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People, organizations, and families
Corporate body

The Birdsall collection of bookbinders' finishing tools was acquired by the Rare Books Department at the University of Toronto in 1968. The Birdsall collection was started when William Birdsall purchased the bookbinding business of John Lacy and Son in Northampton, England, in 1792. The new establishment consisted of a bindery, a book store, a circulating library, a post office and insurance and banking were transacted on the side. William brought his sons, James and Robert, into the business in 1823 and by 1826 James was the sole owner since his brother and father had both died. In the 1840's Anthony, a great-nephew of the founder William, bought the business and his son Richard entered the business in 1857. Anthony died in 1893 and Richard continued the business under the name of Birdsall & Son. The firm became a private company after 1915 when the descendants of Anthony and Richard took over the firm. Each successive generation expanded on the collection of tools and styles of bookbinding with developing interests in preservation, restoration and the history of books and bookbinding. The University of Toronto acquired the collection when the last member of the Birdsall firm died leaving behind the firm's vast collection of bookbinding tools and paperwork. (Taken from: Evans, Emrys and Rachel Grover. Birdsall Collection of Bookbinders' Finishing Tools. Toronto: Department of Rare Books & Special Collections, 1972.)

Birdsall family
Family

Richard Birdsall was born in 1799 at Thornton-le-dale, England, and educated at Londesborough, Yorkshire. His family intended a naval career for him upon graduation. Instead, when he graduated in 1817, he emigrated to Canada. Due to his education, he qualified for a position as a fully-accredited land surveyor in Canada West. In May of 1820, he was commissioned to survey the Newcastle District, where he remained for the rest of his life and became a very prominent man. The Newcastle District was comprised of the counties of Northumberland and Durham and included which would later become the counties of Peterborough, Victoria, and Haliburton. In 1821, he married Elizabeth Burnham, daughter of Zaccheus Burnham, who was a prominent early settler in the District. From his father-in-law, Birdsall bought 920 acres of land at the northeast end of Rice Lake (Lot 1, Concession 1, Asphodel Township) and made his home there. His wife died in a tragic fall in 1827 leaving Birdsall with four young daughters. He remarried in 1836 to Charlotte Jane Everett of Belleville and had four more children with his second wife; two of these were Richard Everett Birdsall (1837-1877) and Francis (Frank) Birdsall (1838-1914). Between the years of 1827 and 1836, Birdsall carried out most of his surveying work, including the survey for the town of Peterborough. In 1831, he was commissioned Captain of the fourth Regiment of Northumberland Militia and he led the Asphodel contingent when the militia was called out in the Rebellion of 1837. Later he was an officer in the Peterborough Regiment. Birdsall was also a Commissioner of the Court of Requests and a Justice of the Peace. When the Colborne District was created in 1841, he was the councillor for Asphodel and in 1850, when districts were replaced by counties, he represented Asphodel at the Peterborough County Council as its first Reeve. He continued in this position until his death on January 20, 1852. (taken from Peterborough: Land of Shining Waters. Peterborough: City and County of Peterborough, 1967.)

Corporate body

In 1869, Reverend C.W. Patterson was appointed to Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Previous to 1869, a sum of money had been collected and deposited in the Peterborough branch of the Bank of Toronto as a building fund for the construction of an Anglican Church in Bobcaygeon. It was decided in the same year that enough money had been collected and that a new church and parsonage should be built. Architect John E. Belcher was contracted to design and build the church and parsonage in 1870. On January 5, 1871, Christ Church was formally opened by the Lord Bishop of Toronto.

Bobcaygeon Road
Corporate body

In 1852, William Lyon Mackenzie introduced to the Legislative Assembly a resolution asking for a survey of the Huron-Ottawa Territory. His intent was to increase settlement within the uninhabited region of Canada West, to encourage immigration from Europe, and discourage emigration from the province. This resolution, along with similar recommendations, led to the Colonization Roads policy, and ultimately to the passing of the Public Land Act in 1853 by the Legislature. This Act allowed the government "to appropriate as free grants any public land in the province to actual settlers, upon or in the vicinity of any public roads in any new settlements which shall or may be opened through the Lands of the Crown." The survey of the Bobcaygeon Road came about as a result of this legislation. Before 1854, the Bobcaygeon Road did not extend beyond the village of Bobcaygeon. By 1857, the road had been constructed to Kinmount. A year later, surveyor Michael Deane was commissioned by the Department of Crown Lands to conduct a survey of lot frontages along the proposed Bobcaygeon Road from just north of Kinmount (Somerville Township) to Bell's Line. In 1860, surveyor Crosbie Brady was hired to survey the Bobcaygeon Road from where Deane had left off, north of Bell's Line, to Nippissing Road Line, on the south shore of Lake Nippissing. Throughout the years, the road and the lots along either side of the road have been re-surveyed for the purpose of establishing specific boundaries and correcting any mistakes in the initial surveys. All that remains of the original Bobcaygeon Road today is Highway 649 which extends from the village of Bobcaygeon to Highway 121, south of Kinmount. (Taken from: Spragge, George W. "Colonization Roads in Canada West." "Ontario History." Vol. XLIX, no. 1, 1957., and W. D. Thomas. "Bobcaygeon: The Hub of the Kawarthas." Bobcaygeon: W. D. Thomas, 1980.)

Boyd family
Family

The Boyd family, in Canada, originated with Mossom Boyd who was born in India in 1814 and died at Bobcaygeon, Ontario July 23, 1883. He was a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry and emigrated to the Sturgeon Lake region of Upper Canada in 1834. In 1844 Mossom married Caroline Dunsford. He became assistant to Thomas Need, owner of the Bobcaygeon sawmill and he eventually took over the mill when Thomas Need returned to England in 1843. Mossom was able to develop the mill into a large lumbering enterprise with land holdings and timber rights in Albany, New York; Bobcaygeon, Peterborough, Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, 20 000 acres around Cowichan Lake in British Columbia and 260 square miles in Quebec. By the 1870's he had the largest enterprise in the region. After his death the business was run by his son, Mossom Rater Boyd, who extended the business into Quebec and Vancouver as well as moving into steamboating, stock raising and railway development. (Taken from: "The Canadian Encyclopedia." Vol. I A-For. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1985.) The Boyd enterprises not only included lumbering but also breeding polled Hereford cattle and cross-breeding cattle and buffalo. The Boyds were involved with the Lindsay, Bobcaygeon and Pontypool Railroad and the Trent Valley Navigation Steamship Company. This diversification helped the Boyd's through the lumber depression of the 1890's. Mossom Martin and his half-brother William Thornton Cust Boyd were active partners along with their cousin John MacDonald of Albany, New York in the firm of Boyd & Company. When Mossie died in 1914, the next generation became involved in the administration of the various estates and gradually disbanded the huge operation. The third generation of Boyds tended to have their own interests and professions although all were involved intermittently with the lumbering and stock farm concerns. Please see the end of the finding aid for the Boyd family genealogy.

Bobcaygeon-Nipissing Road
Corporate body

In 1852, William Lyon Mackenzie introduced to the Legislative Assembly a resolution asking for a survey of the Huron-Ottawa Territory. His intent was to increase settlement within the uninhabited region of Canada West, to encourage immigration from Europe, and discourage emigration from the province. This resolution, along with similar recommendations, led to the Colonization Roads policy, and ultimately to the passing of the Public Land Act in 1853 by the Legislature. This Act allowed the government "to appropriate as free grants any public land in the province to actual settlers, upon or in the vicinity of any public roads in any new settlements which shall or may be opened through the Lands of the Crown." The survey of the Bobcaygeon Road came about as a result of this legislation. Before 1854, the Bobcaygeon Road did not extend beyond the village of Bobcaygeon. By 1857, the road had been constructed to Kinmount. A year later, surveyor Michael Deane was commissioned by the Department of Crown Lands to conduct a survey of lot frontages along the proposed Bobcaygeon Road from just north of Kinmount (Somerville Township) to Bell's Line. In 1860, surveyor Crosbie Brady was hired to survey the Bobcaygeon Road from where Deane had left off, north of Bell's Line, to Nippissing Road Line, on the south shore of Lake Nippissing. Throughout the years, the road and the lots along either side of the road have been re-surveyed for the purpose of establishing specific boundaries and correcting any mistakes in the initial surveys. All that remains of the original Bobcaygeon Road today is Highway 649 which extends from the village of Bobcaygeon to Highway 121, south of Kinmount. (Taken from: Spragge, George W. "Colonization Roads in Canada West." Ontario History. Vol. XLIX, no. 1, 1957., and W. D. Thomas. Bobcaygeon: The Hub of the Kawartha's. Bobcaygeon: W. D. Thomas, 1980.)

Brighton Township
Corporate body

Brighton Township was created by an Act in 1851. It is bounded on the north by Seymour Township; on the west by Cramahe Township; on the east by Murray Township and on the south by Lake Ontario. It is part of the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham. The Village of Brighton was incorporated in 1890 but existed well before then. Built on the Brighton Harbour as a point of entry it had a population of 500 in 1850 and 1700 in 1878. In 1850 it had two grist mills, a plaster mill and a tannery. By 1878 it had four churches and a school. The early settlers were the Singletons, Thayers, Proctors, Butlers, Lockwoods, Wills, Dr. Gross, Sanfords and Ketchums. John Lockwood was the first postmaster of the village. Brighton Harbour used to be known as Freeman Point and Gosport.

British Parliament
Corporate body

The Stuart dynasty began in Britain with the reign of James I (James VI of Scotland) in 1603. His reign was marked by the Gunpowder Plot, a new translation of the bible, the rise of Puritanism and increasing hostility between monarch and Parliament as the latter increased under the influence of barons and an increasingly powerful merchant class. James I died in 1625. (See, for example, Victor Slater. The Political History of Tudor and Stuart England. N.Y.: Routledge, 2002).

Denoon family
Family

The Denoon family arrived in Peterborough between 1871 and 1883. In 1883 William Denoon lived north of Hunter and west of George, pt 7 as a tenant. In 1887 William was working with livestock presumably in the butchering business since by 1890 he is a butcher. He died in Ashburnham 30 May 1891 of consumption at the age of 39. By 1896 Mrs. William and John Denoon were running the butcher business. The Denoons were butchers for approximately 23 years (1887-1910). By 1926 Elizabeth Denoon (widow of William) lived with Kenneth M. Denoon. Kenneth was a gardener and was a home owner on the north side of Lansdowne Street. By 1936 and 1937 only Kenneth M. Denoon can be found living in Peterborough with his wife Lola Y. and still living on the north side of Lansdowne Street. In 1937 Kenneth is a farmer. Presumably John and Kenneth M. Denoon were children of William and Elizabeth Denoon. (This information is found in the Peterborough County Directories located in the Trent University Archives.)

Buckhorn Wilderness Centre
Corporate body

The Buckhorn Wilderness Centre, established in 1966, was a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of typical Canadian wilderness for the education and cultural enrichment of future generations. In 1971 responsibility for the Centre was transferred to the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority.

Burgess-Walton family
Family

Joseph Walton (1772-1826) was the first settler of the Walton family to settle in Smith Township, Peterborough County in 1819. He married Hannah Stuart (1772-1861) and they had seven children: John (1797-1881), Nancy, Joseph (1913-1900), William (1814-), Matthew (1817-1902), Jacob (1820-1865) and Robert (1823-1904). The family farmed in Smith Township and eventually spread out across Canada and the United States. Verna Burgess is the granddaughter of Joseph Walton who married Sarah Jane Chalmers (1821-1875). Their daughter Emma (1861-1946) married Dr. Francis John Burgess (1861-1945), a general practitioner and pharmacist in Lakefield, Ontario, and they had four daughters: Lelia, Verna, Doris, and Helen. Verna became a high school Department Head and she sat on the committee (as representative of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation) to examine the need to have a non-sectarian degree-granting college, which would eventually become Trent University.

Fair family
Family

John and Mary Anne Fair had a number of children. The oldest daughter, Martha Jane Fair married William Hall. John and Mary Anne's second son was John Joseph Fair. Their youngest daughter was Caroline Fair and she held a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Dickson family
Family

Samuel Dickson was born in 1809 in County Cavan, Ireland. He emigrated from Ireland to Peterborough in 1830 and became employed by James Hall as a distiller. In 1840 he built a saw mill on the Otonabee and owned all the land from Parkhill (Smith Rd.) to the bridge on Hunter Street on both sides of the river. He married Ann Holmes and they had ten children: one son and nine daughters of whom only six daughters survived. Samuel Dickson was on the Peterborough Council for four years. He built a number of houses and owned a large portion of Peterborough property. He died in 1870 when, while supervising the repair of a railway pier, he fell into the river and drowned. His daughters married and they and their husbands helped to run the lumber business. His eldest daughter, Mary Ann, married T.A. Hazlitt, who on the death of Samuel Dickson became the manager of the lumber business. Elizabeth married William Davidson and through her line the family maintained the lumber business. In 1906 the Dickson family sold some of their property and established the Peterborough Lumber Company which would give jobs to some of the older men from the Dickson Co. Samuel's grandson Dickson Davidson was the President of the new company. When he died Laura Davidson became President. At her death in 1957, Helen Munroe McCrae, became the President. She was a great granddaughter of Samuel Dickson.

Corporate body

The Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee (F.C.P.R.C.) was created in August 1980 by the Honourable Francis Fox, Secretary of State and Minister of Communications, to review Canadian cultural institutions and cultural policy. This was the first such commission since the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences of 1949-1951. The F.C.P.R.C. grew from an Advisory Commission on Cultural Policy which had been established in November 1979 by the Honourable David MacDonald. The committee held public hearings and developed its own recommendations. Known as the Applebaum-Hebert Commission after Louis Applebaum and Jacques Hebert, the Final Report was released in 1982.

Corporate body

The land which is now Peterborough County was originally part of Newcastle District before 1841, and the Colbourne District until 1850. At this time the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria was created. In 1861, Victoria County was given independence from Peterborough. Peterborough County is made up of the following townships: Galway, Cavendish, Anstruther, Chandos, Harvey, Burleigh, Methuen, Ennismore, Smith, Douro, Dummer, Belmont, North Monaghan, Otonabee, and Asphodel. (taken from "Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County 1825-1875." Peterborough: The Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation Inc., 1975.)

Corporate body

The land which is now Peterborough County was originally part of Newcastle District before 1841, and the Colbourne District until 1850, the year when districts were replaced by counties in Upper Canada. At this time the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria was created. In 1861, Victoria County was given independence from Peterborough. Peterborough County is made up of the following townships: Galway, Cavendish, Anstruther, Chandos, Harvey, Burleigh, Methuen, Ennismore, Smith, Douro, Dummer, Belmont, North Monaghan, Otonabee, and Asphodel. (taken from "Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County 1825-1875." Peterborough: The Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation Inc., 1975.)

Deloro Mine
Corporate body

Mining in Deloro began in 1868 when gold was discovered. In 1873 Canadian Consolidated Gold Mining Company, a British-based company, began mining operations which eventually failed due to the poor recovery of gold. In 1896 Canadian Gold Fields Company bought the property and the first mill was built. The operations were successful in the beginning as new cyanide technology was used to extract the gold and roasting furnaces were built to remove the arsenic from the gold. The mill was closed in 1903 due to the poor grade of the gold.

Corporate body

Victoria County, formally established in 1860, is comprised of the Townships of Bexley, Carden, Dalton, Eldon, Emily, Fenelon, Laxton, Digby, Longford, Manvers, Mariposa, Ops, Somerville, and Verulam. The town of Lindsay in Ops Township is the county seat. The County is bordered in the north by the Muskoka District, in the east by Haliburton and Peterborough Counties, in the south by Lake Scugog and the Regional Municipality of Durham, and in the west by Durham and Simcoe Counties. It is 2 169 km square in area. The land in Victoria County was first opened for settlement in 1821 and the first settlers were mainly Irish, both Protestant and Catholic, and Scottish Presbyterians. By 1880, lumbering was firmly established as the main industry in the county. Quickly the region was stripped of its forests, and it wasn't until the 1920's that an interest in reforestation developed. Today, Victoria County is a prime grain producing region. As well, chemical industries and tourism make up the present day economic picture of the county. (Taken from: Mika, Nick and Helma. "Places in Ontario, Part III." Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1983.)

Corporate body

Victoria County, formally established in 1860, is comprised of the Townships of Bexley, Carden, Dalton, Eldon, Emily, Fenelon, Laxton, Digby, Longford, Manvers, Mariposa, Ops, Somerville, and Verulam. The town of Lindsay in Ops Township is the county seat. The County is bordered in the north by the Muskoka District, in the east by haliburton and Peterborough Counties, in the south by Lake Scugog and the Regional Municipality of Durham, and in the west by Durham and Simcoe Counties. It is 2 169 km square in area. The land in Victoria County was first opened for settlement in 1821 and the first settlers were mainly Irish, both Protestant and Catholic, and Scottish Presbyterians. By 1880, lumbering was firmly established as the main industry in the county. Quickly the region was stripped of its forests, and it wasn't until the 1920's that an interest in reforestation developed. Today, Victoria County is a prime grain producing region. As well, chemical industries and tourism make up the present day economic picture of the county. (Taken from: Mika, Nick and Helma. "Places in Ontario, Part III." Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1983.)

Canada Company
Corporate body

The Canada Company which was created by John Galt, was established in late 1824, and incorporated by the British Parliament on July 27, 1825. The purpose of the Company was to obtain land in Upper Canada and to promote the sale of such land to prospective settlers. In 1826 the Company purchased 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) from the government for $295 000. Approximately half of the land lay within the Huron Tract and the rest of the land consisted of scattered crown reserves. The company was dissolved on December 18, 1953.

Corporate body

Library and Archives Canada holds these records as R.G. 10 which is the Department of Indian Affairs from 1677-1978 and contains 1750.6 m of textual and graphic material.(See also General Guide Series 1983, Federal Archives Division in the Trent University Archives Reading Room.)

Corporate body

The Department of Lands and Forests, 1920-1972, was a department of the Government of Ontario based under the Ministry of Natural Resources. Before 1920 it was known as the Department of Lands, Mines and Forests, 1906-1920; The Crown Lands Department, 1827-1905 and the Office of the Surveyor General (Upper Canada), 1792-1827. (Taken from: The Archives of Ontario Guide to Holdings)

Corporate body

On March 17, 1862 the position of Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs was created and William Spragge was appointed to this postion. At Confederation, control of Indian matters was given to the federal government and this responsibilty was delegated to the Department of Secretary of State for the Provinces. The Secretary of State became Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. In 1873 the Department of the Interior was created and an Indians and Indian Lands Branch was set up within it. As a result, the Minister of the Interior became the Superintendent General. The following year, L. Vankoughnet was appointed Deputy Superintendent General. In 1876 the Indian Act was passed which consolidated and revised all previous legislation dealing with Indians in all existing Provinces and Territories. Four years later, in 1880, the Independent Department of Indian Affairs was set up. However, the Minister of the Interior remained Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. In 1893, Hayter Reed was appointed Deputy Superintendent General and remained in this position until 1897 when James A. Smart, Deputy Minister of the Interior, took over the position. In 1902, Francis Pedley was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs thus ending the system where bythe Deputy of the Interior held that post. Under Pedley, the departmental structure of Indian Affairs was restructured. Several distinct branches were set up to reflect the expansion of the Department's activities. These were the Secretaries Branch, the Accountant's Branch, the Land and Timber Branch, the Survey Branch, and the School Branch. In 1913, Duncan Campbell Scott was appointed as Deputy Superindendent of Indian Affairs, a position which he retained until 1932. The Department continued to exist until 1936 when it was made a branch of the Department of Mines and Resources.(Taken from: "Public Records Division, General InventorySeries : No. 1 Records relating to Indian Affairs (RG 10)."Ottawa: Public Archives of Canada, 1975.)

Parks Canada
Corporate body

Since the initial reservation of the Hot Springs at Banff in 1885, the Canadian Parks Service has grown to encompass more than 30 national parks, more than 70 national historic parks and major sites, and 10 historically significant canal systems. The Canadian Parks Service plans, develops, and operates National Parks and National Historic Parks and Sites. First controlled by the Dominion Lands Branch of the Department of the Interior through its Superintendent of Rocky Mountains Park, Parks became, in 1908, a unit of the Forestry branch and, in 1911, a separate entity known as the Dominion (later National) Parks Branch. From 1918 to 1966, the Canadian Wildlife Service was a unit within the National Parks Branch. In 1973, Parks acquired control of historic canals, previously under the control of several different government departments. In 1979, Parks Canada became part of the Department of the Environment and in 1988 it was renamed the Canadian Parks Service. (Taken from: "Government Archives Division: General Guide Series." Ottawa: National Archives of Canada, 1991.)