This area is the heart of the “Canada Settlement,” where several families who had moved from New England to Canada were forced to leave in 1812 upon their refusal to swear an oath to the King.

It is known that there was a small burying ground here once, though it has not been possible to turn up a reading. The plot was at the edge of the gully and may have been partially destroyed by erosion; it was certainly subject to damage from grazing livestock.

In any case, it seems likely that this is where the original landowners were buried. Buckley Johnson came to Starkey in 1814 and married twice. His first wife died here, though it is probable that his second wife Julia Youngs went west with their daughters. Buckley Johnson’s son Lyman resided on the homestead, as did Lyman’s son and only child Buckley Johnson Jr.

Nearly all the rest of the original Buckley Johnson’s family moved away from Yates County . Their neighbors and relatives the Sawyers and the Newcombs, who came together with them from Canada , are mostly buried in Rock Stream, as is Lyman Johnson. The family members on the following list could not be located elsewhere.