September 2024
In a rural area of Niagara Falls, Ontario, not far from the roar of water rushing over the iconic natural wonder, is a grave dedicated to a young pioneer woman who died not long after arriving in what was then Upper Canada, over two hundred years ago. Her grave is not hard to spot.
Sitting just off the east side of McCredie Road, is a lone grave behind a rectangular-shaped black metal fence, is the silent reminder of a tragic love story from centuries ago. The inscription is faint, worn away by the harsh Canadian winters.
The marriage of William Misoner and Mary Van Sickle on 9 March 1801, in Morris County, New Jersey, was a day of joy and celebration for their friends and family. Outwardly, it was for William and Mary too, but unbeknownst to anyone else, they were concealing a shameful secret from their very conservative community.
Mary was two months pregnant.
As both knew that once it became apparent that Mary had become pregnant prior to the wedding, they decided to relocate to the Niagara area in Upper Canada to spare themselves the shame and condemnation of their families and their community. William’s aunt and uncle Nicholas and Jane Misoner already lived in the area, along Lyons Creek. It’s unknown if William and Mary told their friends and family if it was to be a permanent move or just temporary, but they had apparently decided to stay in Upper Canada regardless.
Staying with Nicholas and Jane, who were supportive of the young couple’s situation, they all awaited the birth of the child in October. Sadly, the story wouldn’t have a happy ending.
Mary died on 17 October 1801, just days after giving birth and a month shy of her 22nd birthday. The baby didn’t survive either.
Mary was buried in the Misoner family plot in the McCredie Farm Cemetery, possibly along with the baby. The grave stone was inscribed with: “Here Lies the Body of Mary Misoner, the Wife of William and Daughter of Isaac and Jane Van Sickle. Born November 23, 1779 and Departed This Life October 17, 1801. Here I Lay and Sleep in Peace. Psalm 4, Verse 8.”
William Misoner later moved to Jerseyville, just east of Ancaster, where he established a wagon and farm implement business. He died there in 1859.
The cemetery and the gravestones were covered over when McCredie Road was built. Only Mary’s stone was saved and moved from the actual grave plot near Lyons Creek and mounted close to the road.
The City of Niagara Falls Cemetery Services now has responsibility for the lone grave of a young wife who came to Upper Canada to escape the societal shame of sex before marriage.
Sources: A Niagara Note: The tragic tale behind McCredie Road’s solitary tombstone (stcatharinesstandard.ca).
