issn 1206-4394 the heritage gazette of the trent valley ...€¦ · to grape island, afterwards...

ISSN 1206-4394

The Heritage Gazette of the Trent ValleyVolume 10, number 1, May 2005

Table of Contents

Trent Valley Archives ................................................................................................... 2Trent Valley Archives celebrates an Open House ......Jeff Leal, MPP and Susan Dorfman-Kyle 2The Life of William Roxburgh of Norwood, part I1 .................................... Frank Roxburgh 3A Rocky Path for Ontario’s Land Records ...................................................... Gina Martin 7‘We are what we keep’: Canada’s archives are in crisis .......................... Guy Vanderhaeghe 10Canadian Historical Association Report on the release of the historical censuses: Bill S-18 Terry Cook 11Thrilling Story of Girl Rescued from Grave ..................................... Wide World Magazine 13Workmen found skeleton in rear of post office .....................Peterborough Examiner, 1911 15Anniversaries 2005Peterborough the Electric City: 100 years later ........................................... Elwood Jones 16Building Peterborough’s Edwardian House: American Style ............................................... 17A Great Hockey Town Could be Great at Lacrosse .......................... H. R. H. Kenner, 1904 17Aldermen Settle Down to Business ........................................ Peterborough Review, 1904 18Seeking a site for the Peterborough Armouries, 1904 ........................Peterborough Review 19Gordon Roper .................................................................................... Michael Peterman 20Queries .................................................................................................... Diane Robnik 21 Bannon, Creswell - Watt, McFadyen, Miller & Firth Wind Mill Co., Peterson, Douro Dummer Cemeteries

William Hepburn Scott, Mayor and MP ...................................................... Elwood Jones 21Former Mayor Dead: Mr William Toole ................................... Peterborough Review 1904 22Gene sleuths study skull believed to be that of pirate from 14th century .............................. 23Upper Canada Documentary History Project: A J Christie’s Emigrant Assistant (1821) ........ 23Wall of Honour and Confederation Park ..................................................... Elwood Jones 25News, View and Reviews ................................................................................................. 26TVA Publications Program Off and Running ..................................................................... 27Burials from St John’s English Church, Peterborough, 1842-1844 ..................................... 28Trent Valley Archives: upcoming events ........................................................................... 30Edwardian Peterborough Conference, May 2005 ........................................ Elwood Jones 31Trent Valley Archives ..................................................................................................... 32Peterborough’s Centennial .............................................................................................. 32Trent University Archives “documents the modern” .......................................................... 32Trent Valley Archives; Nexicom Communications ..................................................Inside covers

Cover photo: Peterborough celebrations bring big crowds to the Little Lake Marina [photo by Art Dainton,2004]

Trent Valley ARCHIVESFairview Heritage Centre

567 Carnegie AvenuePeterborough Ontario K9L 1N1

(705) [email protected]

www.trentvalleyarchives.com

http://www.trentvalleyarchives.com

Heritage Gazette of the Trent Valley Volume 10 * number 1 * May 2005 2

Trent Valley

ARCHIVES

Fairview Heritage Centre567 Carnegie Avenue

Peterborough ON K9L 1N1(705) 745-4404

[email protected]

Reading Room open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm

Board of DirectorsHeather Aiton-Landry

David EdgertonBruce Fitzpatrick

Paul HealyElwood Jones

Susan KyleDoug Lavery

Alice MacKenzieJohn MarshGina Martin

Don Willcock

Heritage Gazette of the Trent ValleyElwood Jones, editor

[email protected] DinsdaleMartha KiddJohn MarshGina Martin

Diane RobnikDon Willcock, assistant editor

Trent Valley ArchivesDiane Robnik

Associate [email protected]

The information and opinionsexpressed are those of the contributorsand not necessarily those of the TrentValley Archives or its directors.

©2005 Trent Valley Archives

Any copying, downloading or uploadingwithout the explicit consent of the editoris prohibited. Classroom use isencouraged, but please inform the editorof such use.

President’s ReportTrent Valley Archives Celebrates an Open House

Peterborough – At an Open House onWednesday, Ontario Trillium Foundationvolunteer Glenn Hodge offered hiscongratulations to the staff andvolunteers of the Trent Valley Archivesafter seeing the results of a $24,200grant the group received from theOntario Trillium Foundation in March2004.

“I’m very pleased to see that the OntarioTrillium Foundation awarded a grant tothe Trent Valley Archives last year tomake these improvements for the way inwhich people can now access ourcommunity’s past,” said MPP Jeff Leal,who was unable to attend the OpenHouse as the Legislature was sitting. “Peterborough has a rich heritage andthanks to this grant, local residents andvisitors will have improved access to thathistory.”

The one-year grant was made to theTrent Valley Archives so that they couldpurchase additional microfilm, newshelving to store their records, referencebooks, a computer and a digitalmicrofilm reader. This new material willbe of tremendous use to those who aredoing research, especially the digitalmicrofilm reader, which will increase thespeed of information retrieval and canbe used in a well-lit room, unliketraditional microfilm readers.

The Trent Valley Archives was createdin the late 1980’s and its mission is tostore, protect, preserve and interpretlocal archival and heritage materials. The staff and volunteers have dedicatedmuch time and effort to making thedocumented history of Peterboroughavailable to the public and genealogists.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation, anagency of the Ministry of Culture,receives annually $100 million ofgovernment funding generated throughOntario's charity casino initiative.

-30-

For more information, pleasecontact:Susan Kyle, Trent Valley Archives705-745-4404 Jeff Leal, MPP, Peterborough 705-742-3777

Susan Dorfman-Kyle

This is a special issue to mark someevents leading up to the incorporationof Peterborough. This cover from thefair captures the spirit of the timesvery well. [TVA, PeterboroughExhibition fonds]

Researchers at work in the Trent

Valley Archives Reading Room, May2005.


mailto:[email protected]


THE LIFE OF WILLIAM ROXBURGH OF NORWOODHis son, Frank Roxburgh,

1 December 1908

Editor’s note: Thanks to Andre Dorfman for arranging thisfeature, and thanks to the descendants, Sally McComb andShelagh Landsmann, who lent this excellent family biography.It is based on a superb diary which we hope to see someday.All genealogists and family historians could wish for such afine telling of a family legend. The first instalment appearedin the Heritage Gazette of the Trent Valley for February 2005.

[Part Two]

Soon after Roxburgh converting the rough caststructure into a fine brick block for store and officepurposes. P. W, Reynolds moved into the new store onthe corner 23 April 1884. About the same timeRoxburgh entered into a partnership with Thos. Rork tobuild an elevator and engage in the grain business. A20 year lease of land was obtained from the C.P.R. and2 July the excavation began. The elevator was finishedin the course of a few months and on 30 October 1884Roxburgh and Rork bought their first load of grain. Thegrain business assumed large proportions from thefirst.

He was appointed Commissioner of the High Courtof Justice in and for the Province of Ontario andDominion of Canada on 16 September 1885.

Roxburgh was constantly engaged in buildingoperations. He added new stores to his corner blockon the lots on Colborne Street which formerly madethe garden. He was still secretary treasurer of theAgricultural Society and the Church. As well, heundertook the Bookkeeping and Banking business ofJno. Findlay and Son, a large manufacturing concern ofNorwood. He spent a week at the General Assembly inJune 1883 in London and June 1884 in Montreal. Healso to take the Annual Outing with the family atStoney Lake. In 1884 the long drive was made by wayof Warsaw to Gilchrist Bay from which point campingsupplies were conveyed by boat to Boshink where thecamps were set up for the season; Miss Anderson ofWhitby, James Meikle and John Clark being membersof the party this year. In 1885 the camp was changedto Grape Island, afterwards known as Hilliard’s Island,in the upper part of the lake. He tried to purchase anisland, but was forestalled by Hilliard who was a betterfriend of the Conservative Government. In 1886 theouting was taken on a big island on the Northern shorenear Eel’s Creek, known as “Wildcat”. This was partlypurchased but having been overrun with fire, it wasabandoned, and has since been developed into agranite quarry.

On 29 April 1887, while engaged in housecleaningEdith’s rooms, Mrs. Roxburgh fell from a table to thefloor, striking her head so heavily that the brain was

affected. She lay very ill for many weeks, but during thesummer recovered sufficiently to make a four week visitto Cobourg and Uxbridge. Roxburgh was able to attendthe General Assembly which met at Winnipeg; with aparty of 75 Commissioners he went to Vancouver andthe Coast before coming home by boat from PortArthur. He thus describes the trip through the finestpart of the mountains: “The run yesterday evening fromGolden City to the summit of the Rockies was mostexciting. With our engine in front and an enormouslypowerful mountain engine behind, we ascended theawful gorge to the summit at Mt. Hector, the gradebeing 41/2 feet to the hundred. The Mountain [Mt.Stephen] towering above us on the right and the deepcanyon of the Kicking-Horse many hundred feet below,excited a feeling of awe and fear, as the snapping of alink, the inefficiency of a brake, the spreading of a railor any of the countless little things that might happen,would have resulted in a catastrophe terrible to thinkof.”

The family had the annual outing at Stoney Lake,accompanied by Miss Annie Sutherland, Mrs. Wm.Cameron and her son Gordon, locating at Otter Island,near which the American Canoe Association (A.C.A) wasmeeting for the season.

In October 1887 Mrs. Roxburgh was taken very illagain, but again recovered and able to look after four ofthe children who were taken down with the measles. Itmay have been that the friends in the church had apremonition of the sad event that was approaching forXmas evening at the S. School entertainment, thecongregation presented Mr. and Mrs. Roxburgh with abeautiful silver service in recognition of their long andfaithful services in connection with the church. Oneweek after this kindly recognition, while attending aparty at her sisters, Mrs. Wm. Fowlds in Hastings, Mrs.Roxburgh was again suddenly taken ill, and it was fivedays before she could be brought to her home. TowardsSpring her condition was so much improved that Mr.Roxburgh determined on a visit to Scotland, in the hopeof a change bringing about a permanent recovery. Onthe 26th of June, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Wm.Fowlds the party sailed for the old land, leavingMontreal by the steamer “Sarnia”, bound for Liverpool.The voyage over was very enjoyable, fair weather andcongenial company combining to make the trip passpleasantly. Some time was spent with the Roxburghs ofGlasgow, and then while the two ladies visited with theTurners at Helensburgh, their husbands went on ajaunt, spending a week a London, and another at Paris,where the many places of world renowned interest werevisited. After turning to Glasgow, Mr. Roxburgh havinghad some illness in the meantime, the whole partyvisited Edinburgh, and amid old scenes in theneighborhood of Galston and Glasgow, and again sailedon Sept. 1st for Canada. Rough weather and seasicknesswere experienced on the return journey, but on the 14th


of the month they were warmly welcomed by thefamily and friends, the village band joining in thecelebration of the home coming.

While the parents were in Scotland, theresponsibility of the home and business, was borne byEdith, the eldest child, then a young lady of 22 years.John Clark, an old reliable family friend took some ofthe children and their friends on the annual outing toStoney Lake. The party camped for the first time onthe island that has since become “Rockland”, thepermanent summer home. While at camp, Frank wastaken down with a mild attack of typhoid fever; afterbeing brought home to Norwood, he soon recovered.

The day after the travellers returned from Scotland,Mrs. Roxburgh was again laid low with her old trouble,and four days later, on 19 September, Edith contracteda sickness which turned out to be typhoid fever. Thestrain of the summer had been too great for herstrength and she was unable to throw off the disease.She grew rapidly worse and when congestion of thebrain set in on the night of 2 October her conditionbecame alarming. In spite of the Doctors, shecontinued to sink and she died at noon the followingday. Her father recorded: “What a crushing blow! Inthe full bloom of early womanhood, the pride of mylife, gone!”

Mrs. Roxburgh continued to grow worse. OnSunday, 19 November Roxburgh could not leave herlong enough to attend the regular church services. OnMonday she was so drowsy that the Doctor told thosein charge to keep her walking, but in spite of all, shefell into a heavy sleep. From this time, on, she wasunconscious, only occasionally recognizing thosearound her, naming her husband for the last time onthe 22nd. All muscular action having ceased, shecontinued breathing laboredly, and still struggling forlife until the end drew near, and on 28 November atfive o’clock in the morning, she breathed her last.These are the words of the bereaved husband: “Oh,how soon she was called to join darling Edith. They arehappy, but sadness and gloom fills our once happy,happy home. O God, we pray for grace to sustain us inthis time of our deep and terrible affliction. The Lordhas but taken away. Blessed be His holy name.”

These were the darkest days of his whole life. Hewent about this daily duties with a haggard look, andhis nights were spent sighing. Bereft of his wife anddaughter, he was left alone to care for the fiveremaining children; Frank, the eldest was a boy in theHigh School and Gerald, the youngest, had not yetstarted to school. Liza Kent, a young lady with a quietand gentle manner, continued to act as housekeeper,until the following year, when she was discovered to bea pilferer, and the head of the home discharged her“for a breach of trust, of the grossest kind”.

In March 1889, Mrs. Capt. Manson (Margaret Ewingof earlier days) came to assume some share of the

responsibility and help her cousin. Gerald started schoolat Easter. Roxburgh went to the Presbyterian Assemblyat Toronto in June. He also added two new stores to theblock on Colborne Street, and the family had its annualouting at Stoney Lake, on Rockland, Island No. 72.Roxburgh and John Clark soon purchased the island.During the Fall of 1889, Frank having matriculated,started off to the University of Toronto.

Early in the summer of 1890 Roxburgh beganbuilding the summer cottage on Rockland. During thatcamping season Mrs. Manson was thrown unexpectedlyinto the water in an accident at Robb’s Landing. Shenever fully recovered from the shock. In September shewas taken to Toronto, to the hospital, and two yearslater died in the Home for Incurables.

An old friend and servant of the family, Miss LisaRork, took Mrs. Manson’s place in November 1890. Herkindly heart was much appreciated by the children,even though she lacked the aptitude for carrying on thesocial interests of the home.

About this time Roxburgh faced a serious businessreverse. Wheat, bought at a high figure, had to be soldat a loss of about $8000. The loss was not recoveredthe next season; anxiety and worry over financesbecame a part of his nature.

Three entries in his diary of 1891 link his thoughtsto the old land. During the year his cousin Wm.Roxburgh died at “Glencairn”, Scotland; his aunt Mrs.Jno. Scott died at the age of 80, and Miss Agnes andMiss Jessie Turner came from Helensburgh to make ayear’s visit with friends in Canada. During June of thisyear, he attended the General Assembly at Kingstonaccompanied by Beatrice, and was present at thefuneral of Sir John A. MacDonald.

Early in 1892 Frank returned from TorontoUniversity, recovering from a attack of quinsy, aninflammation of the throat; Gerald and Bruce soon hadthe same disease. The boys seemed on the way torecovery, when on 16 January Bruce’s condition becamealarming, and despite the efforts of both DoctorsPettigrew and Ford, he suddenly collapsed in his father’sarms, and died. The lonely father in June 1892 broughthis cousin, Isabella Ewing Cameron, from Scotland tobe his wife. The new Mrs. Roxburgh had lost her firsthusband, Wm. Cameron, in 1882 and alone had beenrearing her four boys. Douglas died in 1890; Gordonwas married in 1892; and Wilson and Ross came withher to Norwood. The wedding ceremony was performedby the Rev. Dr. Wallace, assisted by the Rev. Dr. Neil,at the home of Mrs. Wm. Houston, 67 Madison Ave.,Toronto; Frank and Beatrice were present. They took atrip to Albany and New York. Later that year, Beatricewas taken down with diptheria, and Gerald dislocatedhis hip playing football. Still the family home became aplace of fonder memories as the years rolled by.

During this year Mrs. Almira G. Foley died leavingMr. Roxburgh in company with Mr. R.C. Steel and Mr.


Thos. Grover as the executors of her estate, and to thistask much of his time and talent were given tilltowards the close of his life. He still lived his busy life,working early in the morning and late in the evening,transforming the grounds around “Cessnock” into agarden of beauty, and spending the business hours ofthe day in administering the affairs of the elevator, thehub and wheel factory, the Agricultural Society and theChurch. He also did a considerable business in life andfire insurance, issuing marriage licenses, andconveyancing, many of the people of the surroundingcommunity looking to hime for sane advice on mattersof private business.

In the family circle changes were taking place. In1893 Beatrice went to Toronto to attend thePresbyterian Ladies College, and to further her musicalstudies. In 1894 Frank graduated with honors inscience from Toronto University, while the other boys,Jack, Ross, Gerald and Wilson were proceeding withtheir studies in the High School at home. A little lateRoss entered the Union Bank at Norwood as Junior,and Jack, having completed the High School Course,began to assist his father in his many interests. Thesewere among the happiest years of the family life,especially during the summer when the differentmembers gathered at “Rocklands” the Summer homefor a month or six weeks’ outing. Mr. Roxburgh whilein his prime thoroughly enjoyed “the lake”. He enteredheartily into the merry making of the youngergeneration, whether it was for a day’s picnic, a sailingrace, or a campfire with its stories and songs. It wasonly later, when his powers began to weaken, thatworry and anxiety grew upon him, until the risks andadventures, which at one time gave him pleasure,turned to give him pain.

In 1897 he receive a blow from which he neverrecovered. About 4 o’clock in the morning of 20 Aprilthe family was roused by the cry of “Fire!” On reachingthe scene it was discovered that the fire was in therear of the brick block on Colborne Street, andthreatening to take possession of the buildings at anymoment. The fire fighting apparatus was veryinadequate, and soon the splendid row of shops was atthe mercy of the flames. The occupants of the variousstores carried out their stuff, while the counters,fixtures and plate glass windows were removed, but by9 o’clock there was little left, as far as Mr. Roxburghwas concerned, but a smoking mass of ruins. A blockof buildings comprising 15 or 18 stores with offices andresidences overhead, some of them newly built, wasreduced to ashes. The block was valued at $25 000;the insurance to cover the loss was only $8 000. As hismental powers gave way a little later, people knewthat this had more to do with it than anything else.However, with his usual pluck and enterprise, he soonbegan the work of rebuilding, and the splendid blockthat graces the corner of the street, at the present

day, dates from this time.That same year Frank finished his divinity course at

Knox College. Mr. and Mrs. Roxburgh and Mrs. Houstonwere present when he was ordained and inducted intohis first charge, Bridgeburg and Fort Erie. At the sametime Beatrice began teaching school at Keene, and Jackwent to Havelock to look after the interests of the firm.Towards the close of the century, the family becamemore widely scattered. Frank, after two years in hischarge, sailed for the Old Country with a view to studyfor a winter session in Edinburgh and spend thesummer months in continental travel. Jack about thesame time went West as far as Calgary to try hisfortune in the new land. Beatrice, having completedthree years of teaching at Keene, came home toprepare for her approaching marriage. Mr. Roxburghwas a delegate to the General Assembly which met inthe City of Halifax in June 1900. For the first time inmany years, the family was together for Christmas1900. Frank came home from the Continent; Gordonand Molly visited from Peterboro; Jack came back fromthe West; Wilson came down from his work with theImperial Life Insurance Company, Toronto; and, ofcourse, Beatrice, Ross and Gerald were already inNorwood. The happy occasion was celebrated bygathering at the photographers for a family group.

When Mr. Rork was appointed Inland RevenueOfficer by the Dominion Government about this time,the partnership in the grain business was dissolved.Jack soon entered into the business with his father; thenew firm became Roxburgh and Son.

In 1901 Mrs. Roxburgh went to Scotland to renewold friendships and visit the scenes of childhood. Duringher absence, Mr. Roxburgh, with Frank, Gerald, andWilson, visited the Pan American Exhibition at Buffalo,and later went to Smithville for Frank’s induction intohis second charge. Mrs. Roxburgh returned fromScotland in time for the September wedding of Beatrice,the only daughter. She wed Charles A. Stuart of Calgaryat “Cessnock”. The knot was tied by the Rev. James A.Sommerville of Norwood, assisted by the bride’sbrother. A. T. DeLury, B.A., of Toronto University andMiss Therese Fowlds B.A., of Hastings, weregroomsman and bridesmaid.

Mr Roxburgh retired from his church positions asSuperintendent of the Sunday School, which he hadbeen for a least 42 years, and as Secretary Treasurer ofthe Congregation, after 41 years of faithful service. TheSunday School, Board of Managers and Session fittinglymarked the occasion by presenting hime with a goldheaded cane, and a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles, 21April 1902. His diary of 28 August 1902 records thebirth of his first grandchild, Allan Roxburgh Stuart, atCalgary. In June 1902, Jack married Miss Letitia Maharyof Peterboro. Except for Beatrice, all the family werepresent; Mr. Roxburgh, still vigorous, was an interestedparticipant in the happy event.


During his twilight years, Mr Roxburgh enjoyedsome recreations. As late as 1903 his diary tells oftriumphs at the roaring game of curling, when he actedas vice skip on a conquering rink. Whist was hisfavorite game of cards, and quite frequently he dinedor spent the evening with old time friends in thevillage. Until1904 he spent annually some weeks ofthe summer at Stoney Lake.

The Roxburghs made the journey to Smithville forFrank’s marriage on 3 June 1903 to Miss ElizabethBrant of that place. Gerald was pursuing a course inelectrical engineering at the School of Practical Sciencein Toronto; he graduated with a B.A. Sc. in the springof 1905. His other children were comfortably settled inhomes of their own.

By 1903 Mr. Roxburgh had occasional lapses ofmemory, and at times became confused about personsand places. He still continued to do business, however.He was in his office at the Bank Block every day, andin 1904 made the necessary arrangements for the saleand delivery of coal in the village. While theresponsibility gradually came to be too much for him,he only relinquished little by little the burden and careof his many interests. He had been so self-relianct andresourceful, that it was hard for him to admit that hispowers were declining.

In 1905 he gave up the leadership of the choir, aposition he had held with great efficiency since 1863.Generations of singers had passed through his hands.In March 1905, the Masonic Lodge of Norwood, No.223 unanimously made him an Honorary Member. In1906, when he retired after 38 years as the SecretaryTreasurer of the East Peterboro Agricultural Society,the Board of Directors presented him with a beautifulsilver loving cup on behalf of the Association. His replywas remarkable under the circumstances and his oldfriends filed out of the house with their hearts deeplystirred.

In order to have expert opinion in reference to hiscondition, and everything possible done to prolong hislife, he was taken to Toronto, and both Dr. JohnFerguson and Dr. H. B. Anderson, took his case intotheir most serious consideration. He was suffering fromArterial Sclerosis, a disease of old age aggravated bythe serious business reverses he had experienced andthe many sorrows of his life. He slowly but steadilygrew worse until he became unable to care for himself.By this time all the children had gone from the oldhome, to make homes for themselves in different partsof the land. Gerald was married to Miss Ida MayMacDonald of Ottawa, on 2 April1907. Mr. Roxburghwas unable to be present on this occasion. The lastwedding he attended in connection with the family wasin 1905, when he went to Barrie to be present at themarriage of Ross to Miss Janet Spry of that place.

For the last two or three years of his life Mrs.Roxburgh was his sole and constant companion.

Members of the family coming from time to time to varythe daily routine. Night and day she watched him,administered to his every need, gave him care whichwas perfect in its faithfulness. For the last year of hislife, he had only occasional flashes of intelligence.During the last three months it might be said that hedid not know even the one who scarcely was ever out ofhis sight. For the last week of his life he lay quietlybreathing, only once or twice opening his eyes. Whenhis pastor, the Rev. Geo. MacLennan, called one dayand began to sing “Sun of My Soul”, he opened hiseyes, and joined with him in singing the words of thatgrand old hymn. The day before his death, his eyesagain opened and as the same hymn was sung by thosewho were near, he endeavored to sing for the last time,but could do no more than keep time with his foot, andarch his brows with the rising music. He died 29October at 9 o’clock, in his 74th year.

The funeral took place from “Cessnock” on Saturdayafternoon, at 2 o’clock. Assisted by Rev. D.A. Thomsonof Hastings, the Rev. Geo. A. MacLennan conducted theservices, and spoke from Colossians 3:3. “Your life ishid with Christ in God”. The Masonic service wasconducted by W. Bro. Dr. Ford, and the singing was ledby the choir over which Mr. Roxburgh had so longpresided. There was a very large funeral cortege.Preceding the hearse were the High School Cadets ingrey uniform, the member of the School Board, thedirectors of East Peterboro Agricultural Society, theVillage Council and County Officials, the Oddfellows, andover one hundred Masons in regalia. The Honorary Pall-Bearers were Past Master of the Masonic Lodge, Bros.Sherry, R.A. Scott, Sharp, McNeil, J. C. Brown and W.H.Harper. The pall-bearers chosen by the family were J.B.Pearce, F. Birdsall, R.W. Waters, Thomas Rork, Robt,Burgess and Dr. Ford. After the mourners, were thehost of friends who had come from all parts of thesurrounding community to pay tribute. Beautiful floraltributes were presented by the Masons, Oddfellows, thePresbyterian Congregation and individual friends. Thechurch bell tolled solemnly as the funeral cortegepassed slowly through the streets of the village.From the scores of letters received, the followingextracts speak eloquently of the esteem in which hewas held by friends and associates:

“A good and true man, one of nature’s noble men, no needfor titles or decoration, everyone recognized him as soon ashe met him, as a Christian gentleman of a very high and raretype.” Rev. R.D. Fraser, D.D.

“I have always warmly appreciated the personal friendshipwith which the late Mr. Roxburgh was kind enough to honorme, and will through life always keep in mind the regard withwhich he was good enough to favor me.” Hon. J.R. Stratton,M.P.


Descendants’ Locations December 1991

Marjorie & J. MacGregor and children - EdmontonGwendolyn Tate and children - EdmontonJean & Jim Gibb - Sarnia

James Gibb - Dallas, Tx.Sandra - SarniaGirl - Lethbridge

Marjorie & C. Eric Stuart and children – CalgaryEdward Roxburgh - VancouverJean Murdoch - TorontoSally & Rod McComb - Richmond Hill

SueRobynJohn

Mary Sommerville - MarkhamShelagh & Walter Landmann –Stoney Lake

TammyJohn Sommerville - CaesereaTom & Janice Sommerville - Port Perry

JessicaGerald & Iola Roxburgh - Winnipeg Gerald

“He was possessed of a bright mind and always of anearnest and Christian spirit. He leaves behind him a splendidheritage of integrity and of simple faith in God.” Rev. W.G.Wallace, D.D.

“I have always had the highest respect for him.” J.A.Sexsmith, M.P.

“Truly one of God’s noblemen has entered into rest, aftera long, useful and beneficial life.” The Presbyterian.

“Mr. Roxburgh needs no storied urn or animated bust overhis last resting place, to keep his memory green in the heartsof the thousands who held him in esteem in life and whomourn his loss in death.” Peterborough Examiner.

[end part two]

This c. 1905 photo of the streetcar on George Street atCharlotte Street is most informative. Note the many peopleon the sidewalk, and the near invisibility of the snow-covered tracks. This photo is from the Gerry Stephensonfonds with the photographs of his grandparents, Mr and MrsJoseph Sucee, Hunter Street East, Ashburnham.

A Rocky Path for Ontario’s

Land Records-

Gina Martin

More than twenty years ago I took my first job as a titlesearcher and conveyancer with a Peterborough law firm andbegan to learn the ins and outs of the Ontario legal systemregarding real estate. My world quickly became a sea ofaffidavits, undertakings, writs of execution and month endclosing transactions. And deadlines! It seemed that everysearch I was given was marked “RUSH!”. Lawyers concernedthemselves with getting the deals closed and the LandRegistrars with getting them recorded. Clients hurried tomeet me at the Land Registry Office waiting for me toregister the deeds and give them the keys to their newhome. Banks wanted their mortgage payments and realestate agents wanted their commissions. The pace picked upeven more once I left Peterborough and took a job with alarge firm in Toronto where I moved from residential toprimarily corporate real estate. The common threadeverywhere was that everyone wanted work completedquickly so they could move onto the next project. “How can you stand this?” everyone would ask me! Thesimple answer was that, to me, all of that was secondary. AsI traveled between many of the Land Registry Offices insouthern Ontario, searching titles and closing deals, I realizedthat, for me, the fascinating end of the job was working dayin and day out with the land records. While the lawyers andbankers worried about the here and the now, my job was touncover the past as it related to a particular piece ofproperty. I found myself looking at original documents forfamily properties and reading the will of someone’s greatgreat grandfather. Often people would come into theRegistry Office seeking help tracing their family propertiesand I was more than happy to oblige even though, as itoccurred to me much later, I was “moonlighting” from myjob. It was thrilling to watch their faces light up as they heldin their hand a document signed by an ancestor. In short, Iquickly discovered that the land records were an invaluableand fascinating historical source. The phrase “all this and apaycheck too” definitely applied to me!

As the years went by I learned more about thebackground of property registration in Ontario and realizedthat, as always, nothing happens in one single step. How wegot to where we are now in terms of land registration inOntario is quite fascinating. It is necessary to look at theearly history of settlement and land tenure in central andeastern Canada.

Settlement began in the eastern region of Canada in theearly part of the 17th century when French settlers firststepped onto the soil of “New France”. French civil lawimmediately began to influence settlement as land wasdivided into long thin strips and the Seigneurial System wentinto effect. French settlers worked the land which ultimatelybelonged to the King of France. When Britain defeated theFrench in 1760 and the Treaty of Paris was drawn up in1763, British territory included the Colony of Quebec and


encompassed what would become Upper Canada and,ultimately, the province of Ontario. The Colony was set upinto four districts with further settlement plans drawn up foreach one.

Even though the British Crown ruled, it was French civillaw that still governed land ownership. Following the AmericanRevolution of 1776 there was an influx of about ten thousandUnited Empire Loyalists into Ontario who quickly demanded asystem of land tenure based on more British customs andlaws. The initial plan was to set up townships six miles squarebut, with no standard for laying out lot sizes, some of thetownships were still laid out with long narrow lots toaccommodate French settlers. In 1789, Lord Dorchesterestablished land boards in each of the districts to hopefullyexpedite settlement and satisfy the Loyalist demand for Britishinfluence. Finally, the Constitutional Act was passed in 1791dividing the Colony of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada,later known respectively as Ontario and Quebec. But by 1794the land boards were abolished and surveys were made underthe supervision of the Surveyor General. In August 1795, theFourth Session of the First Parliament of Upper Canada finallypassed the Registry Act of 1795 and the present day systemof Ontario land registration was born. Under the Registry Act,a registry office was established for each area and a regulatedsystem for registration was introduced. Although it has beenmodified several times, the Registry Act still governs much ofOntario today.

It is hard to believe that, during all of this activity, thearea now known as Peterborough County lay untouched bywhite settlement. Indian encampments existed throughout thearea and were connected by several rough portage trails, atleast two of which survive today in the form of Chemong Roadand the River Road. But other than Samuel de Champlain’sstop in the area during the Iroquois wars and the passingthrough by a few fur traders there is little or no evidence ofwhite visitors until the early part of the 19th century. Officially,the area fell within the Newcastle District, so named in 1802when Durham and Northumberland were united byproclamation under Parliamentary law and any landregistrations for the area took place in Cobourg. Unofficially,it was referred to as the “back lakes” while the nearby Loyalistpopulated Cobourg (or Amherst as it was first known) wasknown as “the Front”. While the Crown Lands Departmentwas issuing patents then for lands near Cobourg that had foryears already been occupied by the United Empire Loyalists,the Government finally in 1818 awarded a contract toLegislative Council member, the Honourable ZaccheusBurnham, to survey the area north of Rice Lake. Such was thehumble beginning of what we now know as PeterboroughCounty.

Burnham employed deputy surveyors Richard E. Birdsall,John Huston and John Smith to complete the task of surveyingall the Peterborough townships, a task taking more than sevenyears to complete. Birdsall surveyed Asphodel, Otonabee,Douro and, later, the town of Peterborough while John Hustonsurveyed Cavan, Emily, Monaghan, Ennismore, Harvey andSmith Townships to the west. Later, John Smith surveyed theback townships of Fenelon, Verulam, Burleigh, Methuen and anadditional part of Harvey. The surveyors were generally uniform in their work. Standardlots were 200 acres divided into 100 acre half lots for landtickets. The concessions were 100 chains apart (6600 feet or1.25 miles) each with a road allowance of 60 feet. Every fifthlot had another concession road laid at right angles helping toprovide the grid pattern of lots characterizing the townships.

The many lakes and rivers in the area meant that not all lotswere uniform in size or dimension and some lot lines wereset by the shorelines. These today are known as “brokenlots” or “broken fronts”.

The first surveys to be completed were for Smith andNorth Monaghan in 1818. Otonabee was completed in 1819,Asphodel in 1820, Harvey and Burleigh in 1822 and Douro,Dummer, Belmont and Methuen in 1823. Ennismore and Ops(now part of Victoria County) were completed in 1825. Insurveying Monaghan, John Huston left a reserved area on theOtonabee River for the future survey of the town ofPeterborough. This survey was completed in 1825 byRichard Birdsall and is still in use today. It is referred to atthe Land Registry Office as “Town Plan 1”.

With completion of the surveys in the Newcastle Districtcame the huge task of dealing out the lots to prospectivesettlers. Before 1819 people wishing to settle had to go tothe Surveyor-General at York and apply for a land ticket. Butin 1819 the Land Boards were re-established for the variousdistricts including one for Newcastle located at Cobourg. Anyone wishing to settle had to attend the Land Board, takean oath of allegiance and show intention to settle as well asprove why he was worthy of settlement. Once approved, hewas then given a land ticket to be taken to a deputy-surveyorwho took him to the land. He had two years to completesettlement duties which included clearing a certain amount ofthe land and building a home at least 18’ by 20’ in size. Afterthis he could attend at York and apply for a patent to theland. Depending on what time of year settlement dutieswere completed, the two year rule was often waved as travelto York was difficult during the winter. It was not uncommonfor a settler to receive a patent to his land as much as fouryears after receiving the original ticket.

There were a number of qualifications making anapplicant eligible for a land ticket. Many were immigrantsdirected by land agents working for the government andcame from economically depressed situations as with thePeter Robinson settlers. Others were United Empire Loyalistswho automatically were given a ticket. There were also SOLand DOL tickets meaning “son of Loyalist” and “daughter ofLoyalist”. Military tickets were given to retirees of the Britishforces and also for those who could prove service to theCrown during the War of 1812. A quick perusal of the LandBoard minutes at the Ontario Archives in Toronto shows that,over time, all of these different patents were handed out inthe Peterborough area showing the diversity of its settlers.

On October 14, 1841, a proclamation established theColborne District which separated Peterborough from “theFront” area of Cobourg and included what is now bothPeterborough and Victoria Counties as well as part of presentday Haliburton County. The townships included in the Districtwere Belmont, Methuen, Burleigh, Dummer, Asphodel,Otonabee, Douro, North Monaghan, Smith, Ennismore andHarvey in Peterborough County and Verulam, Emily, Ops,Fenelon, Mariposa, Eldon, Bexley and Somerville in VictoriaCounty. In February 1842 the first council for the newColborne District was chosen and Captain Charles Rubidge(See Appendix 1) became the first Land Registrar with thefirst registrations taking place that same year at the newlybuilt Land Registry Office next to the Court House. After thisthere were no more registrations at Cobourg for lands inPeterborough County.

In 1850 the Colborne District was divided into twopolitical divisions known first as Peterborough County andlater as The United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria


with the main seat being in Peterborough. Victoria Countybecame a separate county in 1861 and in 1874 HaliburtonCounty was established and further boundary changes tookplace to accommodate the new counties. The newly surveyedtownships of Galway, Cavendish, Anstruther and Chandos alsobecame part of Peterborough County.

From 1842 to the present, all land registrations forPeterborough County have been recorded at the Land RegistryOffice and all related documents have been filed. Every deed,mortgage, caution, and quitclaim has been put on publicrecord. Every probated will has been registered in the GeneralRegister and filed accordingly. Records of partnershipproperties, Judge’s Orders and bylaws were all put down forposterity. A perusal of the abstract books in which alltransactions have been recorded shows ownership of propertyand allows the genealogist to track the movement of families. Deeds show not only who owned the land but other perhapspreviously unknown data such as the name of a spouse or aplace of residence. Wills often record the names of familymembers and give their locations and marital status. Theyname grandchildren and tell us what happened to a survivingspouse. Land documents also give us clues as to how aparticular area became established and grew. Often a deedshowing land being sold to a business such as a cheese factoryor a threshing company would show up followed soonthereafter by a number of deeds registered for residentialpurposes. The presence of a business or factory often meantthat people would move closer to their place of work and asmall community would soon appear. Land Registry Officesthen became their own archives of historical and genealogicaldata housing hundreds of thousands of documents registeredacross Ontario over the last two hundred years. Shockingly,all of this was eventually threatened by what we title searchersrefer to as “the decision”.

In the late 1980s, the Ontario government decided thatthe system of land registration in the province needed aserious overhaul. I should explain here that there are twosystems of registration in Ontario but, until about 1980, onlyone was prevalent in Peterborough County. The previouslymentioned Registry Act says that all prospective purchasers ofland are responsible for securing and certifying their owntitles. That means that a purchaser must have the propertysearched to make sure that all has been well over the last 40years of ownership. All signatures were present, all legalaffidavits and various taxes in place at the time of registrationwere signed and/or paid and the neighbour’s property doesnot encroach over onto yours. Every time the property is soldor mortgaged a new search must be performed which looks atthe title over the last 40 years. The other system is governedby the Land Titles Act, passed in 1885 but not introduced inPeterborough until about 1980. Instead of being responsiblefor certifying your own title as with the Registry Act, the LandTitles Act says that certification is the responsibility of theRegistrar and that he need only certify once. Therefore,instead of searching back 40 years on a title you only have tosearch back to the time when the present owner purchased. If that was six months ago then you only look at the last sixmonths of title. There is quite a difference then in both timeand expense between the two systems, something theprovincial government decided could no longer be ignored.

After approximately two hundred years of a well oiledsystem, the government decided that all titles in Ontarioshould be converted from the Registry system to Land Titles. This would eliminate the need for forty year searches and cutdown on transaction time. Agencies popped up in the early1990s with the sole purpose of searching all Registry

properties and converting them to Land Titles. This was donewithout the property owner’s knowledge or consent. On itsown the conversion to Land Titles would not have been aterrible decision. But the government also decided that ifthere is no longer the need to go back so far on a title thenit is unnecessary to save all the old documents. They alsodecided to automate the land registration system and puteverything online. Again this is not bad in principal. But ifeverything is inside a computer they reasoned that keepingthe abstract books and ledgers was also a waste. Totallydisregarding the historical worth of these documents andabstracts the government made the shocking decision toshred all documents and most abstracts prior to 1955 and toaccept microfilm versions as the official document. Microfilmreels take up far less space than stacks and stacks ofdocuments.

Once the shredding plan was announced it was not longbefore historians across Ontario became sharp thorns in thesides of the provincial government. In 1989, the heritagecommunity organized a strong lobby group known as theAdvisory Committee on Land Registry Office Records inOntario and made its official report in 1990. This reportsecured a five year delay on the destruction of the recordsand made a number of recommendations. The Archives ofOntario had already suggested that they take all landdocuments registered prior to 1865.

Unfortunately the Advisory Committee’s report came toolate for some of the documents. In January 1990 the LandRegistrars in Toronto decided that all documents prior toJanuary 1950 would be shredded. Sitting at my desk in theCounty Registry Office at Toronto’s Yonge and Dundas Streets during the first two weeks of February 1990, I couldhardly get my work done with the sound of the shreddersgoing in the back rooms. It took two industrial sizedshredders thirteen full days to destroy 150 years of Torontoarea land history. I remember thinking that an aggressivegroup of preservationists could not come fast enough if theother documents across the province were to be saved.

Land Registrars in Peterborough County since theestablishment of the old Colborne District in 1842.

Captain Charles Rubidge - February 1842 – January 1873;Col. F. W. Haultain- March 1873 – 1883; Bernard Morrow - 19 January 1884 – 1922); William Frederick Morrow - July4, 1922 – 1946); John Richard Corkery - 1946 - 1962; HelenO’Neill - 1963 - 1964; Madeline Flynn- 1964 - 1971; RegChandler - 1972 - 1981; Wayne Giles - 1981 - 1984; BobAppleton - 1984 -2002; Anne Marie Bertrand - 2003 - present

There have been at least two interim Land Registrars namedto handle duties while waiting for a new Registrar to benamed. Pauline Green was interim for several months afterWayne Giles left in 1984. Bahman Fazeli acted as interim fora time after Bob Appleton left.

In 1996 the Association for the Preservation of Ontario’sLand Registry Office Documents (APOLROD) was created bya group of people who not only wanted the documents savedbut who also realized the shortcomings of the AdvisoryCommittee’s 1990 report. Neither the committee, theArchives of Ontario or the Ministry of Consumer andCommercial Relations that administered the Registry Officeshad actually inventoried the holdings and, therefore,assumed that the only documents kept at the Registry Offices


pertained to land. They did not realize that, if they shreddedeverything as planned, they would not only destroy landrecords but also wills, partnership agreements, powers ofattorney, company agreements and deposits. The latter areextremely valuable documents for the genealogist as theyoften explain title anomalies and contain such information asmarriage data, business information and other informationpertaining to families. Realizing that with all of the cutsproposed by the Ontario government in healthcare andeducation it was improbable that APOLROD could convincethem to keep all the documents. So their mandate consistedof three points. First, they would secure a new stay ofexecution for all documents and abstracts. Secondly, theywould organize local teams to prepare inventories of theholdings at all Ontario Land Registry Offices. Finally, theywould help with the orderly dispersal of post 1865 documentsto local heritage groups. The government finally agreed tothese terms and volunteers from Peterborough County quicklywent to work taking inventory of all the old documents andabstracts relevant to Peterborough County. Since 1985 theold abstract books had been stored in the basement of theLindsay Court House where they had been painfully neglectedand the documents were hastily removed from the RegistryOffice files and boxed up. Finally, in 2002, the Trent ValleyArchives became the new custodian of all township and villageabstracts for Peterborough County as well as all originaldocuments registered between 1865 and 1955. The Archivesof Ontario took all the pre-1865 documents and all post 1955documents remain, for the time being, at the Land RegistryOffice in the Ministry of Natural Resources building at Charlotteand Water Streets where the public may go to view them freeof charge.

When I think of the path that the land records have takenI am reminded of the phrase “one man’s garbage is anotherman’s gold”. It astounds me to think that the Ontariogovernment was so willing to discard such historical andgenealogical treasures simply to save time and space. I trynot to think of what may have been lost had it not been for thequick organization and dedication of so many of Ontario’sheritage groups. These records represent our tie to theearliest days of Canadian history and have thankfully beenpreserved.

The land record holdings at the Trent Valley Archiveshave generated a lot of excitement as visitors seek to learntheir family histories. Once again they thrill at seeingdocuments once held by their great great grandfathers. Inearly April we held a series of workshops as part of ArchivesAwareness Week aimed at teaching researchers how to gleanall valuable information possible from the records. Theseworks hopsw e r e highly successful a n dwill be contin u e d i nM a y . A n yo n e interested should call us at7 0 5 - 745-4404. I willb e yourinstru c t o ra n d , thankfully, t h i stime I w i l l

not be moonlighting!


‘We are what we keep’: Canada’s archives are in crisisGuy Vanderhaeghe

Globe and Mail, 23 April 2005Lately Canadians appear to have caught the history bug. The

airing of Canada: a People’s History was treated as anoccasion of national consequence, The Museum Called Canadais a bestseller, and the death of Pierre Berton was marked byexpressions of gratitude for his popular Canadian histories.

Add to this the success of Canadian historical novels, ofhistorically based television movies, and an outpouring ofscholarly works by academic historians, and one wouldpresume that the historical consciousness of Canada ishovering on a long-awaited maturity.

Yet the archives of this country, which are theunderpinnings of this consciousness, are in a perilous position.Canadians have an acquaintance with libraries, museums, artgalleries, concert halls, and theatres, either as willing visitors,or because we were once press-ganged into school tours ofthem as children. But archives remain largely invisible to thepublic, and the essential work they do passes largelyunnoticed.

The Canadian Council of Archives represents about 800members encompassing the largest provincial, territorial,university and municipal archives as well as the tiniest ofvolunteer community archives. They hold tens of thousands ofcollections and millions of photographs reflecting Canadian life,from passenger lists of immigrant ships, government minutes,diaries of settlers and early newspapers to the papers ofCanadian writers, artists and musicians – merely to skim thesurface.

Expensive environmental controls are necessary topreserve aging, brittle paper, and archival work is extremelylabour-intensive: Archivists must pore over volumes ofmaterial, organize it and write users’ manuals so researcherscan locate information. The federal government providesassistance to the Canadian Council of Archives to fundprojects, train staff and co-ordinate programs. In 1992-93,this budget was roughly $2.8 million, but by 1998-99 it hadfallen to $1.8 million. (If no cuts had been instituted andfunding had kept pace with inflation, the CCA grant would nowbe $3.5 million.)In terms

o f federal expendit u r e ,thi s is am i nuscule amount, a n dd o wnrigh t paltryw h e nwe igheda g a i n s tn e e d .T h eo p erating budget of 51 per cent of this country’s archives is $50,000 or less,and in a third of the archives 41 per cent of holdings remainunprocessed and therefore inaccessible.

More alarming, archives reports that annual rates ofacquisition have increased 200 to 700 per cent since 1985. Inlittle more than a year, all storage space will be exhausted.

Statistics are a bloodless affair, apt to bewilder ratherthan enlighten. What do these figures mean? Certainly theysuggest that part of our heritage is in danger. Certainly theysuggest that the federal government ought to play a largerrole in helping archives, and in particular our smallerinstitutions, to collect, preserve and make usable the rawstuff from which the narratives of this nation can beconstructed. Archivists have a saying: “We are what wekeep.” What we do not keep now is likely to be forever lost,inducing historical amnesia.

People researching their family’s genealogy consultarchives; land claim settlements between first nations andgovernments often hinge on archival records; veteransseeking benefits may need to appeal to documents containedin an archives. They provide innumerable “practical” servicesto our citizens.

But even if most Canadians never consult archives in thisfashion, hundreds of thousands of us enjoy or referencematerials that depend on archives. Iconic works such asPierre Berton’s The National Dream could not have beenwritten without recourse to them. Margaret Atwood’s novelAlias Grace credits the assistance of seven different archivesin its acknowledgements page. Daily, Canadians consume thefruits of archives when they read novels and histories, watchtelevision and theatre, or even view advertising.

Our sense of ourselves, our hopes for the future rely onan informed engagement with the past. The ultimate sourceof the stories we have told about ourselves, the fashion inwhich we revise and amend them in future, rests on accuratearchival resources. But because Canada’s archives are theleast glamourous of cultural institutions, they have sufferedneglect.

As the old saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets thegrease. But the loudness of the squeak is not a measure ofimportance. Governments need to recognize that our identityas a people, any debate about that identity and any coherentdiscussion of the successes and failures of Canadiandemocracy are possible only if we have the means to exploreissues intelligently. Those means reside in our archives, andthey are under threat.

The concluding page of one of the great Canadianhistorical novels, Timothy Findley’s The Wars, reveals itsnarrator in an archives, arranging letters, telegrams andphotos as the archivist moves about the researchers atclosing time, saying gently, “Late, it’s late.”

Nearly 30 years after that novel’s publication, thearchivist’s words seem prophetic. It is late, time is runningout. This deplorable situation needs to be corrected now. Guy Vanderhaeghe is the author, most recently, of The Last

Crossing. Thanks to John Court for drawing this excellentcolumn to the attention of the editor.


Gina Martin with some workshop participants look at landrecords in the Trent Valley Archives, May 2005.

The Canadian Historical Association report on the release of the HistoricalCensuses: Bill S-18

Terry Cook

On 2 November 2004, the Government of Canada tabled BillS-18 in the Senate to amend the Statistics Act, and therebyrelease the historical censuses of Canada to researchers.This is a significant victory for historians, archivists,genealogists, and very much welcomed by the CHA.

The CHA has lobbied hard for almost a decade for therelease of post-1901 historical censuses of Canada. Thosefor 1871 to 1901 have been under the control of Library andArchives Canada (LAC) for many years and, via widelydiffused microfilm copies, used by many thousands ofresearchers without a single Privacy Act complaint beingfiled. In its efforts to make the later censuses available toresearchers, the CHA is not looking for any special privilegesor concessions; it has long recognized and supported theneed for a balance in public policy between the right toaccess government information and the right to theprotection (for a period of time) of sensitive personalinformation found in such records.

The principal issues precluding the release of the post-1901 censuses on the same basis as their predecessors weretwofold: 1) an alleged promise of 'confidentiality' made toCanadians by early census takers (never proven, norsupported by documentation); and 2) an alleged ambiguityin the wording of the 1918 Statistics Act regarding therelease of all subsequent censuses. Statistics Canada(StatsCan) has taken the firm position that improper releaseof historical censuses, in light of these two alleged factors,would break faith with Canadians and consequentlyundermine completion and accuracy rates in current census-taking. The CHA has addressed these and other claims in itspast lobbying.

The CHA has presented briefs to Parliament; historianshave testified before Parliamentary committees; articleshave been written for the media; senators, MP's, and seniorbureaucrats have been personally lobbied; Expert Panelsinformed; Access to Information Act requests made touncover past practices; and letters sent to cabinet ministers.Much of this work has been carried on in partnership withthe Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA), and in liaisonwith Canadian genealogists. Almost all this work for the CHAhas been done by Bill Waiser (Saskatchewan), Chad Gaffield(Ottawa), and Terry Cook (Manitoba). As a result, the 1906western census was released to the care and control of LACin the past two years and made available to all researchersin Ottawa and via its web site around the world.

Major efforts were made last year by the CHA to respondto Senate Bill S-13, which addressed release of historicalcensus data (1911-2001) and consent for release of allfuture censuses from 2006 onwards. The great champion ofthis cause is Senator Lorna Milne, who has heartilywelcomed the CHA=s input, and the CHA pays tribute to herlong fight on our behalf. That bill, however, contained veryserious flaws. Although the 1911 census would have beenreleased on the same basis as the 1871 to 1906 censuses(92 years after the census is taken, which is the formalregulation under the Privacy Act), the censuses from 1921to 2001 (that is, those following the allegedly restrictiveclauses in the Statistics Act of 1918) would have beensubject to an additional 20-year period (92 + 20) of only


limited access and use, where one could consult, but could notpublish, census return information, with a heavy archivalbureaucratic control and overlay on researchers. (By way ofcomparison, it should be remembered that the United Stateshas long made its census data available without restrictionafter 70 years.) Moreover, the threat was real that Canadians,following a single unhappy Australian precedent, could checka 'consent' box to have their census return destroyed or madepermanently inaccessible. The CHA, with the ACA, stronglyopposed these clauses in a joint brief and personal testimonybefore the Senate Committee. Bill S-13 died with the electioncall.

Now Bill S-18 has been introduced. Insider reportssuggest that the Government very much wants this issueresolved, without ambiguity, for past and future censuses, asit is tired of endless petitions and thousands and thousands ofletters and e-mails (thanks to the genealogists!), and tired tooof the internal bureaucratic squabbling, pitting StatsCan andthe Privacy Commissioner on one side against the AccessCommissioner and Library and Archives Canada on the other.

The Bill represents a compromise and is, we believe, thebest possible deal obtainable at this time for historicalresearchers. Compared to the previous 2003 bill, Bill S-18represents three significant victories for historians and oneimportant setback or compromise:

1. Release of the historical census data for 1911immediately, on the same basis as the censuses of 1871 to1906, through Library and Archives Canada (LAC) = a victoryfor CHA, although almost inevitable after the precedent of therelease of the 1906 Western census.

2) Release of all historical censuses from 1921 to 2001 onthe same basis as 1871 to 1911. The clauses in the old Bill S-13 about a 20-year additional limbo period are gone, whichwould have been a research barrier and a bureaucraticnightmare for researchers and archivists = a major victory forthe CHA, and not at all inevitable given the disputedinterpretations of 1918 Statistics Act.

3) Removing any mention or Implication of citizenscontrolling the destruction (unlike the often-cited Australianprecedent in 2001) of sensitive personal information theysubmit to government. The CHA fought against this very hardlast time; if extended (as naturally it would be over time)across all government databases (think taxation, immigration,pensions, aboriginal registration, RCMP, and thousands ofcase-file series far more sensitive than the census), such aclause would destroy the possibility of "bottom up" socialhistory research, and pull the Canadians out of Canadianhistory = an important CHA victory.

4) The price or compromise for these victories is an opt-inclause for all censuses from 2006 onwards wherebyCanadians indicate (as they do about being on the electorallist on their income tax form) whether they wish access to beallowed to their census form after 92 years: the form will bepreserved (not destroyed -- see #3 above), but accessdenied. The default position (someone not checking the box)means no, and thus denial of access = a significant loss.

The CHA has argued in the past first for no consent clauseat all, or, if forced to accept one, for an opt-out version(where the default no-answer position would mean accesspermitted). Modification has been explored in governmentaland political circles, and there is no chance for change. Bill S-18 is the hard-fought compromise offer, as a package, all fourpoints above, or none.

This pill is sweetened by two factors: 1) a promise in thebill sought by the CHA (see section 2) for a review of theoperation of this clause by Parliament after two censuses have

been taken (2006, 2011) in light of the results of how manyCanadians decline access to their census record; and 2) acommitment by StatsCan (see the 2 November 2004 pressrelease from its parent, Industry Canada) that 'StatisticsCanada, in conjunction with Library and Archives Canada,will, as part of the 2006 Census public communicationscampaign, encourage Canadians to allow future access totheir census records to preserve Canada's history for futuregenerations.' The CHA and its members should join in thatcampaign.

The CHA has also made representations that the opt-inclause must be consistent with the best privacy practice of"informed consent" (which Industry Minister David Emersonchampions). This means that the consequences of refusingconsent be made clear to the citizen filling in the form; theyare not just presented with a box to tick or not tick with onlya bare explanation, but a box accompanied by a clearexplanation that checking the box allows one's descendants,and the descendants of all others enumerated on the form,the ability to do family and genealogical research, and tohave their family's experience be part of the accessiblehistorical and archival record of the nation a long 92 yearslater, and thus part of Canadian history.

The CHA's President Gerry Friesen and Vice-PresidentMargaret Conrad have carefully considered this compromiseposition on behalf of Council and members, in light of thepast decade of struggle to gain access to the historicalcensuses. Despite hesitations in principle over any accessclause for any government form, they conclude that thereare major gains in law to be made for historians in Bill S-18.They have decided that the CHA accepts the compromise aspresented in the bill and will not lobby as an organizationagainst it, save for clear wording of the 'informed consent'clause. The CHA will also monitor census returns for 2006and 2011, in light of the consent results, and participate inthe 2006 publicity campaign.

The CHA commends the bill to its members and hopes thatthey will support it as well.

Ed note: Terry Cook, a former archivist with the NationalArchives of Canada is a widely-respected commentator onarchival issues and an instructor with the Archival Studies,Department of History at the University of Manitoba, inWinnipeg. Several organizations have been working so researchers canhave access to the post 1901 censuses. The Public Archivesof Canada and its successors always favoured open accessto the census records, generally recognized as the mostessential archival resource for the systematic study ofCanada’s social history, but also the most authoritative andcomplete source for genealogists and local historians, too.

The fight has underlined the difference between theprinciples of access and of privacy. The problem is that theprivacy restrictions are deemed widely to protect politiciansand bureaucrats from accountability. The privacy restrictionsare now seen to have limits and we seem to be finding away to define those limits at least in this case.


Thrilling Story of Girl Rescued from Grave – Strange Tale from Early Days in Peterboro One of the Principals who Assisted in Rescue was T.J Fisher, who Conducted Hotel Here- Beautiful Girl was Victim of Plotters who Wished to Secure herMoney – Both met Death Through Runaway of Their Horse

Peterborough Review 1912Wide World Magazine

Some of our readers and there are

many of those who have taken the DailyReview since its initial publication andothers who have been readers of theWeekly Review for forty or fifty years, mayremember the Fisher family.In addition to the parents who live inPeterborough in the thriving days, therewere seven sons: John, Amos, Thomas,George, William, Luke and Hugh Fisher. Of these, three or four are still living bylast accounts. At one time, the family kepta hotel in the building so long known asthe Commercial House at the corner ofGeorge and Brock streets, and before thatin the big two-store rough-cast buildingwith double verandah that stood on theground now covered by buildings at thecorner of George and Hunter streets, west-side. The hotel was the rendezvous forlarge members of river men who gatheredin this district in early spring to run thetimber down the river from the lakesabove.

The circumstances I am about to relatetook place some thirty-five years ago butevery detail is as fresh in my memory as ithad only happened yesterday; and I maytell you that when it happened the affair setthe whole country-side in a blaze ofexcitement. At that time – 1877 to beexact – a certain T.J Fisher kept the largesthotel in Peterborough, Canada. He was ajolly good fellow and a general favouritewith all who frequented his house.

It had been the custom for some yearsfor himself and a number of friends to goon an autumn hunting trip, usually lastingtwo or three weeks, to what was known asthe “North Woods” – vast region coveredwith virgin forest and teeming with gameof all sorts, a veritable paradise for theardent sportsman.

The men had built a comfortable lodgein the wilderness, where after strenuousdays of hunting and fishing, they returnedand spent the evenings in telling storiesand the nights in rest.

Late one night, during the third weekof their stay in the woods, the men werearoused by piercing screams, evidently

coming from a woman. It took but a fewminutes for the hunters to get into their clothesand out of doors, just in time to hear a man’svoice say, “I guess she is down deep enoughnow.” Sounds of hurried footsteps departed inthe vicinity, followed then there was silence.

As best they could, the puzzled hunterssearched around in the intense darkness for thecause of the disturbance but they foundnothing, and accordingly returned to the lodgeto wait for daylight. When it was light enough– they got astir again looking for they knewnot what. At to great distance from the hut inthe direction from which the cries had come,they finally came upon a place where theground had been recently disturbed, and roundabout this spot were many footprints and thetraces of a severe struggle.

“Boys, this begins to look prettyperilous!” exclaimed Mr. Fisher as heexamined the newly-turned ground. “Supposewe find out what’s buried here?”

This was agreed to, and when tools hadbeen fetched the men began removing theloose earth. Only a foot beneath the surface,to their intense astonishment, they found thebody of a young and pretty girl about nineteen!

“That scream we heard meant murder!”exclaimed Mr. Fisher, staring down horror-struck at the body. “Come here doctor, andsee if you can tell if she is really dead. I wishI could get my hands on the fellow we heardspeaking.”

Dr. Green came up and carefullyexamined the body. “Why boys,” he criedexcitedly. “I believe there is life in the girlyet! Let us get her to the lodge as soon as wecan!”

With all speed the girl was carried into thebuilding and laid upon the table, and thedoctor began his battle for her life. He workedfor some time with no apparent results; then helooked up and said: “Give me your brandyflask Fisher; and you Jack, get some hot wateras soon as possible.”

Every man of them was willing and readyto do anything to aid the doctor in his fight forthe beautiful girl’s life. For a long time theissue was touch and go but in the end thedoctor won. At the end of an hour – thepatient drew a faint signalling breath and the

anxious bystanders, almost as one,murmured in fervent tones: Thank God, shelives! Not yet however, was the battle over.

“Stand back, friends!” the doctorcommanded. “The girl must have air andplenty of it, or this little spark of life will goout. Give me some more brandy. I mustsupply the fuel until the fire is fully lightedagain. Poor girl; she has been hardly used! Just look at these marks on her head andshoulders. The blow on the head was ahard one! Had it been nearer to the temple,she would not have survived a moment. Iwonder who she is?”

“I think I know doctor!” said JackPorter, a rising young lawyer who was ofthe hunting party. “She is Miss Masters,old Grimshaw’s niece, the little girl who hasbeen living in his home since her motherdied. There has been a good deal ofmystery about the family. There is moneyI believe, but to whom it belongs, no oneknows.”

“Please stop talking Jack,” said Dr.Green. “I want to listen. I wish I had mystethoscope with me. Yes, the heart isbeating with slow, regular beats. Excuseme, for interrupting you Jack. Go on withyour remarks!”

All right doctor!” replied Porter. “Iwas going to say that there have beenstrange stories told of old Grimshaw and hisgreat hulking lout of a son. I don’t believethere is a right-minded man in the townwho would not enjoy pounding that fellow. Jove, the whole story comes back to menow! I heard a few months ago that thislittle girl had been engaged to RobertIngram, my classmate and friend, who diedout West a few months ago. He was, as youknow, a splendid fellow, one that any girlmight be proud to love. The two hadknown each other since they both werechildren and loved each other almost aslong. After Peter Grimshaw’s wife died,there was some mischief set afoot; and insome way – how I don’t know – theengagement between Robert and MissMasters was broken off and Robert lefttown. His business had been ruined byPeter and Robert Grimshaw, it was said. In


some way, old Grimshaw had his clutcheson him, and it was all up with him in abusiness way. Poor chap; he lost hissweetheart as well.

Just as Jack finished speaking, the girlopened a pair of beautiful hazel eyes,starred dazedly at the doctor and interrified tones, exclaimed: “Save me! Don’t let them kill me! They can have themoney if they will let me live!”

“No one shall harm you my dear girl!”replied Dr. Green soothingly. “We’ll seeto that! Here, take this medicine and go tosleep; you will feel better when you wakeup!”

The doctor lifted the girl from thetable and placed her on a cot-bed whereshe soon dropped into an uneasy slumber,muttering meanwhile unintelligiblephrases expressive of terror. At the end ofabout three hours, the girl wakened to fullconsciousness, and looked around thelodge, with its rough furnishings inbewilderment. Finally, her gaze sought thefaces of Mr. Fisher and Dr. Green.

“Where am I, and where is UnclePeter and Mr. Babbington?” shedemanded.

“We do not know where they are!”replied the doctor. “How do you feelnow!”?

“My head aches dreadfully, “ shestarted, and a look of horror flashed acrossher face. “Oh, now I remember! Don’t letthem get to me again!”

“You are safe here, no one shall hurtyou” the doctor replied. “But explainwhom it is you fear.”

“My uncle – he is not really my uncle,but my aunt’s husband – and that awfulold man they call Miser Babbington.”

“How came you in the woods, wherewe found you? You need not fear to tellus, for we are your friends.”

The girl sat up with a pitiful littlegesture. “I am afraid to say anything,” shesaid, “yet I must confide in someone, for Iam completely alone since Aunt died lastspring, and now I need friends more thanever!”

“We will be your friends to a man,”said the doctor earnestly. “We rescuedyou from a horrible death so that you needhave no fear in confiding in us. First ofall, though you must have something toeat” and he handed her a bowl of soup thathad been prepared for her. After the girlhad partaken of the food she seemedstronger and a faint tinge of color cameinto her pale cheeks.

“Now I will tell you about myself.” shesaid. “My mother and father died within ashort time of each other four years ago, leavinga large fortune, of which my uncle and auntwere to be the custodians; they were also ableto act as my guardians until I should betwenty-one years of age when I should comeinto sole possession. A week ago, I learnedthat there was a clause in my father’s will tothe effect that, in the event of my death, myaunt and uncle would inherit the fortune. Ihad a pleasant time until the death of my aunt,who was my father’s sister. Just before myaunt died, Mr. Babbington began to comemore frequently to the house and becamedisgustingly attentive to me. He is a horrid oldman, over sixty years old. After my aunt’sdeath, the attentions of this man became stillmore marked, but I loathed him and showed itso plainly that he and my uncle both noticed it,and the latter took me to task for my rudenessto his friend, saying that I must marry the oldman, or else he would send me away. Send meaway then!” I exclaimed hotly when he madethis threat. “I shall be glad to go! The sooneryou put your threat into execution, the better Ishall like it!”

“Very well, my lady” he replied. “I willsend you away. You are ungrateful for all thathas been done for you, so I’ll put an end to it.”

“For the next few days, Mr. Babbingtonand my uncle kept away from me, and werecloseted together most of the time. Once,when I had been downstairs to get a book, Ioverheard them talking. One sentence puzzledme greatly. I heard the old man say, evidentlyin reply to something my uncle had said –“Never mind Grimshaw; I’d just as soon havethe money as the girl – it would be lesstrouble.”

“The day before yesterday, Uncle Petersaid to me: “To-morrow night I am going totake you away to a school. I shall shut up thehouse, so you can stay at the school whenvacation comes.” No more was said until myuncle came to me about five o’clock yesterdayafternoon, and told me to be ready in an hour,as we had a long journey before us.

“Why do you start so late?” I asked. “Would it not be better to wait until morning?”

“No,” he replied snappishly; “I have notime to waste. I must get through with mybusiness as soon as I can. I can’t take yourtrunk in the buggy, but I’ll send it in thewagon as soon as I get back. You can dowithout it for a day or two, I think.”

To this I made no reply, for just then wewere called to supper. For the first time inweeks I did not have to face John Babbingtonat the supper-table. It was a silent meal,

neither uncle nor myself being inclined toconverse. At the end of the meal we left thehouse and entered the light buggy that stoodat the gate. The horse attached to thevehicle was a strange one, and I remarkedupon the circumstance to my companionwho replied-

“Yes, it is a strange horse for mine waslame so I got this old nag from the liverystable. I guess he’ll carry us where we wantto go.”

I do not remember much after that. Ithink something must have been put in mytea that sent me to sleep. The next thing Irecollect is feeling earth strike my face as Ilay in a hole, and I heard the voices ofUncle Peter and John Babbington. Iscreamed and struggled and one of themstruck me a blow on the side of the head,which is all I can remember until I wakenedin this room.”

“The bruts!” exclaimed Dr. Green,carried away by his rage. “At all costs wemust hunt them out and punish them as theydeserve.”

“You will not mind staying heretoday?” asked Mr. Fisher, a few minuteslater, coming to the door of the roomequipped for a journey. “Dr. Green and Mr.Howard will stay here with you while we goto the town and see if we can find the twowretches who so nearly took your life. They will feel so sure of having put yousafely out of the way, that we may findthem still in town.

Reaching Peterborough, Mr. Fisher andhis friends went at once to the judge’soffice, where as briefly as possible, the casewas stated, a warrant made out for the arrestof the two men, and the proper officer sendto serve it. No one had seen Babbingtonsince some time the previous day. Mr.Grimshaw had entered his home about teno’clock in the morning, his housekeeperstated, and had some papers from his desk. He had then gone to his room and afterplacing a few articles of clothing in a valise;he came downstairs and left the house. Before he did so, he told the woman thatshe could shut up the house and go homefor a week, as he was going on a businesstrip, and would not be back for a number ofdays. The rascals it appeared, had sevenhours start of their pursuers. It wassupposed that old Babbington waitedsomewhere while Peter Grimshaw went tothe house for his papers, as his horse, a fastone, was gone from his stable. Oncetogether, it was surmised that they made abee-line for Uncle Sam’s country.


Later that night, the pursuing party,returned to the camp and reported theirunsuccessful attempt to find the would-bemurderers. Next morning, Miss Masterswas told that the men had decamped andwas asked if she wished to go back to herold home.

“No: Oh no!” she exclaimed interrified accents. I don’t want to go back. I should be afraid that they might returnand kill me. Don’t take me there!”

“Then I shall take you to my home,”said Tom Fisher. “Mrs. Fisher will lookafter you as if she were your own mother.”

They broke camp that morning andreturned to their homes. The poor girl,weakened and shaken from the roughusage she had received, was placed on apile of skins and blankets and was safelydelivered into the hands of Mrs. Fisherwho gave her every care. Efforts weremade as soon as possible, to find out howmuch if any, of the girl’s fortune was left. It was discovered that Peter Grimshaw hadfor some time been converting propertyinto money, until all that was left were thehouse in town, and a large farm. Therewas also a small sum of money in the bankin Florence’s name, placed there by hermother years before.

About two weeks after we returned totown, a message came one day to Mr.Fisher saying that a man who had beenbadly hurt was dying in a village about 20miles away and wished to see him. Asquickly as horses could be harnessed, TomFisher who was always ready to help afellow creature, was off. On his return thenext day, he told a strange story.

When he reached the little farmhouse,a man met him at the door and asked himif he was Mr. Fisher. Answering theaffirmative, he was immediately showninto a small bedroom, where lying on abed, he beheld the emaciated form of PeterGrimshaw. When the old man saw hisvisitor he said in a feeble voice, “I knewyou’d come Tom if I sent for you, and Icouldn’t die without telling someone.”

“Telling what Peter? But how did youcome here and in this shape?”

“It is just retribution for my sins Tom! But I must be quick and tell you while mystrength holds out.”

With that he told Tom the story of thenight when he and his partner in crime hadburied the poor girl alive in the woods. Healso confessed to the compact betweenhimself and John Babbington, which wasto the effect that if the latter helped him to

get rid of Florence Masters, he should have anequal share of the property.

“Where is Babbington?” asked TomFisher, when the old man had finished hisnarrative.

“Dead! That brute of a horse of his took itinto his head to run away going down thatsteep hill leading to the village; and collidedwith the rocks just at the bottom of the hill. We were both thrown out and Babbington waskilled instantly, while I broke my back. I haveonly a little while to live now. Tom, I amhaunted by the screams of Florence! Oh, if Icould undo the past! I have got the money butwhat use is it to me now. I am afraid to die!”

As soon as he could command theattention of the dying man, for Grimshaw’smind was wandering, Fisher told him thatFlorence was not dead, but had been rescuedand was now alive and well.

“Tom! Tom! You are not deceiving me?”he demanded piteously, as he grasped Fisher’shand convulsively.

“No Peter, I am not deceiving you, I amtelling you the truth. Florence was saved fromthe awful death you planned for her, and isnow at my home.”

“Thank God for His mercy to a poorsinner!” said Grimshaw, and then with onelong shuddering breath, the old man was dead.

What became of the girl? Well, she wasmy beloved wife for thirty years, and themother of my children. I was one of thehunters at the lodge in the woods, and assistedto extricate her from her midnight grave.

Wide World Magazine was renownedfor its thrilling adventure stories thatcould have been true, but evidentlyrarely were. This story is very good onsome of the setting. The CommercialHotel was at Brock and George, and anearlier hotel of the same name had beenat George and Hunter. Beyond that, wecould not confirm the specific details ofthe Fisher family or this story. However,it is too good a story not to consider. Theeditors of the Review have added anintroductory paragraph that makes onewonder if the whole story is true. Wedecided to publish the story with thiscautionary note. Perhaps you havestories that are even better. Editor

WORKMEN FOUND SKELETON IN REAR OFPOST OFFICE

Peterborough Examiner, 1911

Skull Was in Good State of Preservation– Some Interesting Back History Aboutthe Locality

This morning, while excavating for thefoundation for the post office extension, themen employed came on the remains of anadult buried beneath the surface aboutseven feet. Close under the edge, on a linefrom the inside of the pavement,downwards and extending underneath, withthe bones of the legs and feet across thestreet. With the bones were found an ironbuckle and a small dirk knife. Clothing andeverything else had all disappeared. Theskull was well preserved, with the teethsound. Whose remains they are or howthey were placed where found can only bea matter of conjecture. All were placed in abox and will be interred.

In the county history of the city, thecorner now covered with the post officebuilding was part of the hollow down intowhich the hill on which St. John’s churchstands projected. Water Street was cutthrough the foot of the hill, north and southand filled in on the West side. In thehollow stood for many years, a two-storeybuilding used as a dwelling and afterwardsas a hotel between the years 1842 and 1858. It was there, but unoccupied in 1861 andafterwards was burned down. The depth atwhich the skeleton was found wouldindicate that it was placed there when thestreet level was much lower than at presentas the building stood fully seven feet belowthe Hunter Street level as it now grades.

The incident recalls something of thechequered history of the old building. As adrinking place, it was notorious, at a timewhen there was no excuse and no license. Whiskey sold at one shilling the gallon,three-pence the quart, and as Pat Hamonwho made whiskey in the building nowused by Mr. Fitzgerald as a coal and woodsoffice said, “Not a headache in a quart.”

In 1845, Sir John Franklin made hisfamous voyage of discovery into the Arctic,and never returned. He died there in 1847as was learned by the memorandum foundby McLintock. Several relief expeditionswere fitted out to look for the survivors whohad taken to the ice in an endeavour toreach the Great Fish River overland. Oneof these parties was in charge of a CaptainCrozier, who had been identified in anotherpart of the world with the work of Franklin.

Captain Crozier had a twin brother wholived in Peterborough. He was given todrink and led a very erratic life. Captain


Crozier perished in the Arctics, falling intoa crevice in an ice flow and being crushed. It was afterwards found, on comparingdata that on the day land hour in whichCaptain Crozier lost his life, his twinbrother fell down stairs in a drunken spreein the little old hotel on Hunter Street,breaking his neck.

It was rather entertaining to hear someof the “Sherlock Homes” who gathered toexplain the mystery. One ‘sleuth’ held thatsome terrible murder had taken place,while another was of the opinion that theskeleton was that of an Indian. Stillanother associated the find with themysterious disappearance of a man by thename of Regan. Wes Edwards tookpossession of the dirk, which was brokenwithout an “Hackenschmidt” hold beingused.

Editor’s noteThe two foregoing stories representthe research that goes into our laudedwalking tours. Stories that are on theedge can sometimes give us terrificinsight into a bygone world. Thesecond story is rich in local lore, andcan be read against other sourceswith profit. We are always looking forsuch stories and welcome yoursuggestions. Contact Diane Robnik,(705) 745-4404

Anniversaries 2005

P e t e r b o r o u g h t h eElectric City: 100 YearsLater

Peterborough is celebrating the onehundredth anniversary of theincorporation of the city ofPeterborough.

The Trent Valley Archives is

marking the occasion in a variety ofways. We will feature articles from theyears 1904 and 1905 that capture themood of the times in the issues publishedthis year. Today we look at the spring of1904 when the idea of incorporation wasbroached but rejected by the TownCouncil. They thought cities developed; itwas not enough to announce a city.Some feared the status of city wouldencourage councillors to spend too much.

Peterborough: the Electric City(1987) did not mention incorporation.The message was that Peterborough wasan electric place; there was lotshappening and the city was in a growthmode greatly helped by the cheapelectricity and the well-trained industrialwork force. The advantage woulddisappear as cheap electricity becamewidely available in Ontario after Sir AdamBeck created what became OntarioHydro, and the power of Niagara washarnessed. Still, Peterborough retainedsome of its charm as Quaker Oats andGeneral Electric became the anchors ofPeterborough’s industrial scene.

Even though the councillors were notcertain that Peterborough would gainadvantages as a city, it is clear thatPeterborough was defined by changes inthese years. The Peterborough UtilitiesCommission was created in 1904, andthe town addressed the issues of whoowned the streets. Major fires in fivesuccessive years led to criticism frominsurance companies and paved the wayfor a new fire hall and a professional firedepartment by 1908. The FederalGovernment selected Peterborough for anew Armouries in 1904; that too wasoperational by 1908. As well, plans werebegun for a new collegiate building, asthe old Union School facilities wereincreasingly inadequate. Peterboroughwas also at the start of a majorconstruction boom.

In 1902, the field representative forthe Department of Labour calculated thelocal labour force had about 3,125workers of whom 800 worked atCanadian General Electric, and 800 wereat Quaker. Wi l l iam HamiltonManufacturing employed about 200;Canadian Cordage, 200, and PeterHamilton Manufacturing, 150. There werean estimated 100 workers at thePeterborough Lock Works, at AuburnWoolen Mills, and at B. F. Ackerman’sharness factory. There were three dailynewspapers (the Peterborough Examiner,Peterborough Review and PeterboroughTimes) that together had 100 employees;the three local saw mills employed about100 as well. The abattoirs of GeorgeMatthews (later to be part of Canada

Packers) employed 80 workers. About60 people were employed atPeterborough’s three canoe factories:Peterborough Canoe, Canadian Canoeand William English Canoes.Remarkably, there were 200 peopleemployed in ta i lo r ing andmanufacturing clothes. And about 50people in the flour mills. J. J. Turnerhad 25 people working in his tent andcanvas business. The Central BridgeWorks, on George south ofSherbrooke, was an important localbusiness in 1901; Adam Hall wasmanufacturing steel ranges as well asselling stoves, baths and generalhouse furnishings. There were about60 people employed in smallerfactories, such as the Riverside PlaningCompany.

In more subtle ways, the futurewas arriving in 1905. The automobilewould make enormous changes in thetown. George Street was extendedsouth to Lansdowne very soon. ThePeterborough Lift Lock was opened inJuly 1904, and the completion of theTrent Canal Waterway seemed withinreach.

History is not just about the waythat local governments are defined.

The Peterborough HistoricalSociety organized an EdwardianPeterborough Conference for 14 May2005, and the Trent Valley Archiveswas there. We had one poster exhibiton housing in Edwardian Peterborough,showing how the American influencewas more widespread than peoplemight have realized. As well, weprepared a poster exhibit on fireinsurance plans.

The two exhibits were quitepertinent as they spoke to two of thethemes that defined Peterborough inthose years. As well, it served topromote our new publicationsinitiatives. We are working on anupdated and expanded version ofM a r t h a K i d d ’ s p i o n e e r i n gPeterborough’s Architectural Heritage.People have known that we had strongresources to support genealogical andhistorical research. This projectcombines both, and shows we can alsodo research on buildings and property.

We co-sponsored two otherexhibits in the Edwardian Conference.Don Willcock prepared an excellentposter session on street railways inPeterborough using resources of theTrent Valley Archives and thePeterborough Historical Society. Aswell, there was an exhibit to promoteUp the Burleigh Road. The book will bepublished by the Trent Valley Archives


next spring, but people can takeadvantage of the pre-publication dealprice of $20.

B u i l d i n g

P e t e r b o r o u g h ’ s

Edwardian House :

American Style

Peterborough’s ubiquitous 2½ storeyhouses are nearly all variations of thehouses designed in the ScientificAmerican Architects and BuildersEdition. That a local builder could usedesigns from the 1880s nearly 20 or30 years later shows the designs wereclassics. Albert Hope, a secondgeneration builder, used copies ofSAABE to design his homes.

SAABE provided several housedesigns in each monthly issue, alwayshighlighting at least one house for thefull treatment. Color centrefolds, floorplans often in color, as well as tissuetemplates of special features such asnewell posts, window and doorcorners. As well the specificationsincluded a summary of theinformation that needed to be sharedwith the carpenter, painter, mason,plasterer, plumber, as well as costbreakdowns and totals.

These designs ranged fromworker’s cottages, to bungalows,suburban homes, and palatialcottages. These American Victorianhomes are often classified as stickhouses or, if characterized by towersand extravagant features, the QueenAnne style. In Peterborough, suchhomes were built between 1885 and1920, and might be better termedEdwardian.

This exhibit underscores a gap inthe writing of Canadian history. Nobook on Canadian architecture orbuilding suggests that the SAABEinfluenced Canadian building. In fact,Canadian books rarely suggest thatthere was American influence in ourarchitecture.

Peterborough’s version of theAmerican Victorian had someve r nacu la r f ea tu res . Mos t

dramatically, our builders substitutedbrick for ship-lath while usually retainingthe shingles on the third storey. Thesehouses are widely distributed inPeterborough, and are particularlydominant in areas between Park andMonaghan, and in parts of Ashburnham.

The Albert Hope drawings are in theTrent Valley Archives. The Trent ValleyArchives is revising and expandingMartha Ann Kidd’s inf luentialPeterborough’s Architectural Heritage andhopes to publish it in the coming year. Ifyou wish to reserve copies please contactus.

Ed note: This was the text panel for oneof the poster sessions at the EdwardianPeterborough Conference.

A Great Hockey Town Could be Great atLacrosse

H.R.H. KennerPeterborough Review, 17 March 1904

This is assuredly a great hockey town. If ageneral expression of opinion were taken, it isaltogether likely that the vast majority wouldsay that Peterborough was noted for itsmanufactories, its electrical power, its prettygirls, and its hockey teams. The institution thathasn’t been mixed up in some kind of hockeymatch this season has not located here yet. Assoon as it does, the fever will undoubtedlycome along and the hands will ere long spoilfor a contest.... [Review, 19 March 1904]

Dear Sir, – Notwithstanding the fact our“Lady of the Snows” lovingly lingers in thelap of spring, it nonetheless behooves us, withGood Friday so near at hand, to make the bestof our lenten fast and make preparations forCanada’s national strenuous game, namely,lacrosse.

The question naturally arises what are theprospects of Peterborough so far as this gameis concerned? Having withdrawn from allactive participation in sports, I may be allowedto speak as an onlooker, and at the same time,as one who has more or less experience in thevarious lines of athletic sports.

Along with others, I have with regretwatched an increasing spirit of hostilitybetween the supporters of the T. A. S. [TotalAbstinence Society] organizations, and thosenot identified with that institution.

This, I am sorry to say, is not as it shouldbe. No club has brought brighter laurels totown than the Peterborough Football Club,and in doing so we have had no more valuable

members than Messrs. Crowley, Meagher,Hurtubise and Deanard, all members of theT. A. S. These gentlemen, I am confident,will testify to the fact that their dealingswith the town team have been mostharmonious, and justly so. In baseball, too,we find no unhealthy rivalry. In hockey,whilst there has been some ill feeling, yet ithas been generally admitted, that the T. A.S., drawing from a more limitedmembership, have been at a disadvantage;but notwithstanding, have conferred honorupon themselves in particular, and the townin general.

In lacrosse there has been a differentstate of affairs. There has been adetermination on both sides to win at allhazards, and the games have been playedwith discredit to the players, and not to thehonor of the town.

The officers of the two clubs, and forthat matter, the players, too, have been forthe most part on good terms, and areactuated by the spirit of good, honest sport.There are, however, certain so-calledsupporters, for the most part unknown tothe gate keepers, who have causedconsiderable ill-feeling, and have loweredthe standard of this game in Peterborough.

We have won provincial junior andintermediate hockey championships,Provincial and Dominion IntermediateRugby football championships, and districtAssociation football and baseballchampionships, and why not a lacrossechampionship? We have the material, butwe have not been working in harmony. Mysuggestion is that the T. A. S. and theAthletic lacrosse teams amalgamate andforget the past.

If we do so I am sure we can bothplace a winning amateur team in the field,and at the same time promote that goodfeeling and harmony which should at alltimes characterize true sportsmen.

I would suggest that the secretaries ofthe two clubs agree to call a joint meetingand place a Peterborough lacrosse team inthe C. L. A.

I speak only for myself, but I shouldlike before retiring to remove, so far as Ican, that much to be deplored unhealthy,unsportsmanlike local rivalry in sports....


Aldermen Settle Down to BusinessMayor Roger Makes an Address Outlining Duties of the YearStanding Committee Were StruckTown Engineer Hay Presents His ReportAld. McWilliams Advocates Admission of Reporters to Committee MeetingsThe Otonabee Power Co. Renew Their Offer for the Street LightingOther Business

Peterborough Review, 15 January 1904

At last night’s meeting of the CouncilMayor Roger in a brief addressappropriately pointed to duties which theCouncil must face during 1904. Heexpressed regret that he was not present atthe inaugural meeting, but congratulatedand welcomed the members, and hoped thatthe business of the year would progresssmoothly. That which had passed had beena strenuous one, and there were remainingfrom it several matters to be settled. One ofthese was the adjustment of matters inconnection with municipal union. Theconstruction of a sewerage system in WardFive demanded attention, as did also thestreet lighting and street railway questions.Of late years the town had adopted aprogressive policy of street improvementand marked benefit was resulting from thefrequent use of the steam roller. Thepurchase of the Hilliard property renderedplenty of good material available. Theengineer reported that some three or fourmiles of wooden sidewalk required renewal,and he advised that contracts for this andsimilar work be let as early as possible inthe spring. The matter of providing forcontagious diseases in the town was onethat should be dealt with, in view of the factthat the hospitals had indicated a desire tobe relieved in this regard. The Hilliardproperty would afford a site for such abuilding. The question of fire protectionwas also an important one. The alarmsystem was obsolete and was not recognizedby the fire underwriters. New hose was alsorequired. The Bell Telephone Co’sagreement had expired. They had heretoforepaid the town $400 and had use of thestreets for poles and wires. As to renewal ofthe franchise the Council would have toconsider what provision it would beadvisable to make. All other pole rights hadlikewise expired, and the Mayor suggestedthat in dealing with renewals the Council

should take such precautions as will render itpossible for the town to take over any of thepoles at the expiration of future terms, ifmunicipal ownership was deemed advisable.He welcomed the able representatives sentfrom Ashburnham, or Ward Five, andprophesied a harmonious and prosperous yearin the interests of Greater Peterborough....ENGINEER’S REPORTThe annual report of the Town Engineer wasreceived. The total length of sewers laid in1903 was 4,160 feet, or 79-100 of a mile, andthe total length of sewers in use is 11.14 miles.The total length of concrete walk laid in 1903was $11,803.93. The amount charged to streetcleaning for 1903 was $715.78 and for theremoval of snow and ice $591. The total costof general repairs to streets was $2,841.22.

The total amount expended in roadmaking was $4,525.19 and the total length ofroad made was 5,210 lineal feet. The totalamount chargeable to bridges is $876.04. Thecost for repairs to wooden sidewalks during1903 amounted to $1,336.95. The totalamount chargeable to street watering for 1903was $1,248.59. The report was referred to theBoard of Works.....OPEN COMMITTEE MEETINGSAld. McWilliams moved that the rules beamended to provide that representatives of thelocal press be admitted to committee meetings.

Ald. Best said the difficulty in formeryears was that matters were reported beforethey were completed. He was perfectlysatisfied if discretion was exercised.

Ald. Rush and Ald. Morrison concurredin the argument that a line would have to bedrawn somewhere. It would not be a wisepolicy to have the proceedings of committeemeetings published, especially when questionswere being considered the details of which itwould not be well to circulate until finallysettled.

Ald. Johnston seconded the motion andspoke in favour of the admission of reporters

to committees. Ald. McWilliams pointed out that it

certainly would be wise that a plain and fullreport on important questions should go tothe public while they were still incommittee. These were matters on whichthe public were sometimes indignant thatthey had not been informed before anultimate settlement had been arrived.

Mayor Roger expressed the opinionthat it would be most unwise to havereporters at the meetings of the LegalCommittee.

Ald. Adams said the two motionsshould be voted down. His opinion was thatthe present method of doing business wasfirst-class. If there was dissatisfaction in anymatter, it could be discussed at the Councilmeeting.

Ald. McWilliams made an appendix tohis motion providing that committeesexclude reporters if considered advisable.

The amendment was withdrawn andAld. McWilliams’ motion was lost.

The Council adjourned to meet inCommittee for the purpose of discussing theclauses in the town’s proposed bill, inconnection with which application has beenmade to the Legislature.

Peterborough Review, 3 February 1904..... Ald Morrison moved seconded by AldRush, – That the Council memorialize theLegislature to grant Peterboroughincorporation as a city.

Ald Hicks said he had beenunderstood as being strongly opposed to themove. He did not see what need there wasfor any hurry, and thought should first beascertained, especially at this time when theunion of Ashburnham had just beeneffected. Instances existed that seemed tomake it advisable to leave incorporationuntil the municipality had reached thestandard in population and was in a position


to sustain its rank as a city. These, he held,would come to Peterborough in course oftime. // Ald Best argued along the samelines. // The resolution was lost, Alds.Morrison, McWilliams and Rush voting forit.

The Mayor was authorized to sign andfix the corporate seal to the town’sapplication for legislation, which wasconsidered at last night’s session, and theCouncil adjourned. Editor’s note: The request for legislationrelated to Peterborough included nine otheritems. Town Council wanted authority tochange the election of aldermen to twoyears, half retiring each year. They wantedto pay for three members on the Committeeof Revision. They wanted to give thePeterborough Town Trust authority tocreate sinking funds to purchase buildingsin the Market block; purchase the assets ofthe village of Ashburnham; and to purchasereal estate identified in Bylaw 1059; andthey wanted authority to purchase that realproperty. They wanted authority to borrow$10,000 annually to upgrade the waterworks system. They wanted an Isolation orContagious Diseases hospital. They wantedto allow Little Lake Cemetery to acquireadditional land. The Peterborough LockCompany wanted to expand, and wanted hecity to fix its assessment at $12,000 for tenyears. They also wanted to provide a fixedassessment for an Academy of Music orOpera House. Municipal elections were held the firstMonday in January, and the new councilswere almost immediately into business. Themembers of the Town Council for 1904,besides Mayor G. M. Roger, were R. F.McWilliams, Henry Best, Henry Rush,Frank Adams, Joseph Batten, William Scott,W. J. Johnston, Robert Clinkscale, J.Edgcumbe, Robert Hicks, E. F. Mason andDr M. A. Morrison. The top twelve vote-getters were elected; that year 18 wererunning. People were pleased to see thatAshburnham was represented as both FrankAdams and William Scott lived in thevillage; W. J. Johnston was a formerresident of Ashburnham. The voters alsopassed judgement on three proposedbylaws. They favoured proceeding with acontract for street railway service and forstreet lighting. As well, they favouredbuying the Hilliard farm for $10,000.

Seeking a site for the Peterborough Armouries,1904

Peterborough Review, 17 and 19March 1904

SITE FOR THE ARMOURIESCOL. BUCHAN CONFERS WITH BODIES INTERESTED

Yesterday afternoon Colonel Buchan, OfficeCommanding Militia District No. 3, sat withCommittees representative of Council, theBoard of Education and the 57th, whenconsideration was given to the selection of asite suitable for the proposed new drill hall.There were present His Worship Mayor Roger,Aldermen Rush, McWilliams and Best, MessrsJ. J. Hartley, W. H. Hill, H. P. Kennedy, W. G.Ferguson, and John Crane, Lieut ColonelMiller and Major Hayes.

Colonel Buchan addressed the meetingimpressing the desirability of increasing theforce of the Regiment, the Government beinganxious to put the militia forces in first classcondition and with the end in view of enlistingcompanies up to their full war strength, sayone hundred and twenty men. The formationof an engineer corps was recommended, whichwould be made up largely of mechanics and ofcourse separate from the regiment.

It was pointed out that Peterboroughshould not merely have sections of a fieldbattery, but one of full complement andequipment, the D.O.C. being of opinion thatthe ground here was particularly well adaptedto such a corps. No doubt, in the near future,the Government will build military stores hereas the town was certainly one of the mostimportant strategic positions in Ontario. It waslocated in from the frontier and had the bestpossible means of communication, the TrentCanal being an important consideration.

It was requested that the town should asearly as possible make definite statement as towhat could be done towards granting a site.The desire is to have the School Board work inwith the Council in connection with thematter. Several sites were spoken of amongthem being the Separate School Grounds onMurray street.

A committee was appointed consisting ofHis Worship, the Mayor, Lieut. ColonelMiller, Major Hayes, Mr J. J. Hartley to conferwith the proper parties in reference to thematter.

It goes without saying that the better theoffer made by the town of a site for thearmouries the finer will be the building

erected. It will be not only adequate for allpurposes required of an armouries, but itwill be so fitted up as to afford recreationfor the men during the winter months.Those of the cities contain bowling allies,galleries for the practice of marksmanship,and other features, and the understanding isthat those now about to be built are to besimilar.

CURRENT ITEMS OF PASSINGINTERESTThe New Drill Shed

The erection of a new drill shed heresuggests great things for the military futureof Peterborough. It seems to be recognizedamong authorities on the matter that thetown occupies an important strategicposition, and as such should have locatedhere armouries and facilities for storage ofmilitary supplies necessary in a place ofmobilization. Col. Buchan’s statement,which has the weight of a suggestion, refersto the establishment here of full artilleryand cavalry corps in addition to theinfantry, and of the formation of anengineer corps. This certainly looks like asmall army, and seems to realize theimportance of the locality and theenthusiasm which has ever marked militarymatters in this town. It is to be hoped thatthe town will render every possibleassistance in the securing of the site for thenew building, which there is every reason tobelieve will be a magnificent structure.

....The Old Drill Shed

it will be of interest to know that the olddrill shed which is so soon to give place toa building of much grander proportions wasbuilt in 1867, and that though many othersof the same type were built throughout thecountry about that period, it is the only onenow standing which is the genuine original,all of the others having been torn down, orrebuilt, probably as a result of fire, or forreasons that had better facilities in view. Inthe thirty seven years’ life of the old shed ithas seen some stirring times. It was in 1866that members of the infantry companieslocated here and in the vicinity rushed toarms for the defence of the country againstFenian invasion. It can well be imaginedthat some considerate excitement reigned inPeterborough in those years, and that therewere some lively doings in military circles.


Many a man has answered the summons andparaded with his comrades in the old drillhall in subsequent years, and the raftershave rung with words of command, or thestrain of martial music, and the tramp,tramp, tramp has beat a spirited response.Many a lusty cheer has been given these,and many a happy meeting betweencomrades has had the old armouries for itsscene. In 1885, men crowded thither eagerto enlist. Again, a few years ago, the sons ofCanada showed their willingness for serviceand not a few brave lads marched away todo themselves and their country proud. Andnow the old drill shed may be obliteratedand sent down to oblivion, having filled itspurpose well through the storm and stress ofyears, many an inspiring scene has beenenacted here and no small army of soldiersold and soldiers young have in that timejoined the bivouac of the dead.

GORDON ROPERMichael Peterman

I have known Gordon Roper for overthirty years which, when you think ofit, was but one third of his life’s longspan. It took me a long time to findhim; many found him before me andprofited greatly from his kindliness andgood advice. In my case I had heardabout him from one of my Princetonprofessors, who suggested that I couldprofitably study more Americanliterature with a Professor Roper at theUniversity of Toronto. I tracked himdown at Trinity College in the summerof 1966 to ask if I might take hisgraduate course in Melville andHawthorne. He was very nice, but heregretted that he had to turn me downas he was packing his books to leavefor Peterborough and a new position.He was returning to his home placeand to help develop fledgling TrentUniversity. So I had to come here toPeterborough, six years later, to findhim. Having found him, I can say,without the least reservation, that hehas meant the world to me as a youngacademic and a person.

Gordon was like an education inhimself. For several years we hadoffices at Lady Eaton College and therewas seldom a day that we did not talkand that I did not learn something newand fascinating. He would plant an ideafor me, suggest a project that neededdoing, take me deeper into a novelthat I thought I had read well, or

reveal some tantalizing aspects about aparticular book I had yet to read. In hisTrinity years he had been deep in theacademic game and rigorously trained hisgraduate students in the discipline of theNew Criticism. He had, then, a reputationfor “Roperizing” them. But by the time hegot to Trent he had crossed over thatsluggish river and passed onto a higherplain. It involved doing what he mostliked to do—talking about literature,inquiring into it, valuing it, contemplatingits virtues, applying wise and generousviews to a host of texts. The Gordon Imet and knew at Trent was amazinglyfree of jargon and fixed ideas. Littlewonder that writers like MargaretLaurence, George Johnston and his greatfriend Robertson Davies found in him sofine a friend and so sympathetic an ear.He was a kind of ideal reader. He lovedand lived for books. When he lost hissight some years ago, that love of booksfound other outlets. Friends came to readto him, he discovered books on tape,and, like all good Canadians, he listeneddevotedly to the CBC.

What a treat it was to read to him.Several of us came to him weekly, one aday, and though we never met as agroup, we were perhaps the mostexclusive and the most unpretentiousbook group in Peterborough, if notCanada. I was always amused whenpeople would say to me, “Aren’t you sonice to go to read to him” or some suchbenign compliment. What we all knew asGordon’s readers is that we were thegainers in the exchange. We werelearning more about reading—particularlyabout the joys of reading out loud(hearing the tones, recognizing thecadences, following the personal track ofan author’s voice through dialogue andnarration). We had wonderful discussionswith him that grew out of a passingcomment here or a fortunate pause inthe actual reading. He always hadsomething to add or observe. Above all,we could enjoy his wonderful sensitivity;he contemplated serious and smallmatters alike, he connected things inways we delighted in observing; and hepunned whenever he could. The punning,in fact, was irrepressible, and it was ofteningenious. Reading was the blood of lifeto him—it brought important matterstogether even as it allowed for momentsof levity and silliness. Some times awriter’s great self-seriousness brought onthe humour, for surely perspective isrequired when ponderousness rears itsformidable head.

I hope you see what I mean. Wewere the gainers. I am of course talkingabout Gordon as a literary man, not as a

family man, but it was mostly as aman who loved writing and who taughtus to share and develop that love thatwe knew him. As Adrienne Clarksonhas noted, “To me he gave a gift—thelove of learning and the devotion tobeauty.” Her insight is bang-on. Formy part I have had a number of goodteachers over time, but no one whotaught me what Gordon did out of hisvery being—to seek out good writing,to devote myself to finding out more ofour shared if forgotten past, and topass that sense of value on to thestudents I came to know.

Gordon Roper knew much painand loss, but he carried on asbuoyantly as he could, often to ourcollective amazement. It was hiswisdom and his way. He knew allabout human limitations and thebody’s frailties. The wisdom ofRobertson Davies’s Humphrey Cobblerwas with him. Cobbler told SollyBridgetower in Leaven of Malice thathe needed to recognize his trap andthen deal with it as best he could. Sotoo Herman Melville’s Ishamelphilosophized in Moby-Dick, “Who ain’ta slave, anyway?” By that Melvillemeant ‘who doesn’t get kicked aroundby fate in curious and sometimes awfulways?’ A colostomy, angina, blindness,the death of his beloved Helen--thesewere all cruel kicks. But Gordon wasamazingly resilient, amazingly cheerfulthrough it all. Think of living with acolostomy for over thirty years! To mehe sang in his chains like the sea andI have been immensely happy to beable to sing to him over recent years,to join him in his chorus.

We were so lucky to have had himclose to us for so long. I shall closewith two signatures that some of youmay recall. The first is what he wouldalways ask me whenever I called onthe phone. Over recent years I havebeen drawn to the Maritimes and NewJersey, and have been on the go quitea lot. At home in his comfortable roomat Applewood Manor, he wasfascinated by my comings and goings.I talked to him on the day he died andhe was typically in fine form. But hebegan as he so often did with me,asking with rising voice, “Oh, Michael--where are you now?” It was a simplequestion to be sure but I think herealized that it had greater weight forme as I thought about it. Where was I,he was asking, in my own sense ofthings NOW? ‘Ask yourself that andkeep asking it, because you need tohave good answers in your own heart’It was a cheerful way of keeping me


up to an invisible mark we shared. Theother signature is the way he wouldsay goodbye. There would be asurprisingly sturdy handshake and ahearty “Cheerio,” as if he wanted tosend you off with a hefty chunk of hisimmense good will and love. What canI say in return to him at this sad timebut that same wonderful word,“Cheerio, Gordon.” We will miss you inso many ways.

Gordon Roper (1913-2005)

Gordon Roper was a good friend toPeterborough. This was his home town,and in the end his career was definedby Peterborough. He was raised in thistown, and the west end Roper Drive isnamed for his father. Robertson Daviesconsidered him a breath of fresh air.His teaching career spanned Chicago,Toronto and Trent, and his researchand writing was about Canadian andAmerican writers. He wrote a finefamily history about the Caddyfamilies; his wife Helen was adescendant of an early surveyor basedin Peterborough for awhile. GordonRoper was honoured with the city’sPeter Robinson Award in 2000. His lifeis intertwined with the history ofPeterborough in countless ways.Thanks to Michael Peterman for a nicetribute.

QueriesDiane Robnik

Bannon

Robert Bannon (son of John Bannon ofIreland) was born in 1818 and marriedDinah Ryan in 1840. They had 9children, one of them Margaret Bannonborn around 1856. We are looking for aspouse for her.

Cresswell - Watt

We are looking for any informationpertaining to William Cresswell whowas the owner of the Victoria Inn onHunter Street in 1850. We are trying tofind out when he died, and if an obitexists. He apparently has someconnection to Richard Watt who died in1854. William Cresswell is the owner ofWatt's plot in Little Lake and the familywould like to know the connectionbetween the two.

McFadyen (McPhaiden)

Angus McFadyen (McPhaiden) was born25 Jan 1825 in Kilchoman, Islay,Argyllshire, Scotland. Angus marriedSarah Macmillan who was born in 1849 inKildalton, Islay. They married February24, 1864 in Eldon Township where theyraised a large family of 13 children.

Angus died November 27, 1908 andSarah died September 27, 1936. Bothare buried at Glenarm Cemetery. Doesanyone have any information on them ortheir children: John McFadyen - born Jan 12 1817 diedOct 24 1872Ronald McFadyen - born ca 1818 diedMay 31, 1901Samuel McFadyen - born Feb 10, 1822died Jun 30, 1880Alexander McFadyen - born ca 1824 diedSep 5, 1872Catherine McFadyen - born Apr 22, 1828died June 24, 1903

Miller & Firth Wind Mill Co.

We are looking for any information aboutthis Peterborough company which existedin Peterborough in the 1870s.

Peterson, A. M.

Nova Scotians Eugene and WilliamCleveland developed the "Cleveland" typesteam locomotive used by Canada'sIntercolonial Railway ca. 1898-1904. Aresearcher wishes information about theirpartner, A.M. Petersen of Colborne ON orthe company called Cleveland PetersenCo, based in Toronto. Petersen may havebeen marketing agent for thelocomotives, which were built by theKingston Locomotive Works, and byBaldwin and Dickson in the US.

Douro Dummer Cemeteries

The Douro-Dummer Historical Committeewishes to update its information on localabandoned cemeteries. It requestsinformation about who is buried in theEnglish Line Cemetery north of Warsawor in the Centre Dummer Cemetery. Aswell any information about the BibleChristian Churches in Douro-Dummer orthe Baptist Church at Centre Dummerwould be welcome.

Trent Valley

ARCHIVES

William Hepburn Scott, Mayor and MPPElwood Jones

William Hepburn Scott (1837-1881)had been born in Brampton, and cameto Peterborough to start a law practicein 1861. The Hon Sidney Smith, formerPostmaster General in the Province ofCanada, joined him in the office at thecorner of Water and Hunter Streets.John Green, and E. B. Edwards laterjoined as junior partners in the firm.Scott was twice married, first to thedaughter of George Wright, a formerMPP in the Province of Canada for YorkWest. His second wife was thedaughter of Judge Boucher.

William H. Scott served six yearsas mayor, from 1866 to 1871, fourtimes elected by acclamation. His mainpolitical rival, George A. Cox won theelections of 1872 and 1873 byacclamation, and defeated GeorgeBurnham in 1874.

The rivalry with George A. Coxalso extended to railways. George A.Cox was the architect of the MidlandRailway which had by 1881 becomethe keystone of a strategy for anational railway system built upon theGrand Trunk Railway system, and aviable alternative to the proposedCanadian Pacific Railway. Scott was akey player in getting the Toronto andOttawa Railway to Peterborough; withthe completion of this line, beingsurveyed in 1881, the new CPR stationopened here in 1884.

Across the 1870s, Scott for theConservatives and Cox for the Liberalswere strong rivals for the provincialseat of Peterborough West. In the 30July 1874 by-election, held followingthe death of Thomas M. Fairbairn, W.H. Scott defeated Mr Dumble by 6votes (438-432). George A. Cox wonthe 18 January 1875 election by 45votes (970-925) in a riding that hadadded Lakefield, Harvey and thenorthern townships. The election wasprotested, Cox was unseated, and inthe resulting by-election in October1875, Scott won by a single vote (995-994). That election was under protestuntil December 1876. In the 1879election, Scott won handily, by aplurality of 252. On this occasion, hewas opposed by Elliott for the Liberalsand Hogan running as an Independent.When Scott died, the subsequent 19January 1882 by-election was won byacclamation by Dr R. Kincaid. John


Carnegie won the riding for theConservatives in the 27 February 1883election, by 86 votes over Mr Campbell(1262-1176). The intense rivalrybetween John Carnegie, sometimeowner of the Peterborough Review,and James R. Stratton, owner of thePeterborough Examiner, set the tonefor the next generation ofPeterborough elections. An earlier mayor of Peterborough,William A. Scott, apparently unrelated,served in 1864 to complete the term ofCharles Perry, who became ineligible tocontinue as mayor when he declaredbankruptcy. W. A. Scott was alsoelected mayor for 1865. He was theson of Mr and Mrs Walter Scott whohad come to Asphodel from Scotland in1820. He died in Asphodel in 1875,living with his brother, Walter (born1828).

Surprisingly, Wilson Craw haserred in his terrific reference book, Our

Mayors. He incorrectly identifies W. H.Scott as Walter H. Scott. That errorhas crept into other books onPeterborough, including my ownPeterborough: the Electric City. Hecommonly shows up as Mr W. H. Scott,and so historians are spared decidingwhich he should be called. He ran acourse on Canadian politics for theMechanics Institute, the forerunner ofthe Public Library. His daughter andwife were early supporters of the

Peterborough Relief Society that laterbecame known as the PeterboroughProtestant Home.

Scott had been ill for severalmonths, and died in Orangeville on 11or12 July 1881. His body was brought toPeterborough by train. The funeralprocession to Little Lake Cemetery washeaded by the Fire Brigade and its band,followed by the Town Council, membersof Parliament, the Peterborough LawSociety, and “a large number of citizensof the Town and County.”

When members of the LiberalConservative Association met thefollowing week, Dr J. O’Sullivan,seconded by Joseph Walton, moved thefollowing motion of condolences.

“This meeting representing theConservatives of the West Riding ofPeterborough, desire to express theregret they feel at the lamented deceaseof William Hepburn Scott, Esq., the laterepresentative in the Local Legislature, aposition which he held since the year1874, to the great advantage of theconstituency and the whole province.During the whole of his public career hewas an able and earnest exponent ofConservative principles and was untiringin his efforts to advance the efforts of hisconstituents and the Province at large;and they desire to express theirsympathy with his family in the loss theyhave sustained, and that a copy of thisresolution be forwarded to Mrs. Scott andhis family. – Carried.”

At the Reform meeting held thefollowing night, George A. Cox, secondedby E. B. Edwards, moved a motion ofsympathy. Cox’s comments were mostconciliatory. “Although differing from himin his political opinions and although onmore than one occasion he had contestedthe riding with him, still when the heat ofthe contest was over, and unguardedwords which were dropped by bothduring the contest were forgotten, hecould look back and say with truth thathe had always found him a fair anhonorable opponent.” Later in themeeting, Cox was nominated to contestthe by-election, but was concerned aboutthe time and effort that would berequired while he was working very hardon several developments related to theMidland Railway. He suggested that apanel of Reformers should meet with apanel of Conservatives to find anacceptable candidate to complete theterm by acclamation. If this proved not tobe possible, he would run in the by-election. Surprisingly, the Conservativesagreed to nominate Dr R. Kincaid who

was left unfettered to run as anIndependent. The committee ofReformers and Conservatives seemedto concur. On the day of the officialnominations, held at the Court House,25 August, Dr Kincaid was elected byacclamation, but only after WilliamMills had been nominated andwithdrawn. This brief respite fromcompetitive politics was a surprise tomost local observers, and certainlywithout precedent in Peterborough.Still, some such as the PeterboroughTimes, complained that suchmomentous decisions should be madeby the electorate, not some small bodyof men, however distinguished theymight be.

Scott had been a remarkablefigure throughout his twenty years inPeterborough, and the town showedrespect for his life in the funeralprocession and in the extraordinaryprocess that saw him replaced by DrKincaid.

Former Mayor Dead

Mr William Toole Once Occupied Positionof Chief MagistratePeterborough Review, 12 March 1904

TOOLE – At his home at Grassmere, onMarch 6th, Wm. Toole, in his 83rd year.Funeral at Grassmere at 2:30, March 9.

The above notice from a Winnipegpaper relates to the death of a gentlemanwho between 1875 and 1878 inclusive wasMayor of Peterborough. Mr JamesStevenson, who was in frequentcorrespondence with him, and knew himever since he came to Peterborough in thefifties, from Emily Township, whence thefamily had moved from Cramahe, inNorthumberland, states that Mr Toole wasa self-made man, careful and shrewd inbusiness. He ran a planing mill on theproperty now occupied by Hicks & Co., andwas a contractor, one of the severalimportant buildings which he erected beingthe convent in Lindsay. Old residents statethat he filled most acceptably the positionof chief magistrate, and in substantiation ofthis is the fact that he occupied thepresiding chair four successive years. Priorto this he had been a resident here overtwenty years. Upon leaving Peterboroughhe went to the Northwest, and first took upa farm, but later had a position as


immigration agent in the States for theDominion Government. Mr Stevenson statesthat Mr Toole was upright, honest andindustrious, and made a good mayor. Oneson survives, resident in Winnipeg.

Gene sleuths study skull believed to be that ofpirate From 14th century

May 5, 2005

A 600-year-old skull believed to be themutilated remains of a legendary pirate whoplundered treasure in the Baltic and NorthSeas was whisked into Canada for DNAanalysis this week.

Gene sleuths at McMaster Universityin Hamilton sawed a small chunk off theskull, said to belong to the 14th-centurybuccaneer Klaus Stortebeker, for analysis totry to confirm the pirate's identity and helptrack his living descendants.

"When we were cutting the skull, itsmoked a bit, which is good," said HenrikPoinar, head of the McMaster team, whohas analysed DNA in everything fromNeanderthals' feces to extinct animals'bones. The smoke is indicative of thepresence of DNA in the ancient bone.

The skull was hand delivered to Mr.Poinar's lab by Ralf Wiechmann, head ofmedieval history at the Museum ofHamburg History. After overseeing thesample extraction, Mr. Wiechmann packedthe skull into its black carrying case andboarded a plane back to Germany yesterday.

"This skull has an extraordinaryposition in our country," Mr. Wiechmannsaid. "[Stortebeker] has the status of RobinHood of the North Sea."

As legend has it, Stortebeker wasinitially dispatched by German leaders tocapture Danish merchant ships and deliverfood and ammunition to besieged Germancities. But Stortebeker and his crew soonbegan plundering not just Danish ships, butthose of England, Holland and the Germanstates. The pirates -- and their vessel, theSea Tiger -- were feared from London to theRussian city of Novgorod.

They were eventually caught andbeheaded in Hamburg in 1400. After thepublic execution, the pirates' heads werespiked on to poles and lined up along theRiver Elbe as a deterrent to lawbreakers.

What historians believe isStortebeker's skull, complete with huge ironspike that was driven through it, eventuallytoppled into Hamburg harbour where it lay

in the mud for more than 400 years. The skullwas found during an excavation in 1878 andhas been on display in the Museum ofHamburg History ever since.

Mr. Wiechmann, who has studied andwritten extensively about the skull, said itdefinitely belonged to a high-ranking piratebecause a hole was carefully carved in the topof the head to ensure the skull remained in onepiece. Spikes were driven right through theheads of lesser pirates, often splitting theskulls in the process.

German scholars believe the skull inquestion is Stortebeker's because it dates backto the time of his execution. They sought outMr. Poinar, who runs one of the world'sleading labs for analyzing ancient DNA, to seewhether genes in the ancient skull couldprovide proof of its identity.

With luck, Mr. Poinar said his team willfind DNA from both mitochondria (structuresthat provide energy to cells) and Ychromosomes preserved inside the skull bone.This should enable German scientists tocompare the gene sequence with that of 200men in Germany they suspect have geneticlinks to the pirate.

© National Post 2005

Upper CanadaDocumentary History

Project The Trent Valley Archives’ impressivecollection called the Upper CanadaDocumentary History Project containsthousands of documents on the history ofUpper Canada, and some that followimportant threads on politics anddevelopment to the early twentiethcentury. In each issue we plan to sharedocuments that reflect the range of thiscollection. We have noted the microfilmholdings and digitized documents; herewe present a document from thenotecards series.

Christie, A.J., The Emigrant’sAssistant, (Montreal; 1821) pp. 117-26 THE METHOD OF CLEARING LANDS.

HAVING in the preceding pages, pointed outthe regular method to be pursued by such as

are desirous of procuring lands, a fewobservations respecting the best plan ofproceeding to render these landsproductive, may not be superfluous in thisplace. It deserves however, to be remarked,that the operation of clearing lands, is liableto be affected by such an infinite variety ofconcurrent circumstances, [ranging] fromthe quality of the timber – the local positionof the land – the present views or ulteriordesigns of the settler, &c. &c. That noexplicit rule can be laid down applicable toall cases. – All therefore that can be done, isto give a brief account of the methods mostgenerally in use; leaving it to the judgmentof the settler to select that one which maybe best adapted to his own particularsituation.

The plan most frequently pursued is,for the settler to go over his ground and cutup all the under-wood which is termedBrush, as close to the roots as possible;having done this, he next cuts down thelarger trees at a convenient height from theground, taking care to make them fall asmuch in one direction as he can. These lastare then cut up in pieces of eight or ten feetlong, so as to enable them to be drawntogether in one place. In this state, mixedwith the branches and brush wood, as theyhave fallen, they are set on fire, and asmuch consumed as possible. After the fireof the first burning is extinguished, thesettler, by the help of his oxen, draws thelarger logs, which, are left unconsumed,into heaps, when they are again set on firewhich commonly consumes them entirely.

Provided the quality of the timber, andthe circumstances of the farmer be such asto induce him to manufacture Potash, hegoes on his lands after this second burning,and collects the ashes for that purpose, butif on the contrary, his object be to procurea crop his lands are in this state ready forsowing, and he may throw in the seed andcover it slightly with what is termed a brushharrow. No ploughing is required on land inthis state, and it could hardly be effected ifrequisite, owing to the numerousimpediments from the fibrous roots, and thestumps which are left standing. The alkalineproperty of the ashes combining with, andacting on the rich vegetable mould, alwaysensures a superabundant crop from thesimple process above detailed.

The second method of clearing variesin some respects from the above plan. Herethe settler cuts down the brush wood, andafter collecting it along with the smallertimber burns it. The larger trees are left


standing and are what termed girdled; thatis, an incision or notch is made round each,at the height of three or four feet from theground, and so deep as to penetrate quitethrough the bark. By this means thecirculation of the sap in the tree is impeded,and it dies in the course of a year or two,when it falls and is burned in the way abovenoticed. Much has been said as to thecomparative advantages of these twomethods of clearing; and like every thing ofthe kind, the preference given to either ofthem must be influenced by the state ofexisting circumstances. As to the matter ofexpense, the first method costs nearlydouble that of the last, the cutting up of theunderbrush being but a trifling undertaking,and when the larger trees are dried and fallof themselves, they are burned at a far lessexpense than when in a green state.

The advocates for the first method,have advanced reasons in favour of it noless substantial than these. It is in the firstplace the most elegant method of clearing.In the case of girdling the shade of the largetrees which are left standing, impedes therays of the Sun and prevents the cropcoming to such perfection, as it does if theywere cut down: Hence if a settler only clearsten acres by the first plan, he will have asmuch crop from them, and will be more sureof reaping his reward, than he would fromdouble the extent of ground, cleared in themanner last described. The experience oflater years seems also to have sanctioned thefirst, in preference to the last plan, for fewinstances of girdling are now to be seen,unless in places where there are few largetrees, or where the settler is not anxious for,or dependant on a large return the first year.

The expense of clearing lands by eitherof the above processes, differs in differentparts of the country, and is generallyestimated by the value fo labour in otheroperations.

The Stumps, which are necessarily leftin the ground after clearing in both theabove methods, are allowed to remain thereuntil they rot out in the course of time. Theperiod necessary for this will vary accordingto the description of the land and the speciesof timber; in general the stumps of the softerkinds decay in three or four years, whileothers continue from ten to fifteen; but asthey are gradually diminishing in numberevery succeeding year, the facility for usingthe plough becomes proportionally greater.

It will occur to any man conversantwith the best and readiest methods of savinglabour that a more expeditious plan than

either of these might be adopted; by cuttingdown all the trees and underwood together,and after they have been left a sufficient timeto dry, by setting fire to them at once. By thismethod the labour and time required forcollecting the brush wood into heaps might besaved, and as a great portion of the largertimber would be thus consumed, the labour ofcutting up the logs, and collecting them intoheaps (termed logging) would be very muchabridged. There are however seriousobjections against this plan. Thoseexperienced in the business have discoveredthat the excessive heat which is by this meansapplied to the whole surface destroys thevegetative power of the soil; and if cleared inthis manner it will not bear a crop for manyyears after. This is no doubt a valid objectionin many descriptions of soil. If it contains alarge portion of iron, the calcination it wouldundergo in this process will no doubt injure itsfertility. If the soil be of a lime stone orcalcareous nature the complete destruction ofthe animal and vegetable matter, by this plan,will leave no substance for the lime, thusformed, to act upon. In Argillaceous or claysoils, the surface may become so indurated bythe heat as to be unfit to produce a crop. Orlastly the reduction of all the vegetablesubstances in the soil into ashes along withthat produced by the trees may render the soiltoo alkaline in its nature. In either of thesecases the views of the farmer who expects acrop will be frustrated; and it is of but littleconsequence to enquire how his defeat occurs;since ample experience confirms the fact thatlands cleared in this manner are unfit to bear acrop for years after.

A slight consideration of the abovemethods of clearing lands exonerates, theCanadian settler from a reproach to which hehas been long undeservedly subjected, bystrangers who have visited the country. I meanthe want of taste, in not leaving groves andpatches of wood in different places, to beautifyhis farm. It is obvious from what is above said,that were he inclined to make suchreservations; it would be hardly possible to doso but at an enormous expense, as the ravagesof the fire during the first burning couldseldom be prevented from extending to such afavorite spot. Its limits can seldom be correctlycircumscribed, far less is it possible topreserve unscathed, a favorite bush or tree, inthe middle of the space which it has to pass.Another objection to the reservation of trees,for the sake of embellishment in Canada, is thecircumstance of their not continuing. Treeswhich grow in large thick forests, seldomextend their roots and fibres so far in the

ground, as those which are planted detachedor in small clustres. Hence when a farmer inCanada leaves a solitary tree, or even aclump of trees for an ornament to his farm,they are generally blown down by the firsthigh wind, and are on this account notworth the trouble of preserving. It has beenasserted that the farmer in this country,ought not to reserve clustres of trees in themidst of his cleared ground, even if such athing were practicable; because such areservation affords shelter to small birdsand other vermin which eat up his crop. Itmust be confessed that this objectionpossesses considerable force in some cases,but it only bears in particular situations. Ifthe farm be situated in the midst of acleared country with no timber in itsvicinity, the reserving of patches of timberwould no doubt attract birds; but when it issurrounded by extensive woods, as isgenerally the case in Canada, such areservation can hardly be supposed toincrease their number. And it requires noapology for leaving undone that which it is

impracticable to accomplish.

Trent Valley

ARCHIVES567 Carnegie AvenuePeterborough ON K9L 1N1705- 745-4404www.trentvalleyarchives.com

Midnight Ghost Walks, 9 & 9:3020 & 21 May; 24& 25 June22 & 23 July; 19 & 20 August

Little Lake Cemetery history toursEvery Wednesday at 6:30June, July and August

Land Records Workshop28 May 10 am and 1 pm

Giant Book Sale, 28 Mayat Class Connections, 9 to 12downtown Reid Street

Open Tues to Sat, 10 to 4


Wall of Honour & Confederation ParkElwood Jones

As we go to press, the big heritage storyin the city of Peterborough is the fate ofthe Wall of Honour which for three yearsseemed slated to adorn ConfederationPark. However, City Hall has chosen to benegative about this, and it will be verydifficult to overcome that negativism. Still,the City Council seems agreed that thepark is the only site that should beconsidered. The park is a recognizedcentre for gatherings of all sorts, and it ishome to other commemorative markers.

The Wall of Honour wasconceptualized for a specific location andit is a tribute to that location. It enhancesthe War Memorial without detracting fromit, and it captures moments of civic prideat a location that resonates with civicsignificance. This is our only civic square.It may have emerged through the backdoor; it may have taken knocking downreally good houses, but the area isestablished as a civic square area. A citythat never had a planning tradition wasmade to appear as if it did.

Confederation Park was not always apark, but it has strong credentials as thefirst park for the Town of Peterboroughwhen it was established as Central Park in1884; Victoria Park, was set apart asparkland as the dying gesture of the oldColborne District, in 1838.

All parks are not equal. The CourtHouse Park was home to the PeterboroughExhibition, the cricket grounds and otherwild uses until the PeterboroughHorticultural Society was formed in 1861with the mission to make it a reallandscaped park. The other uses had toscatter.

The Exhibition went to the old burialground that had been resurrected into lowlevel parkland by the building of the DrillHall in 1868. It served as the town’scemetery from 1825 to 1851 when it wasofficially closed. The town posted signs toprohibit further burials; however, the signwas ambiguous as people would be fined$25 if caught making burials there. Theland apparently was allowed to go wildand scrub pine grew on the site. In 1884,the Exhibition was evicted once again asthe Town decided it wanted a formal park.Over the years people debated what wereproper uses for a formal park; some evenadvocated that people should keep off thegrass, and certainly people were notencouraged to play games. The public

uses that grew on the site arerevealing indicators of a mixedlegacy: a Roman Catholic school, thedrill hall succeeded by an Armoury,and a public high school were addedon stretch furthest from GeorgeStreet. Near George Street, thememorial to our participation in theNorth West Rebellion of 1885 and theWar Memorial are suggestive of aplace of public remembrance. TheWall of Honour is proposed for the no-man’s land between these two areasand has seemed to me from firstblush an appropriate use of the site.

When bones were found near theArmoury during foundation work in1998, I was called in for commentand recommended that ProfessorHermann Helmuth had the expertiseto ensure proper standards of respectand research. The bones that werefound on that occasion proved to befrom the period of the burial ground,not Native, and in fact clearly of maleand female Irish workers. It is knownthat a Native burial site wasexcavated in the 1960s on BrockStreet. It seems reasonable to believethat was a singular example of aWoodland Native on a campsite alongthe portage route that ran from thefoot of the long rapids on theOtonabee known as Nogojiwanong(now Peterborough, about SimcoeStreet) to Mud Lake (now ChemongLake at Bridgenorth). There is noevidence that the burial ground wasever a burial ground for Natives.

An alderman who was a leader foran archaeological dig at PCVS in thelate 1960s reports that Nativeartifacts were found. It would benecessary to read such reports andsee what explanations were given.

The Wall of Honour is anappropriate use for the site, and itwould be nice if city officials wouldagree. If they were more intent oncutting red tape than in creatinghurdles, we could have accomplisheda great deal. Instead the peopleworking to raise funds and fine tunedetails are given more questions.

City officials suggest that the oldbur ia l g round was neve rdecommissioned. This is a surprise. The cemetery was closed in 1851 and

no further burials were permitted.Popular lore suggests some rogueburials occurred, but that is all. If weneed to apply for a closure of theportion of the burial grounds that wouldbe impacted that should be done. Itshould be an easy matter to confirmthat the area along the fence line verylikely had no burials. The Town was notlarge before 1851. In that year,officially 12 January 1851, the censustakers counted just over 13000 in thecounty of which 2191 were inPeterborough. Peterborough county in1851 had 135 deaths, or 10.38 per1000. That prorates to 23 deaths in thetown of Peterborough. Across the periodsince 1825 that would be about 400deaths that might have occurred in thetown. There were other places forburials to occur, such as with familyburial sites. If we allow that a burial siteoccupied 12 square feet, the area of theblock containing burials could not haveexceeded 4800 square feet. Given thereligious distribution of the populationeach of the sections of the burialgrounds should have been about thesame, and I would expect the burials toconcentrate more on the Murray Streetside of the block. It also seems to methat modern imaging techniques shouldbe able to confirm where the burialswere concentrated. And then it shouldbe very easy to establish that acompatible use such as the Wall ofHonour could be constructed in the areain which burials likely never occurred.

I believe that the cemetery wasofficially closed in 1851. The city bylawsare in the Peterborough City Archivesand should be checked. I have neverseen registers or site plans for the oldburial ground. Presumably these mightbe in the records of the old ColborneDistrict. Gordon Young reports thatthere was a plan showing grave siteswhen workers excavated the base forthe War Memorial. He has also talked toan expert on old cemeteries whosuggests that pioneer burial groundsworked around the perimeters. Thatwould suggest that the suggested sitefor the Wall of Honour, along the fenceby the parking lot for the Armouries,would be least likely to have been usedfor burials.

The footprint of the Wall of Honour


is not that large, and it is estimated that itwould not require more than 18 inches ofexcavation to accommodate its weight.

While it is good that the Cemetery Acthas more stringent standards, in an areawith a long history of mixed public use it ispossible to make the case that appropriateuses would be welcome. This is not abuilding even though officials at City Hallhave wondered if it would be so by thedefinition of some mysterious judge. Tomost people, the wall is a cemeterymarker dedicated to people who once livedin this area. How can that not beappropriate?

Modern imaging techniques should beable to identify the areas most likely usedfor burials and to build the Wall of Honourin an area where few burials appear tohave been made. The margin of error ofsuch technology could be easilyaccommodated.

With a spirit of good will, and withoutfixating on proving someone is right andothers are wrong, we should strive to findout what is possible. The worst casescenario is not the smart road to follow.

We hope to bring the conclusion tothis story in our next issue. If you wouldlike to help with this project, donationsmade out to the “Wall of Honour” may besent to the Trent Valley Archives.

News, View andReviewsThose who have been following ourcoverage of anniversaries will notice thatwe are still a bit short. In this issue of theHeritage Gazette we have been looking atthe spring of 1904, a full year before thecity’s incorporation. This allows us tosavour some pertinent details.Ashburnham united with Peterborough atleast 18 months before incorporation.Some people thought there was little togain by rushing to city status. There werepromises to keep to the village. Twoissues were providing sewers toAshburnham and guaranteeing itrepresentation on City Council. There wasa new high school to build. There was anew Armoury to negotiate.

In taking the slow route we wereintrigued by some of the things thatappeared in the papers of the day. GoughBrothers, the dominant men’s wearretailer was leaving after 19 years indowntown: its Toronto operations weredemanding too much of its energies. Fires

were punctuating Peterboroughwinters and after five big fires in fiveyears the town had to considerchanges to the Fire Department. By1908 it had moved to its ownbuilding, on Aylmer Street, and hadbecome a salaried operation.

On the political scene, theLiberals were defending themselvesagainst charges of bribery andcorruption.

Peterborough was a formidablesporting town with two powerful localsporting organizations: TAS andPAAS, and the main playing fieldswere in the former village ofAshburnham. H. R. H. Kenner, thelong-time principal of PCI, proposedconsolidating the two organizations toproduce a national lacrossechampionship. That did not happer,and TAS proposed a Trent Valleyleague for lacrosse. Both viewssuggest that Peterborough had depthin lacrosse. The town had won nolaurels since dominating theGildersleeve Cup in the early 1880s.

But above all, in sports, hockeywas dominant. Interestingly, the mostimportant title of the day was won bythe Peterborough Football Club, whichwon the forerunner of the Grey Cup.

The town was really defined by itsmanufacturing fame. CanadianGeneral Electric and Quaker Oatswere already dominant employers.Indeed, the strength in sports mayhave been a result of the youngworking class population. In any case,Ontario’s largest town had the mostindustrial workers per capita.

Vancouver became a city when ithad under 300 people, and inSaskatchewan city status was reachedat 5000. It remains a mystery whythere was a strong undercurrent in1904 and 1905, led by Mayor Best,against rushing to cityhood when thetown had 15,000 residents. Thenewspapers give us hints, butwouldn’t it be nice if we had thecorrespondence of such people. Toobad the city never had an archivesuntil the 1970s.

However, how lucky that the townhad three daily papers. It waspossible to catch nuances thatbecome lost in the era of one daily,which for Peterborough arrived 31May 1920. The high cost of newsprintin the post-war economy was cited asthe reason for the Review and theExaminer to merge newspapers.However, they did not merge their jobprinting activities, and the Reviewwould publish occasional papers over

the years, before re-establishing as aweekly newspaper from the late 1930sto the 1970s. Trent Valley Archives hasthe longest run of the later weekly.

To many people, incorporation wasnot the biggest story in town. However,for us it provides a good opportunity fora party, and also to reflect on theimportance of knowing our history.

Kathy Hooke wrote an interesting seriesof articles in the Prime Time for March,April and May. The town solicitor wentto Toronto to meet the Private BillsCommittte on 3 May 1905. Even at thatmeeting, Mayor Best was still opposed,this time because the proposal had notbeen submitted to local voters. Best,along with James Kendry and J. W.Miller, organized a petition to stopincorporation as nothing would begained. However, Hall and R. M.Dennitoun lobbied for incorporation andT. E. Bradburn, MPP, Peterborough’srichest landowner, steered the billforward. The Examiner, 10 May 1905,was confident “We will makePeterborough the foremost of the minorcities as we now harmoniously unite.”Kathy Hooke notes people were happyto take the street railway to its newterminus at the foot of Lock Streetwhere the new Pleasure Park opened.

There was considerable interest in theevents surrounding the sixtiethanniversary of V-E Day. The Torontopapers featured archival coverage ofthe days leading to V-E Day and theExaminer had a special four-pagefeature that had four very good picturesfrom 1945. The downtown streets werecrowded with exciting people. Somehave argued that the end of the warushered a period of significant changethat was not matched by any other yearin the century. The automobile and thenew bungalows were two symbols ofthe new world for Peterborough as wellas elsewhere.


TVA Publications Program Off and Running

The Trent Valley Archives has launched its publication program. Our titles are available exclusively from the Trent Valley Archives. Our plan isto keep expanding our titles to reflect the great wealth of our resources. As well, we are developing community-oriented initiatives that will valuedvery widely. We are planning a fresh edition of Martha Kidd’s Peterborough’s Architectural Heritage. As well, we will publish, really for the firsttime, two major landmarks in the writing of Peterborough’s history. F H Dobbin’s index to the History of Peterborough was voluminous and isa major reference work, but it was never published, probably because World War I absorbed Dobbin’s energies. We are also publishing HowardPammett’s study of the Irish who came to Peterborough in 1825. This was his MA thesis at Queen’s University and we serialized much of the workin the Heritage Gazette. We are open to other suggestions from our members.

In Sagas and Sketches: the Saga Rose World Cruise 2002 (2004), Martha Kidd and Beverly Hunter apply their great skills of observation inwriting and sketching to fascinating places around the world. Martha is never far from Peterborough no matter where she travels, and we featuredexcerpts from her commentaries in the Heritage Gazette in 2002. 95 pages, $20.

The Heritage Gazette of the Trent Valley: Index to Contents, 1997-2004 from volume 1 to volume 9, 3 (2004). 44 pages, $15. The Mills of Peterborough County has been a labour of love for Diane Robnik. She has gathered references to mills throughout the area and

tried to match them with pictures from varied local archives. $20.History of the County of Peterborough: Biographical Notices [by C Pelham Mulvany and associates] Susan Kyle has carefully captured the

contents of the biographies published in the 1884 edition. This is a very rare book, and the biographies are very interesting precisely because theyhave been written by the contributors working with Mulvany’s local agents. Elwood Jones has written an introduction, and the book is great looking.300 pages. $60.

History of the County of Peterborough: Peterborough and Haliburton histories [by C Pelham Mulvany and associates] This is the compilationof the local histories written for the county of Peterborough (by Mulvany), for the townships of Peterborough (by Charles M Ryan), and for thecounty of Haliburton (by Charles R Stewart). This too comes with a special introduction and commentary. 325 pages. $60. There is a specialdiscount price for ordering the previous two titles as a set. $100.

Death Notices From the Peterborough Examiner. Each volume is 132 pages, $6.50. Compiled by the late Marianne Mackenzie, assisted by AliceMackenzie and Don Mackenzie. We plan to publish the annual volumes for as many years as possible. Currently available is Death Notices Fromthe Peterborough Examiner 1990.

We are pleased to announce that Mary and Doug Lavery have assembled a terrific group to write Up the Burleigh Road. We are selling copiesat a special pre-publication rate of $20. Order yours today.

Trent Valley ArchivesPublications Program567 Carnegie AvenuePeterborough ON K9L 1N1 Canada705 745 4404

Planning projects at the Trent Valley Archives.


Burials from St John's English Church, Peterborough, 1842-1844St John’s Parish Archives, 11-10The Rev Robert J C Taylor officiating

Elwood Jones, Parish Archivist-Historian

There has been some interest in how many people could have been buried in the Town of Peterborough burial grounds between1825 and 1851 when it was officially closed. It is generally assumed that midnight burials occurred after the closing even inthe face of threats of fines of $25 if people were caught doing so. The park lay fallow for about fifteen years until part of it wasused for the Drill Hall, built in 1867, and for the Murray Street Separate School not long after. The grounds became the homeof the annual Peterborough fairs once the Drill Hall was available. That part of the Burial Ground closest to George Streetbecame Central Park in 1884, and the fair had to move again, this time to what is known as Morrow Park, The burial registerof the Rev Mr Taylor makes no mention of where the burials occurred. We can assume that those that related to Peterborough,about three-fifths of the names, were buried in the town’s burial ground. This is about sixteen per year. In 1851, the censustakers counted just over 13000 in the county of which 2191 were in Peterborough. Peterborough county in 1851 had 135deaths, or 10.38 per 1000. That prorates to 23 deaths in the town of Peterborough. We do not know what proportion of burialswere from St John’s, nor how many bodies were buried in the burial grounds. The following list is notable for the young names.Nine were less than a year old, and another 28 died before the age of 20. Even in the cohort aged 21 to 40, there were 29deaths. Aged 41 to 60, there were 17 deaths, and there were only six in the sixty-one and over group; for two we have no agegiven. In future issues we will continue our look at the experience of St John’s in relation to the burial ground, and its successor,Little Lake Cemetery. We are at this time unable to confirm how many bodies were reinterred at the Little Lake Cemetery.Always of great interest is that St John’s never had a cemetery connected with its church. For the first ten years or so thecongregation met in the school house. This might be because the government granted land for the purpose.

Name Age Trade, etc Residence Date ofBurial

Holhart, John 42 farmer Smith 1842 01 02Wright, John 23 clerk Peterboro 1842 01 05Haydn, Sam 40 Peterboro 1842 01 10McDougall, George gentleman Douro 1842 01 25Forbes, Robert Miller 66 C R N Peterboro 1842 01 28Boate, Martan 23 Emily 1842 02 11Baltry, Wm 6 Peterboro 1842 02 17Doherty, John 56 labourer Peterboro 1842 03 04Jones, James 7 Smith 1842 05 31Nicholl, Hugh 40 farmer Smith 1842 06 23Armstrong, James 26 farmer Otonabee 1842 08 08Payne, John 16 Peterboro 1842 09 20Haslewood, Marie J Peterboro 1842 09 20Toker, George S 25 gentleman Peterboro 1842 09 21Boyd, John 42 farmer Douro 1842 10 01Parson, Mary 40 Peterboro 1842 10 03Traill, Eleanor S 1 Peterboro 1842 10 14Fawcett, John 30 farmer Otonabee 1842 10 16Milburn, John 10 Peterboro 1842 11 20D'Arcus, George A H 6 Peterboro 1842 11 25Cobb, John 37 labourer Peterboro 1842 11 27Hesler, John 27 farmer Smith 1842 12 06Cunningham, Peter 36 farmer Peterboro 1842 12 06Copeland, John 18 Smith 1842 12 10Crawford, Mary D 5 Cobourg 1843 01 09Greig, Thomas 36 farmer Douro 1843 02 01Monaghan, John 55 labourer Peterboro 1843 03 17Spaulding, Jane 5 Peterboro 1843 03 17McPhail, Barbara 23 Peterboro 1843 04 05Amer, John 33 carpenter Peterboro 1843 04 11Gibbs, Joseph E 17 Douro 1843 04 22Hague, James 30 gentleman Douro 1843 05 28Faguson, Sarah 50 Peterboro 1843 05 29Nelson, Hugh 24 labourer Douro 1843 05 31McKibbin, Walter 50 farmer Smith 1843 06 03Reid, Robert W 0.16 Douro 1843 06 11Gesner, Margaret 6 Emily 1843 06 15McConkey, Thomas 40 labourer Smith 1843 07 04


Evans, William 27 labourer Monaghan 1843 07 11Fidler, Mary G 0.5 Fenelon 1843 07 1 5 Gray, Sgt Thomas 61 pensioner Verulam 1843 07 25McMahon, Thomas 41 labourer Belmont 1843 08 01Fowler, William 40 farmer Monaghan 1843 08 06Milburn, Sarah 6 Peterboro 1843 08 26McPhail, Alexander 0.33 Peterboro 1843 08 27Manning, Ed Charles 1 Peterboro 1843 09 17Benson, William 26 labourer Smith 1843 09 09Boyd, John Jr 20 labourer Douro 1843 10 01Manning, Margaret 3 Peterboro 1843 10 01Brownlee, James 0.04 Peterboro 1843 10 12McDaniel, Mrs 64 Otonabee 1843 10 16Brownlee, Catherine 0.06 Peterboro 1843 10 19Plymouth, Ellen M 43 Peterboro 1843 11 09Milburn, John 11 Smith 1843 11 20Rubidge, Joseph W 2 Peterboro 1843 09 28Roche, Andrew 6 Peterboro 1843 12 20Grisdale, Wilfred 44 farmer Douro 1844 01 09Ware, Anne 55 Peterboro 1844 01 31Caddy, Caroline 3 Douro 1844 01 29Sheridan, John 4 Peterboro 1844 02 04McCombs, George 4 Peterboro 1844 03 04Elliott, George 27 farmer Smith 1844 03 08Fleeting, Anne 69 Otonabee 1844 03 27Ryan, John F 50 shoemaker 1844 03 27Armour, James 30 barrister 1844 04 01Armour, Beverly R 0.83 Peterboro 1844 04 10Browne, Robert 30 labourer Peterboro 1844 04 13Armstrong, ElizabethF

10 Douro 1844 04 23

Mulcapy, John 0.33 Peterboro 1844 04 16Smith, William 50 farmer Peterboro 1844 05 19Edwards, John 31 labourer Monaghan 1844 05 19Sanford, Ephraim 62 postmaster Peterboro 1844 05 19Andress, Jane 18 Peterboro 1844 06 01Reid, Richard H 0.16 Douro 1844 06 06Jenkins, Elizabeth 3 Peterboro 1844 07 05Jenkins, James 5 Peterboro 1844 07 05Peterkin, Margaret 44 Peterboro 1844 07 26Laughlin, Edward 45 farmer Peterboro 1844 08 10Boyd, John 62 farmer Douro 1844 08 10Benton, Anne 33 Smith 1844 08 16Thornton, Adam 26 gentleman Douro 1844 08 30Flood, Henry 48 gentleman Otonabee 1844 09 10 Deyell, Robert 49 farmer Monaghan 1844 09 27Wrighton, Henry W 3 Peterboro 1844 10 11Hall, Leonard 23 labourer Otonabee 1844 10 19Dewart, William 30 farmer Smith 1844 10 29Wrighton, Sarah 1 Peterboro 1844 11 17Montgomery,Margaret

0.08 Smith 1844 11 22

Appleyard, Ellen 40 Smith 1844 12 01Browne, George 44 carpenter Peterboro 1844 12 22Benson, Helen 3 Peterboro 1844 12 29

Without Archives There is No History


Trent Valley Archives567 Carnegie Avenue

Peterborough Ontario K9L 1N1705-743-0231

www.trentvalleyarchives.comTuesday to Saturday, 10 - 4

Land Record Workshops - Gina Martin will be continuing her very successful land

record workshops on May 28. There will be two sessions (10 am/1pm) Cost is $15. Please call toregister. 745-4404

Trent Valley Archives is having a GIANT Book Sale on May 21st and May 28th. On the first Saturday we

are at the Trent Valley Archives on the lawn and inside. On the second Saturday we are downtown at the Class Connections(the former St Peter’s school building). We are open from 9 to noon both days.

Our Historical Tours of Little Lake Cemetery are beginning Wednesday June 1.

There will be 3 tours this summer:Edwardian Peterborough

Tragic Tales=20Peterborough's Military Heritage

All tours begin at the Chapel at 6:30pm and will run every Wednesday until the end of August. Tickets are $5 per personpurchased at the event, or you can buy a Cemetery Tour Pass which will get you in all 3 tours for $12.

For those who missed last years Ghost Walks, we will be repeating these popular tours (some new ghosts

added) on the following weekends:May 20 & 21June 24 & 25July 22 & 23August 19 & 20September 16 & 17These are sure to be a lot of fun and will sell out quickly, so please book as early as possible. Tickets are $10 per person andmust be purchased in advance. Tours are at 9 and 9:30 pm.



Without Archives There is No History

History Begins Here

Edwardian Peterborough Conference, May 2005Elwood Jones

The Edwardian Peterborough Conferencewas an unqualified success. As JeanMurray Cole, the moving spirit of anevent in planning for about a year,deserves the credit. The conference washer idea in concept and detail. She gotthe support of the PeterboroughHistorical Society as sponsors and theysupplied the expertise and energy ofMary Lavery. She got the support ofseveral key players at Trent University,and she got the support of most localheritage organizations and museums.The program was largely theresponsibility of John Wadland and AlBrunger. Dale Standen, aided by JohnGood, handled the logistics and ensuredthere were places for all the exhibits.Wally Macht brought an excerpt fromwhat promises to be an excellenthistorical film on Peterborough’s history,Imagine Peterborough: In Days GoneBy. The historical poster essays anddisplays filled three rooms and nearly allshowed thoughtfulness and diversity oflife in the area 100 years ago.

There were seven speakers at theconference, and perhaps twenty exhibitsfeaturing different aspects of life inPeterborough from 1895 to 1915,dubbed the Edwardian era. Edward,Prince of Wales, visited Peterborough in1860, some forty years before hesucceeded his mother, Queen Victoria.

Jennifer Ray Horvath showed thatthe 58 and 59 female workers at QuakerOats in 1903 and 1925 livedoverwhelmingly with their families, andthose who lived at home travelled onaverage slightly further than did thoseboarding. Those women with factoryjobs had a longer journey to work thanclerical staff. Those living in the workingclass housing south of Charlotte Streettravelled the extra distance to QuakerOats, a factory not built in the midst ofa working class residential district. Evenso, the distances women travelled, evenif they also took the streetcar, were lessthan a mile.

John Oldham has been preparing atravelling exhibit that will begin at thehome base, the Peterborough CentennialMuseum and Archives, in August. Theexhibit explores “Vaudeville through thelens of the Roy Studio.” R. M. Roy seemsto have been the official photographer forthe Marks Brothers, Canada’s premiervaudeville company: Tom, Joe, Ernie, Ericand R. W. As well, he did quite a bit ofwork for Dan Simons, the son of aPeterborough tailor, whose comedic songand dance routines took him to SellsCircus and eventually to Broadway; hedied in New York in 1934. Peterboroughwas a stop on the vaudeville circuit, partlybecause of the great train service to thetown, and partly because in succession E.C. Hill’s Music Hall, the Bradburn OperaHouse, and the Grand Opera House couldhandle the variety of acts thatcharacterized vaudeville to 1930.

Jo-Ellen Bryden paints colourfulnarrative folk art that is clever andattractive. Sometimes she captures storiesin a single painting. However, with the1934 story of John Smith’s abortive effortto canoe across the Atlantic she treatedeach day as a story. Now she plans to dothe same with the story of the Gypsieswho came to Peterborough in June 1909.She has read the newspapers, ElwoodJones’ occasional paper on the group, andtaken a reading course of the Romapeople. So far she has completed onepainting for this series showing the groupmoving through the Fowler’s Corners area.

Dr Brian Osborne, the dynamicQueen’s geography professor, andpresident of the Ontario Historical Society,was the guest luncheon speaker. He madeclever comparisons between Kingston andPeterborough, and ways to celebratehistory. Both shared links to theMississauga Indians, notably at Alderville,as well as docks, locks and canals.Robertson Davies wrote trenchantobservations about both towns, but healso provided the catching metaphor thatsmall towns are anchored in the “stream

of time.” Osborne built on this idea toshow that it was important to have asense of place. With the “slow citymovement” we can have distinctiveseparate lives, slow down the pace oflife, look for “smart growth”, protectwhat we have. He commended thenew term for this, “glocalization.” Heproposed a toast to Peterborough. Hewas graciously introduced by AlBrunger and thanked by JohnWadland. Marilyn Huels, president ofthe Peterborough Historical Society,was the chair of the luncheon. MayorSylvia Sutherland brought greetingsfrom the city and welcomed thisrespite from local politics.

Dr Jamie Benidickson, of theUniversity of Ottawa law school, hasfor some time been doing extensivehistorical and legal research on water.He now has turned to sewage and inwry ways cast light on the problem ofwater closets in cottage country.Sewage systems developed in thewake of medical science’s views.Medical science was not always right,but there were also problems relatedto putting sewage and septic systemsinto the rocky lands favoured bycottagers: was it a crime to flush atoilet? Moreover, once begun it isprudent to consider consequences,maintenance, and the necessity ofrebuilding the infrastructure. Alongthe way, we learned much abouttyphoid, doctors and the delightfuldesigns applied to water closets andouthouses.

Don Willcock then talked aboutf i r e f i gh t i n g i n E d w a r d i anPeterborough. Don has been workingon all aspects of firefighting inPeterborough, and we hope a bookwill be published before thecentennial of the city fire departmentin 2008. Don’s father had been avolunteer firefighter in Harwood, andso he has grown up with a fascinationfor the subject. He used pictures of


pumpers and hose carts to demonstratethe changing technology. He describedsome of the divisions which took place,and commented on the famed FireBrigade Band, and looked at some fires.Edwardian Peterborough, it seems,would have more efficiency in bothtechnology and organization.

Christopher Greene, a historyprofessor emeritus at Trent University,took us on a visual tour ofPeterborough’s ubiquitous andu n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d E dwar d i anarchitecture. He commented on themain surviving public buildings of theperiod: the Normal School, the YMCA,PCVS, the Armouries, Murray StreetBaptist Church, the Carnegie Library,Trinity United, and Sacred Heart RomanCatholic Church. Residentially, he beganwith Sadleir House, the former home ofJames Kendry , James Stratton andPeter Robinson College: this house hadno equal in Edwardian Peterborough,although some of the houses he lookedat in the Hunter Belmont area were inthe league. He focussed on homes inthe Avenues, the King Edward schoolarea and in the Hunter-Homewood-Walton area to illustrate the diversityand practicality of the homes builtbetween 1895 and 1915.

The conference provided goodopportunity for questions, discussionsand interchange and all who attendedseemed to learn much. It was aninvigorating experience for allconcerned.

T r e n t V a l l e y

Archivesthanks our members for the generousresponse to our financial appeal. As youknow, ours is a charitable non-profitorganization and will issue charitabledonation receipts for donations. Wedepend on donations from our membersand friends. Your support helped usthrough an exciting year. Our researchroom with new library shelving andlibrary tables is a pleasant place to doresearch. Our resources have grown, wehave improved our humidity control. Wenow have a conservator on site. Wehave improved our machines for readingand printing microfilm and digitalsources. We have added books,newspapers, microfilms and digitalsources. None of this would be possiblewithout support from various sources,

but mostly you. We need to increase our membership,

which has been growing very steadily overthe last couple of years. Even so, oursuccess depends upon members givingextra financial support as they are able.Imagine what would happen if people gavemonthly donations that matched theirformer yearly ones. It is possible, withyour help.

For details contact Diane at the TrentValley Archives: 705-743-0231 [email protected]

Thanks

May 20 & 21 marks the first moonlightweekend of our Eerie Ghost Walks ofdowntown Peterborough. Tickets areavailable and are only $10. That weekendis also our GIANT Book Sale. We will behaving two sales this year. Saturday May21st (weather permitting) there will be abook sale here at Trent Valley Archives.The following Saturday, we will be holdinganother book sale at the old St. Peter'selementary school (now ClassConnections). Details on this event tofollow.

“ U p T h e

B u r l e i g h

R o a

d……

……..

1. . .

b

e

y o n d t h e

boulders”

- an illustrated history of Burleigh and

Anstruther Townships by the Burleigh RoadHistorical Society is being written by Dougand Mary Lavery and produced by Trent

Valley Archives.

Pre-publication price is $20.00 for thisquality hard cover book which is full ofvintage stories and photographs. AfterMay 2006 the price will be $30.00 forthe book.

T r e n t V a l l e y

Archives, 705-745-4404, is

taking orders. Place yours today.

Peterborough’s CentennialThe Peterborough Examiner, on 29June, will publish a special edition tomark the centennial. The Trent ValleyArchives has assisted in severalaspects of the production. It looks tobe a most impressive publication andour members will want to have acopy.

On the same day, 29 June, CHEX-TVis running a two-hour special, WallyMacht’s Imagine Peterborough: InDays Gone By. Wally has beenworking on this for a long time andwe are really impressed with theexcerpts we have seen.

Lots of events are planned for 1 Julyand 2: Canada Day Parade, streethockey, street party and more. Ford e t a i l s c h e c k t h e w e bwww.imaginepeterborough.com

Trent Valley

ARCHIVES

mailto:[email protected]


Tr e n t U n i ve rs i t yArchives "documents themodern"Trent University was the site forCanada's first national conference onthe conservation of twentieth centurybuildings and landscapes. Jodi Aoki andDr. Bernadine Dodge of the TrentUniversity Archives, authors of thenewly published Bauhaus in the NewWorld: Ron Thom at Trent University,have created a 32-page booklethighlighting Mr. Thom's architecturallegacy on the Symons Campus. Itincludes photographs chosen fromamong the hundreds that makeup theapproximately six-cubic-foot collectionhoused at Trent. Though Mr. Thom'spersonal archive is housed at theUniversity of Calgary, the TrentUniversity Archives is home to thepapers that pertain to his work on theSymons Campus.

An exhibit posted in the Virtual Livessection of the Archives' Web site,discusses in detail Mr. Thom's role asMaster Planning Architect, and theorigins of Champlain College, theChemistry Building, Thomas J. BataLibrary and Lady Eaton College. The on-line exhibit, Ron Thom at TrentUniversity, Precambrian Sublime:Bauhaus in the New World, is posted ath t t p : / / w w w . t r e n t u . c a /library/archives/zthome.htm.

Ms. Aoki and Ms. Dodge prepared anextensive display at "Conserving theModern in Canada, Buildings, ensemblesand sites: 1945-2005". The Archives’reading room featured a looping PowerPoint presentation, photographs,posters, architectural drawings andcorrespondence.

Ms. Dodge says, "This is a niceopportunity to showcase the Archiveswith something I'm really interested in.I think it's incredible that we get to workat such a beautiful place."

"Conserving the modern in Canada"focussed on buildings, structures,districts, and landscapes constructedafter 1945. The conference has beenorganized by Docomomo Canada-Ontario and the Winnipeg ArchitectureFoundation along with other alliedorganizations.

For more information or to orderBauhaus in the New World: Ron Thom atT r e n t U n i v e r s i t y , v i s i thttp://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/

weborders.htm.

http://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/zthome.htm.

http://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/zthome.htm.

http://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/weborders.htm

http://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/weborders.htm