Historic Black Cemetery Has New Grave Markers

A historic Black cemetery in Campsie, Alberta, saw the installation of permanent granite markers over 13 graves due to a project initiated in 2022 by the Barrhead Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sixteen individuals, including four with family buried in the cemetery, were in attendance at the Bethel Baptist Cemetery as the markers were placed on July 12, 2024.

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It’s fitting for the people that are buried here,” said Paul Beaver, whose infant uncle, George Kenneth Beaver, received one of the new markers. “It’s very, very extraordinary … what the Latter-day Saints have done for the community.” Earlier, he stated that the cemetery would have remained forgotten if it hadn’t been for the Latter-day Saints.

Church member Arthur Gibbs, an area resident who knew members of the Beaver family, also attended the event. He was present when the cemetery was initially restored and has been involved in maintenance projects over the years. He was responsible for the earlier installation of the aluminum-etched markers, which were now being replaced. “It’s really amazing,” he said of the day’s event.

Gibbs' grandson, Nathan Hoag, was in his teens when he joined family and Church members at the initial cemetery restoration. Now, he’s president of the Edmonton Alberta North Stake. “I think it’s wonderful how the whole community has maintained and made this a special place,” he commented. “And not just the Church, but many community people.”

Cemetery History

In the early 1900s, Black settlers seeking a better life immigrated to Alberta from the United States. They settled in four communities, one of which was in Campsie, now in the County of Barrhead. A Baptist church was built, and the Bethel Baptist Cemetery was established. Thirteen community members were buried in the cemetery beginning in 1920, with the last burial in 1948. Around 1950, no further burials were permitted, and the cemetery was abandoned. The surrounding forest grew over it.

Cemetery Restoration

In 1997, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Church members to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah was celebrated. To commemorate the event, Church leaders designated a day as Pioneer Heritage Service Day. Congregations were invited to contribute at least 150 hours to local community service. In response to this invitation, the Barrhead Ward chose to restore the historic Bethel Baptist Cemetery, located near the homes of some congregation members.

On July 26, 1997, a group of Church members brushed the cemetery site, discovering all 13 graves marked only with small, upright, faded, funeral home–style markers. Church members and some area residents have maintained the cemetery since.

A few years later, a Church project to install more permanent markers was decided upon. Aluminum plaques with the names and death dates etched on them were purchased and installed over the graves by Gibbs and Garold Adams, who knew members of the original Black community.

After the cemetery was reclaimed, a 14th burial was permitted. Edna Lillian (Lewis) Lawrence, who died September 27, 2002, was buried next to her grandparents, Samuel and Margaret Risby.

Additional Permanent Grave Markers

In August 2022, Church members noticed that the aluminum markers were beginning to fade. They decided to replace the markers with more permanent stone markers and began looking into raising funds to do so.

Seeking a project to honour Black History Month in February 2023, Family Community Support Services (FCSS) in Barrhead learned of the cemetery project and sought to partner with the Church. FCSS took the lead in fundraising efforts and collecting donations.

Christine and Paul Beaver, two descendants of Campsie’s early Black settlers — who, in 2022, had given a presentation focusing on the Black settlement and the individuals buried in the cemetery — gave a presentation at the FCSS building on February 16, 2023. Attendees raised more than half of the needed funds. The fundraising continued, and additional donations were received.

Marker Manufacturing Begins

On July 10, 2023, the Beavers, armed with genealogy about those buried in the cemetery, met with Church member Bill Warwaryick. Together, they formulated the text for the new grave markers and submitted it to Rose City Memorials, who began designing and manufacturing the markers.

Project Completion

Although fundraising is ongoing, Rose City Memorials proceeded to manufacture and install the markers, confident that the Church and FCSS would reach their fundraising goal.

After all the markers were installed on July 12, 2024, and just about everyone had left the cemetery, a participant at the event came forward with a donation for almost all the funds necessary to complete the project, promising that the rest would be in the mail from another donor who was not present.

Members of the Barrhead congregation of the Church are committed to maintaining this historic cemetery for years to come.