JOSHUA DOAN

Gravestone in the Friends Burying Ground, on the south side of County Road 27, street number 46870, west of Sparta

The Sparta Settlement is remembered in a plaque at the cemetery. It was a prosperous farming community founded by Quaker Jonathan Doan, and in 1820 it provided land for the Friends Burying Ground.

Joshua Doan, born in Upper Canada in 1811, was executed at London 6 February 1839 for his participation after the failure of the Rebellion in December 1837 and a raid on Upper Canada a year later in December 1838. His gravestone can still be found in the Friends Burying Ground. Amos Perley, executed the same day as Doan, is also buried here. Co-leader of the rebels Daniel Bedford, executed in London (11 January) is buried in the Friends Burying Ground, North Norwich, Ontario. A classic novel, Joshua Doan by Gladys Francis Lewis, tells much of the story.