In the early 1800s, fur trading companies established British authorities in what was then called the Columbia District. In 1858, once the border for Canada had been realized, British Columbia became a colony. It is there, at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada, where Ross Bay Cemetery lies. Established in 1872, the cemetery is known today for its rumored hauntings. Many claim they’ve seen spirits wandering among the graves. David Fee is one of these spirits, a man murdered on the steps of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in 1890 on Christmas Eve. His unjust and unnecessary murder was so public that his funeral was the most attended in Victorian history.

The cemetery is home to many famous individuals, including politicians, soldiers, and artists, including Sr. James Douglas, a knight, Robert Dunsmuir, an industrialist, and Emily Carr, an artist and author. However, maybe the most significant of them all is Isabella Mainville Ross. Born in 1808 to a French-Canadian and an Ojibwe woman, she married at age fourteen. She bore nine children (some argue ten). Her husband worked for the Hudson Bay Company, and because of this, the family moved constantly. In 1854, after her husband had passed away, she purchased ninety-nine acres of land in Fort Victoria. She later died and was buried on her property, where Ross Bay Cemetery is now located.

Ross Bay Cemetery’s significance lies not in its rumored hauntings nor in its many famous permanent residents but in Isabella Mainville Ross’ legacy. The purchase of the land, which eventually became Ross Bay Cemetery, made Isabella Ross the first female to own land in British Columbia. This was one of the first steps of many in breaking down the prominent ideas for gender roles of the time and eventually helped pave the way to a better world for women.

References: 

https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/1890-christmas-eve-murder-david-fee

https://oldcem.bc.ca/cem/cem_rb/em_rb_tour/isabella-mainville-ross/