Description of Historic Place

This cemetery is located near the York Point Road and a private residence. It is enclosed by a fence and consists of a variety headstones specific to the Dockendorff family. Mature birch trees grow on the site.

Heritage Value

The cemetery is valued for its historical association with the Dockendorff family. The Dockendorffs had German origins. The patriarch of the family, William Dockendorff (1722-1839), was born in Bristol, Maine (then part of Massachusetts). He and his sister Isabella and her husband, John Peter Cramer, came to the Island around 1790 and purchased land at York Point in 1792. He was married to Jane Simpson (b. 1768 in Moray, Scotland) on October 30, 1795. William is recorded in the Census of 1798 as residing in Lot 32.

William Dockendorff was active in the community, serving as Vice President of the Agriculture Society, Justice of the Peace, and also served in the House of Assembly for Queens County from 1812 to 1818. He also later served as a member from Georgetown from 1825 to 1831. During the term of colonial Governor Charles Douglass Smith, Dockendorff was one of the members who signed the petition to the King which called for Smith's recall. He was accused of abusing his office because he prosecuted those who were failing to pay their quit rents on the land they farmed.

When he passed away in 1839, William Dockendorff was described in the Colonial Herald newspaper as having "the reputation of being a faithful, conscientious and independent representative of the people." He was interred in Charlottetown's Old Protestant Burying Ground and his stone notes that he had been "a native of the State of Maine".

His descendents are listed in the Census records for 1881, 1891, and 1901 as farmers and Baptist adherents. They are related by marriage to many other families in the area, including Warren, Scott, Bain, and MacKinley.

The current cemetery is located on land that was purchased by William Dockendorff in 1806. Based on the remaining stones, it was used by the Dockendorff family between 1854 and 1932, however, earlier burials are likely.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communites, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/P16

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the cemetery is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the location of the cemetery in the York Point area which was settled by the Dockendorffs in 1792
- the variety and style of the remaining grave stones
- the potential for other graves on the site which are unmarked
- the fence enclosing the site and the birch trees which grow on the site