MAY 26, 2015
Page 1 of 1
11.
C.6 - CW INFO
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Focus
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3
The House of Refuge Cemetery
> Tales of our
Town
by Crysttl Layst
When people think of a
"House oflndustry or Ref­
ugen they might picture a
poorhouse, a workhouse, a
prison or a scen e from a
Charles Dickens novel But
in the 1800s, if you fell into
any of the following catego­
ries - destitute, jo bless,
homeless, blind, aged, wid­
owed, pregnant, alcohol
'intemperate' or abandoned
by a husband.or father - you
could have been admitted to
theHouse of Refuge.
In 189Q the House of R!'lf­
uge �was�. allowing
counties to receive $4000 to
purQiase up to 45 acres of
land on which to build an
institution. Middlesex was
well ahead of that date. Sup­
port for a.local House of Ref­
uge began here in the 1840s,
although it was almost 40
ye ai:;s b e fore o.ne w a s
opened. Construction
started in 1880 o n a three­
storey building located on
pres ent-day Napperton
Drive, just west of Strathroy.
The House officially opened
on January 12, 1881 with
four 'inmates: James Keys
was the first name fouµd in
the book titled "Register of
Paupers, Vagrants, and Idiots
received at the House of
Industry and Refuge County
of Middlesex".
T o d a y we a s s o c i a t e
'inmates' with prison, but in
the 1800s this described any­
one living in a public institu­
tion, including ajail, hospital
or asylum. House of Refuge
inmates/residents were
granted admission by th.e
acting reeve o.r a local coun­
cil member; theywere clas­
sifled as 'deserving poor�
T here was a supervisor (or
'keeper'), a matron and a
doctor on-site at all times. A
component of each of the
Houses was a working farm
where, if capable, inmates
were required to work to off­
set the cost of running the
facility. Over the years .the
H o us e of Refuge mod el
slowly evolved as other insti­
tution.s were opened !or
oxphans, the homeless and
people with me.ntal health.
·
concerns.
.
In the late 1800s and early
1900s many residents died of
common ailments recorded
as la grippe (influenza), gen­
eral disability, apoplexy
(stroke) .and paralysis, so
Houses of Refuge often had a
ceme�ery on site. The Burial
Register for-the "House of
Indnstry and Refuge, County
of Middlesex" indicates
there were two cemetery
plots, where approximately
l 80 people were inter.red.
The lm:ation of the first plot
is unknown, but about 90
former residents of the
House were buried there.
The first burial took place in
Feb rµa r y 1 8 81, after a
woman identified as 'Wldow
Cinnaiiion' died at the age of
77. She was admitted to the
House of RefQ.ge from Bkfrid
Township only two weeks
priox to her death. The last
person to be burled in the
first plDt was James Smith
from West Williams Town­
ship, who died onAugust 13,
1889, the same day he was
brought to the House. T he
second cemetery plot was
opened on October 10, 1889
with the death of Mary Bratt.
It was laid out in the north­
west comer of the farm, now
marked with a cedar hedge
and rows of trees. Although
the cemetery closed in 1900,
one more burial took place
two years later. George
Edwin Bratt, born to Lizzie
Bratt, was just eight days old
Colll1asy of fie Pos1l:ant Collection Musmn Slrallny..caramc.
when he died.
In the years· after t h e Middlesex County House of Refuge."
cemetery was. closed the
bodies of 93 people were
t h e s e r e s i d e n t s a r e Undsay Bannister. Further
sent to the London Medi­
interred.
research is being conducted
cal S c ho o l for research
All of this maysound like a on the House of Refuge cem­
purposes. The Anatomy grini and dismal way to live
eteries by Museum Strath­
in the late 1800s and early roy-Caradoc, with names
A c t a l l o w e d me dic a l
schools to legally procure 1900s. However, when a per­
soon to be provided online
uncl a i m ed bod ies from
son did not have any family
on the Museum's website
government institutions to
or could not afford help,
and in the local history area
further the advancement
there was no other optiori.
at Strathroylibrary.
of medical studies. This
Gradual improvements in
Please note that the next
c o nti n u e d u n t i l 1.931,
senior care and social ser­
meeting of the Strathroy &
when Middlesex County vices grew out of these insti­
District Historical Society
purchased plo ts-Within
tutions, and by the 1940s all will be held Tuesday, May19
S tr a t h r o y C e m e t e r y t o H o uses o f R e f u g e were .at 7 pm. in the Strathroy Sen­
bury those who either did - renamed Homes for the
ior Centre Lounge, 137 Frank
n o t h a v e a f a m i l y, o r Aged. Eventually the Mid.:
Street. Guest speaker will be
whose family could not
dlesex CountyHouse ofl\ef­
Ron Walker, Ailsa Craig His­
·afford a burial. T here is a
uge became Strathm:ere
torical Society, who will talk
gravestone in the <::e me­
LOdge.
about the 1923 fire that dev­
tery with the inscription
�article could not have astated the town of Ailsa
"Middiesex County Home"
been written without the ini­
C r a i g. T h e p u b l i c i s
to mark where some of
tial research provided b y welcome.
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