United Empire Loyalist Heritage Centre & Cemetery
Adolphustown, Ont.
August 18, 2018
The sun was shining, and the tunes were cranked as the team rocked out and laughed on our late summer road trip. As we drove the country roads in our rented, black Suburban, we began to see the town of Napanee disappear behind us. Soon were where in Adolphustown, a place where history is still very much alive. We pulled into the location which is now part of a campground. As we slowly drove down the dirt road, the large, Victorian house stood out like a giant among the tents and trailers. We had arrived at the Allison house. One part of the United Empire Loyalist Heritage Centre.
Built in 1877, the house is located on the waterfront, just steps away from the UEL cemetery. It was a home fit for the busy Allison family and their many guests. The house was the focal point of the community’s social life. It also included the newest conveniences that any modern family would enjoy. David Wright Allison was a man of many things. His most important role was that of a Canadian politician (serving as a Liberal in the House of Commons). Born in 1826, D.W. Allison married at the age of 53, to Amelia Elizabeth Membery. Amelia was 23 years old at the time of their marriage, and between 1878 and 1883 they had 4 children – Mary Laura (Lacy), David Membery, John Benjamin and Raymond Joseph. In 1905, D.W. Allison was injured when he was run over by a runaway horse. Just over a year later his health was in decline and at the age of 85, he passed away. Amelia and their children lived long lives, respectfully.
Built in 1877, the house is located on the waterfront, just steps away from the UEL cemetery. It was a home fit for the busy Allison family and their many guests. The house was the focal point of the community’s social life. It also included the newest conveniences that any modern family would enjoy. David Wright Allison was a man of many things. His most important role was that of a Canadian politician (serving as a Liberal in the House of Commons). Born in 1826, D.W. Allison married at the age of 53, to Amelia Elizabeth Membery. Amelia was 23 years old at the time of their marriage, and between 1878 and 1883 they had 4 children – Mary Laura (Lacy), David Membery, John Benjamin and Raymond Joseph. In 1905, D.W. Allison was injured when he was run over by a runaway horse. Just over a year later his health was in decline and at the age of 85, he passed away. Amelia and their children lived long lives, respectfully.
We were greeted by our lovely host for the evening, with a fitting name – Allison. As we entered the house we were immediately taken aback by how grand and beautiful it was. You could feel the history of the family and the surrounding area envelope you. We decided to start the investigation with a tour of the house. Jay opted out of the tour, as he didn’t want to hear any of the history. This was because Jay was sensing things and didn’t want to form any bias. Alison (our team member) decided to remain with Jay and tour the house on their own.
We then headed over to the cemetery. Located on the same property, the Cemetery was the burial ground for the United Empire Loyalist who arrived on June 16, 1784. These United Empire Loyalists lived on the property, in tents, before finding and settling into their own homes and properties. Shortly after their arrival, the death of a child prompted them to establish the first Loyalist burial ground. The first graves were marked with wooden crosses, which has since disintegrated. Newer grave markers were put in place throughout the years. One of the earliest ones was for the Son of the Allison family maid. Thomas Hill was 21 years old when he fell through the ice during a skate on Lake Ontario in 1885. His Mother, Mary, who passed away in 1917 is buried with him. While we were walking around the cemetery it was told to us that the cemetery could be much bigger than what the fence showed. It was quite apparent that there may be a few graves located outside the fence. At one point, Jay indicated that he sensed there was a girl, maybe 12 to 14 years old in the brush behind the cemetery. Alison, Jay and Kara went to the edge to take a better look. The feeling was that she may have been murdered in that particular area, many years ago. It was something that the team wanted to look into more during our investigation.
We then headed over to the cemetery. Located on the same property, the Cemetery was the burial ground for the United Empire Loyalist who arrived on June 16, 1784. These United Empire Loyalists lived on the property, in tents, before finding and settling into their own homes and properties. Shortly after their arrival, the death of a child prompted them to establish the first Loyalist burial ground. The first graves were marked with wooden crosses, which has since disintegrated. Newer grave markers were put in place throughout the years. One of the earliest ones was for the Son of the Allison family maid. Thomas Hill was 21 years old when he fell through the ice during a skate on Lake Ontario in 1885. His Mother, Mary, who passed away in 1917 is buried with him. While we were walking around the cemetery it was told to us that the cemetery could be much bigger than what the fence showed. It was quite apparent that there may be a few graves located outside the fence. At one point, Jay indicated that he sensed there was a girl, maybe 12 to 14 years old in the brush behind the cemetery. Alison, Jay and Kara went to the edge to take a better look. The feeling was that she may have been murdered in that particular area, many years ago. It was something that the team wanted to look into more during our investigation.
We returned to the house to begin set up. Once that was completed it was time to begin the investigation. Sean and Kara headed to the basement, Jay and Alison headed upstairs. Rachel, Sheena and Devin remained on the main level. Before Jay and Alison headed upstairs, Jay looked in the Gentleman’s room. “Whoever goes in here, there is someone in there. It’s a male,” he said. That was the room that Rachel, Sheena and Devin were going to begin. Devin turned the Ghost Box on and they began. ‘Is there anybody here with us? Can you make a noise?” asked Rachel. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Trap’. “Make a noise, move a curtain, play piano,” added Sheena. All was quiet. Sheena then asked if who ever was with them to play with the REM Pod or K2 Meter. It was then that Rachel and Sheena thought they heard a footstep but attributed it to the old wooden floor shifting after walking on it. “Anything you want to tell us?” asked Rachel. “You want to sit down, have a cup of coffee? Or brandy?” Sheena added. It was then noticed that the K2 Meter on the table lit up. “Can you make it light up again for us?” asked Rachel. But it remained inactive. “Can you tell us who’s house this is?” she asked. “Who use to live here?” she continued. The K2 Meter lit up again. “That’s awesome!” exclaimed Rachel. “Can you do that again?” she asked. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Eggs’. “Eggs?” questioned Rachel. “You want some eggs?” she asked. The K2 Meter lit up again. “Awesome! Thank you very much,” Sheena said. They continued to ask questions but the K2 Meter remained inactive. Rachel then began to feel a coldness around her. “Are you standing over by Rachel right now?” asked Sheena. But no response. The feeling subsided shortly after. “Do you like that we are in your home?” Sheena asked. “We are here to just talk to you. Not hurt or banish you. We just want to get to know you,” she continued. All was quiet until Rachel felt a weird feeling in her leg. She described it as a muscle twitch, but it was definitely not one of those. “If you can touch Rachel, you can touch the antenna,” Sheena said. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Bracelet’. “Did you have a bracelet?” asked Rachel. The Ovilus 5 spoke again – ‘Drip’, ‘Heard’. ‘Oi’. They continued to ask a few more questions, but nothing else was heard. It was decided at that point to turn off the night vision hand held camera. “Now’s the time to go crazy,” Rachel said jokingly. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Wow’, ‘Unholy’, ‘Agree’, ‘Wrong’. “What we are doing isn’t evil, unholy or ungodly. We just want to talk to you,” responded Rachel. “This isn’t going to hurt you or take you away. It just lets us know you are here with us,” she continued. “We just want to know you are fine, living the afterlife, doing it up,” added Sheena. “How do you like people coming into your house?” questioned Sheena. A male voice was heard over the ghost box – ‘People’. Rachel then places the REM pod on a small ottoman that is by the loveseat. After it had reset itself, the group continued to asked questions. “Hi, I’m Sheena. What’s your name?” Sheena asked. “Are you here with us?” she continued. “How does it feel when people see you?” she asked next. Nothing was heard. “We would love to know more about you and your family,” Rachel added. It was at this point that the REM Pod activated. “See what I mean!” exclaimed Rachel. This was regarding turning off the hand-held camera. “Can you do that again?” asked Sheena, but the REM Pod remained quiet. “Please do that again. Now you know that it isn’t going to hurt you,” said Rachel. “Mr. Allison, if you’re here with us can you make that REM Pod light up again,” she asked next. Again, the REM Pod remained quiet. We waited a few more minutes, but nothing was experienced. Devin turned off the Ghost Box as we were not getting any responses through it yet. The Ovilus 5 spoke – ‘Crash’, ‘Blaze. Sean and Kara had now resurfaced from the basement, and had joined Rachel, Sheena and Devin in the Gentleman’s room. “You guy’s alright? Anything?” asked Sheena. Sean described what he thought may have been a scream that came from right beside him and that he was pretty sure he saw a shadow figure at one point, but that was all they had experienced down there. “Any more words?” Kara asked Rachel, regarding the Ovilus 5. “We had ‘Troop’, ‘Truck’, ‘Clock’, ‘Soul’, ‘Eggs’, ‘Bracelet’, ‘Drip’, ‘Heard’, ‘Dash’, ‘Had’, ‘Oi’, ‘Wow’, ‘Unholy’, ‘Agreed’, ‘Wrong’, ‘Crash’, and ‘Blaze’,” stated Rachel. The Ovilus 5 spoke again – ‘Judge’, ‘Basement’, ‘Right’. “Did you want them to go back down to the basement?” asked Rachel. But no response. “Are we playing games?” asked Sheena. The Ovilus 5 spoke again – ‘Help’, ‘Or’, ‘Think’. A few more questions were asked but no responses were heard. Sean and Kara had already headed to the second floor, so Rachel, Sheena and Devin gathered up their equipment and decided to follow.
Jay and Alison make their way to the second floor. “I just walked into something!” exclaimed Alison. “Sorry! It was weird,” she continued. The two make their way to the Master Bedroom, which is now office space. “It feels weird in here,” Alison said. The Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Round’. Alison announce her arrival to the room. “I don’t like it in here,” said Jay as they entered the Master Bedroom. “Hello Mr. Allison. Hello Mrs. Allison. We are here to talk to you, tell your stories.” Alison stated out loud. “Did you die in here?” she asked. Jay was quick to answer. “My chest is killing me. Heart side,” he said. “A lot of anxiety,” he continued. Alison agreed. “Yes. Anxious. Feels like its full of worry in here. Like a lot of heavy decisions were made in here” she said. They sat in complete silence before Alison broke it. “Did you see that?” she asked. “No,” replied Jay. “I swear I just saw a face peek in and dodge back,” she stated. “Do you think someone died in this room Jay?” she asked. “I don’t know,” replied Jay. “I get a lot of chest pain in this room. So, I am assuming this is where it happened. I don’t know, though,” he said. It was then that Jay noticed something behind Alison. “Someone is standing right behind you. I just watched them walk in to the room,” he said. “Oh! Hello!” exclaimed Alison. “I felt him when you said it. I said ‘Him’ because that is what I thought. Is he right behind me?” she asked. “Yup,” replied Jay. ‘Hello Mr. Allison. We mean you no harm,” Alison stated. “I’m getting ‘coffin’, and pressure here on my nose,” stated Jay. “Does it bother you that we are in your room right now?” asked Alison. No response was heard. Jay began to get ringing in his left ear. He then noticed something at the door. “Just seen a full figure, standing in the doorway to this room. It’s still there,” he said. “We mean you no harm, come talk to us,” said Alison. They both waited by nothing. “Ah man, my nose,” said Jay. “Right at the bridge. Like someone is pushing down on it. It’s a weird feeling. I’ve never had that before,” he said. Jay waited for the feeling to subside before continuing. “There is something else in here that I don’t know. I know he’s here, but she hasn’t shown herself to me yet. I know she’s here,” he said. “Do you think there is something in here that doesn’t belong to this house?” questioned Alison. Jay agreed. “From one of the artifacts?” she asked next. “Yeah, like a piece of furniture or something,” replied Jay. “If you’re here with us, make a noise please. Turn on a light, close the door,” Alison asked out loud. She then felt an immense pressure in her head. Jay noticed something shortly after. “Somebody. Not letting me see them. Just a black shadow. Arm, shoulder, male,” he said. “That’s not Mr. Allison. I don’t know who this person is. This one is shorter,” he continued. “I don’t know who this is at the door. I’m going to say it’s a boy. Around 13 – 14 years old, judging by height wise. But you never know. They can present themselves however,” he went on to say. Finally, Jay began to feel a little more at ease. However, Alison was feeling much different. “I just got the feeling of panic,” she said. “Like I’m not comfy,” she continued. Jay then begin to pick up on something else. “Young, Native man here. Mid 20s, at best,” he said. “I wonder what it is that brings him into the home?” asked Alison. “Does he see the home or just his land?” she continued. The Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Reverend’. “Does the Native man belong here?” Alison asked Jay. “Yes,” he answered. “Does he wear traditional gear? Like tribal gear?” she asked next. “Yes,” replied Jay. “Long, black straight hair with a bit of a wave. Deer hide,” he said. “He’s cautiously bent over, investigating something,” he continued. Jay was now feeling like he was getting drained of energy. Alison described how she seemed to have pain in her forehead. The two discussed a few things about the house and the family. She was particularly drawn to the one bedroom, that was currently set up to represent the master bedroom. She had figured that it was once the daughter’s room. The Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Lost’. “Who’s lost?” questioned Alison. No response. It was then that both of them heard footsteps. “I head that,” stated Alison. Jay agreed. “Those were footsteps coming up the stairs, or in and out of that room,” added Jay. “Do you want us to come into the bedroom?” asked Alison. The Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Africa’. “Everything here I feel is male. I wonder if that is because females weren’t to say anything in that era,” Jay stated. “Well a lot of people have seen her,” replied Alison. The Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Veronica’. “I feel like despite the age difference, they were really in love. Like this was a happy home,” continued Alison. “I did pick her up. Really dark, brown hair. Long. Flat,” Jay said. The two continued to discuss the lady of the house in hopes that it would bring her through. “If you’re there, show yourself,” Alison said out loud. It was then that both heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. “Are you human?” asked Alison. “Yeah!” replied Sean, who had now come to the second floor, and was a little confused with the question. Alison and Jay broke out laughing. “Cause a non-human just come up and was walking around,” said Alison. The Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Past’. “People of the past?” questioned Alison. “I think we should go to the other bedroom,” she stated. As they proceed to the other bedroom, our host Allison and another museum volunteer, join them on the second floor. The group now begins to investigate together. Jay asked if anything was ever out of place when staff arrived, but Allison said nothing was ever noticed. However, in previous years, staff had arrived to lights being on, when they know they were turned off. As Alison and Sean investigated the daughter’s bedroom, the Ovilus 3 spoke – ‘Teacher’. “Hey! We know she’s a teacher,” exclaimed Alison. She was right. The daughter of the D.W.Alison, was in fact, a teacher. It was at this point that the remaining team members made their way up the stairs and that it was now time to conduct our live video session
|
|
We decided now was the time to head back over to the cemetery to investigate there. All was quiet in the park at this time. It was peaceful and calm. We entered the cemetery and did a quick walk around before settling at the large monument to conduct a P-SB7 ghost box session.
It was now time to conclude our investigation and pack up our equipment. It seemed that the house was just as quiet as the property. We thanked Allison for being a wonderful host and headed back to the big, black SUV that would take us back home. As we waved good bye to the Allison house, it was almost as if it was bidding us farewell. Perhaps that shadow in the window was more than just a trick of the eye.
We highly suggest visiting U.E.L. Heritage Centre and Cemetery. This is a wonderful piece of history that teaches us so much about what life was like at that time. Enjoy the great outdoors, pitch a tent and spend the night! Like their website says, “Family Camping since 1784!" Campfire ghost stories will seem a little more real. Who knows, maybe a few spectral visitors will join.
For more information, visit their website at www.uel.ca
We highly suggest visiting U.E.L. Heritage Centre and Cemetery. This is a wonderful piece of history that teaches us so much about what life was like at that time. Enjoy the great outdoors, pitch a tent and spend the night! Like their website says, “Family Camping since 1784!" Campfire ghost stories will seem a little more real. Who knows, maybe a few spectral visitors will join.
For more information, visit their website at www.uel.ca