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Selected Reprints from the
Grand River Branch Newsletter, Branches
"The Sacred Tomb of Loyalist Joseph Brant
and His Youngest Son, John"
Angela E.M. Files, May 1998, Vol.10
No.1, Pages 5-6
At the left side of the
burial grounds beside the Mohawk Chapel, stands the impressive stone tomb
of Chief Joseph Brant and his youngest son, John. On November 24,
1807, Chief Joseph Brant died at his home at Wellington Square (next
to the present Joseph Brant Hospital, Burlington, Ontario).
In 1850, a relay of Natives carried the bones of Joseph Brant to his final
resting place beside the Mohawk Chapel, Brantford.
Chief John Brant, son of Chief Joseph, was born on September 27, 1794.
At 38 years of age, he died of the dreadful disease, cholera. His
remains were placed beside his father's in the tomb.
The two inscriptions on the tomb reads as follows:
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Thayendanegea,
or Captain Joseph Brant, Principal Chief and Warrior of the
Six Nations, born on the banks of the Ohio River 1742, died at
Wellington Square, Upper Canada, 1807
Ahyouyaighs or
Captain John Brant who succeeded his father, Tekarihgged, and
distinguished himself in the War of 1812-14, born at the
Mohawk Village, Upper Canada 1794, died at Mohawk Village in
1832. |
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The tomb was erected in 1850 by their fellow subjects, admirers of their
fidelity to the British Crown. Attached to the fence around the tomb
is an iron plaque which reads as follows:
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This
Tree was planted at the Foot
of
Joseph Brant's Tomb
By
HRH The Prince of Wales
On
his visit to the Mohawks
October 20, 1917
Brant
Chapter
Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire |
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Nearby a simple memorial
stone reads:
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To
the Blessed Memory of
My
Beloved
Great Great Grandmother
Catherine Brant
Wife of Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea
Who
Departed This Life
1832
The
Evening Sun Has Gone
Down on the Gracious Lady
of
the Brant House
erected by Solomon Lewis |
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In the past years, royal
visitors and commoners have paid their respects to the Brant tomb; today
many sojourn to the site and reflect upon the Loyalist settlements along
the Grand River.
Some of the lettering is fading on both the tomb and plaque, so it is a
good idea to preserve the information in our Loyalist newsletter.
" Thirty years ago
[1850], the wooden vault in which Brant's remains and those of his
son John were interred had become dilapidated. The Six Nations resolved upon
constructing a new one of stone, and re-interring the remains. Brant was a
prominent member of the Masonic fraternity in his day, and the various Masonic
lodges throughout the neighbourhood lent their aid to the Indians in their
undertaking. The project was finally carried out on the twenty-seventh of
November, 1850. There was an immense gathering at Mohawk village on the
occasion, which is generally referred to as “Brant's second funeral.” The
Indians and whites vied with each other in doing honour to the memory of the
departed chief. The remains were interred in a more spacious vault, over which a
plain granite tomb was raised. The slab which covers the aperture contains the
following inscription:
This Tomb
Is erected to the memory of
THAYENDANEGEA, or
CAPT. JOSEPH BRANT,
Principal Chief and
Warrior of
The Six Nations Indians,
By his Fellow Subjects,
Admirers of his Fidelity and
Attachment to the
British Crown.
Born on the Banks of the
Ohio River, 1742, died at
Wellington Square, U.C., 1807.
It also contains the remains
Of his son Ahyouwaighs, or
CAPT. JOHN BRANT,
who succeeded his father as
TEKARIHOGEA,
And distinguished himself
In the war of 1812-15
Born at the Mohawk Village, U.C., 1794;
Died at the same place, 1832.
Erected 1850.
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This sketch would be incomplete without some allusion to the project which
was set in motion about six years ago, having for its object the erection of a
suitable monument to the great Chief's memory. On the 25th of August, 1874, His
Excellency, Lord Dufferin, in response to an invitation from the Six Nations,
paid them a visit at their Council House, in the township of Tuscarora, a few
miles below Brantford. He was entertained by the chiefs and warriors, who
submitted to him, for transmission to England, an address to His Royal Highness
Prince Arthur, who was enrolled an Honorary Chief of the Confederacy on the
occasion of his visit to Canada in 1869. The address, after referring to Brant's
many and important services to the British Crown, expressed the anxious desire
of his people to see a fitting monument erected to his memory. Lord Dufferin
transmitted the address, and received Prince Arthur's assurances of his approval
of, and good will towards, the undertaking. A committee, consisting of many of
the leading officials and residents of the Dominion, was at once formed, and a
subscription list was opened at the Bank of British North America, at Brantford. A good many contributions have since come in, but the fund is still insufficient
to enable the committee to carry out their project in a fitting manner. We have
referred to the fact that no village is now in existence at Mohawk. The Indians
have deserted the neighbourhood and taken up their quarters elsewhere. Brant's
tomb by the old church, being in an out-of-the-way spot, remote from the haunts
of men, has fallen a prey to the sacrilegious hands of tourists and others, who
have shamefully mutilated it by repeated chippings of fragments which have been
carried away as relics. It is proposed to place the new monument in the centre
of Victoria Park, opposite the Court House, in Brantford, where it will be under
the surveillance of the local authorities, and where there will be no danger of
mutilation. That Brant's memory deserves such a tribute is a matter as to which
there can be no difference of opinion, and the undertaking is one that deserves
the hearty support of the Canadian people. We owe a heavy debt to the Indians;
heavier than we are likely to pay. It does not reflect credit upon our national
sense of gratitude that no fitting monument marks our appreciation of the
services of those two great Indians, Brant and Tecumseh. "
Source:
Canadian Notabilities, Volume 1
by John Charles Dent
ISBN: 1414273401
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http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/8cnn110.txt |
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HM Royal Chapel of the
Mohawks, Brantford
Joseph
and John Brant tomb is to the right side of the church. |
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