Métis history brought to the fore at unique site south of Tara

Jenna McGuire, Culture Keeper with the Historic Saugeen Métis, told of historical and geographical aspects of the Meausette Cemetery site at a rededication ceremony July 24.

Hub Staff

A modest gathering attended a cemetery rededication ceremony July 24 following a restoration project on a property that is not only significant from a historical perspective, but geographically as well.

The occasion was held at the Meausette Cemetery, which was established in 1860 on a property south of Tara, on the traditional territory of Saugeen Ojibway Nation. The property is now called Hidden Waters and is the home of Brenda Nicholson. It is so-called because the Sauble River, having gone underground a part concession to the southeast, re-emerges in Nicholson's back yard.

The restoration was led by the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie and the Nicholson family, and in 2017 the Historic Saugeen Métis (HSM), through its partnership with Bruce Power and the Bruce Power Community Sponsorship Program, contributed to the project.

Jenna McGuire, Culture Keeper with HSM said the site was significant, not only for its connection to the Meausette family, but also for its connection to Lake Huron.

"It's very, very special for our community to know that this site has been restored and is under great care and that Esther's wishes... are carried out almost two centuries later," McGuire said to start the mid morning event.

Esther Meausette (nee Blette dit Sorrel) was a Métis woman who had moved to the site's original homestead, now a neighbouring property owned by Schaus Land and Cattle Company, from Owen Sound with her husband Moses Meausette to work in the Invermay area. Invermay is a small community that neighbours Tara.

"Very sadly, most of Esther's family... passed away from Tuberculosis, many of them at a very young age, and they were buried here at this site," said McGuire.

In addition to Esther, Moses, and their seven children, the site is also the final resting place of Esther and Moses' daughter Angelique's husband John McPherson and their three children, as well as a community member named Patrick Hyde.

Moses Meausette passed away in 1860, after which time the property left the Meausette name, and in 1880 Esther purchased the area of the site where the burials had taken place.

"She purchased it in mind to protect it as she was getting older," explained McGuire. "She realized that she needed to do something to make sure that the site would forever stay protected," said McGuire.

McGuire also touched on another aspect of the property's history. The Meausettes would welcome a priest to their home when he was on a travelling mission throughout the Saugeen district, McGuire explained.

"On Manitoulin Island at Wikwemikong, there was a Jesuit mission, and that was the base, but that mission included areas like the Saugeen territory," McGuire said. "So Indigenous people in Saugeen that were Catholic wouldn't have access to a priest unless he had come on a specific visit so a lot of our community members and other community members... their baptism records have the Meausette site listed as their baptism site," said McGuire.

The unique water feature, McGuire explained, was another reason the site is significant to Métis people. "Water is really important to our community, our ancestors were canoe builders for the fur trade, they were voyageurs, they were sailors, they were tug boat captains, lighthouse keepers, fishermen, coopers. Our entire history, our way of life is one hundred percent connected to the water and still is for many of our community members today," McGuire said.

McGuire read out the names of those buried at the Meausette Cemetery, who at the time of their passing ranged in age from 11 months to 78 years. "A lot of very, very young souls are resting at this site because of being taken at a young age by Tuberculosis so it's a site with a lot of tragedy as well," said McGuire, adding that with the image of water running through the site, she thinks of Esther and what it would have been like for her at that time. McGuire recalled the Jesuit dictum of faith, hope, and charity.

"And women of course are bearers of water and as bearers of children they're bearers of water," McGuire said.

McGuire had created a special sash for the occasion that featured three white lines on blue, signifying the canoe as well as the connection to the water; also giving a medicine offering that included water imagery.

"It's filled with plants that I grew at Aunt Annie's garden in Southampton, it's a historic Métis home. There's a whole variety of medicine plants in here, some of them are Indigenous medicine plants and some of them are European medicine plants," said McGuire. "I've included both and I've added some bead work," McGuire said, adding that bead work is a way to show love to someone when they're no longer here or when you can no longer be with them.

The project was made possible by the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie, Bruce Power, and the Nicholson family. From left, Mayor of Arran-Elderslie, Steve Hammell; David Abbott, Director, Community and Indigenous Relations at Bruce Power; Brenda Nicholson, property owner; Jenna McGuire, Culture Keeper, Historic Saugeen Métis; Father Chris Tracey, St Joseph's Parish; Scott McLeod, Public Works Manager, Municipality of Arran-Elderslie.

Father Chris Tracey from St Joseph's Parish in Southampton gave a Catholic blessing at the Meausette Cemetery rededication ceremony July 24.

Patsy McArthur, Historic Saugeen Métis, took a moment to have her photo taken at the front door of the former Meausette home. McArthur said she first heard mention of the site in the late 1960s from Saugeen Shores historian Audrey Underwood. The collaboration that eventually led to the July 24 rededication got underway in 2016.

Father Chris Tracey reenacted a time in history when the travelling priest from Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island would stay with the Meausettes while doing mission work in the Saugeen territory, sometimes staying for a month at a time.

The Meausette homestead. The property is now owned by Schaus Land and Cattle Company and once belonged to Nicholson's late husband Bob's family of Tara's H. Nicholson & Son.