTEN CEMETERY OF THE ST. VITAL PARISH (1879-1885): A DOCUMENTARY AND MORTUARY ANALYSIS A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment ofthe Requirements for the Degree ofMasters ofArts in the Department ofArchaeology University ofSaskatchewan Saskatoon By Colette Janelle Hopkins April 2004 © Copyright Colette Janelle Hopkins, 2004. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying ofthis thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head ofthe Department or the Dean ofthe College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying, publication, or use ofthis thesis or parts thereoffor financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made ofany material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use ofmaterial in this thesis in whole or in part should be addressed to: Head ofthe Department ofArchaeology University ofSaskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5BI 1 ABSTRACT The Roman Catholic Mission ofSt. Vital was established in November of 1877 in Battleford, Saskatchewan by the Oblates ofMary hnmaculate. On the south bank of the Battle River, a small church was soon constructed and a cemetery was opened for the burial ofdeceased members ofthe congregation. For a time, this cemetery acted as the sole public burial ground for the growing settlement. With the cQmmencement ofthe 1885 North-West Rebellion, the small cemetery south ofthe Battle River was abandoned, neglected, and forgotten. Instead, the St. Vital Parish opted to bury their dead in the newly established cemetery ofthe North West Mounted Police (NWMP). The NWMP Cemetery was in close proximity to Fort Battleford, where the majority ofBattleford's residents took refuge in the spring of 1885. In the fall of 1999, human remains and historic-period artifacts were uncovered south ofthe Battle River on the private land ofNeil and Helen Dyck. Initial archival research identified the materials as the remnants ofthe St. Vital Cemetery, which was used for interment between 1879 and 1885. Archaeological excavation ofthe cemetery in the summer of200l1ed to the recovery of30 individuals and associated cultural materials. Realizing the importance ofdata provided by archaeological materials and documentary evidence, the investigation ofthe St. Vital Cemetery was divided into two separate entities. Osteological and paleopathological assessments ofthe human remains were performed by a fellow graduate student, while a documentary and mortuary analysis was undertaken by the author. Cultural materials were used to confirm the antiquity and religious affiliation of the burial ground. In addition, the information provided by the cultural and skeletal materials was combined with data collected from various documentary sources to demonstrate the typical Christian burial practices evidenced at the St. Vital Cemetery. Most importantly, documentary sources shed light on the circumstances surrounding the abandonment and subsequent desecration ofa sacred site. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members ofmy Graduate Committee, including Dr. Kennedy, Dr. Foley, and Dr. Walker for their encouragement throughout the course of my research. A special thank-you to my graduate supervisor, Dr. Ernie Walker, for enduring nearly three years ofpractical jokes with a smile. Thank-you for allowing us to decorate the lab to suit our tastes! I would especially like to thank Treena Swanston, to whom I am grateful for sharing such a one-of-a-kind project. I was very fortunate to have worked with such a hard-working and sincere individual. Barb Neal is also deserving ofthanks for her tolerance ofdaily question and answer periods. A special thanks to the Heritage Branch, the Department ofHistory, and the R.C. Diocese ofPrince Albert for their generous financial support. Thank-you the R.M. of Battle River for providing the heavy equipment for excavation purposes. I would also like to thank Carlos Germann and John Brandon ofthe Provincial Heritage Branch for their part in the organization and execution ofthe cemetery excavation. Thank-you to Debi Farrow, Kevin Whatley, c.J. Harel, and the 2001 Field School for their help in the field. I must also mention the generous assistance ofarchivist Pauline Ford. Thank-you so much for your enthusiasm! The success ofthe cemetery excavation relied heavily on the gracious hospitality afforded by the landowners, Neil and Helen Dyck. Your patience and kindness did not go unnoticed. I would like to acknowledge Father Rowland Gaudet, Father Leo Mann, and local historian Don Light for their guidance and for lending their vast knowledge of history to a newcomer such as myself. I would also like to thank Maria Kurylo for helping with the translation ofvarious handwritten French documents. A big thank-you to Kim Weinbender, Antoine Beriault, and Mark Mackenzie for their generous assistance. Thank-you to all ofmy friends- You always knew when I was in dire need ofa good cup ofcoffee or a good laugh! I would especially like to thank my parents, Mike and Janet Gauthier, for their constant support ofmy never-ending educational goals. And thank-you to my sister for her incessant phone calls that forced me to take a much-needed break! Finally to my best friend and husband, Mark Hopkins. Your unwavering encouragement allowed me to take a leap offaith and pursue my dreams. For that and for so many other things, I am forever grateful. 111 DEDICATION I would like to dedicate the following thesis to those St. Vital parishioners whose memory lives on through the pages ofthis document. You shall not be forgotten. "As the years have rolled by, the men and women who lived our history have passed on. Some were remembered by large funerals, expensive headstones and lengthy obituaries; some have gone with little notice being taken oftheir passing, except by their families; and, some were laid to rest in unmarked graves. In many cases, little remains to remind us oftheir achievement or, for that matter, that they ever lived". Doug Light, Footprints in the Dust (1987: 8). IV TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii DEDICATION iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 CHAPTER TWO: The Establishment ofthe St. Vital Mission S 2.1 The Oblates ofMary Immaculate 2.2 The Arrival ofthe Oblates in Canada 2.3 Setting the Scene in Early Battleford 2.4 A BriefHistory ofthe S1. Vital Mission CHAPTER THREE: Death and Burial in 19th-Century Battleford 20 3.1 Early Deaths ofBattleford Residents 3.2 The Beginnings ofthe S1. Vital Cemetery 3.2.1 The Problematic Homestead Claim ofPeter Ballendine 3.2.2 "Glory Mount": A Planned Subdivision ofSouth Battleford 3.2.3 Interment ofNon-Catholics in the St. Vital Cemetery 3.3 The North West Mounted Police Cemetery 3.3.1 Complaints ofthe NWMP Concerning the Burials ofBattleford Citizens 3.4 The Town ofBattleford Cemetery 3.4.1 Unmarked Graves ofSt. Vital Parishioners in the Town Cemetery 3.4.2 Movement ofBodies to the Town Cemetery 3.4.3 Why Exhume Human Remains? 3.5 Summary CHAPTER FOUR: Site Discovery and Methodology .43 4.1 Cemetery Location 4.1.1 Early Accounts ofthe St. Vital Cemetery 4.2 Discovery ofthe S1. Vital Cemetery (FeOb-3) 4.3 Site Assessment 4.3.1 Ground Penetrating Radar Survey 4.4 Cemetery Excavation v 4.4.1 Mechanical Excavation 4.4.2 Number ofIndividuals Recovered 4.5 Laboratory Analysis 4.6 Archival Research and Interviews 4.6.1 Critical Analysis ofthe St. Vital Parish Register CHAPTER FIVE: Individual Burial Descriptions ofthe St. Vital Burial Assemhlage 60 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Description ofBurial Features 5.2.1 Burial Feature 2 5.2.2 Burial Feature 4 5.2.3 Burial Feature 5 5.2.4 Burial Feature 7 5.2.5 Burial Feature 8 5.2.6 Burial Feature 10 5.2.7 Burial Feature 11 5.2.8 Burial Feature 12 5.2.9 Burial Feature 13 5.2.10 Burial Feature 14 5.2.11 Burial Feature 15 5.2.12 Burial Feature 16 5.2.13 Burial Feature 17 5.2.14 Burial Feature 18 5.2.15 Burial Feature 19 5.2.16Burial Feature 20 5.2.17 Burial Feature 21 5.2.18 Burial Feature 22 5.2.19 Burial Feature 23 5.2.20 Burial Feature 24 5.2.21 Burial Feature 26 5.2.22 Burial Feature 27 5.2.23 Burial Feature 28 5.2.24 Burial Feature 29 5.2.25 Burial Feature 30 CHAPTER SIX: Description ofthe Artifacts Recovered from the St. Vital CemeterJI 85 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Sprague's Classification Scheme 6.2 Personal Items 6.2.1 Clothing 6.2.2 Footwear 6.2.3 Adornment 6.2.4 Body Ritual and Grooming 6.2.5 Indulgences 6.2.6 Ritual Items VI 6.2.7 Pocket tools andAccessories 6.3 Domestic Items 6.4 Architecture 6.4.1 Adornment 6.4.2 Hardware 6.4.3 Materials 6.5 Precontact 6.6 Unidentified Items 6.6.1 Unidentified Metal 6.6.2 Unidentified Organic 6.6.3 Unidentified Miscellaneous 6.7 Fabric Analysis 6.8 Summary CHAPTER SEVEN: Mortuary Practices Demonstrated at the St. Vital Cemetery 144 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Preparation ofthe Body 7.2.1 Burial Clothing 7.2.2 Cultural Materials andEvidence ofGrave Offerings 7.3 Placement in the Coffin 7.3.1 Body Position within the Coffin 7.4 Burial in the Cemetery 7.4.1 Orientation 7.5 Evidence ofDifferential Mortuary Treatment at the St.