Inistioge, Canada and Ireland

Hello from Canada to Inistioge, County Kilkenny, Ireland. ;-)

I've recently been in contact with a visitor who left a comment about a post regarding the "Inistioge United Church Cemetery, Inistioge, Proton Township, Grey County, Ontario.

Hi, I am facinated to see that there is a little place in Ontario called Inistioge, named after the one in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. I am from Inistioge, Ireland and would love to find out the name of the founder that travelled from our little village. I would appreciate any information that anyone may have. My email address is rayslocalnews@yahoo.ie Thank you. Ray.

So I thought that I would collect what information I have about Inistioge, Proton Topwnship, Grey County, Ontario and put it together here.

HISTORY: GHOST TOWNS OF ONTARIO ~ INISTIOGE

Inistioge was born in 1851 and died in 1971. Its father was a George Armstrong who fled his native village of Inistioge in Ireland for a better life in Canada. It too was a stopping place along the Toronto-Sydenham Road, a resting place for weary travelers. Armstrong donated a portion of his land for use by a Wesleyan church and the early settlers quickly built a small log chapel. Twenty years later it was replaced with a small red brick building. The hamlet might have flourished had it not been for the railroad locating its station closer to Proton, a village just a mile away. The last building to survive was the church. Its last service took place in January, 1961 and was dismantled shortly afterwards. REMAINS: All that survives today is the cemetery and commerative plaque that proclaims: "Inistioge ~ 1851 - 1971" 

SOURCES: HOME PAGE: http://www.ghosttowns.com/bottomcanada.html 

INISTIOGE PAGE: http://www.ghosttowns.com/canada/ontario/inistioge.html

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Inistioge United Church Cemetery ~

Proton Township, Grey County, Ontario ~ 1851-1971
1851-2010 = 159 years

SOURCE:

http://www.ontarioobits.com/genealogy/cemetery/GreyCountyCemeteries.htm

The Church was originally Methodist, until the amalgamation of the Methodist, Presbyterian (2/3) and Congregational Churches across Canada in 1925.

From what I can determine, these grave markers were gathered together at the location of the little Church in order to preserve this cemetery site. There are 47 markers, the earliest date I see is 1856 and the latest date is 1942. However, several of the markers (8) are so worn that the dates cannot be read. It appears that the oldest stones (14) are the ones lying flat in the front row, along with the two that are for children. The gray one on the left is too worn to read, but has a little lamb on the top of it. The white one on the right is for the three ACHESON children that I have posted about before. The ACHESON families are my ancestors.

May 18, 2010
Thanks to Janet Iles for her comment providing the following information:

"In my information on the Inistioge United Church, (originally Methodist) was not torn down when the church closed in 1961. The church shed, where the horses had been tied in early days, was purchased by a farmer. William Crockford removed the bricks from the church building and he hauled it away to become a machine shed."

2010 Copyright © Carole Gates