This now abandoned little cemetery was used in the first half of the nineteenth century as a burial ground for children of the Knowlton family of South Crosby. (See designation bylaw, SC-1990-0041). It is on the north side of County Road 42, about mid-way between the villages of Crosby and Newboro. There are several field-stones on edge in the ground indicating other otherwise-unmarked graves. Part Lot 25, Concession 2 former Township of South Crosby was designated in 1990.

The Knowlton Cemetery is an inactive cemetery of the South Crosby Township which marks the resting place of some of the earliest settlers in our Community. The nineteenth century monuments in this cemetery were, for the most part, of local manufacture at Allyn’s Marbleworks in Delta, pre-Confederation monuments dating as early as 1820s.

Visit to site on October 3, 2023 shows there are only 8 visible headstones still in place. Oldest one seemed to be from 1818, for Sarah Knowlton, aged 3 years. Most are fallen down, or grown over and difficult to read. However, some stones had at one time been quite pretty; some included carvings such as weeping willows or other pictures. Varying sizes on stones, some upright and standing, others broken, other markers are flat and inset into ground. Several broken stones had been gathered by a visitor and rested against a nearby tree.

Most of the gravestones still visible denoted Knowltons, however one small stone just included the initials, E.L.J. suggesting that other families may have children buried there, too. The size of the graveyard indicates that there are more bodies buried there than what is evident by the remaining headstones and markers. In Sue Warren’s book, The Hub of the Rideau, it denotes that the Knowltons were one of the early settling families to come to Bastard Township, moving to the Crosby area around 1820. (Warren, Page 9) The Knowltons were part of the second generation of American settlers coming of age and purchasing lots in South Crosby, relocating from neighbouring townships.

The Hub of the Rideau reads that diaries, letter and tombstones of the era all attest to the number of children and young people who did not survive the sicknesses of settlers in the 19th century Leeds County. “Typhoid fever, tuberculosis, typhus, smallpox and malaria were all ugly realities of early Victorian Ontario,” the book reads.

Cholera, fatal farm accidents and even small injuries that resulted in blood poisoning were a serious concern. (Warren, page 41)

The cemetery was located on part of the Canon farm until purchased by Jesse Knowlton in 1861. The first burial marked by an engraved stone is that of Matilda Knowlton who died April 28, 1813. This is the oldest engraved stone in South Crosby and was one of the reasons the Township of South Crosby had this site Designated in 1990 under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Rideau Lakes file information notes that the cemetery has had many of its engraved stones removed and in many cases only foot stones remain to indicate where those graves were located. The cemetery is now owned and maintained by the Township of Rideau Lakes, and is identified by a Township cemetery sign.