I really enjoyed your video! Some of the images you included I had never seen before and I appreciate your respectful approach to Richard Johnson's story. Looking forward to seeing more.
My favorite story I heard on a tour in the early 90s was that of Cecilia Helmcken (nee Douglas). She is buried with her children who pre-deceased her under one of the larger monuments near the Cathedral. Supposedly the listed birth dates of her first two children are less than nine months apart. The reason was that the birth date of the first one was pushed later, to be nine months after her and Josh were married. Being a physician, Dr. Helmcken was able to have the birth certificate of the first child altered to hide this embarrassing detail.
You mean by the city council at the time? It certainly was a very controversial decision for them, it got a lot of attention and complaints back then. I've read somewhere that one of the people responsible for the decision had to resign over the debacle but I haven't been able to verify that.
Many of the gravestones were made of wood, which was cheaper and very common at the time. Those ones fell into disrepair a lot quicker than stone ones, rotting away or being damaged in occasional small bush fires. When the city cleaned up the cemetery, they decided not to replace the wooden markers, as many in Ross Bay have now been replaced by the Old Cemeteries Society. The city has records of who is buried in the cemetery, but very few records saying exactly where specific people are buried, so at this point it’s practically impossible to restore every grave stone
I really enjoyed your video! Some of the images you included I had never seen before and I appreciate your respectful approach to Richard Johnson's story. Looking forward to seeing more.
Very well summarized. A lot of info in a nice, short vlog. Thank you for a great vlog.
Very welcome!
Great video! I didn’t know anything about this square before
Thank you for this video. Long ago when I lived in Victoria, I would often pass this square without knowing its history. You explained it well.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This was super interesting! Loved the ghost bit!
My favorite story I heard on a tour in the early 90s was that of Cecilia Helmcken (nee Douglas). She is buried with her children who pre-deceased her under one of the larger monuments near the Cathedral. Supposedly the listed birth dates of her first two children are less than nine months apart. The reason was that the birth date of the first one was pushed later, to be nine months after her and Josh were married. Being a physician, Dr. Helmcken was able to have the birth certificate of the first child altered to hide this embarrassing detail.
That's a great story, thanks for sharing!
Just curious, who the f thought that fn up the gravestones was a great idea? Anyone else think they ought to have their gravestone disappeared?
You mean by the city council at the time? It certainly was a very controversial decision for them, it got a lot of attention and complaints back then. I've read somewhere that one of the people responsible for the decision had to resign over the debacle but I haven't been able to verify that.
@@PuraVidaPhotography Sure, all of em.
Many of the gravestones were made of wood, which was cheaper and very common at the time. Those ones fell into disrepair a lot quicker than stone ones, rotting away or being damaged in occasional small bush fires. When the city cleaned up the cemetery, they decided not to replace the wooden markers, as many in Ross Bay have now been replaced by the Old Cemeteries Society. The city has records of who is buried in the cemetery, but very few records saying exactly where specific people are buried, so at this point it’s practically impossible to restore every grave stone