James Milne
1881-1935

Bryant Number(s): 131a
Type of Memorial: Granite grave marker
Stonecarver: Unknown

Inscription:
James Milne
1881-1935
World War Soldier

Commentary: James Milne, who died in 1935, was the last burial in the Old Colony Burying Ground. The graveyard had been closed to most burials for several decades, but provision had been made for burial here of persons with limited means, and Mr. Milne was the last (and possibly only) such case. Fewer burials were made in the Old Colony after the 1863 opening of Granville’s Maple Grove Cemetery, less than a halfmile to the east on East Maple Street.

Born in Scotland, Milne was a Canadian veteran of World War I. After the war he came to Granville, where he worked as a stone mason on the construction of the Granville Inn and the Granville Public Library, both on Broadway. Seasonally for many years, a local veteran organization has kept a Canadian flag on Mr. Milne’s grave. A total of about 75 veterans are buried in the Old Colony, representing at least six wars, but Milne is the only representative of World War I (called simply the “World War” in Milne’s 1935 inscription, which was prior to World War II).

Find a Grave link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19657242/james-p-milne