Old Catholic Cemetery Stone #15 John McLellan Dimensions: - New concrete base: 24”x20”x7” deep. - Obelisk: 45” tall clear of base. 12”x9” at base, 8”x4” at top Orientation: N/A Carver: Not identified Inscription: IN/ Memory/ of/ JOHN/ MCLELLAN/ October 17/ 1857/ Aged 27 yrs/ Material: Marble/Slate Condition: McLellan’s stone is in a fairly deteriorated condition. The obelisk itself is in one piece, but it appears that it had fallen over and was subsequently reset in concrete at one time. The stone is chipped and there is some lichen/moss growth. The fairly simple inscription is almost illegible in places, though the carving at the head of the stone (a large cuffed hand closed around a Latin cross with vines throughout) is still mostly visible. John McLellan’s large memorial is probably due to his young, tragic death rather than the affluence of his family or himself. In the 1838 census indicates that James McLellan, John’s father, owned 40 acres of cleared land, fifty of wilderness, ten cows, and four sheep. This would not have been a large estate, but the family was happy by all accounts. His father especially was known for his singing and dancing, and for joining his friend, Dougald, the “Old Squire,” in annoying the latter’s presumably good-natured mother. The tragic nature of John’s death garnered more representation in the local news than most. Two slightly different retellings of his death tell roughly the same story; that John was on his way home and decided to cross a river in Antigonish and ultimately was drowned before he could escape the cold, running water or be helped by passers-by. Mandi Hayne (edited by Christopher Greencorn) [ Back ]