Burial ground under René-Lévesque Boulevard shines light on Scottish Montreal

A 19th-century burial ground uncovered during construction on René-Lévesque Boulevard has revived interest in the long and colourful history of Montreal's Scottish community.

Hydro-Québec workers installing a new electrical line recently found roughly 40 skeletons at the site of the old cemetery.

"We knew it was there, but it reminds you that the past isn't that far away," said Heather McNabb, who works at Montreal's McCord Museum and wrote her master's thesis on Montreal's Scottish community in the 19th century.

Cemetery on René-Lévesque opens 'small window' into Montreal history

Searching for clues

The cemetery, situated between what is now Jeanne-Mance and St-Urbain Streets, was in use between 1799 and the middle of the 19th century.

It was reserved for civilians and military personnel of Protestant faith, though it's not clear whether the skeletons found belonged to people of Scottish origin. 

English or Irish Protestants may also have been laid to rest at the site.

In 1854, when the cemetery was turned into a park, families were given the option of relocating the remains of their loved ones to the cemetery on Mount Royal. But not everyone followed suit, perhaps because they couldn't afford to. 

At least one prominent Scot, James McGill, the founder of McGill University, was among those laid to rest at the cemetery.

His remains were later moved to the front of McGill's iconic Arts Building.

The bones found this summer have been excavated, and a team of archeologists commissioned by Hydro-Québec is hoping they yield clues about who was buried there. 

Scotland's contribution

In 1861, there were 3,235 people of Scottish origin, 4,294 of English origin and 4,469 of Irish origin in Montreal, according to a city census.

Despite being relatively small in number, Montreal's Scots held sway over many of the key industries as the city grew into an economic force in the 19th century.

"Generation after generation, Scots were the single most powerful group in the Montreal business community, which meant they were the most powerful in Canada​," Donald MacKay wrote in his history of Scottish Montreal, The Square Mile: Merchant Princes of Montreal, in a passage cited by McNabb in her thesis.

But McNabb said the contribution of Scottish immigrants to the city is more complex than that.

"The research I did for my thesis pointed out that the majority of Scottish immigrants to Montreal were not the few famous, 'rags-to-riches' immigrants that are often featured in the stories of the influence of the Scottish community in Montreal," she wrote in an email. 

"Montreal's Scottish immigrant community was made up of a great number of people working in modest occupations (such as a clerk or a cabinetmaker)."

It's likely those were the Scots buried in the cemetery, which at the time was located in a suburb of Montreal, a long walk or carriage ride from the city centre, she said.

A new place of rest

Once the archeological tests are complete, the St. Andrew's Society, a group dedicated to Montreal's Scottish history and culture, has offered to bury the skeletons in empty plots on Mount Royal.

The group's president, Brian MacKenzie, said the plots were purchased "throughout the years to help folks who needed a final resting place."

Hydro-Québec has said it will provide more details on its findings in the coming months. 

Members of the St. Andrew's Society quickly began shooting emails back and forth after Hydro announced its discovery, he said, excited to learn more about the people who were buried there.

"It's just interesting to tie it all together," MacKenzie said.