Norris Point - Old Anglican Cemetery

While in Norris Point, Newfoundland, Cousin Peter, Cousin Kelly, and I took a trip to the Old Anglican Cemetery where many of my Samms and Organ ancestors are interred.

My great-great grandmother was Sarah Samms-Earle-Bromley. She was born in about 1857 in Norris Point. Her parents were Reuben Samms and Frances Organ-Samms-Smith. I wrote about Reuben's tragic demise in yesterday's post about the loss of the ship named the "Reddie."

A few years after Reuben's death Frances remarried to a man named Matthew Smith.

Upon our first visit to the Old Anglican Cemetery I forgotten about her second marriage and overlooked her headstone. Granted, I am generally surprised to find any of my ancestors even have a headstone since most often they do not. But three of four of Sarah Samms-Earle-Bromley's grandparent did have headstone in this cemetery as does her mother Frances Organ-Samms-Smith.

Sarah's paternal grandfather who had the same name as her father, Reuben Samms, did not have a stone. Her paternal grandmother, Sarah, whose maiden name I do not know did has a stone:

This is Sarah's maternal grandfather, Michael Organ's headstone:

Sarah's maternal grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Matthews-Organ's headstone is probably the most remarkable of all. It is wooden and according to an oral history which appears in the book, This is Our Place, This is Our Home by Joan Edward, this stone was craved by Michael Organ's brother, George Thomas Organ.

The funny thing about that last detail, that book was one of the coffee table books at the house we rented in Twillingate. Seeing the hand-drawn images of my 4th great grandmother's marker in that book made me feel like I was being nudged ahead to Norris Point with a mission to see these markers. I'm glad I saw them first-hand.