The final resting place of Rev. Francis Metherall has been found!

Thanks to historical documents, and recent photographs of a forgotten graveyard in Prince Edward Island, a genealogical and personal mystery has been cracked! I present: the rediscovery of the burial site of Reverend Francis Metherall - British pioneer missionary, Canadian historical figure, and my great-grandfather's great-grandfather.

This gravestone, essentially a historical monument, marks his grave and remains. It is located in the West Cape United Church Cemetery, in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The cemetery is a short walk from the farm Rev. Metherall owned, and the small local churches where he preached.

( image source )

"West Cape United Church Cemetery" is strangely named. For one, it is actually in Cape Wolfe, the neighboring community to West Cape. (I have found the two are often used interchangeably on addresses, documents, maps, etc.) Two, the United Church didn't exist in Rev. Metherall's day - it would have been a Bible Christian Church at the time.(+) And three, there's actually no church there at all. The graveyard is small, and all by itself, surrounded by farmland and ocean. If there was once a church there, there isn't now.

(+) It wasn't until the 1880s the Bible Christians merged with other similar churches and became the Methodist Church. In the 1920s when they merged with Presbyterian churches to become the United Church, today one of the largest religious denominations in the world.

The cemetery's name is one reason the grave was hard to track down. Most gravestones in Canada (and indeed, the world) have been photographed and uploaded to the internet, where they are indexed and searchable. But this noteworthy man's grave has escaped documentation until now.

Another reason it was so elusive, and likely why many historians and family members stopped searching, is a nearby memorial stone for Rev. Metherall was known to exist. It was created sometime in the mid-1900s, and contains some factual errors, but has for a long time been the only "gravestone" for this figure known to exist.

To make matters more confusing, even the location of that stone (technically a cenotaph) was misreported online. It has now been confirmed to be placed right next to Bethel United Church, in West Cape, as seen in this Google Maps Street View image:

So the burial site, and distinctive gravestone with personal inscription, went unknown. I did a comprehensive article on Rev. Metherall last year, but it was missing this major piece of the puzzle. It certainly is satisfying to have it solved!

How was the actual burial site found?

After sorting through available documents online, and getting to "know" Rev. Metherall and his children (my great great great aunts and great great great uncles), I lucked out and got in touch with a mutual living relative of ours. He still resides in Eastern Canada! And he got me in touch with a cousin of ours who helps manage and maintain the cemeteries in the Cape Wolfe / West Cape area.

Sounds simple, but that took me 2 years, which included a research break of several months while I unexpectedly moved my wife and babies across BC. Happily, things progressed quickly from there.

A series of emails between BC and PEI answered a lot of questions, as we filled each other in on everything we knew about our mutual ancestors. We sorted out the misreported location of the cenotaph. Then, our cousin who helps manage churches and graveyards took a series of photographs while he was working in the area. Boom! There it was, finally! Another shot:

Inscription:

Asleep in Jesus
Francis Metherall
A Father in Israel
Pioneer Bible Christian Missionary
to this Island;
Born in Devonshire, England in Dec.1791
Entered the Ministry in 1820,
Appointed to this Island in 1831.
Died at West Cape in great peace on
June 9th, 1875,
AEt 84 yrs.

---

An eminent christian and a greatly success
ful minister, his name is fragrant.

---

This stone is erected to perpetuate his memory
by some of his many christian friends, who thank
God for the grace that was given to him to
finish his course with joy, and the ministry
he had received of the Lord Jesus.

By my estimation, Rev. Metherall has about 2500 living descendants, including myself. Not all of them care where/who they came from, and that's fine. But there are at least a few within the extended family who do, and this news will be welcomed by them. It answers some questions, provides closure, and helps us better understand our family history.

The gravestone sits surrounded by gravestones of those who were close to him in life - his wife, his children, and a few close friends. The series of photos included all the stones in this little graveyard, and a few of the overall scene, like this:

There's my family! Francis Metherall's grave encircled by many of his children and grandchildren. To the right, the grave of one of his closest friends, James Kinley, prominent Cape Wolfe businessman, lay minister, shipbuilder, and postmaster. (The tall dark stone with a cross on top.)

A few of Mr. Metherall and Mr. Kinley's children married and had families together, including the branch of my family tree that headed West from P.E.I. to settle the rest of Canada. That makes James Kinley one of my great x4 grandfathers, along with Francis Metherall. How satisfying to see this photograph of the 2 of them lying in rest, side by side, with their wives and children all around.

Wonderfully, there's more to be discovered and analyzed! Genealogy is such an interesting discipline, allowing the researcher to go as superficial or as deep as they want to. Just when you think there's nothing else to find, you get a hint that leads to a fascinating new discovery! After 3 years of research, I am still learning about this single ancestor who died 150 years ago! And the discoveries aren't trivial - they're exciting, richly interesting, rewarding, and applicable. The past is a trove of revelations that provide me insights into my family and myself.

Rev. Metherall's will has been discovered!

As I was researching for this article, I lucked upon contact information of a fellow genealogist who investigates the Cape Wolfe and West Cape region of P.E.I., and sent him a message. Long story short, he taught me how to search archives for wills and probates! This is typically a more advanced part of genealogy, but it can yield some very useful and interesting information when successful. Not all wills are recorded, and of those, not all are available to the public, but I got lucky again....

I'm pleased to report that I now have a full copy of my great x4 grandfather's last will and testament! I plan to do a full article on the will, but in the meantime, here is one excerpt:

More than concern for his farm or belongings, more than concern for his life's work, Francis Metherall's greatest will and desire was that his family - my family - stay together.

We currently aren't doing a good job of that, but learning about my family's history is my own personal way of feeling close and connected with them.

Watch for my upcoming article on Rev. Metherall's will, including images of the scanned document, transcribed text of the handwriting, and my analysis.

Gratitude

I'm very thankful to my 2 cousins in P.E.I. who shared information about our mutual ancestors, and provided some of the photos used in this post. This gravestone has been standing there for generations, but wouldn't be available to anyone except a handful of locals without the help of my 2 cousins. Thank you both very much!

---

Daron Rutter
British Columbia, Canada
drutter (at) protonmail (dot) com
22 Sept 2023