535-03 Page 161A MEMORIAL cairn was
soil he is believed to have
Jobn's Lodge, Ingersoll; Mrs.
Mayor Thomas J. Met
unveiled and dedicated yester-
been the oldest Mason in the
J. G. Poole of Toronto, a
Oxford County warden
day afternoon at the Ingersoll
world, then or since. Seen tak-
great granddaughter who with
on Cuthbert and James
Rural Cemetery to Charles
ing part in the ceremonies
Barbara Nancekivcll, three, a
of Ingersoll who did a
McCue who died in 1870 at the
from the left are Louis Bar-
great -great. great -great -great
amount of, historical res
age of almost 114 years. A
rett of Salford, a great grand-
granddaughter, ""tied the
after locating the fallen
pioneer of Dereham township
son, Gordon Pittock, MP.,
cairn; Rev. R. R. Sadleir of
atone which had lain for
and later a resident of Inger-
Hugh J. Gordon, Master of St.
St. James' Anglican church;
half buried in the sod,
CHARLES McCUE DIED IN 1870
Tung'/•_tgOl
Cairn Dedicated At Inger,
To Memory Of Oldest Ma
INGERSOLL — "We briefly
announced in our last issue the
death of Mr. Charles McCue,
at the advanced age of 113
years, 10 months, 21 days. He
was buried on Saturday after-
noon with Masonic honors, his
remains being followed to the
grave by a large number of the
brethren, many of whom were
from a distance and by a large
' concourse of other friends,
headed by the Ingersoll Brass
Band playing a dead march."
On May 5, 1870, The Inger-
soll Chronicle and Oxford Coun-
ty Intelligencer, predecessor of
The Sentinel -Review, carried
the news that Charles McCue,
a native of the North of Ireland,
who came to Canada in 1837,
had died.
He had enjoyed excellent
health until a short time before
his death and his slight figure
was a familiar one on the
streets of town or standing in
the local Anglican Church, his
hand cupped to his ear, the
better to hear the words being
spoken.
Yesterday afternoon there
was no brass band playing a
dead march and no mourning
following climbed the west hi111
of the Ingersoll But Ceme-
-tery to the grave of Charles Mc.
Cue where his bones have lain
for almost a hundred years be-
neath the white granite stone
carved on the face with a Mas-
onic apron and insignia.
RELATIVES ATTEND
But the relatives were there
and his Masonic brethren. They
converged across the green sod
ifrone sleek automobiles, t h e
!ladies' dresses colorful and
brief compared with the sombre
thening of, a century age, yet!
She men, apart from the abs-
ence of flowing beards, might
well have stepped out of that
Masonic procession of the past.
They gathered around a field-
stone cairn on the east side of
which is now embedded the ori-
ginal stone from Charles Mc.
Cue's grave and on the north
side a plaque stating that the
monument has been erected by
his descendants and the St.
John's Lodge No. 68, A.F. and
A.M. of Ingersoll.
Thus Ingersoll honored t he
memory of one of the pioneers
of Oxford county and paused in
remembrance of a man who
was known in 1870 to be the
oldest Mason in this country
and is known today as having
been the oldest Mason in t he
world.
Hugh J. Gordon, Master' of
the local lodge, spoke again the
eulogy of long ago describing
Charles McCue as a man who,
in his long lifetime, served his
Queen and country, and who
came to Canada in 1837 with
his sons and daughters to settle
in Dereham township.
In Dereham he built the first
school to educate the children
of his own and his neighbor's
families.
According to the Ingersoll
Chronicle account, preserved in
The Sentinel -Review archives,
Mr, McCue was born in the
town of McGibbery, Parish of
Maehremesk, County Antrim,
Ireland, and was christened in
the Church of England, in Lod•
gerstown by the Rev. Philip
Fletcher.
He joined the Yeomanry in
1793 and served in the rebel-
lion of 1798. Thence to Canada;
in 1837 to Dereham and then to
Ingersoll.
The Chronicle states that Mc-
Cue retained all his faculties
although his sight became
somewhat impairer during his
final years. His last words which
he uttered a few moments be.
fore he died were, "Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit."
WIFE DIED AT 99
His wife died in Al
also at the advent
99. The couple left a
sly of sons and
grandchildren and g.
children.
The cairn was unveiled by
the eldest and youngest de-
seendants, a great granddaugh-
ter Mrs. J. G. Poole of To-
ronto and a areat,erent•nreet-
Mr. and Mrs, Earl Nancekivell
of Ingersoll.
The cairn was dedicated by
Rev. R. R. Sadleir, rector of',
St. James' Anglican Chi
Ingersoll, and the address
given by a great grans
Louis D. Barrett of Salfor�
Also in attendance i
James Dean of Ingersoll
several years ago, heard o
existence of the Masonic g
stone in the local cemetery
did much to salvage it fron
spot where it lay half-buri.i
the ground. Mr. Dean d.
great dual of research hot
to the history of Charles M
and in searching for his.
scendants.
Mr. Dean has beenth4 a
ing force which brov `
gotten grave of a. VA