Deceased Brethren
Our Ashlar Lodge No. 3 Historian recently came across the grave of Alexander W. Marshall (8 July 1817- 16 March 1889) in Bowen Road Cemetery, Nanaimo, B.C.
The grave marker displays the Masonic Square and Compasses and indicates he died at “Northfield”, now the area of Nanaimo around Northfield Road. We came across this list of fatalities in the coal mines around Nanaimo between the years 1874 and 1899 [note: PDF]. It lists an Alexander Marshall, a “sinker”who died on 16 May 1889 when he fell out of a bucket while being hauled up a sinker shaft.
Alexander Marshall’s gravestone is difficult to read as it is very worn by exposure to the elements but if we are reading it correctly it says that Alexander Marshall was born in 1817. If that is true it is worth commenting on that a 72 year man was working in a very physically demanding job that involved being hauled up and down mine shafts.
We believe Alexander Marshall was a member of Ashlar Lodge No. 3 but, at this point, our Historian has not had the time to do any research on Alexander W. Marshall so we have no biographical information or Lodge membership information to include on this page at this time.
We will add more information as we uncover it with future research.
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