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The Atwood family is associated with nineteenth-century settlement in the Lakefield, Ontario region. James Parr Clinton Atwood (1836-1912) immigrated to Canada from Gloucestershire in 1855 and married Anne Traill Fotheringhame (Annie) Traill (1838-1931), daughter of Thomas Traill and Catharine Parr Traill, in 1858. Together they had seven children: Henry, Emily, Clinton, Katharine, George, Anne, and Florence. The Atwood family is related to the Upper Canada pioneer Traill, Moodie, and Strickland families.

Jean Shearman (1925-2005) and Elizabeth Shearman Hall (1920-2015) were the great-great-granddaughters of Frances Browne Stewart (1794-1872) and Thomas Alexander Stewart (1786-1847), who immigrated from Ireland to Douro Township in 1822. They were sisters of Rev. John Shearman. Their grandmother, Anna Maria Stewart Williams, was the granddaughter of Thomas Alexander Stewart and Frances Browne Stewart, and the daughter of William Stewart. Jean Shearman was born 28 August 1925 and lived in Toronto, Ontario; she died in 2005. Elizabeth Shearman Hall was born 7 March 1920; she died in 2015. The sisters dedicated much of their lives to transcribing the Frances Stewart letters and creating a biographic reference guide to them and all associated families.

Henry Sherin and Elizabeth Moulds were married May 1, 1814 in Ireland and emigrated to Canada, in 1822, settling near Cobourg, Upper Canada. Their son, John C. Sherin, born in 1827, moved from the Cobourg region to Lakefield in 1854. He opened the first general store in the area in 1855, J.C. Sherin and Son. In 1861, John C. was made Justice of the Peace for Douro Township. He was married to Elizabeth Fee, and later to Mrs. Schofield. In 1881, John C. sold the family store to the firm of the Madill Brothers, but bought it back in 1885 and moved into the dry goods trade. John C. died May 24, 1901. J. Henry Sherin, son of John C. Sherin and Elizabeth Fee, was born in 1867 and educated at Pickering College. J. Henry (Harry) continued to operate the family store for 35 years after his father's death. He was also Lakefield's C.P.R. agent for 48 years. J. Henry Sherin was married to Mary Mabelle Rathbone in October, 1902. Together they had four sons, Playter, George, John, and Harry. J. Henry died in December 1952, at the age of 85. His son Harry attended the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, Ontario, and when he returned to Lakefield in 1946, he opened the Sherindale Hatchery, which he operated until 1964. In 1963 he married Mrs. Gretchen Kraus of Lakewood, Ohio and they had one son, Timothy Sherin. Harry's brother Playter Sherin also had a son, Dr. John P. Sherin, who resided in Lakefield after attending the University of Toronto Medical School. His medical office was located on the site of his great grandfather's first store.

John Tucker Williams, former Commander in the British Royal Navy, arrived in Canada in 1812 and commanded a vessel on the Lake (Lake Ontario) during the War of 1812. He eventually settled in Port Hope and established a farm/estate. He later became the first Mayor of the town of Port Hope. During the Rebellion of 1837, he commanded the Durham Regiment. He then represented Durham East in the Legislative Assembly of United Canada from 1840 to 1848. He married Sarah Ward, daughter of Judge Ward of Durham. Their children include sons Arthur T.H., Henry J.B., and Charles H.A., and daughter Amelia. John Tucker Williams died in 1854. His eldest son, Arthur Trefusis Heneage, was born at Port Hope in 1837. Arthur was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, and Edinburgh University, Scotland. He returned to Canada after graduating and like his father became a gentleman farmer. Also like his father, Arthur was active in politics and the military. He represented East Durham in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1875, and in the House of Commons in Ottawa from 1878 to 1885. During the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 he was Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 46th Battalion of volunteer militia, and took part in the Battle of Batoche. Shortly after the battle, Arthur became ill and died near Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan 4 July 1885.

Samuel Leggott was born in 1825 in England. He immigrated with his wife to Rochester, New York and later moved to Canada in approximately 1851 with their two sons, Samuel Richard and Thomas Walter (1850-1932). Thomas became a Reverend and married Lydia Knight. Samuel Richard married Annie Trude of Lakefield; they had 3 children, Samuel Trude (Truddie), William and Henrietta (Etta). Samuel Trude married Dora Pemberthy. He joined the Gas and Electricity Inspection Service with the Department of Trade and Commerce in 1922. In 1923, he was stationed in Belleville where in 1938 he became the District Inspector of Electricity and Gas. In 1905 the Leggott family purchased Reydon Manor (200 Queen Street Lakefield ON), the former home of Robert Strickland, son of Samuel Strickland.

The Baulch family were tailors who lived in Hampton, Ontario and Port Hope, Ontario. Members of the family include Joseph H. and his wife Laura, Henry N., R. Baulch, and Will Baulch, Rochester, New York.

The Buck family genealogy was compiled by Louise Buck, wife of Edwin D. Buck of Norwood, Ontario. From curiosity she researched and produced a book on the Buck family in Canada from the first ancestor to descendants. The book begins with a brief history of England then Yorkshire, Dent and its surroundings. Louise then writes about the English ancestors, immigration to Canada and gives a short history of Upper Canada and then Norwood. Included in the book are genealogical charts, abbreviations and codes, variations in the spelling of names, relationship charts, family charts and connected families. The book was privately produced in 1987.

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.

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.

The first McIntyre living in Otonabee, Ontario, was either Duncan McIntyre (1765-1840) or a cousin Archie McIntye. Duncan married Isobella Blair (1766-?) in 1793. They had eight children: Catharine, 1793-?; Janet, 1795-?; Isabella, 1797-?; Donald, 1799-?; Archibald, 1801-1889; John, 1803-1803; John, 1804-?; Duncan, 1806-?; and Margaret, 1809-? (born in Otonabee). Duncan became the first town warden and sat on the first board of trustees for the Presbyterian Church.

Daniel Nill was a farmer who at one time owned the property at 1202 Morton Line in Cavan, Ontario. The fonds consists of items which were found on the property in 2001; they relate to Nill and to members of the Mason family.

The Orgill family is a branch of the Boyd family of Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Mrs. Norma Orgill (1922-2020), the donor of the collection, was the wife of Herbert Orgill, a descendant of William (Willie) Thornton Cust Boyd (1859-1919). Willie was the son of the lumbering entrepreneur Mossom Boyd (1815-1883).

The Raper family (fl. 1890-1898) lived in the Millbrook and Cavan, Ontario area.

Sydney (Sid) Helmer Standen was born in 1905 in Minesing, Ontario, the son of Andrew Ronald and Ada Louisa Standen. In 1911, his family moved to Kindersley, Saskatchewan where Sid grew up. He later became a teacher and also served in World War II.

Euphemia (Effie) Young McQueen was born in 1903 in London, England, daughter of James and Margaret McQueen (nee Drysdale). In Effie’s first year, the McQueens moved to Scotland and then, in 1913, to Canada, where they settled in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Effie became a teacher and appeared in theatrical performances and recitations.

Sid and Effie married in 1930 and settled in Hanley, Saskatchewan. They had four sons: Philip Andrew, Neil McQueen, Sydney Drysdale (Dale), and Eric James William; Philip died in 1955 at the age of 22 during a tactical flight training exercise near Chatham, New Brunswick. In 1942, Sid and Effie moved to Burnaby, British Columbia where they were to spend the remainder of their lives. After Effie’s death in 1965, Sid married Gladys Marshall; he died in 1975. (Taken from “Standens and McQueens: A Canadian Story of Migrant Families” by S. Dale Standen, 2014).

Captain Charles Rubidge, land agent and author, was born 20 April 1787 in the Parish of St. George-in-the-East, London, England. He was the son of Robert and Margaret Rubidge. In October 1796, at the young age of nine, Rubidge entered the Navy as a midshipman on the Arrow, Sloop of War. He served under Lord Nelson and Lord Cochrane and was honourably discharged in 1815, at the end of the War of 1812. In June 1819, Rubidge emigrated to Canada with his wife and three children (they later had three more children) and in May, 1820, became the second person to settle in Otonabee Township. He assisted in the settling of the Peter Robinson immigrants in 1825 and other immigrants in 1831 and 1839. In 1831 Rubidge was appointed Immigrant Agent at Peterborough by Lord Seaton, Governor-General of Canada. He was also the author of two books. The first was A Plain Statement of the Advantages Attending Emigration to Upper Canada (London, 1838) and the second An Autobiographical Sketch (Peterborough, 1870). Captain Charles Rubidge died 5 February 1873.

Robert Waddell and Hugh Waddell were brothers who were both businessmen in Durham County in the middle to late 1800's and the early 1900's. Robert Waddell resided in Balieboro and Hugh Waddell lived in Millbrook, Ontario.

(Biographical information copied from Trent University Archives newsletter "Archives News", Issue Number 48, January 2014: "The Wallis Family" by Janice Millard).

"The link between the two [Wallis family and Forbes family] is Louisa Forbes who became Mrs. James Wallis. Louisa was the mother of well-known Peterborough-born artist and sculptor Katherine Wallis and Louisa’s father was Capt. Robert Miller/Millar Forbes.

Capt. Robert Miller Forbes had a distinguished career in the British Navy. It was, however, marred by an incident in 1798. Robert caused his ship commander, Capt. Lord Henry Paulet, later Earl St. Vincent, to be court martialled. Paulet apparently struck the then Lieutenant Forbes while Forbes was on duty on their ship – the Thalia. Paulet lost the case - but soon after he was given clemency, re-instated, and in 1819 became a Vice-Admiral. Robert Miller did not fare as well. In a transcribed letter he says that “he became the object of the most cruel and vindictive persecution… that has proved a barrier to his professional progress thro’ the mis-representations of that distinguished officer.”

After the Napoleonic Wars Robert Forbes, along with a number of ex-British military personnel, took their families and settled in France. Robert’s first child, Louisa, was born in Avranches, France. There is a watercolour in our new donation of the Church where Louisa was christened. It is likely by Katherine Wallis. The Forbes family moved around in Europe and sons were born in St. Servan Sur Merin Brittany, France. Finally the family moved to Peterborough.

Robert Forbes had an even more well-known brother – Charles John Forbes. Charles was in both the British Navy and the British Army. While in the Navy, Charles was present at the Battle of the Nile (also called the Battle of Aboukir) where Nelson defeated the French Navy. Another person at Aboukir was Charles Rubidge. Perhaps Charles Forbes and Charles Rubidge reminisced together about old battles.

While in the British Army, Charles Forbes was present for the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Our donation contains a letter written 29 Jan. 1815 on board H.M.S. Alceste, off Cat Island (near New Orleans), and sent to James Cobb, Secretary, East India Company (a cousin). In the letter Charles says that the information given to the Admiral was “fallacious” and that unlike what they had been led to believe, no “settlers of Louisiana and the Floridas” flocked to join the British cause and hence they had insufficient troops for the encounter with the Americans. It’s interesting to note that even by the end of January, Charles did not know that a treaty to end the War had been signed.

Charles had two separate enlistment periods with the British Army. Like his brother, he retired when the Napoleonic Wars were over and lived in Europe, but a few years later he re-enlisted in the Army. In 1824 he worked for the Commissariat in Nova Scotia and in 1825 he went to Montreal and stayed for 8 years. He was then posted to Jamaica and, like many Europeans who lived in the tropics, became ill. He briefly to went to England and then finally retired at half pay back in Quebec.

While posted in Quebec he acted as Commissary General for the Army and ensured there were supplies for the engineers and workers who were building canals in the Montreal region. While he was there he purchased land in the village of Carillon, on the Ottawa River just south of Lachute, Quebec, in what is now the Argenteuil Region of Quebec.

There he built a wonderful house called “Bellevue”. In our newly acquired scrapbook of Louisa Forbes there is a sketch of that house. Charles was known far and wide for his hospitality and many important people would visit him – including the Governors General.

Another well-known owner of land in the area was Sidney Robert Bellingham - nephew of Thomas A. Stewart. Sidney was very interested in politics and played a role in the 1837 rebellion – as did the British veteran Charles John Forbes."

Miss Neads was the organist at the Presbyterian Church in Bowmanville, Ontario, in 1876.