Merivale Cemetery
Merivale United Church Cemetery is located behind Merivale United Church, 1876 Merivale Road, Ottawa. The first burials on this site were carried out in the 1850s, when the cemetery was known as the Merivale Presbyterian Cemetery -- the United Church of Canada was formed in 1925 by union of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches in Canada. In 2006, the City of Ottawa recognized Merivale United Church Cemetery as a Heritage Cemetery under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Our cemetery is one of three adjoining cemeteries known collectively as the "Merivale Cemeteries", where many pioneers of this area found their final resting places. The other two are St. John the Divine AnglicanChurch Cemetery and Pinecrest Merivale, a public cemetery now managed by Pinecrest Remembrance Services. The first recorded burial in the Merivale Cemeteries is that of John Bell, an Anglican who died in 1847.
A fourth cemetery not directly adjoining the Merivale Cemeteries is the Holy Trinity Bukovynian Orthodox Cemetery, established in 1931 and located further south, at 1890 Merivale Road.
GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION
If you are searching for the burial place of a friend or family member, a good place to start is the Canadian Headstone Photo Project. Markers are organized by name, cemetery, county and province. Many of the stones at Merivale were originally photographed by the late Scott Naylor and his photos have been published on the Headstones site. The site is updated frequently and all of the Merivale Cemeteries are well represented.
Another good source of information is the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. In particular, The Merivale Cemeteries is an indexed compilation of headstone inscriptions, obituaries and death notices, historical accounts and a schematic layout of stones in the three cemeteries, updated to 1999 by Dolly M. Allen. While this publication is now out of print, it is available for viewing in the Ottawa Branch Library, part of the City of Ottawa Archives, and at the Centerpointe and Main locations of the Ottawa Public Library.
Cemetery By-Laws and Burial Rights Inquiries
Merivale United Church Cemetery offers cemetery plot burial rights for purchase by Church members and the general public. Our Cemetery By-laws and price list have been updated recently and can be found in the files below. Please contact Kathy Howard (613 - 440 - 4418) for further information.
We do not offer funeral home or cremation services. Whether you need to arrange a funeral, burial or cremation service now, or are planning ahead for yourself or someone else, this Ontario guide (PDF) may help you to make informed choices.