Cemetery Board
A History of Knox Church and Cemetery
In 1848 Knox Free Presbyterian Church was organized in a northern rural community which was later to become Agincourt. The congregation erected a bare frame structure on an acre of property donated by Thomas Kennedy, situated at the north-east corner of Sheppard and Midland Avenues. By 1856, the congregation had outgrown it's frame church. An addition to the east end of the church effectively doubled the church's seating capacity.
In 1872, additional land was purchased from the Kennedys and the present Knox Church, of brick and stone, with its characteristic gothic windows and imposing spire, was constructed. At this time the original frame church was moved to the south side of Sheppard Avenue east of Midland.
In 1925, the congregation of Knox Presbyterian Church voted to become a part of the United Church of Canada. Four former ministers of Knox Church are buried in the Knox cemetery; Rev. J A Brown (minister from 1891 to 1907), Rev. D L Gordon (minister from 1918 to 1929), and Rev. Dr. R P MacKay (minister from 1877 to 1884) and Rev. Dr. Roy E. Webster (minister from 1958 to 1960).
There are no accurate records of the first burials in Knox cemetery.
Transcriptions of the earlier stones indicate that people were interred as early as 1832. One of these is Armstrong. These stones may be memorials to the early pioneer families of the area or perhaps, the land was originally used as a burial ground before ownership was transferred to Knox Church. Ownership of the cemetery and church grounds was not transferred to Knox Church until 1854 when the grounds to the north of the church were donated by Thomas Kennedy. The deed of transfer made no mention or stipulation as to how the grounds would be used.
In 1871 the adjoining acre was purchased from Thomas Kennedy to be used as a cemetery. One-fifth of an acre at the north end of the church grounds was purchased in 1911 to complete the present cemetery. Although church minutes state that Mr. George Cassie was commissioned, in 1869, to prepare a survey of the cemetery, the earliest recorded survey of the cemetery in existence is dated June 1, 1929.
Knox Church cemetery has been transcribed during the summer of 2009.